One of the problems I more often see, is women, often in their 40s, struggling to lose weight. You are doing all the “right things”, reducing the food you eat, exercising more, tried different diets, and have tried all sorts of fasting, yet you seem unable to shift those extra few pounds or even more.
This can lead to feelings of frustration, and demotivation, and trigger two main different avenues of behavior:
- An even more restrictive approach to food, that may spiral into yo-yo dieting or disordered eating. This can lead to sub-optimal nutrient intake, which can slow down your metabolism even more, and confuse the set-point weight center in the brain.
- A sense of “nothing works for me”, which can lead to abandoning healthy eating and lifestyle resolutions lowering your standards of self-care, and paving the way for emotional or binge eating.
The inability to effectively manage your weight can also lead to feelings of anxiety about food and body image that can linger for years. This brings me to my point…
Is stress the reason why you are not losing weight?
The stress hormone cortisol activates many metabolic and hormonal pathways. It is a vital hormone that we need to live. But when it is chronically too high or too low, it sets off a series of metabolic and hormonal compensations that can affect your ability to manage weight effectively.
What stress does to the body
- It increases sugar and insulin levels, which may lead to insulin resistance and storing fat around the waist.
- It disrupts your sex hormone balance leading to bloating and weight fluctuations.
- It increases emotional eating, sugary and fatty food cravings and reduces adherence to healthy habits.
- It disrupts digestion and gut microbiome which can lead to bloating and suboptimal nutrient absorption.
- It can feed back into your thyroid lowering your metabolism.
And more…
So if you struggle to lose weight…
The best thing to do is to take a moment and calm things down. Step back, identify your stress triggers and learn tools to manage stress.
Break the cycle, by working with a coach to help you identify areas where you need to work both on your stress management and eating habits.
Work with an expert who can help you understand the underlying complexity of your body so that you can be aware and make lifestyle choices that support your health and well-being.
Simplify your habits, to allow more room for more positive life experiences and joy in your life.
Work with me
Let’s work together to take the stress out of your relationship with food. With a non-diet approach, you will be able to identify your stress triggers and rebalance your diet without much restriction.
I work with only a small number of clients at a time to ensure full individual attention. Join my waiting list or book a complimentary preliminary appointment at Calendly.com/Claudia-Armani
Get in touch
Claudia Armani
health coach
Claudia is an award-winning Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, specializing in helping people move on from emotional eating and yo-yo dieting to a more attuned and happier relationship with food. She holds a further specialization in Emotional and Binge Eating.
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I put on weight after my accident three years ago and I am still trying to lose it…I increased my mobility and tried to eat healthy, but I wonder if stress can be why it’s sometimes so hard for us to lose weight. Thanks for sharing!
To be honest, nothing really happens, by accident. There is always a reason, and it is worth to go to the root cause of the problem. There is always a way to improve!