Thursday, October 05, 2017

Endorphins - 271 lbs

"There is a close interaction between food, mood, and stress." Not my words but I agree 100% with the sentiment. Chronic stress can lead to increased consumption of "rewarding" foods (high in fat and sugar) leading to weight gain and further stress. Endorphins (a name contracted from "endogenous morphine") play a key role in this. The biochemistry is complex, so I will leave you to research it for yourself. Now, if only there were an easy way to break the vicious cycle, right?

One way is to remove the source of stress, of course, which is often easier said than done.

Another way is to do more aerobic exercise, since that triggers the release of endorphins. So, now that I have hit 271 lbs (gasp, shock, horror!) it's time to get back on the wagon. I sense that there will be some important changes taking place in the next few months which will lead to a renewed push towards my goal of being 178 pounds.