If you’ve ever had a stressful day (or week, or month!) that affected your eating habits, you are NOT alone, whether that is stress eating, or meal skipping.
In a study, more than 75% of adults said that stress played a role in their eating during the past month.
This included overeating, eating junk foods, or not eating.
Many of them said it happened weekly.
They also said it made them feel sluggish, lazy, frustrated with themselves, and/or irritable.
The good news is that I have a few tips below to stop stress from getting in the way of your results when it comes to food.
One of the biggest things we work with our clients on at Plan B Fitness is reducing stress levels (physical and mental) because of the negative impact on their desired results.
But before I get into the tips, it’s important to know WHY stress affects our appetite.
Knowing why can help you manage the situation when you’re in it!
When you get stressed, your body releases hormones to help you deal with stress.
Not only can these hormones – including adrenaline, insulin, and cortisol – cut your appetite and/or make you crave high-calorie, high-fat foods…
They also can make your body store MORE fat than when you’re relaxed.
This means it’s NOT a willpower issue, but an actual physiological response.
Knowing this can help stop you from giving in to it when it happens.
4 Steps to Stop Stress Eating (or Not Eating)
- Acknowledge it! If you’re feeling stressed and notice your appetite is gone OR you start craving junk food, remind yourself that you're stressed… and focus on dealing with whatever is actually stressing you.
- Exercise. Go for a walk, do a workout, basically MOVE – it’s one of the fastest stress relievers and mood boosters there is. Plus, it can get you out of the situation and into a new perspective.
- Meditate or do deep breathing.Just 5 minutes can help you feel calmer, more focused, and less stressed.
- Talk it out.Taking a few minutes to get some support with whatever is bothering you can help you take back control. This is where our Plan B Fitness coaches come into their own for our clients.
And … if this is something you deal with regularly, it can help to talk to a professional who has experience of working with clients with the same needs.
These tips will help YOU gain back control, instead of letting your body lead the way.
At Plan B Fitness we help our clients take a very rounded approach to their health and fitness – physically, mentally and emotionally.
We start with working on regaining their health, fitness and wellbeing.
Then we work on maintaining it.
Our Six Week Wellbeing Programme helps local women (usually over 40!) work through the changes in lifestyle and specific needs as you age.
Yes, we talk about HRT, the menopause, mobility issues as you age…
Probably more than any other Personal Trainers in Teddington, Twickenham (and surrounding areas)!
We are currently working on a personal basis with over 150 local women every single week…
The numbers don't lie!
P.S. You can see some of our clients reviews about working with us here:
https://planbfitness.co.uk/results