How else does stress contribute to weight gain?
As we noted above, the hypothalamic “circuit breaker” that gets suppressed with stress also controls our hormone system. This results in inadequate levels of thyroid hormone (which acts as our body’s gas pedal) and adrenal hormone. The blood tests that we currently use are notoriously unreliable in picking up thyroid and adrenal deficiencies. This is discussed at length in my book From Fatigued to Fantastic!. We noted over a decade ago that every few years the tests and their normal range are modified to result in millions more people (who previously had been told by their doctors that they were crazy or that there’s nothing wrong with them) being diagnosed with hypothyroidism. This happened again last November when the American Academy of Clinical Endocrinology changed the normal range for the TSH blood test in a way that resulted in 13 million more Americans having hypothyroidism! As always, they think that NOW we finally have them all. Unfortunately, even with this new change, many
