**Why Stress Levels and Sleep Could Be Hindering Your Weight Loss Goals**
Weight loss isn’t just about what you eat; other factors like stress and sleep play a crucial role. Hormones are powerful agents influencing weight loss and gain, and understanding how to optimize them is key. Stress, as revealed by Dr. Rupy Aujla on ‘The Doctor’s Kitchen’ podcast, can lead to weight gain by altering your food preferences, cravings, and brain response to rewards. Stress often triggers cravings for comfort foods high in sugar and fat, acting as a form of self-medication to cope with stress.
Moreover, stress impacts metabolic processes through the cortisol hormone, promoting weight gain even without changes in calorie intake. It can also disrupt sleep, leading to insulin resistance, increased hunger hormones, decreased satiety hormones, and elevated blood pressure. This combination of metabolic and hormonal changes can affect how your body utilizes and stores food, influencing your calorie intake.
Inadequate sleep, considered a common stressor, further exacerbates these effects, contributing to weight gain. Maintaining low stress levels and prioritizing sufficient sleep are as essential as maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine in achieving successful weight loss outcomes. Making lifestyle adjustments to reduce stress and improve sleep quality could potentially enhance your weight loss journey significantly.