You may not even think of yourself as ‘stressed’...
But if your afternoon slump is getting worse and so is your reliance on chocolate to cope, then that’s a clear sign it’s becoming a problem.
See this is because there is a (not so known about) link between stress and cravings.
Some symptoms of stress are obvious like feeling overwhelmed and snapping at your kids.
But others aren’t.
They’re hidden.
And because they’re hidden they can cause more long-term damage and for you to lean on food for comfort.
You probably already know that stress is your body’s fight or flight response - your survival kit designed to keep you alive at any cost.
It does this by shutting off “non-vital” functions that we need for everyday life, but not for life-threatening situations. Like digesting your food or messing with your sleep.
This is actually a pretty good thing. There’s no point in being able to digest your big bowl of pasta IF you’re not breathing anymore. One priority at a time eh
What’s not so good is that these days for most of the part, the stress experienced is not linked to an actual threat. Instead, the threat is often psychological or existential.
‘What if that hadn’t happened to me?’
‘What if that will happen to me?’
‘What if I’m not good enough?’
‘What if I fail … again?’
Or at least that's what you’ve been told to think of stress as.
What if there was an even bigger source of stress happening to you every day?
And it was something you could take action on immediately and without going deeper into the ‘mind stuff’ (for now).
Something that you engage in daily and probably even enjoy?
Well there is.
And it’s the food you eat.
Depending on the quality of the food (real food vs ‘fake’ processed food) and how you pair it with other foods (your macros), the food you eat will either add to your stress load or actively reduce it.
If you’re on the sugar high and low rollercoaster each day, your cortisol levels will be running high at either end and effectively trick your body into thinking that you need more sugar so it becomes its own self-perpetuating cycle.
Then add social get-togethers and other people to the mixture and boom before you know it, your mind has completely switched off from YOU and what YOU NEED.
Because YOU have been too busy P&P - performing and pleasing - to even have any clue about
1 - what you ate
2 - how much
3 - why you drank that much
So whether your cravings are triggered by stress or your stress is triggered by the foods you crave, really doesn’t matter.
What matters is how you choose to break that cycle.
Want to have access to some simple but highly effective strategies to nip this in the bud?
Check here for my next upcoming live masterclass on How to Break the Overeating & Undereating Cycle When You Have No Time.
And before you go...
Would you like to uncover the Unspoken Secrets of Letting Go of Stress-Eating so you can create a happier and healthier relationship with food and achieve lasting results?
Then go ahead and download my free guide here.