Stress and Weight Loss: What You Need to Know

Stress and weight loss are very closely related.  In fact, stress can have such a big impact that you can be doing everything else right and still struggle to lose weight.

In this article we're going to break down how stress effects your weight loss efforts and what you can do to fix this.

Let's get started!

Stress and Weight Loss

Stress has a very powerful impact on your body and mind.  But why are stress and weight loss so closely linked?

It all comes down to your hormones, and in this case Cortisol is to blame.  Cortisol is the primary stress hormone in your body.  So when your stress levels go up, your Cortisol levels go up as well.

But it's not just the presence of Cortisol that makes you gain weight.  It's what the Cortisol does.  Cortisol increases the sugars in your blood stream and suppresses your digestive system.

So you end up with a scenario where you have more sugars and glucose in your blood stream.  At the same time, your body isn't processing and digesting food as efficiently as it normally would.  The combination of these two things often results in weight gain.

Now that you understand the basic science behind stress and weight loss, let's look at other factors that may impact you.

Losing Weight Can Cause Stress

Another thing to keep in mind is that the process of losing weight can cause stress. Nobody enjoys dieting, denying themselves food, or maintaining a calorie deficit.

And over time these things add up.  This is especially true if you are trying to lose a large amount of weight and will be dieting for an extensive period of time.

So it's very important to understand that the process of losing weight comes with a certain amount of stress.

Where things get even more difficult with stress and weight loss is when you add other sources of stress on top of the stress that naturally comes with losing weight.

Which means if you have lots of stress at home, at work, in your finances, or other areas of your life...these stressors can snowball.

Dieting Can Make You Feel Stressed and Irritable

We touched on this above, but let's dig a bit further into why dieting can be so stressful.

In order to lose weight, several things need to happen simultaneously:

• You will need to change your eating habits.
• Getting enough sleep becomes essential.
• You will need to consume less calories than your body uses (calorie deficit).
• Physical activity becomes very important.
• You will need to resist the urge to binge eat.
• All of the above will need to be maintained consistently.

None of these are easy, and combining them all together can be challenging.  This is why stress and weight loss go hand-in-hand.

Stress and Weight Loss = Irritability

At this point we've covered quite a bit about stress and weight loss.

Which brings us to irritability. Anyone who has dieted for more than a day knows that feeling hungry can make you feel irritable. And when you feel irritable, even the smallest things can stress you out.

But we have good news as well!

The first one to two weeks is the hardest part. Because once you start getting accustomed to your new diet and routine, things become much more manageable. And less stressful!

Stress-Eating Can Have a Big Impact

Now let's talk about stress-eating.  Stress-eating is a very real thing that impacts people who are actively trying to lose weight, and those who aren't.

But when you're trying to lose weight, stress-eating can be even more harmful.

This is true for two reasons.

Why Stress-Eating is the Enemy of Losing Weight

First, if you stress-eat, it can prevent you from getting into a calorie deficit. Occasional snacks and bites of food add up over the course of a day. And before you know it, you've exceeded your daily calorie goal. Which means you won't lose weight even though you are in the process of dieting. 

The second reason stress-eating is harmful when dieting deals with the way your body stores fat.  When you are in a calorie deficit, your body will start burning fat to make up for the lack of calories you are eating. This is exactly what you want to happen!

But your body also wants to store fat. And if you are in a calorie-deficit, but then binge-eat or stress-eat, your body will store much of the extra fat you consume.  

This is why binge-eating is so harmful to weight loss and stress; because it's like taking two steps back.

Does This Mean I Shouldn't Try to Lose Weight If I'm Stressed?

No, quite the opposite!  If you need to lose weight, and are committed to the process, you should start right away.

Stress and weight loss are most easily managed by knowledge. Because when you understand how stress impacts weight loss, you can anticipate the effects.

Another reason you shouldn't put off getting started is because there will always be stressors in your life.  And most people already give themselves enough excuses not to start a new diet or begin their weight loss journey.

But if weight loss and stress have such a big impact on each other, what should you do? The key is learning how to deal with stress and reducing as much stress as possible.

And you also need to address the biggest sources of stress in your life.

How to Deal With Stress when Losing Weight

Stress management is very important when it comes to losing weight.  It's also one of the most common things that people overlook.

Here are several things we recommend when it comes to stress and weight loss:

• Remember that the stress associated with losing weight is temporary.
• Look for ways to reduce the stressors that you have control over.
• When possible, avoid things that stress you out which you have no control over. For example, if politics and the news stress you out, stop watching the news and following politics so closely.
• Cut off contact with people who add stress to your life whenever possible.
• Increase your physical activity and spend as much time outside as possible.
• Make sure you're getting enough sleep.  Sleep has a big impact on both stress and weight loss.
• Acknowledge and celebrate your weight loss successes. This will motivate you to stick with your diet.
• Remember that weight loss and stress are linked in multiple ways.  If you break your diet it will make you more stressed.  On the flip side, if you stick with your diet and start losing weight your stress levels will go down.
• Don't diet for too long consecutively.  It can be difficult to maintain a calorie deficit for more than a few months at a time.  So if you have a lot of weight to lose, break up your weight loss into phases.  For example, try to maintain your calorie deficit for 1-3 three months.  Then take a few weeks where the goal is to maintain your new weight.  Then you can resume your deficit dieting.
• Consider taking up Yoga, Pilates, or meditation.

As you can see from the above, there are lots of things you can do to reduce your stress levels. So it's important to focus on the things you can influence.

And if you slip up on your diet try not to stress; just forgive yourself and move on!

How to Reduce Stress by Feeling Less Hungry

We could have included this above but it's so important that it warrants its own section.  Seriously, you don't want to miss this.

One of the most effective ways to combat hunger is by eating foods that are high in volume but low in calories.

Apples are a perfect example of this, because you can eat a large apple without consuming many calories. Other examples include vegetables, lean meats, and certain soups.

Rice can also be a great high-volume food, although it does come with the possibility of water retention. Which is also very important to learn about.

So consider making some of these foods part of your regular diet. Doing so can really help with both stress and weight loss.

We are also working on an article specifically dedicated to high-volume/low-calorie foods and will provide a link once it is published.

Mindset is Very Important to Managing Stress and Losing Weight

If you're a regular reader then you know we talk a lot about mindset.  That's because 99% of the stress and weight loss battle is fought in your mind.

Your brain is what processes hunger and prompts you to go for that midnight snack. But your brain is also where your self-discipline lives.

So what is the proper mindset to have when losing weight and dealing with stress? We touched on it above, but it's definitely worth repeating.

One of the most helpful tactics can be to regularly remind yourself that dieting, and the associated stress, is a temporary phase.  It will not be like this forever.

Next, we recommend remembering why you started your weight loss journey to begin with. When you focus on the outcome you are trying to achieve, it will help motivate you to stay the course.

For example, you might say to yourself "I really want that extra cookie, but I want to see the best version of myself in the mirror even more."

Or you might feel like skipping your workout, but decide to do it anyways to stay disciplined. (No one ever regrets doing the workout once it's over!)