So why are stress, sugar cravings and luxury consuming so intertwined? Nutritionist Jenna Hope explains all.
Why can we crave sugar after we’re careworn?
“Once we eat high-fat and high-sugar meals, reminiscent of chocolate, it offers what’s often called a ‘hedonic’ impact,” she says. “Which means we really feel good on these meals and in consequence whereas we’re consuming them we’re not secreting as a lot of the stress hormone cortisol, so we really feel calmer.”
Why can we are likely to overeat after we’re consolation consuming?
“Once we’re stress-eating it’s more durable to regulate the quantity of meals that we’re consuming. In a careworn state you’re extra more likely to eat extra and quicker, and also you’ll end up consuming a biscuit, after which one other one, and so forth,” she explains. “The mind is saying ‘that feels good, I didn’t really feel careworn whereas consuming that’. The possibilities are that after you’ve stopped consuming you’ll really feel careworn once more and crave extra sugar and extra fats. The mind is telling you ‘that’s what made me really feel calm earlier than, let’s strive that once more’.”
Learn extra about stress, the way it impacts weight achieve and ideas for managing nervousness
Are there different ways in which stress could make us hungry?
“Stress can have a adverse influence on sleep, which, in flip, boosts urge for food much more,” says Jenna. “If somebody goes by a interval of continual stress, that may influence sleep. When sleep is poor, the starvation hormone ghrelin will increase, so that you’re extra more likely to really feel hungry. On the similar time, leptin, the hormone that tells you once you’re full, decreases, so that you want extra meals to get to the identical degree of fullness that you simply’d really feel after a traditional evening’s sleep.”
How do you break the cycle of consolation consuming?
“You’ll be able to’t simply inform your self to not consolation eat. You have to determine the triggers first after which discover an exercise that lowers your stress. Monitor your consuming patterns in a meals diary and, when you’ve created an image of your comfort-eating triggers, look into actions that decrease your cortisol. That could be sitting with a cup of tea, going for a stroll or doing 5 to 10 minutes of meditation,” she says.
