3 ways how weight gain can be linked to stress

We all know that stress is everywhere around us, and we are bombarded with stressful messages from morning to night. We usually start recognising stress overload when we can’t switch off at night, we over-react, or pull our hair out in frustration. We also know that sometimes, if we don’t address stress symptoms for a long time, it can lead to physical symptoms too. But what if the symptoms were more hidden, and harder to spot? It may be that we never actually thought our weight is due to effects of stress?

And yes it can be. There are different reasons why someone is over weight, but here I will talk about the ones that are directly linked to stress.

1. Emotional eating: unhappy, happy or plainly bored

When you were a child, you witnessed many different behaviours, and even though you didn’t make much sense of them, the more you were exposed to them, the more likely you mirror them now. One of them is your reaction to emotions. If your parents, or whoever was very close to you when you were growing up, was not very comfortable showing or coping with emotions, you could be doing the same thing. And that could be any kind of emotions: happiness, sadness, frustrations, or boredom. You could be grabbing that snack (sweet or savoury) whenever you feel those emotions are overwhelming you (work video calls over zoom while working from home?). And as emotions are very much a part of our lives, this could happen many, many, many times a day……leading of course to a higher intake of food than you require!

2. Busy bee syndrome: eating anything you can find or not eating at all

There is no question that the pace of our lives is getting faster and faster. And if you are a busy bee, it is normal to be operating 100 miles an hour in all areas of your life, from motivating kids to get dressed or home schooling them, preparing for work, taking breaks (or not) to working out what to eat so you do’t put weight on during the lockout. And wherever we look, there are convenience foods just waiting to be picked up, especially if you know that you only have 5 minutes before the next task on your to-do list. It is so easy to go one of the two ways: eat every time you stop for a minute, either because you are really hungry or you don’t know when the next ‘break’ is going to be, so let’s eat while we can, ‘just in case’. Or not eating at all, because you haven’t got the time….And this is a sure way to gain weight…

3. Because I can: are you a rebel deep down?

There are so many diets around, and so many ways to get healthier and slimmer and lose excess weight, but the minute you start dieting, you immediately start thinking about how much you really want things you cannot have! It is quite common for people to not like to be told what to do, it just doesn’t feel right. So as soon as you are stressed with being told what you can’t eat or do, and the time span can be anything from one day to maybe even 12 months depending on how much of a rebel you are, you are drawn to unhealthy foods and unhealthy habits. And it doesn’t take long to reverse the positive effects of cutting down, does it?….

But the exciting news is that you can start changing it right now! Your subconscious mind can learn new ways of thinking and new ways of behaving, whether you find it’s better for you to shop for food when you are full, or start planning your snacks in advance so they are healthy and help you shed the excess weight… You might find that stating positive affirmations, for example ‘I am choosing to start eating healthily today’ in the morning could help, or maybe you might need a little more help, like working with a hypnotherapist, who will not only help you manage stress better, challenge your beliefs around food and eating, but also teach you tools and techniques you can utilise yourself independently. Many of my clients have been Amazed with the results and with how much more Positive they felt about themselves along the way too.

If you would like to have an informal no obligation chat about it, please contact Anna on 07966151680, or email her on annafinn@leics-hypnotherapy.co.uk. Daytime and evening appointments are available, currently conveniently on zoom.