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Stress-related weight gain is a common problem, especially for women. With our hectic family lifestyles, demanding work schedules and relationship problems, it’s no wonder that we end up in a cycle of comfort eating and weight gain.
If you notice that you have gained a few pounds from your comfort snacking habits, don’t be too hard on yourself. It has happened to us all.
The worst thing, you can do, is push yourself onto a strict diet, this will only cause you to feel more stressed out. Instead take things slowly, make a commitment to change your lifestyle and become healthier.
For all out top tips to dealing with stress-related weight gain in a healthy manner, have a read below:
Get exercising
It is important to get up and start exercising, not only to help you lose weight, but to also help you deal with your stress.
Commit to going for a run or bike read each morning, by exercising early in the morning you will feel in control all day. Plus, you won’t be stressed out thinking that you have to exercise after work. Instead, you can just relax.
If you find it difficult to get organised with your exercise regime, get in touch with denver weight loss coaching for some help and advice.
Eat the right foods
You may think that you already eat healthily, apart from the odd comfort food binge now and then, but you may not be eating the right things. So many foods that are marked as healthy, actually aren’t. Those fruit yogurts you like – full of sugar. That wholemeal bread you like – not as healthy as you think.
To beat your stress-related weight gain, it is important to begin eating whole, clean foods – things that are completely unprocessed. Switch from flavoured fruit yogurts to natural or Greek yogurt, to add flavouring simply blend up fresh fruit or add in a drop of honey. Instead of eating bread, stick to whole grains like oats quinoa. Instead of drinking sugary juices and fizzy drinks, opt for fresh water instead.
Make healthy eating a priority and stick to it. Don’t get tempted into comfort eating, instead stick to snacking on raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Make your life less stressful
Take the time to sit down and think about what it is that makes your life so stressful, find a way to make things a little calmer. Perhaps you can’t cope with too many late nights at the office, too many after-work nights out, or something else you feel obligated to do. Put yourself first and do what you want to do. Overdoing it is not doing your stress levels any good. You need to make time for yourself.
Some of the most effective ways to relieve stress include taking up a hobby, exercising, spending time with friends, getting enough sleep, and having some alone time. This time alone should be spent on mindfulness activities like yoga, or meditation. Some people may also find it helpful to use cannabis products like CBD shatter, edibles, or oil as part of mindfulness. This is because CBD is believed to be quite potent at relieving stress and anxiety. Apart from these, relaxing activities, such as reading, coloring, or writing in a journal can also help to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
Make a plan
Sit down and plan out how you are going to reduce the stress in your life and lose any weight you have gained.
Start off by creating an exercise and healthy eating plan. Work out when you will exercise, what exercise you will do and how often you will do it. Write down a list of healthy meal ideas, go online and get some healthy recipe ideas.