Body Fat, Cortisol, + Mental Health

God has created our bodies with a special tool to keep us safe + optimize hormone balance: body fat.

But God is also a God of balance, and created our bodies with a need to maintain this balance. In our bodies, this is known as "homeostasis." In today's world, many people are swinging too far to one side.

On one side, there are those that fall into the temptation of hyper focusing on the numbers on the scale, developing an obsession with not gaining weight, and an obsession with never missing a work out. And often judging people based on their outward appearance.

On the other side, there are those who say, "Obesity does not matter, it is genetic + I can gain as much weight as I want because it does not impact my health or spirituality." And as a result, begin labeling others who are concerned about body fat as "fat shaming," "judgmental" or "vain."

The truth is, when it comes to body fat, our God designed body thrives in the middle.

Not enough body fat can lead to chronic disease.

while too much body fat leads to chronic disease.

Yet, another truth is that body fat is a message.

Let me give a few examples:

Using cortisol, stress, and excessive abdominal body fat.

In a God designed body, a stress hormone called cortisol exists. The body has the ability to store excess cortisol by balanced conversion to cortisone and this is a sign of healthy management and resiliency. Short term stress can cause fat loss, however, chronic stress can promote increased body fat storage.

Here is why:

Cortisol is a hormone in your body that can break down proteins into amino acids in a process called "gluconeogenesis" so you can use them as a quick source of fuel in the form of glucose, that may be needed during a stressful event.

Your muscles store glucose as glycogen. If you are living with chronic stress + under eating (yo yo dieting), instead of burning fat, cortisol signals your muscles to break down, because it thinks you need a quick fuel (glucose) to survive a stressful event. This happens during moments of physical stress when you are in danger, but also psychological stress when you are ruminating over past conversations, dealing with unforgiveness, sitting at work and reading an email that triggered you, or even things like toxic shame.

Your body does this to provide extra glucose you can use for fuel. But, If you're not active (laying on the couch ruminating or chronically dealing with emotional stress), this increase in glucose in your blood won't be used, and your body will have to release insulin to bring your blood sugar levels back to normal by storing the sugar.

Normally, your body stores excess glucose as glycogen in your muscles and liver.

But if this has been ongoing and cortisol has broken down some of your muscles, there's less space for storing excess glucose. So, some of the glucose in your blood goes back to the remaining muscles, while the rest is turned into body fat.

This is also how long-term stress can lead to type 2 diabetes.

This body fat tends to accumulate around your abdomen as visceral fat. Your body is more concerned about keeping your blood sugar levels balanced than whether you have extra fat around your abdomen.

Some call it "cortisol belly."

This is important knowledge to keep in mind because as you develop excess fat in your abdomen, it can influence your hormones. And your hormones can influence your mental health due to their influence on neurotransmitters.

Let's look at an example:

In a man dealing with excessive abdominal fat, this can lead to estrogen dominance and impact his testosterone levels.

If a man continues down this route with his testosterone plummeting + ignores chronic stress at play + consumes a nutrient poor diet, it can impact his mental health due to the role testosterone plays on the brain. It can lead to worsening depression + anxiety. And this is my concern as a practitioner when I see a new narrative emerging surrounding obesity. We are normalizing obesity while in the same breath normalizing mental health disorders and this narrative is infiltrating the church.

On a flip side, if a woman continues normalizing obesity, as fat tissue begins accumulating around her abdomen, it produces excess estrogen and can lead to low progesterone and blood sugar imbalances + influence neurotransmitters which again, contribute to worsening anxiety + depression.

I realize body weight + body image are very sensitive subjects today. But I write with a genuine concern as I see more and more people promoting the narrative that obesity is genetic, does not influence mental health, and labeling those who show concern as "fat shaming."

Your worth is not determine by your weight.

God’s love for you is not determined by the number on a scale.

You are not less of a person if you carry extra weight.

But I would be lying to you if I told you that obesity does not impact mental health. And I will not lie because it goes against my integrity. I also hope we do not forget the truth of epigenetics and the responsibility we have to steward our bodies well.

I write this with a genuine concern over allowing ourselves to live in a chronic state of stress and laughing it off as a normal part of life.

I also write this as a reminder that fat is protective. It is such a beautiful thing to witness when a woman realizes her body is designed and holding weight as a protective mechanism vs labeling herself as "lazy, a glutton, or just undisciplined."

When your body is putting on extra weight, it is not because it is out to get you. It is a message and a response to the environment it is being asked to live in.

Leaning in and approaching the message with curiosity instead of chronic shame, or simply ignoring it, can open up the door for awareness, change, and help break the habit of yo yo dieting.

Finally, when decoding those messages, I hope this serves as a reminder to not forget about the connection between chronic stress + body fat.

Have we normalized survival mode and obesity and are now silencing the messages our bodies are sending to us that we were not meant to live this way?

Our bodies tell a story, are we listening?

Check out my post on how this narrative is influencing gender dysphoria here.