Stress, Metabolism and Appetite

by Joan Kent | Jul 16, 2012 | Master Instructor Blog

By Team ICG® Master Trainer Joan Kent

OK, it’s mean for sure.  But when researchers want to stress mice, they pinch their tails.  The first thing the mice do?  Run to their food bowls and eat.  It’s a beta-endorphin thing.  Beta-endorphin is released in response to either pleasure or pain/distress and beta-endorphin increases appetite.

Have any of your students ever complained that they gain weight when they’re stressed?  Did you believe them?  Did you think they were just blaming stress to avoid taking responsibility for indulging in high-calorie foods?

Well, when the stressed and overeating mice are given a choice between ordinary mouse chow and crumbled cookies, which do you think they choose?  Yes, cookies — another beta-endorphin thing.  Released beta-endorphin makes endorphin-triggering foods — like sugar or fat — more appealing.  So, since stressed mice do what we do under the same circumstances, maybe we can sympathize with our students who gain weight under stress.

Of course, with people it’s more complex.  Those who are highly susceptible to the effects of beta-endorphin may react to stress by eating.  For others, though, short-term stress decreases appetite.  Having to make an important early morning presentation at work could bring on a stress chemical cascade that leads to skipping breakfast.  Once the presentation is done, a different hormone — cortisol — takes over and increases appetite.  Lunch that day might make up for the skipped breakfast, and then some.

In long-term stress, cortisol plays a more prominent role.  Its appetite-stimulating effect lingers.  It decreases serotonin, which can cause anxiety or depression.  Those mood states in turn cause cravings — mostly for carbs and, of course, not for healthful ones.  Low serotonin also reduces satiety (especially for carbs) and increases impulsivity, making it more likely that we’ll eat the junky carbs we’re craving.

Long-term high cortisol levels also decrease dopamine and norepinephrine.  When serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine drop, it leads not only to cravings, but to addictions, impulsive and compulsive behaviors, and a preference for carbs and sugars.

Over time, cortisol can decrease beta-endorphin.  Chronically low beta-endorphin increases the risk for addictive or compulsive behaviors, including alcoholism, bulimia, binge eating, and more.

None of this even touches on the metabolic problems caused by cortisol.  Fat deposits in the trunk, the more “metabolically harmful” location.  Too much cortisol can cause glucose disturbances and even insulin resistance.  Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol (the good stuff), and high or dense LDL (the bad stuff, which is worse when dense).  Insulin resistance also causes plaque formation in the arteries, heart disease, various types of cancer, and more.

Obviously, long-term stress leads to serious consequences in health, metabolism and appetite.  So it might not be the student’s fault for running to the food bowl and eating the cookies, but, health-wise, it’s far from ideal.

Fortunately, in addition to meditation, deep breathing, visualization and the like, there are nutrition solutions for stress management.  (You knew they were coming.)

It’s understandable that a stressed-out student might want a martini or a dish of chocolate ice cream, but succumbing to that urge will probably backfire.  Stress depletes B vitamins, which are critical in the formation of key brain chemicals. Alcohol — the go-to stress-reliever for some — also destroys B vitamins and makes it more difficult to “stabilize” brain chemicals.  Avoiding alcohol may feel tough to do under stress but helps far more than drinking will.

In addition, long-term alcohol or sugar consumption will eventually decrease serotonin and beta-endorphin, resulting in rotten moods and major cravings.  So staying away from sugar will help, too.

Instead, encourage the student to eat protein foods throughout the day to supply the amino acid precursors for serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

Also encourage the student to get B vitamins for good brain function.  Specific B vitamins that we need for neurochemical balance include thiamin, found in whole grains and meats; B6, found in whole grains, eggs, chicken, fish and liver; and folic acid, found in leafy greens and liver.

Naturally, encourage the student to keep taking your cycling classes as often as possible for the stress relief they provide.  Cycling also reduces the likelihood of insulin resistance by making muscles more responsive to insulin, which is always a good thing.  If the calories burned help prevent weight gain, that’s another plus.

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Subbing: Is There a Better Way?

by Jim Karanas | Jul 2, 2012 | Master Instructor Blog

In the future we can have Rosie sub for us.

By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas

Every day, countless products, services, and people provide us with positive or negative experiences. Not long ago, one of my students confronted me to let me know that she was annoyed and frustrated with a substitute instructor I had used for a recent class.

Now, substitute cycling instructors are often well-trained, decent instructors. But however good the sub may be, he/she is not the instructor for whom he/she is subbing. As we all know, indoor cycling students grow attached to their instructors, especially their favorite ones, and are critical of whoever comes in to sub that favorite’s class.

For 30 years, I was a program director in commercial clubs. Instructors sub out an average of 15% of their classes every month. A club that offers 20 cycling classes per week has a monthly schedule of about 87 classes. Taking 15% of 87, we can estimate that 13 classes per month are subbed. At $35 per hour, that works out to $456.75 a month or $5,481.00 per year spent on subs. Multiply that by 20 clubs.

If the students don’t enjoy the class, that’s a lot of money spent on a negative member experience.

The question is whether the cycling-instructor substitute provides a level of service that’s beneficial for the club owner and a sufficiently positive member experience for the cost. Of course, there are exceptions, but consider the market as a whole. How valuable is the current instructor-sub system that’s in place in most clubs? Could it be replaced or enhanced in any way?

My experience in the industry tells me that having an instructor in the room may be necessary for safety reasons. The substitute process is also a great way to check out and train new instructors. Yet, when you look at the cost, the aggravation and time spent dealing with subs, and poor member experiences, is the current system the best solution? Does it remain so in light of current technological advancements?

If you’ve read my posts, you know that my position regarding the use of video and virtual programming in the club setting is very positive. The production of virtual programming for indoor-cycling classes is accelerating and improving. I don’t believe that video will ever replace a quality instructor. But I do feel that a well-constructed video profile can do the job that many substitute instructors are doing. It could certainly leave a more positive impression on the students.

One of the reasons for this has to do with a change in expectation. An indoor-cycling student who sees that the class will be taught by a virtual coach has a completely different attitude about the situation. A sub will inevitably be compared to the favorite instructor, but no one could reasonably expect a virtual class to be as good as, or even similar to, the favorite class.

This “forced” opening of the mind almost guarantees greater satisfaction — or, at the very least, less dissatisfaction. The student’s mind has to go in a new direction altogether. The student will walk away thinking different thoughts. Thoughts like: I liked it. I didn’t like it. That was interesting. It was OK, but “real” instruction is better. That was kinda fun for a change. I can’t wait till ___ gets back.

At least these are a far cry from, “I hated the sub and won’t go to any class she/he teaches anymore.” Or “What a crummy way to start my day.” Or “Why can’t my favorite instructor find better subs?”

So we should still retain subs, but what if they were used in more specific contexts, when video just won’t do? Would this not ease the struggle of the indoor-cycling director, as well as save money for the club owner? Would it not reduce negative member experiences?

Teaching indoor cycling is my occupation and my craft. The time I spend preparing for it and doing it is equaled by some, not equaled by others, and disregarded by still others. My point is not that video is better than a live instructor, but that each sub prepares differently, is liked or disliked by individual students, and will be compared (typically unfavorably) to the regular instructor. If a well-done video can provide a good, solid class that is met with a better attitude for the reasons described above, wouldn’t that make it a better solution to the “subbing problem”?

I hope this topic generates some discussion. I’m interested in your thoughts and feelings. I see this as a real and viable possibility for the future.