Being a mum comes with many pressures and demands. We are not just caring for our children, cooking, cleaning…… we have the added pressure to live up to modern day societal expectations of being the ‘perfect mum’. A recent survey undertaken by BUPA UK found that 63% of mums surveyed agree they have driven themselves to exhaustion with the pressure to be a ‘super mum’.
We often feel the pressure ‘to do it all’, which can lead to the feeling of overwhelm and stress.
Stress is not good for our long term health and can be linked to many physical and mental health problems. Including heart disease, diabetes, and depression. However, over time stress can also lead to weight gain or make it difficult to lose weight.
What’s the link between stress & weight gain?
High Cortisol Levels (stress hormone)
The daily stress of trying to be the ‘perfect mum’ puts your body into a constant state of fight or flight mode. When the stress is long term it can play havoc with your body. Levels of cortisol rise during stressful times, slowing your metabolism, and raising insulin levels, which drops blood glucose levels and causes you to crave sugary, fatty foods.
Lack of sleep
When we are stressed, good quality sleep is almost impossible, we either struggle to fall asleep or we wake throughout the night. If you wake between the hours of 2-4am, this could be an indication that your cortisol levels are not quite what they should be. So how does this effect weight gain? Poor sleep is linked to an increase in cortisol levels, and can affect the levels of hunger hormones in the body. Leading to increased appetite levels throughout the day. And lets not forget we feel less motivated to do much when we are tired – including exercising and cooking healthy meals!
Emotional Eating
I’ve been here many times! After a stressful day, we are exhausted and all we want to do is sit down in front of the TV and reach for those comfort foods. This gives us an instant hit of the happy hormone, dopamine. The trouble is it leaves us wanting more and more!
Skipping Meals
How many of us skip meals because we are so overwhelmed and feel like we don’t have time too eat? Not only can skipping meals (especially breakfast) increase our cortisol levels, we are also left feeling exhausted and hungry. What do we do? We reach for those unhealthy highly processed snacks. Processed snacks can give us that instant energy boost, but it’s short lived. They can play havoc with our blood sugar levels, making you feel even more exhausted and hungry!
Drinking Alcohol
After a stressful day, all we want is to wind down. We reach for a glass of wine, the happy hormone is released, and we feel good. It doesn’t last long though and we are left wanting more. Then we get the munchies, leading to late night snacking and sleep disruption. Maybe anxiety levels increase too!
So what can we do to reduce our stress levels?
We can’t take away the demands of motherhood but we can change certain aspects our of lifestyle, that may be effecting our stress levels. Here’s a few ideas to get your started.
Say No! Make more time for you
Start saying no to the activities that you don’t enjoy doing or feel pressure to do. We often feel like we have no choice, but we do. Your time is precious. That goes for our kids too. There is so much pressure to make sure we sign our kids up for extra after school/weekend activities. Only commit to things that you and your children enjoy doing. Find time for you and your family to just do nothing!
Limit your time on Social Media
If you are already feeling overwhelmed, scrolling social media can increase those feelings, and for some it creates a state of anxiety. It can quite easily put us in a negative mood for the day or disturb our sleep if you are scrolling just before bed! The recent survey undertaken by BUPA UK found that the main source of pressure (to be a super mum) is social media. Limit time or take a break from social media and see if your mood shifts. Use that spare time to do something you enjoy.
Reduce caffeine intake
Caffeine is a stimulant and can increase your cortisol levels, especially if you are already stressed and drinking on an empty stomach! And lets not forget that caffeine can disrupt your sleep…maybe think about having your last cup before midday.
Nourish your body with nutritious food, and stop skipping meals
Try reducing, or if you can cut out, highly processed food, sugar and refined carbs from your diet. These can all increase your cortisol levels. Fill your cupboards with nutrient dense foods instead. Start by making small adjustments to your daily nutrition habits (start to include a veg with your lunch, or swap your usual snacks for a piece of fruit). Check out my free food swap guide below.
If you are struggling to lose weight and would like personalised advice, please check out my coaching packages or book a free discovery call.
Kerry x