While we all experience stress and try to cope with it, we may not have thought that stress can contribute to unwanted weight gain. Many people struggling to lose weight find it a challenge if they cannot manage stress. You may think that stress is something you have to cope with and deal with; however, managing stress is as crucial as your exercise and diet routines. When you are stressed, your body’s metabolism may experience changes. Chronic stress brings a diabolical effect on metabolism. It influences the brain’s reward system, including areas like the hippocampus and amygdala, which may trigger food cravings. If you feel like you are at a dead-end in controlling your weight gain, you can find an El Centro weight loss specialist to provide you with medically guided weight loss assistance. You may also want to use these tips to prevent weight gain that is fueled by stress.
Love your body
Body shame is often considered one of the sources of stress. If you have a poor body image and have grown an internalized weight bias, you will likely develop stress. Internalized weight bias contributes to not only stress but also poor mental and medical outcomes. Focus on being healthy so that you improve your body image. When eating, consider filling half the plate with vegetables and fruits. Also, consider talking walks a couple of times a week. Do not put your entire mental energy into thinking about your weight.
Mindfulness can offer you a tool to reduce stress and enhance your self-comparison and self-acceptance. This can reduce the dissatisfaction you have with your body image or even body shame and the associated stress.
Recognize things you can appreciate
While you want to reduce stress, you also want to find out what you can appreciate in life. This may sound simple, however you need to look at what improves a particular situation and what fails. This way, you can psychologically create a buffer to having stress in many areas of your life.
Before you snack, think
Before you go for a snack, you want to stop and find out why you are doing this. You may not actually be hungry, but you have the craving or urge to eat. If you are reaching for snacks because of reasons other than being hungry, you need to stop. Food is not the best match for dealing with emotional stress. While it may get rid of stress for a moment, you will almost always have the stress after that. Find ways in which you can meet your emotional needs.
As you seek treatment for increased weight gain, you want to change your lifestyle and handle stress in a meaningful way. Streamline physical activity and healthy eating to fit them seamlessly into your busy lifestyle. Have your workout or exercise shoes and clothes at the office so that you can head straight to the gym after work. Throw vegetables into your salads and stir-fries so that you remain satiated.
Consult your physician to learn how diet can help in weight management.
