Managing Stress - Part 2
When to eat to manage stress
This is a short section on an important topic – managing your eating habits so they reduce the stress in your life (instead of increasing it). We’ll be diving deeper into cortisol and how to manage it in December’s masterclass, but the main point is this:
Don’t use up cortisol by not eating!
Cortisol is our main stress hormone (along with adrenaline), and it’s flowing through our veins whenever we’re not sleeping. It’s cortisol that wakes us up in the morning and it’s needed to be able to have strong enough blood pressure to stand up and walk around.
(btw, an early sign that cortisol is getting a bit too low is when you feel dizzy or lightheaded when you stand up quickly)
Cortisol is very important, and it spikes anytime we’re under stress. It’s not just the everyday emotional or physical stress that triggers more cortisol. Not eating for 5+ hours is also a stress and uses up cortisol unnecessarily. Once again – don’t use up cortisol by not eating!
Any cortisol spike can increase belly fat…so not eating for wide stretches of time can cause you to gain weight!
But, happily, the solution is very simple – eat every 4 – 5 hours.
What this looks like in real life –
- breakfast by 10am (or something small, like a piece of fruit, if you don’t care for breakfast)
- lunch by 1 – 2 pm
- afternoon snack (around 4pm)
- dinner by 8pm
Simple yet effective, my favourite combo :)
Cortisol and Intermittent Fasting
This is just a short FYI. Intermittent fasting (IF) is all the rage, and like with many popular ways of eating, a few important pieces of info are missed. An important one – it can affect your hormones.
I’ll be getting into more detail in our January 2021 masterclass, but I wanted to add it to this section so it’s not missed.
Anytime you fast your body uses extra cortisol. This can be healing for some…draining for others. Long fasts each day (ie. Fasting for 16 hours+) can be particularly hard on the adrenals, and I find that women are most susceptible to this.
So, bottom line, if you’re going to try IF be sure to make sure your adrenals are happy and your cortisol levels are balanced. If you’re feeling exhausted or burned out, maybe bypass the IF trend for now.
BTW – very low carb diets also trigger cortisol to be released, so also avoid this one if you’re tired or dealing with adrenal fatigue.
I don’t want to eat breakfast
Sometimes, your stomach doesn’t wake up as quickly as we do, and the idea of eating a big, hearty breakfast turns your stomach. That’s okay, you don’t have to eat breakfast.
But…if you don’t eat something in the morning hours, then you’ll be using cortisol to keep your blood sugar up. This isn’t good for your adrenals and might trigger anxiety. Ironically, it’ll also suppress your appetite, which can lead to lots and lots of evening cravings.
So, the solution is simple – eat SOMETHING by 11am. Even just a piece of fruit. Get a bit of food in your belly to keep your blood sugar steady.
And…stop thinking that you “need” to have breakfast. You don’t. Don’t force breakfast into your stomach when it doesn’t want it. Just eat something by 11am <3.
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)