Stress is a common occurrence for everyone. It’s a normal part of life, but its constant presence can strain your physical and mental health. The changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic further amplified stress for many. Around 41% of US adults reported having experienced high levels of psychological distress at least once during the pandemic. Combine that with pressure from work and home life and worrying about current events, and the strain gets exacerbated.
If you’re wondering why you may have put on pounds recently, stress is the likely cause. Here’s why stress is a hidden culprit of weight gain and how you can manage it for weight loss:
Hormones and hunger
When you’re stressed, the body releases cortisol, the stress hormone, to help you manage it. Other than stress, cortisol helps regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. The hunger hormone ghrelin is also released during stressful situations. These are important hormones, but when they’re constantly released due to chronic stress, they can encourage behaviors that lead to weight gain. One of the main ways they make you pack on pounds is through increased cravings for fatty and sugary foods to help give you calories to power through stressful situations. They make you feel good when you eat them, so when you’re stressed, you will likely reach out for them to satisfy your hunger and comfort you. However, this behavior can reduce satiety, impede metabolism, making you gain weight.
Starved of sleep
Stress affects your sleep, an essential aspect of weight management alongside diet and exercise. Being stressed can cause you to lie awake at night and prevent you from getting the recommended seven to nine hours. Even anticipating stress can make it harder for you to sleep deeply. Disturbed sleeping patterns can affect your energy levels, and you can end up snacking on foods rich in carbohydrates and fat to compensate. Lack of rest also causes changes in mood, such as increased irritability and anger, and food can become a source of soothing. Weight gain, bad moods, and lack of sleep amp up your stress, which affects your sleep quality, and the vicious cycle continues and impacts your health.
Easy-access eating
When stressed, quick and easy relief may be your first choice for alleviating the pressure, which can also apply to your food choices. Stress can make it difficult to cook a healthy meal since it requires a lot of physical and mental energy, which has already been zapped from dealing with the situation. You’ll likely gravitate towards instant meals or fast food that are easy to make or eat and can be acquired through delivery or a drive-through. These foods are not the most nutritious, and though they can relieve you, eating them too often will lead to weight gain.
How to combat stress for weight loss
Reducing stress can be challenging, but knowing how you respond to it can help you address your behavior to improve your health. When it comes to weight loss motivation, self-compassion can go a long way when you find yourself slipping back into old eating habits brought on by stress. If you ate a not-so-nutritious meal or saw the number on the scale go up, someone practicing self-compassion can accept what happened and get back on track instead of stressing over it and perpetuating the cycle.
Mindfulness can also help you center yourself in the moment and detach yourself from stressors. Mindful eating allows you to use all your senses to appreciate your food, eating slowly to savor your meal’s taste, smell, and appearance. Removing distractions like the TV or phone so you can focus on the moment can prevent you from further exacerbating your stress. Eating mindfully and slowly can also help you lose weight; you’re more likely to recognize when you’re full or eating emotionally, and you can prevent overeating or bingeing more easily.