We live in a fast paced and stressful world where stress seems to be the norm. Busy schedules, work deadlines, family responsibilities, unpaid bills, and any other number of things can cause elevated stress levels.

While stress on its own is not a problem, its when it remains elevated for long periods of time that it really becomes a problem on your health, and indirectly on your body composition as well. If you feel like you’re doing things right when it comes to your workouts and your eating, but still not seeing the results you’re desiring, stress might be a silent killer to accessing better fat burning.

We’ve seen first hand with our own clients how simple stress management strategies provided them with breakthrough in fat loss plateaus. Here’s why stress can prevent you from burning fat:

Point 1: Poor Digestion

When you experience stress, whether acute stress or ongoing stress, it reduces blood flow to your gut and worsens digestion. If your digestion is off, it can affect how much nutrients your body is absorbing from your food, and affects the calories in component of your metabolism.

Point 2: Decreased Testosterone

Continued elevated cortisol can decrease testosterone production, which is an essential hormone for muscle building and fat burning in both men and women.

3: Increased Blood Sugar

Cortisol causes liver to break down glycogen, therefore increasing blood sugar. This will impact overall energy, workout performance, and cravings if left unaddressed.

4: Poor Sleep/Recovery

If you’ve ever had a stressor come up right before bed time, you know it can negatively impact your sleep. Even if you’re able to fall asleep quickly, it can affect the quality of sleep you’re getting, which can cause poor recovery. If you’re not recovering from your workouts, you won’t be able to perform as well in your exercises which will limit muscle building and calorie burning capabilities.

5: Overeating (Secondary To Cravings or Emotional Eating)

At the end of the day, the biggest factor to being unable to burn fat comes down to being unable to stay in a calorie deficit. It is easier to overeat when stressed due to increased cravings of fats/sugars (which are easy to over consume) and through emotional eating. Think about how much harder it is to resist the sweet treat or the craving when you’re under a lot of stress. Even one episode of overeating can negatively tip the metabolism equation and put you in a surplus for the week.

While it’s unclear if stress on its own prevents fat loss, there are several indirect factors that can negatively tip the metabolism equation and cause more calories in than calories out. If you want to look, feel, and perform your best - then having strategies in place to properly manage stress has to be a part of your overall health toolbox. 

Which are your favorite strategies for managing stress to avoid some of the negative side effects of stress?