Thrive in 30: Stress and Diet
Hello blogland! I did not get to my normal posting on Monday morning because this little blogger was on vacation! My extra-long weekend was filled with amazing food, even more amazing company and a stress-free environment (aside from the 100*F temperatures!).
Don’t you love when vacations are honestly a vacation?! I will be blogging about the dishes I dined on this weekend throughout all my upcoming posts as much as I can! Today’s post will be for the Thrive in 30 campaign that I was asked to be a part of by Vega.
I loved that my vacation was stress-free, I truly appreciated my time because I had definitely needed the break from daily demands of my current position among everything else. It is fitting that my post today is about the first of 12 instructional videos from Thrive in 30 on the correlation between stress and diet.
Stress in our lives can be a wonderful motivator in my opinion. Having something to push or challenge you would increase the likelihood of feeling successful once you do accomplish your goal or subsequently, help push you further toward meeting that goal. Having stress allows you to truly appreciate the moments in life that are stress-free!
In the first Thrive in 30 video, Brendan discussed how he had been training for the Ironman and all the excess physical stress created an imbalance in his life. He was unable to sleep, which caused more stress, which became a vicious cycle, making him more tired and choosing less wisely. The more tired and stressed out he was, the more tired and stressed out he became…! He chalks up this cycle to the high levels of cortisol that he had from the excess stress and lack of sleep. High levels of cortisol can prevent someone from getting “good” sleep, according to Brenden it is the “Delta” sleep that many people are missing out on, thus their bodies are unable to repair and replenish fully.
So it seems, some stress is ideal but stressing out is not! I agree with that completely! Stress comes from everywhere, from physical training, worrying over things we cannot control, from the foods that we eat (or those we should eat less of), and from situations we cannot control. Unfortunately, as Brendan states in the video, too much stress corresponds to higher than ideal cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a hormone that is manufactured in your body by adrenal glands and is a natural response to stress. I would love to go on about the gluconeogenesis process and glucose transport mechanisms because that was my favorite part of graduate school in Nutrition- but- I realize that I’m just a big nerd. Basically, it is used by your body to help regulate blood sugar and primarily to help with metabolism (the break down the three macronutrients: Carbs, Protein and Fat). You might think, “Awesome, I want a faster metabolism so the more the better”. Unfortunately, prolonged high-levels of cortisol can cause negative physiological changes (just like any hormone fluctuations or chemical imbalances) which cause all sorts of issues with metabolism, mood, fatigue, etc.
Fun Fact: Crying reduces cortisol levels, essentially, you feel much less stressed after a good cry. Laughing also reduces cortisol levels, so go have someone tell you a joke! Most of us ( myself included!) turn to coffee when we are feeling fatigue and even the occasional sweet treat , like a doughnut for breakfast.
( This was not a stress doughnut- it was a Red Velvet Vacation Doughnut- stress free and phenomenal)
Although tasty, this kind of habit feeds that vicious cycle Brendan is talking about: more unhealthy foods means less nutrients for our bodies, which leaves our body seeking more nourishment. This effect is especially noticeable in the case of physical training (muscle strength and growth!) for performance. Sometimes we work out harder but we don’t see results. That last 5 -10 pounds just isn’t budging off the scale so we work more, or even harder and eat less. If you think about it like Brendan, that is more stress on your body and less nutrients into it. Round and round you go!
So what do you do?
Well, in the video Brendan mentioned he started having a nutrient dense smoothie each day and he also suggests taking a break from training.
Want my opinion?
Of course you do because you are reading this post, right?! Haha. My suggestion would be close to the same! I enjoyed my doughnut and coffee for what it was, a treat and fantastic! It does mean that I focus on having meals with higher nutrient density more often than not, like a green smoothie or a fresh salad with tons of veg.
Another vacation breakfast! Fresh blackberries, vanilla yogurt, banana, and whey protein.
I wouldn’t support a particular brand of smoothie, or smoothies at all necessarily. They are great options because you can make them quickly and pack with whatever nutrients you might want. The take home message is choose plenty of foods that are as nutrient dense as possible. That take home message is part of Vega’s mission, they pack quality nutrients into their foods as much as possible!
The idea is that you revamp your nutrient intake, opt for more dark, leafy greens (okay throw em into a smoothie like Brendan!), lean protein, and cut out the processed (salty and sugary) foods. I agree on taking a break from the over-exertion of physical training too. Stress breaks down muscle tissue, so if you are exercising on top of the stress, you aren’t really going to improve performance or strength!
You can check out more from Thrive in 30 in upcoming posts here at Being Healthier and also on the Thrive in 30 website.
Have you ever tried to lose that 5-10 pounds by working out harder and eating less but the weight didn’t budge?
What do you think about the concept of eating & working out smarter rather than harder ?
