the secret ingredient for weight loss
It’s not as simple as calories in + calories out. This one thing is arguably just as important as sleep, nutrition, and exercise.
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Weight loss isn’t easy. No matter what the ads or testimonials say, very few people achieve sustainable results without putting in the hard work. Why is this? Weight loss is a holistic battle that can be affected by virtually every corner of your life. While it may sound sexy to minimize it down to ‘calories in and calories out’, there’s much more to the story than that.
I’ll be honest, I don’t love talking about weight loss all that much. As a trainer and kinesiologist, I always encourage clients to structure their goals around other values that naturally help them achieve the body shape and fitness they desire. The reality is, however, people aren’t going to stop making things all about weight, so it’s my job to make this process as seamless and attainable as possible.
While aspects such as nutrition, physical activity, and sleep are commonly mentioned during the weight loss journey, I constantly see one thing continuing to get swept under the rug.
I’m talking about stress.
Whether you like it or not, stress has a ginormous impact on your ability to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle as a whole. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, as you can actually use it to your advantage if you have the right mindset and tools at your disposal. Without further ado, let’s address the one thing we all love to ignore and get to the bottom of transformative, sustainable weight loss.
Before going any further, I want to mention that I’m by no means a weight loss expert. I haven’t been involved in any recent studies, nor am I a master in the science behind it. What I can offer you, however, is countless hours of real-life experience helping my clients in a variety of settings lose weight in a healthy way. This has taught me so much about the psychology behind this phenomenon and has inspired me to lean more into stress relief as the cornerstone of the whole process.
Focusing on weight loss alone may be counterintuitive for everything you’re hoping to achieve. It’s about the whole and not just one part.
Once people start realizing that they need to take care of all of their domains of wellness, significant and lasting results start to take place. While I find that nutrition, sleep, and physical activity play huge roles in my coaching process (let’s not pretend like these aren’t critical for your success), it’s usually stress and stress-relieving practices that are ironically both the hardest to grasp and most impactful for long-term health. While I don’t want to bore you with a bunch of information, I will offer you a few rapid-fire points to help you start thinking of just how crucial this aspect of your wellness is.
In no particular order, stress can…
interrupt your exercise metabolism to make it harder to burn fat during a workout while decreasing your performance
mess with your sleep and recovery, and even release excess ghrelin, a hunger hormone that spikes your craving for unhealthy foods
put you in fight or flight more often so that your body’s systems don’t function properly
decrease your motivation to adhere to your fitness and diet regimes
exacerbate inflammation and increase your injury risks, potentially making exercise and healthy living more challenging
…and much more
Now my purpose isn’t to instill a fear-mongering approach into you but rather to get you to understand just how important it is to be aware of your stress levels and how to keep them under control. From both a physiological and psychological standpoint, weight loss is way harder when your body is under stress. It’s as if it’s fighting against your goals as it knows you have a deeper-rooted problem to resolve first.
Where do we go from here? Your job is to now take some solid reflection time across all domains of your life (nutrition, sleep, fitness, work, relationships, etc…) and notice areas that are causing you stress and turmoil. Don’t hear what I’m not saying, however, as you shouldn’t just quit or erase everything that is causing you stress. Your life doesn’t have to magically turn into sunshine and rainbows. All I want you to consider is finding corners of your day to slow down, reflect, and invest in your mental well-being.
This can be as simple as taking 3 minutes to journal in the morning or doing a 20-minute outdoor walk during your lunch break. You can make it specific to weight loss if you want, but I’d encourage you to simplify it down to practices that help you feel relaxed and present in your body. You’d be shocked to see just how impactful these small decisions (atomic habits) can make as you feel more connected to yourself and in more control of your day.
Before we wrap up, I want to leave you with some practical tips on how to approach weight loss with a healthy relationship around stress. I hope these not only help you get to your goals faster but that they change your very mindset around weight loss to make it feel less daunting and more holistic and realistic.
If you want to get the most out of your weight loss, try to…
make your goal about something more than just the reflection in the mirror (family, lifestyle, hobbies, future, etc…).
realize that even a 3–5% difference in your weight can make you significantly healthier. You don't have to shoot for the stars.
prioritize surrounding yourself with good people who can keep you accountable and support you to avoid isolation.
remember that a sustainable goal is way more important than a quick one. The ‘miracle programs’ on tv don’t work for 99% of people!
question whether weight loss is the right priority for you. If you’re not morbidly obese, perhaps you could be thinking of other ways to get your body into shape and make activities of life feel easier and more pain-free. If it’s not causing you health risks, don’t let societal pressure make you sweat the small stuff!
Weight loss is far more complicated than calories in and calories out. It’s a lifelong battle that involves every aspect of your health and wellness. Consequently, if your stress levels are out of control, you’ll only be fighting against yourself as your body and mind move out of sync with your goals.
If you find yourself frustrated and confused on your weight loss journey, I encourage you to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Are there habits you can begin implementing to help your stress levels and foster a healthier relationship around areas such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise? The more you can focus on ‘the whole’ as you navigate occupying a healthy body, the more sustainable success you’ll have and the happier you’ll be.
You got this.
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