Can A Diet Plan Cause Stress?
All internet dietitian gurus claim to help you come up with diet plans that would boost your metabolism. That is the entire point of a diet plan, right? To promote metabolic health – but you will be surprised to find out that all those 1000-1400 calories diet plans that you follow are actually depriving your body of the energy that it needs to boost your metabolic rate.
Sorry, but the diet plans that you have been following are fake! Not only do they deprive you of essential nutrients, they also lead your body into a stress mode. What do you believe stress to be, a mental disorder? Well, it is much more than that!
Any incident, any food item that you consume, any habit of yours, in simple words anything that increases the production of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline in your body can be the root cause behind stress. And do you think dieting doesn’t cause stress? Well, you can’t be more wrong!
Physical Stress of Dieting
Your diet plan and stress levels are interlinked. When you think of dieting, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Well shaped body or that perfect summer beach body that you want? But that is not how your body incorporates the idea of dieting. For your body, dieting feels like famine. A sudden change in your diet plan leads to a decrease in fuel for the body which leads to a sudden decrease in energy. In such a case, your body looks for alternatives to cope up with the shortage and ends up breaking down the stored fat and proteins in your body which automatically leads to secretion of stress hormones in the body.
Imagine having to do 48 hours of work in 24 hours only? How would you feel? Stressed, right? That is exactly how your body feels when you make it burn 5000 calories but only provide 1000 calories a day. Due to energy deficit, your body produces cortisol which initiates the process of gluconeogenesis that begins to burn proteins to glucose.
Other than that, since you are refueling your body less than you used to, an automated response in your body begins to conserve energy. This then leads to a notching down your metabolism which affects your blood circulation and renders some of your body parts less important making them useless in case of an emergency.
Mental Stress of Dieting
Stress in a diet plan isn’t only linked to your physical health but also your mental health. Strict diet plans can cause fear, anxiety and guilt which can lead to depression and certain eating disorders as well. When on a diet, your mind tends to categorize each food item into good and bad. This puts a lot of pressure on your mind to always go for good food in order to achieve your diet goal.
On the other hand, in case you opt for bad food in any instance, you automatically begin to feel guilty. Over a prolonged period, that guilt can turn into shame and low self-esteem which can affect your mental health quite a lot. Stressing on every bite that you consume is for sure going to stress your mind and body and it isn’t like chronic stress, but is a type of self-induced stress which can cause a number of serious health problems.
Warning Signs of High Stress
When you think about stress hormones, they aren’t all bad. In some instances they put your body into fight or flight mood which can be quite handy in an emergency. But when those stress levels cross peak levels and lead to medical conditions that is when you need to down it a notch and let your body relax. Here are a few common warning signs that indicate high stress levels.
- High blood sugar
- Low moods
- Low sex drive
- Poor metabolism
- Poor sleep patterns
- Increase in illness
The best way to fight stress is to let your body relax as much as possible for a few days or adopt certain relaxing activities in your daily routine. CBD is known to help a lot with stress so you can try CBD Wax from https://cbdvapejuice.net/product-category/cbd-by-type/cbd-concentrates/ to notch down those stress levels of yours when dieting.
In case things get serious, it is best to consult a doctor right away. Let your doctor know how your body has been reacting to your diet plan and what possible changes the doctor can recommend to help you control those stress levels and still maintain a healthy body.
Takeaways
No internet guru knows your body better than you do. Don’t let others let you know what you should consume and when because they don’t know how your body functions so they shouldn’t be making decisions on your behalf. Learn to love your body the way it is and in case losing weight by dieting is a part of your plan, make sure to devise a diet plan that works for your body and never overdo it or you will end up with serious health issues.
