Most of us are overweight, yet are nutritionally deficient. Thanks to processed and junk food manufacturers and the media, most people don’t understand that they are gaining weight because they are eating incorrectly and usually too much or too little. When we are tired most of us will use pick me ups such as sugar, sweets, tea, coffee and soda pops to compensate for energy deficiency. Improper eating habits always result in the inability to replace vital nutrients that keep body systems running correctly and provide additional energy to spend living, not just surviving.
Any stimulants, and this can include grains as well, will activate the Sympathetic Nervous System, which will release more stress hormones and eventually require more and more stimulation to produce the desired effect.
After a while adrenal glands will become exhausted resulting in a number of symptoms which results in the profile of chronic fatigue syndrome. A typical pick me up would be something sweet, a beverage containing caffeine or to smoke a cigarette. Caffeine, sugar and tobacco are all stimulants, which just excite the sympathetic nervous system even more (this is known as our flight or flight response). This triggers cortisol, and cortisol is our ‘time to get up’ hormone.
Coffee shops are sweeping the nation. An eight ounce cup of coffee contains 300mg of caffeine. Caffeine has a half life of six hours , so if you have a coffee at 3pm, 150 mg of caffeine will still be in your blood stream at 9pm. Six hours later, well into the psychogenic repair cycle of immune function, you’ll have 75 mg of of caffeine stimulating your adrenal glands to produce cortisol. Ideally we should not drink anything after lunchtime.
When we lose weight, we lose significant amounts of muscle. Remember muscle burns energy. If you decrease muscle mass, your metabolic rate will be lower – you won’t burn as much energy. This increases your chances of gaining back the weight you lost. The yo-yo diet syndrome begins, which is even more stressful than the first diet.
Each time you stop and start a diet, you significantly increase the difficulty of restoring your physiology to normal. If your’e constantly hungry and have gained weight from eating too much, you may not be hungry but you actually may be thirsty. When we feel hungry we should actually drink water and the hunger pangs will subside. Drinking water keeps you hydrated and gives you energy. Dr. Batmangheldidj’s book: ‘The many cries for water’, tells us hunger pangs are usually cries of dehydration. When you drink adequately for your needs, you are less likely to consume soda and pick me up foods that generally raise the blood sugars levels and cause stress to the body.
CHEK seven top tips for losing weight
- Eat right for your metabolic type and never diet.
- Eat regularly to satisfy hunger. Consume slightly smaller meals and include snacks to elevate the metabolic rate.
- Eat high quality food.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Move your body, if you don’t like exercise get out for a walk, take the stairs, park your car further away in the parking lot.
- Get to bed by 10.30pm otherwise this will effect your cortisol levels, creating stress and increase your chance of gaining weight.
- Burn those diet books.
Bibliography
‘Eat move and be healthy’ – Paul chek
