Module 1, Lesson 1 of0

Lesson 3

STRESS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES TO WEIGHT LOSS

When you’re stressed, you may find it harder to eat healthy because you don’t take the time to prepare and plan for healthy food. In addition, when you are stressed, you may eat to fulfill emotional needs — also called stress eating or emotional eating. In addition, when you are stressed the body produces cortisol, which has been linked to craving comfort foods and in addition, stress increases your insulin levels which impacts your ability to burn off food.

Emotional eating is triggered by feelings from a very young age when you start to develop emotional associations with food. It starts from the day you are born and are offered breast or bottle milk to feed you and stop you from crying. We associate food with comfort, coping, celebration, love and friendships. Sometimes food is the only friend to soothe pain and loneliness.

In order to lose weight and change your eating habits, it is important that you reduce your stress. Everyone experiences stress in their life, however, chronic stress is a health hazard and it is really important that you address it. People who experience stress often believe that there is no way out of it. For example, you may be really busy in work and have deadlines or you may think if I don’t put in all those extra hours, I won’t get the promotion. Some stress is very useful, it helps you get a job done. However, if stress is ongoing, it is really important that you find a way to reduce stress in your life.

Here are some tips on how you can start to deal with your stress

Acknowledge that you are stressed

Some people find that step already difficult, as they see being stressed as being equal to being unable to cope. Ask yourself how long have you been feeling stressed?

Ask yourself “What would have to happen for you to be less stressed?”

Do you need help or delegate? Do you need to plan ahead?

Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness only takes a few minutes a day and has enormous benefits on so many levels. It is not complicated, and there are many apps that you can use to help you along.

Make time for yourself

Plan some time each day that is just for yourself. Put it in your diary and make sure you keep that appointment with yourself!

In the materials section of this lesson, you will find worksheets that will help you explore how you experience stress and ways of addressing your particular stressors.

Exploring Stress What is causing you the most stress at the moment 5 Steps to help you manage your time 1. Make a to-do list Writing down your tasks has a number of benefits. First of all, the obvious, it will ensure you don’t forget anything. Secondly, it also reduces stress by allowing you to drop your mental checklist. Thirdly, ticking off completed tasks on a to-do list will give you a sense of achievement and accomplishment. 2. Prioritise Start with the most important task first. Can you break it into smaller steps? Breaking big jobs into smaller tasks will help you to get started, which can be the hardest part. 3. Delegate and get help Ask someone to help you with jobs that don’t require your skill or expertise. This will free you up to concentrate on your tasks on your to do list. 4. Set a time limit It is easier to start when you know the amount of time you dedicate to a task in advance. Once you have created you to do list, decide how long you will spend on each task. Set a timer and try to stick to it. 5. It’s ok not to be perfect

Try to complete your tasks to an acceptable level, and if you have time, go back to improve upon your work. Looking for perfection will stop you from moving forward and therefore increase your stress level. Think about how you might be able to find time for yourself if you are stressed and how you might be able to reduce your daily stress.