The link between stress and mental health issues such as anxiety or depression is common knowledge. However, one aspect that many people aren’t aware of is the link between stress and weight gain. Gaining weight when stressed is a normal bodily response that is nothing to be ashamed of. So, if you’re scratching your head trying to figure out why you’re piling on the pounds recently, this article just might be able to give you the answers.
What Is Cortisol?
Cortisol (also known as hydrocortisone), is a steroid hormone that’s released in response to stressful situations. It’s produced by the adrenal gland in your body, and it is responsible for controlling a number of bodily functions — including your metabolism.
When you experience stress, your hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to release the corticotropin-releasing hormone, which then tells the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol. Cortisol acts on numerous organs throughout your body to regulate many different processes, including energy levels and blood sugar balance.
In small amounts, cortisol helps you maintain a healthy weight.
Why Cortisol Can Lead to Weight Gain
Your body produces cortisol in response to stress, and this can cause you to store excess calories as fat. This is because stress puts the body into “fight or flight” mode, where extra energy is available to deal with stressful situations.
In addition to storing extra energy, cortisol also suppresses your immune system. This can cause you to get sick more often and leads your body to hold onto weight if you have an illness or infection.
Weight Gain Through Unhealthy Habits
As well as an increase in cortisol levels when stressed, many people tend to develop unhealthy habits which in turn also lead to weight gain. Some of the most common habits are listed below.
Emotional Eating
Some people respond to stressful situations by eating more food as a means of coping with their feelings or emotions. Studies have shown that emotional eaters tend to gain more weight and also experience more difficulties in losing weight than people who do not exhibit this behaviour.
Emotional eaters are often looking for food during times when they may be stressed, bored, or lonely. It is believed that this type of eating is rewarding to the individual because it provides relief from negative emotions. However, the food does not satisfy the long-term needs of these individuals which can lead to continued emotional eating and consistent weight gain.
Eating Junk Food
When people are stressed, they tend to turn more towards processed and highly caloric foods which are high in sugar and fat. These foods are not only quick and convenient but they also release higher levels of dopamine that make you feel happy. But the feeling is only temporary leading people to form a cycle of unhealthy eating when stressed.
Exercising Less
People often feel overwhelmed by their stress, which can make them want to avoid activities that they find difficult or challenging. These might include vigorous physical activity or other tasks which require sustained concentration. A huge lack of motivation also plays a big part in this. If you’re stressed, the last thing you want to do is go to the gym for an hour after work.
Sleeping Less
Sleep is the time when your brain and body have a chance to recuperate from the day. This is especially important after periods of high stress because it allows your adrenal glands a chance to replenish their cortisol levels. When people are under stress, they may not sleep as much because they can’t calm down or shut off their thoughts which then means they wake up tired. In turn, people eat more food, especially more sugary food throughout the day due to the lack of energy they feel.
Breaking the Cycle
The stress/weight gain cycle is incredibly difficult to break with many people feeling like it’s impossible to make any progress. While it is a huge challenge, there are a few steps you can follow if you are trying to break this cycle that may just be what you need.
Prioritise Exercise
You don’t need to be in the gym for a couple of hours every day, rather a 30-minute daily walk is more than enough to get you started. This regular exercise will massively help reduce stress levels, cortisol levels, and increase your motivation.
Be Aware of Food
It’s far too easy to eat without thinking. The odd chocolate bar here, the odd bag of crisps there, soon add up. If you find that you struggle with eating too much without being aware, it’s best to keep a food diary. If you are forced to keep a record of all your food, you’ll be much more mindful of grabbing snacks throughout the day.
Drink More
Hydration is a key component of many issues including weight loss. Oftentimes, that feeling of hunger you are experiencing is actually your body’s way of letting you know you are thirsty. Since hunger and thirst feel the same, it’s easy to mix them up and reach for the sweets instead of a bottle of water. Keep hydrated, and be sure to have a drink anytime you feel hungry, you’ll be surprised at how often needing a glass of water was the real issue.
Margarita works on a daily basis with this and has extensive knowledge around this.
If you are performing stress-relief practices such as exercising, reading, focused breathing, and more but they’re not helping then it may be time to seek Margarita’s help. There’s no shame in needing professional input in your life especially if it means you can get on top of your stress once and for all.
Stress and weight gain are both challenging issues to deal with made worse by the fact that one directly causes the other. However, becoming aware of the link, being mindful of what you’re eating, how you’re coping with your stress, and how you’re treating yourself will go a long way to helping you get on the right track.
With love
