Managing Stress for Better Health: Your Guide to a Mental Reset This Season

In this article:

• Stress is normal, but too much poorly managed stress over a long period of time can interfere with health and weight loss goals. 
• Effects of chronic stress can include increases in levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which can reduce fat burning, raise insulin resistance and blood sugar, and raise blood pressure.
• Excess stress can interfere with memory, focus, and decision-making abilities - leading to trouble making smart decisions for your health. 
• Stress eating is a common coping mechanism, but it can lead to a cycle of increased stress. Stress eating often involves lower-nutrient foods, and it can lead to weight gain and other concerns.
• Stress management techniques can be quick, easy, and effective. It’s often possible to practice them without much time or training. 
• Focus on small changes to prevent burnout and establish sustainable habits for lasting stress relief and benefits like easier weight loss and health management. 
• Lark can support you 24/7 as you make healthy choices to lose weight and manage blood sugar, blood pressure, or other conditions with or without GLP-1s. 

Diet and exercise are crucial lifestyle changes for losing weight and managing health - but there’s more you can do to reach your goals. If you’re eating well, staying active, and getting plenty of sleep, but not seeing the results you expect, it may be time to take a look at another factor: stress. 

Stress can undermine efforts to live healthy - but it doesn’t have to. Chronic overwhelming stress affects hormones, the mind, and more, but you can take steps to manage stress and reduce its impact. As we look ahead to a new season, it may be time for a mental reset, starting with managing stress. 

Better stress management can improve your body’s ability to burn fat and manage blood sugar, while keeping your mind sharper and better able to make sound decisions to keep you on track. In addition, there are many stress management techniques that anyone can do in a short amount of time; you don’t have to be an expert or dedicate hours daily to see and feel results. Keep reading to learn why stress matters and how you can manage it for a mental reset and improved results. 

What Is Stress?

Stress is your body’s natural reaction to a demand, challenge, or threat. It’s a physiological response in your body. Your brain releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Their job is to prepare your body to react quickly and forcefully to a situation. 

The stress is generally positive when it’s an acute response to a one-time situation needing an immediate reaction. For example, if you are crossing the street and you see a car coming at you, it’s good that your stress response gives you the energy and strength to speed up so you can finish crossing the street safely. 

The stress response can also help you rise to positive occasions, like if you are an athlete going into a competition, you’re about to take an important exam, or you are giving a speech or presentation. Focus improves and your body’s fuel or energy reserves are ready to support you. 

The stress response can be harmful when it becomes chronic, or ongoing. Here are some common stressors you may experience or recognize. 

• Life transitions like starting a new job, moving to a new home, retirement, or navigating empty-nest syndrome.
• Daily demands and struggles like hectic morning routines, heavy work deadlines, traffic jams, financial budgeting, or keeping up with a busy household.
• Interpersonal relationships and caregiving situations like caring for aging parents, raising children, dealing with family conflict, or navigating a difficult boss.
• Health concerns for you or a loved one like managing a new chronic diagnosis, dealing with a lack of sleep, or coping with physical pain.
• Financial concerns like struggling to pay bills or worrying about the future.

These sources of stress can lead to an ongoing or chronic stress response, which can affect your body in negative ways. 

Stress: Real Effects on Your Body and Brain

Are you managing body weight, blood sugar, or blood pressure? Chronic stress can get in the way! High stress levels lead to high levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. 

Here’s what stress can do. 

• Raise blood sugar levels by triggering the liver to release glucose - or sugar
• Increase blood pressure by constricting blood vessels
• Promote carbohydrates for fuel instead of burning fat for fuel
• Increase belly fat by signaling the body to store fat around the midsection

Have you ever noticed feeling confused or foggy when you’re stressed? It’s not your imagination! The effects of stress go beyond your body. They affect your brain!

Here are some effects of stress on the brain. 

Check here for more ways stress can affect you!

Stress Management for Everyone: Simple and Effective Techniques for Daily Mental Resets

Stress has powerful effects, but stress management techniques can be simple and effective. You can try some even if you’re not an expert. They can be quick, so even the busiest people can use them. 

Here are some ways to reset your mind. 

The more you practice, the better you can become at managing stress in your daily life. It’s also important to keep in mind that healthy lifestyle choices on a daily basis can help with stress management - think about things like getting plenty of sleep, being physically active, and replacing sugary beverages with water. 

Stress Eating and Cravings: More Tips to Break the Cycle

With so many physiological effects on metabolism and the brain, it’s no wonder that stress often leads people to get off track with their food choices. Emotional eating isn't a lack of willpower; it is driven by powerful biological factors. Cravings naturally spike whenever our stress levels run high.

Since cravings can come due to low blood sugar, try stabilizing blood sugar with nutritious foods. That way, you’ll be less likely to dive for low-nutrient, high-calorie foods. Include a source of fiber and lean protein in each meal and snack. Fiber is in vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, and nuts and seeds. Lean proteins include beans, fish, skinless chicken, tofu, and reduced-fat dairy products. 

Here are more tips for managing stress eating. 

• Have a healthy swap on hand - like half of a frozen banana dipped in dark chocolate instead of a pint of ice cream.
• Drink a glass of ice water before reaching for food. 
• Ask yourself if you’re hungry before you eat. 
• Delay 5-10 minutes with a distracting activity like reading a book, washing windows, or playing cards. You may realize the craving passes. 

Looking for ways to manage food cravings? Check here for tips to manage cravings! 

Prioritizing Mental Health for Long-Term Wellness Success

Mental health isn’t a luxury - it’s a necessity. Improving mental health can enable you to maintain healthy behaviors as well as improve your physical health overall. Just like with other healthy lifestyle choices, consistency is more important than perfection for long-term impact. Managing stress for better health can include behaviors that fit into your regular routine, so you can keep them up for good. 

Lark Can Help

A mental reset and stress management can be transformative as you keep up with healthy lifestyle changes. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

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Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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