Ever notice that how stressed you feel seems to be in line with how big your belly feels? There’s science to back that up! When the body stays in anxiety or ‘fight or flight’ mode often throughout the day once you calm yourself down, the body goes into high replenish mode. This means the body wants to store fat and create energy reserves for the next time you need to fight or flight. Our ancestors found this helpful as they were hunting for food or running from predators, however nowadays, we can simply imagine our bank account and all the same reactions take place.

When we feel overwhelmed we begin to crave comfort foods too. Many times those are fried, loaded with sugar, salt and we want a big serving. Stress keeps us up at night and, as we know, that also contributes to weight gain. Sometimes we need to focus on our mental health to find ways to stay calm before the weight begins to slough off.