Can’t lose weight? Here is why

In other words, a critical component to losing weight is your mindset.
Mental/emotional stress and cortisol
Cortisol is a very important hormone in the body that is secreted by the adrenal glands and regulates the following processes in the body:
l Glucose (sugar) metabolism
l Blood pressure regulation
l Immune function
l Inflammatory response
Prolonged levels of stress cause an elevation of cortisol in the blood stream that has been found to increase abdominal fat.
Abdominal fat has been associated with severe health conditions that include heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and elevated levels of bad cholesterol.
The effects of stress and aging
As we “age’ the cumulative effects of physical, chemical and mental stresses take a toll on your body.
These effects cause your body’s response to stress to diminish and to become overwhelmed.
When your body is no longer able to handle the stress it’s processes begin to shut down and the medical tests become positive.
In many cases a weight loss programme may seem like a daunting task, aka stress.
One of the most common stresses during a weight loss programme is not achieving the results as fast as you desire.
This will add an additional stress load on your body that will impair results.
What controls hormone production?
The principle nerve supply to the glands and organs is derived from the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is made up of two major components, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
These two systems control bodily functions such as your heart beat, digestive function, breathing, blood vessels and hormone production.
The main purpose of discussing these two systems is to understand the role they play in weight loss.
We previously discussed the effects of physical, chemical and mental stresses on the body and its damaging effects.
As we get older it is very common to have a small problem that progressively gets worse over time.
Many of us may have fallen down thousands of times when we were first learning to walk; we fell off our bikes and played sports growing up.
Others may have experienced car accidents or our jobs challenge our posture and create a significant stress on our bodies. These accidents may or may not have caused pain, symptoms or knowledge of a problem, but it did add additional stress and strain on the muscles, bones, joints and most importantly the nerves.
As we age, stress and injury accumulation start producing symptoms.
This is the phenomenon that we call “ageing”.
Stress response and weight loss
Compounded stress and injuries produce what is called the stress response. The stress response is activated by the autonomic nervous system in the body. This system is what controls organs and glandular function in the body.
When the nervous system is damaged, the organs such as your pancreas, thyroid and adrenal glands no longer function properly.
The thyroid gland is responsible for the function of your metabolism. It is very common for people to say “my metabolism isn’t what it used to be”.
It’s true, in many instances one’s metabolism does diminish, because there is a long-term, silent, underlying condition that progressively gets worse over time. What you put in, you get out.
We have all heard the saying “you are what you eat”. The quality of our nutrients is directly responsible for feeding and providing energy for every cell in the body.
The food that we eat provides the building blocks for every new cell in the body. The quality of our nutrition also plays a significant role in how our bodies heal and function.
Quality nutrition simply means the nutrition that is ideal for your body to be healthy. You can start by identifying what is “all natural” versus artificial. We experience the power of nutrients every day. If we make poor choices we can see the impact that it has on our energy levels, immunity, weight gain, sleep patterns and how we overally feel.
When we place quality nutrients in the body, the body knows how to absorb and assimilate it.
Your health crisis
The level of nutritional intervention is dependent on the level of health crisis you are in. A more advanced eating plan is required for individuals that are overweight, have high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, diabetic and inflammatory conditions such as pain and arthritis.
These conditions are all affected by stress and your body’s diminished ability to respond properly overtime.
We need to be consciously aware that our food choices not only impact our health today, but also tomorrow.
Your future health status is dependent on the daily choices we make. It is not about achieving perfection in our diet, it is about constant, continual improvement over time.
The powerful effects of exercise
Exercise is a necessity for weight loss and healthy living. The type of exercise is the important factor, however. The most common styles of exercise include resistance and aerobics.
Aerobic type exercise is classified low intensity, long duration style exercise. This form of exercise includes walking, running, biking, ECT.
Resistance type exercise has higher intensity, but commonly it is still long in duration for most.
Weightlifting is an example of resistance exercise.
Is classic aerobic exercise healthy?
Aerobic exercise has been found to be great for your heart, but bad for your body. This style of exercise raises stress hormones in the body that break down muscle, increases fat storage, slows metabolism and inhibits immune function and exercise recovery.
Common weight lifting mistakes
Resistance training is called resistance because it challenges and “stresses” your muscles, bones and joints.
It is very common for people to go to the gym to “relieve” stress. Exercise has been found to be a very efficient form of stress management and reduction, but it also places stress on your body.
As we “age” and the body’s ability to handle stress diminishes. A question could be asked, is exercise without the other essentials be damaging to your health?
A new hope
High intensity, short duration has been called the “new aerobics”. This type of exercise has been found to be great for your heart, and great for your body. It does not have the negative factors associated with classic aerobic exercise as mentioned above.
The short duration piece saves you significant time when trying to fit exercise into your busy schedule.

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