Attempts to achieve perfection sometimes lead to stress. Diet also cause stress. Illness of a close - another cause of stress, as well as things at work, family responsibilities, and other endless worries. What is our response? We begin to look for the "cure" of psychic pain, fatigue or boredom. Alcohol? Drugs? For many women, this medication is ... food. Excess food, of course, leads to an increase in weight, which as you can guess, only reinforces all the same stress.
Mini-test. If you answered "yes" to at least three questions are likely to use food as a way to relieve stress
1. Your strength will disappear in the afternoon and in the evening?
2. Food helps to relieve emotional tension and brings you satisfaction?
3. You eat, in a daze, not noticing the hand pulls chips or nuts from the package?
4. When during the day you feel exhausted, trying to whether the "recharge" by the sweet or fat, caffeine and nicotine?
5. You consume most of the calories after five o'clock in the evening?
Why stress increases the appetite?
The contents in the body of stress hormones - hormone cortisol and anxiety (its scientific name - "corticotropin releasing") - early morning peaks in 6-8 hours. This is the time you feel energetic, you easily focus on anything their attention and focus. By lunchtime, the level of stress hormones gradually decreases, and in the afternoon you feel a lack of energy, you find it difficult to concentrate. Usually this occurs between 15.00 and 16.00.
Biologically your body begins to prepare for rest, and then to bed after a long busy day. Finally, the content reaches a minimum of hormones during sleep, so you can completely relax. By 2 o'clock in the morning they again begin to grow, preparing you for the morning awakening.
Following the natural biorhythms of stress hormones, we would have dinner early and go to bed at 8-9 pm.
Overeating in the afternoon - The main cause of stress-induced obesity in women. The time between 15.00 and 24.00 can be called Cortisone: the level of the stress hormone cortisol falls. Today, we no longer live in accordance with the natural cycle of stress hormones. When it comes time to rest, we still have a lot of urgent matters, jostling in the transport, business dinners and numerous household chores.
Tired and anxious, we are looking for a source of energy and food cure for negative emotions caused by the need to cope with stress in the afternoon. It is no wonder that a person wishes for dinner "reward" themselves for the fact that managed to survive another day. Women feel particularly exhausted and overwhelmed, often like to eat more after dinner, late at night. They are looking for a quick dish, a momentary pleasure.
Golden rules for food every day
We must learn to safely overcome cortisone and finally break the cycle of overeating.
During the main meals 55-S0% of calories should be accounted for by carbohydrates, and preference should be given to complex carbohydrates (unrefined cereals, fruits and vegetables); 15-20% - proteins share 25% and - the share of fat.
If you eat breakfast before 7 am, snack 3 hours. Be sure to eat something protein (such as yogurt) and fruit and lunch must be between 12.00 and 13.00. If you eat breakfast after 8 am, ideally between breakfast and lunch you need to snack only fruit.
Afternoon snack should be 3 hours after lunch. It is necessary that it consisted of proteins, carbohydrates and low in fat. For example, a soup with biscuits, low fat cottage cheese with fruit, low-fat yogurt or kefir.
Try to temporarily cortisone does not have to "lion's share" eaten per day. Consume most calories (about 65%) to 5:00 pm.
Keep track of time! If too much to eat after 8 pm, you will get better.
How to Train "hormones overeating?"
People who overeat under stress, "programmed" their "cortisone" problems in the morning, during breakfast. In the morning, they either eat too many carbohydrates and too little protein or refuse breakfast. Lunch they too passed or eat quite symbolically: yogurt, cottage cheese a bit, a couple of sandwiches or a bowl of soup. No wonder that the offensive "hour X» they feel very hungry. If stress awakens the appetite, your task - to develop a resistance to it. To do this, you need a meal plan for "dangerous" time of day - cortisone. It is also necessary to change their daily habits to keep the level of stress hormones as close as possible to normal and avoid mindless chewing (and related inevitable weight loss).
5 ways how to do it
1. Psychologically necessary to accept the fact that for objective reasons you feel the physical and mental fatigue after 15.00, and not to worry, that "still a lot of things to do, and the forces already on the wane." Try to plan your day so that after three o'clock in the afternoon you have planned less demanding and difficult work. If you have no choice, while cortisone you have to work as a bee, divide each task into small steps, tasks, which will be easier to handle.
2. Be careful with the products in which you are used to draw strength and solace. These "good" are dearly. Caffeine, nicotine, drugs (eg, weight loss), alcohol, refined sugars and fats create new problems.
3. Physical activity at any time of the day makes you feel more energetic throughout the cortisone. Both regular and "emergency" training is the easiest way to both relax and cheer. Ideal in a stressful situation, for example, to walk at a brisk pace of 30 ~ 45 minutes. But even if poshagat a couple of minutes, stress visibly receding. Exercises regulate the level of stress hormones the body produces beta-endorphins, which act as a natural stimulant. Endorphins inhibit the stress response in the body.
4. Learn how to mobilize in the face of stress. Useful technique of deep breathing, meditation, the ability to switch attention from negative thoughts into neutral or positive.
5. Equip your meal plan for the day. Plan ahead, that will eat at lunch and dinner.