Prevent Stress-Related Weight Gain: Strategies That You Need To Follow

In the last blog, we told you about the scientific connection between stress and weight gain. We hope you all might have checked that blog out too. If you haven't already, here's the link to that blog: Stress And Weight Gain. We recommend you read that first before reading this blog, which will take you one step ahead by telling you the strategies you can follow to prevent stress-related weight gain.

Keep reading this blog till the end and keep taking notes because a lot of important information is going to come your way.

Unhealthy Habits Due To High Stress Levels

Other than messing with your hormones, stress also makes you indulge in unhealthy behaviours, which further makes you gain weight.

Some of these unhealthy habits that you might observe in your daily life if you are suffering from stress-related weight gain are -

1. Exercising less or not exercising at all.
2. Emotional eating or stress eating.
3. Eating too much fast food or junk food.
4. Sleeping less.
5. Skipping means and ending up eating more calories in the next meal.

If you are someone who thinks that stress is normal and that you are not in the stress and weight gain cycle, do consider pondering over and contemplating whether you are doing any of the above-mentioned unhealthy habits.

On the other hand, these habits can also be considered stress symptoms. So, if you are observing any, or the majority, of these habits, then you might have high levels of stress in your life. This will help you take measures towards improving it.

Strategies To Get Rid Of Stress-Related Weight Gain 

Combating stress-related weight gain symptoms is not as difficult as it sounds. You may surely think that you will never be able to ignore the food cravings and will always give in to them, but with stress-relief strategies, the journey will become easier.

All you need to do is -

1. Make exercise your priority

   Including regular exercise in your routine will help you in both stress reduction and weight management, thereby showing a visible difference in your stress-related weight gain.

2. Eat mindfully

   A lot of people eat mindfully, as their entire concentration is on the phone or TV. This is another reason why you eat uncontrollably. Practise mindful eating to lower your stress levels and prevent weight gain from overeating.

3. Eat healthy comfort food

   We all crave comfort food, and when we are suffering from stress-related weight gain, we gravitate towards unhealthy options of comfort food. Although this is a normal reaction to stress, you should make sure that you always stop yourself before reaching for an unhealthy alternative to comfort food and consider healthy alternatives. Additionally, you can also stock up on all the healthy comfort foods that you absolutely cherish eating.

4. Drink more water 

   Drinking sufficient water is another thing you might be avoiding due to stress. People very easily misunderstand thirst pangs as hunger pangs. So what is the right way to understand your body’s signals? It is quite simple: if you have eaten a couple of hours before and you are craving something to eat, your body is probably asking for water.

   Moreover, you should not replace water with any other drink like fruit juice or soda. Water should always be a part of your diet. You can, however, mix a couple of herbs—ginger, lemon, etc.—into your water to make it taste interesting. However, plain water is recommended to break the cycle of stress-related weight gain.

5. Incorporate stress relief practices

   This is one of the most important aspects of stress relief strategies. You should indulge in whatever stress relief practice works best for you. Whether it's reading a book or listening to music, going for a walk, or playing with your pet, these activities will undoubtedly aid you in reducing your stress levels.

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