by Maria Li Puma, Weight Management and Body Image Coach and Certified Food Psychology Coach

By now, many of us are aware of the health concerns that arise because of too much stress in our lives. We look for ways to reduce stress and strive to avoid situations or people who “stress us out”. However, we do not always realize that when we eat fast we are creating stress in our bodies. So ask yourself, are you a slow, moderate, or fast eater? If your answer were moderate or fast it would benefit you to consider slowing down when you eat. When we eat fast, we activate the stress response. The stress response is responsible for many biochemical disorders. One of the most important things you could do to help your body release excess weight, heal nutrition related problems, and experience more satisfaction from your meals is to slow down when you eat.  Relaxed eating is a powerful nutritional, psychological, and healing strategy when addressing nutrition linked health concerns and personal food issues. There are numerous biochemical disorders produced by stress I have identified just a few facts to inspire you to experience the benefits of slow, relaxed eating.

~ Your body will absorb nutrients more efficiently. The stress response decreases oxygenation and gastrointestinal blood flow; decreased enzymatic production in the stomach, pancreas, and liver; decreased bile flow from the gall bladder.

~ Your will avoid nutrient excretion and deficiencies. The stress response forces the body to excrete important nutrients through the urine. It is responsible for the loss of calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, chromium, selenium, various micro minerals, vitamin C, vitamin B, iron, and zinc.    
    
~ When you are stressed your body produces cortisol. Cortisol is associated with weight gain, abdominal obesity, and an inability to lose weight or build muscle. Excessive output of cortisol prematurely ages the body.

~ Your body can develop insulin resistance. Chronic low-level stress may cause target cells to become unresponsive to insulin, this manifests in diabetes, weight gain, heart disease, and aging.

Slowing down when you eat is just one of the many strategies that you can acquire that will support your weight loss efforts and help you to experience satisfaction with your body without dieting and deprivation.
 
Click here, to find out more about Food Psychology Coaching and how it can help you to transform your body, mind, and spirit in regards to your weight and overall health.