Stress Management Tips For Better Weight Loss

Most people experience stress at some point in their lifetime, but too much of it can actually affect your physical health and cause weight fluctuations. Due to the behavioral, hormonal, and mental impact stress has on the body, it’s often linked to weight gain or inability to lose weight. 

In this article, we’ll talk about how stress contributes to weight gain and difficulty losing weight, as well as strategies you can use to reduce stress and the effects it can have on your mind and body.

Can Stress Affect Weight Loss?

After years of research and several clinical studies, the clear answer is that yes, stress has a definite and direct impact on body weight. It is thought to cause this in several ways, including:

Cortisol (the stress hormone)

Think of cortisol as one of your body’s “high alert” hormones that is released alongside or after adrenaline and other stress hormones in situations of high stress, fear, or a perceived threat. Cortisol is meant to keep you alert and energized in short-term stress situations like having to run away from something dangerous or fight off an attack. 

In today’s world, however, stress isn’t just a once in a while thing as it was in our ancestors. Our lives today are often sources of what is called chronic stress. This means that we are triggering cortisone release on a regular basis because of ongoing stress. 

So what does lots of ongoing cortisol do to your body? In short-term stress, cortisol is meant to keep you alert and energized, which means awake and hungry for high calorie and high sugar foods. This makes sense for a situation where you need to run or fight, but when it goes on long-term it leads to poor sleep and overeating. Cortisol also causes your body to store visceral (bad) fat for energy, especially around the belly area. 

Behavioral changes from stress

Chronic stress is also linked to several behavioral changes, including emotional eating, decreased physical activity, poor eating habits, and poor sleep. 

Essentially. emotional eating  is when stress makes you crave unhealthy foods (like sugar) in larger quantities to try to make you feel better. It may temporarily feel good to eat something greasy when you’re feeling stressed or down, but this can become an unhealthy pattern. 

Another behavioral symptom of stress is eating for convenience. We’ve all been there, it’s a busy day at work, going from meeting to meeting, and you forget to eat lunch. The day finally ends and you realize just how hungry you are—but who wants to cook when they’re tired? This is when we often reach for fast food. It’s convenient and oh so tasty. Doing this every now and again is okay, it's when it becomes a chronic issue that we start to see changes in weight.

Poor sleep

Poor sleep quality (and quantity) can be caused by stress and stress hormones. This is a big one too because when you’re sleep deprived, your body releases additional hormones that cause increased appetite and cravings. A vicious cycle that contributes to weight gain. 

Chronic inflammation

Stress also contributes to a chronic low level of inflammation in the body, which in turn causes hormonal interference that can increase fat storage, hunger and weight gain. 

Stress management tips for weight loss

Now that we’ve identified some of the links between stress and weight, let’s discuss some strategies to reduce stress that really work to support weight loss. 

1. Physical activity: Lots of studies have shown that any type of physical activity can significantly reduce stress. This doesn’t mean you need to become a runner or join a gym necessarily, but it is important to find any activity that you enjoy that gets you moving and gets your mind off your stressors. Exercise actually lowers cortisol levels and boosts “feel good” hormones like endorphins. Whether it’s hiking, swimming, yoga, basketball, or riding a bike, find some activities you like and do them regularly.

2. Sleep: As we mentioned earlier, quality sleep is critical to weight management. Try to get 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Creating a good sleep environment helps a lot, this means a cool, dark, and quiet sleep space without any distractions or screens.

3. Meal planning and preparation: A healthy diet is so important. Having easy to grab snacks and ready to prepare meals makes it so much easier to avoid reaching for something that won’t be good for you. Take some time before you start each week to cut up fresh vegetables, portion out some healthy meal ingredients, and have some grab-and-go healthy snacks ready for when cravings hit. This not only leads to healthier eating, but can reduce the stress caused by worrying about what to eat or make for meals.

4. Relaxation techniques: Relaxation is something that can take a concerted effort to do. Try relaxation techniques like breathing exercises, reading, taking a bath, spending time in nature and away from technology, or meditation and integrate them into your schedule on a daily basis.

5. Social support and hobbies: Surrounding yourself with supportive people you can talk to, and hobbies that bring you joy can be major stress relievers.

6. Reduce caffeine and alcohol: Caffeine and alcohol can actually increase your stress levels and make your sleep quality worse. For many people on a weight loss program, reducing or eliminating caffeine and alcohol intake altogether can make a huge difference in achieving their weight goals. But even just cutting your two cups to one cup can make a difference.

Reducing stress can help you lose weight

Making lifestyle changes in additional to any weight loss efforts is key to sustained and successful weight loss. Stress management is a big part of that. Combining the strategies above can help you manage your stress, reduce negative behavioral effects, improve your sleep, and ultimaltely help you on your road to weight loss. 

At Agile, we understand the benefits of a holistic weight management approach. Our medical weight loss programs include lifestyle recommendations to promote long-term weight loss success and maintenance. This includes identifying stress reduction, offering diet recommendations and working with a board-certified provider to track your progress. Interested in learning more? See if you qualify for our weight loss program and schedule an initial, no-cost consultation with one of our providers.