It seems to be common knowledge that exercise is one of the keys to weight loss…but sometimes the very workout program you’re using to drop pounds can actually make you gain weight! How can that be? When a good diet and exercise program results in an expanding waistline, the first question I would want to ask is, “How much stress are you under?” It’s less common knowledge that the combined forces of stress and exercise can sabotage weight loss, which is why it’s absolutely CRITICAL to identify your stress levels before selecting the proper exercise program!

When you are stressed out for any reason, your body responds by going into fight-or-flight mode. In this process, the adrenal glands release adrenaline along with the stress hormone, cortisol, to break down tissues, increase blood sugar levels and mobilize your body to take urgent action. Although cortisol is normally present in the body to carry out numerous functions, chronic stressors such as overworking, relationship issues, poor diet, prolonged physical exertion, etc., can keep cortisol levels constantly elevated. Because cortisol works to break down muscle tissue in response to stress, this reduces the body’s ability to burn calories. High cortisol levels can also interfere with the function of insulin, a hormone that operates to process carbohydrates. Consequently, muscle cells become more insulin resistant, reducing their ability to let carbohydrates in for energy. When carbs do not make it to the muscles to be burned off as fuel, where does it go? That’s right, bodyfat!

Renowned strength coach, Charles Poliquin, has developed a system called “Biosignature Modulation”, that indicates where you store fat on your body is influenced by whatever hormonal imbalances you may have. In particular, when cortisol levels are too high, there is a tendency to gain bodyfat around the midsection. In fact, the more bodyfat you have around your belly button, the more out of balance your cortisol levels are.

As you can see, the hormonal system is very sensitive. Every hormone affects the balance of other hormones. Similarly, when the adrenal glands are out of balance, it can directly affect the function of the thyroid gland. I like to think of the thyroid gland as a sort of “throttle” for the metabolism. When your body is stressed out, the throttle slows down in order to avoid damage to bodily tissues. When cortisol levels are elevated due to stress, it stops efficient conversion of certain thyroid hormones, which results in decreased metabolism.

These days, chronic stress is practically the norm, and obesity afflicts approximately 33 percent of the U.S. population. Many of these stressed out, overweight people go to the gym and do what? Work out really hard to try to lose the weight. Exercise, while being a very healthy thing to do, is also stressful on your body. When you exercise, your body must recover from the efforts and build up additional reserves of energy in order to withstand the repeated exertion. But, when someone is already chemically stressed out from the pressures of daily life, what happens when they add an intense exercise program on top? That’s right, they secrete yet more cortisol. The additional physical stress load exacerbates the hormonal imbalance that was already there, essentially digging a deeper ditch and hampering one’s ability to lose weight.

When your stress levels are elevated both psychologically and physically, your body has to work overtime to repair the cumulative damage created by all stressors. Thus, it is important for the intensity of any exercise program to be appropriate to the existing levels of stress:

High Stress = Low Intensity Exercise

Here are a few modifications you can make if you need to exercise, but you feel like your stress levels are high:

1. Decrease the total number of sets per exercise: If you normally do 3 sets per exercise, then drop down to 2 or 1 set per exercise. This total decrease in training volume will put less stress on your body while giving you the benefits of regular exercise.

2. Decrease the intensity of the exercise: This can be calculated as either a decrease in the amount of weight used (if resistance training) or a reduction in your target heart rate zone. Either of these options will reduce the stress load on your body so that it won’t have to work as hard at repairing tissues after strenuous effort.

3. Change the type of exercise: Many of the athletes I work with have a difficult time letting themselves do “light” training when they are in the weight room. If that is the case, I may recommend a less strenuous form of exercise such as yoga. Yoga is highly effective for very stressed out individuals who need to recover, so long as it is not done intensely.

You will absolutely be amazed at the results you begin to experience once you start exercising correctly for your stress levels. Several clients who come to me for weight loss are simply training much too hard for their stress levels, working out 4-5 days per week without ANY results. Once I modify their programs based on the recommendations above, much to their surprise, they begin getting the results they want by doing less volume and intensity instead of more!

Sam Visnic is a C.H.E.K. Practitioner, Nutrition Coach, and certified NLP practitioner who specializes in providing safe and effective corrective exercise solutions for back pain sufferers. For free articles, special reports, and his online newsletter, visit http://www.EndMyBackPain.com