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Reducing the stress that so many of us suffer from in modern life, along with increasing the amount of rest that we take, might well help us to lose weight as well. Lots of us are vulnerable to stress. We take on far too many things and end up ‘chasing our tail’ every day. The tension rises as we bounce from one challenge to the next! And so we turn to eating, to counteract the pressure.

However, it now appears possible that there is a scientific correlation between times of stress and eating fattening food. Gaining weight because of stress does happen. Here’s the process that creates it: The stress hormone cortisol is secreted when the body undergoes long periods of stress.

Then in an attempt to stabilise our blood sugar, an insulin release is stimulated. This insulin release makes us feel hungry- particularly for carbohydrate and fat-rich foods. So we eat carbs and fats, and pretty quickly feel more energised.

Momentarily, we benefit from a lowering of stress, and we’re satisfied. Although within the merest hint of time the high has gone. The reason for this is the insulin takes the glucose that came from these foods and pops it straight into fat storage areas – such as the area around our waist!

Therefore we should aim to simplify our lives first if we’re planning a weight loss program. A decent night’s sleep may also be of benefit regarding weight reduction. We used to get around 8 hours of sleep a night, but it’s over an hour less than that now on average.

Correspondingly, as the amount of sleep has gone down, obesity levels have gone up. If we’re run-down through lack of sleep, hormonal changes create hunger. The body adjusts how much food it thinks it needs to the amount of time it spends awake.

Evidently our longing for food rises as we become more tired, and again we veer towards carbohydrates and fatty food. Taking back that extra hour for night-time recuperation may well lead to eating fewer calories.

To sum up – perhaps losing weight is more about streamlining our life than we had previously realised. It’s not the end of the world if something has to be left until tomorrow! Then when evening time comes around, enjoy a little me-time and then it’s early to bed!

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