Takeaways:

• Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than your body burns (i.e., you’re in a calorie surplus).

• Chronic stress can cause weight gain by causing elevated cortisol levels, increasing cravings for high-calorie and sweet foods. It can also hurt motivation to exercise, plus impair sleep—lowering calorie burn while ramping up hunger levels.

• To break the cycle of stress and weight gain, focus on managing stress levels, staying active throughout the day, and maximizing the hours of quality sleep.

• Genetics can account for up to 80% of the propensity to be overweight. Those genetically predisposed to weight gain may benefit from weight loss medications.  

You set foot in your workplace. And immediately, you’re caught in a flurry of “Urgent!” and “Due EOD” tasks. Clearing your inbox is near impossible: you respond to one email, and two more would land. There’s always someone or something demanding your attention.

With little breathing space and up-to-your-ears stress levels, heading out for a lunch break is an unaffordable luxury. So, you skip it. You work, work, and work some more till 8 pm. It's knock-off time, and you're starving. You head to the nearest hawker center, order everything that looks good after a long day, and polish it all off at home. Rinse and repeat.

Sounds familiar? If yes, chances are, you’re at least a few kilograms up from when you first started working. But wait. You’re only eating one meal a day—so what’s with the weight gain? Is it the stress? Probably. Continue reading to find out:

• How, exactly, stress contributes to weight gain, and

• The four steps you can take to break the cycle of stress and weight gain.

Understanding the role stress plays in weight gain

Stress can cause you to gain weight. However, the underlying mechanism isn’t as straightforward as this: stress levels go up, and weight goes up, too. 

To help you see why, you’ll first need to understand that weight gain only occurs if you eat more calories than your body burns (i.e., you’re in an energy surplus). In other words, stress cannot “overwrite” the fundamentals of energy balance and cause weight gain if you’re not overeating. 

Stress, cortisol, and weight gain

What stress can do, however, is drive you into eating more, so you end up in a calorie surplus. How? It comes down to a hormone called cortisol. Like all other hormones, your endocrine system typically keeps your cortisol levels within a tight range:

• Spiking during times of stress, triggering the release of glucose from your liver for “fast energy” so you can better deal with the perceived threat (e.g., a large dog barking at you), then

• Naturally falling to baseline levels once the perceived threat has passed

Unfortunately, chronic stress can disrupt this delicate balance. The result? Perpetually elevated cortisol levels. And that’s where things start to go all haywire. Scientists have found that high cortisol levels can increase cravings for sweet, high-calorie "comfort foods". In this study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, researchers exposed participants to stressful situations and found that those with high cortisol reactions ate more calories and sweet foods than those with lower cortisol reactions.

As for why, some evidence shows that fat- and sugar-filled foods can help dampen stress-related responses and emotions (in turn, explaining why burgers, chips, and chocolate are considered "comfort food"). Thus, this preference for sweet and high-calorie foods could lead to weight gain over time. A recent 2017 study published in Obesity supports this sentiment. After controlling for several factors that might be linked to obesity (e.g., age, sex, and ethnicity), the researchers found that the higher the cortisol level, the greater the body weight, BMI (body mass index), and waist circumference.

Beyond cortisol

Beyond instigating overeating via sustained, high cortisol levels, stress can also cause weight gain by:

• Hurting your motivation to work out (because who feels like or has time to exercise when chest-deep in work?)

• Impairing your sleep, making you hungrier thanks to an appetite-stimulating combination of increased ghrelin (aka the hunger hormone) and decreased leptin (aka the full hormone) levels

How to break the cycle of stress and weight gain 

While expecting zero stress from work isn't realistic, you can minimize its adverse effects on your weight by:

• Practicing stress management techniques: Quickly find your calm with 5-minute stress relief techniques, like guided imagery, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or something as simple as listening to music as you work.

• Being mindful of your sleep hygiene: Maximize your chances of sleeping well by improving your sleep hygiene. Stick to a consistent sleep-wake schedule, avoid using your electronic devices before bedtime, and ensure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and comfortable.

• Staying active throughout the day: In addition to lowering stress and increasing your calorie burn, exercise can also help curb your appetite. Alongside healthy eating habits and lifestyle choices, it’s one of the key factors NOVI Optimum for Weight Loss (a personalized weight loss coaching program) focuses on for weight loss that lasts. If you don't have the time or headspace for dedicated workout sessions, try your best to keep moving throughout the day—climb the stairs instead of taking the escalator, get up from your chair more frequently, and consider buying an under-desk treadmill.

Your weight refuses to budge? Maybe it’s genetics

You're clocking a solid seven hours of sleep. You're active. You've got a handle on your stress levels. Yet, your stress-related weight gain hasn't gone away. What's going on? The answer may lie in your DNA. Research suggests that, for some people, genes can account for as high as 80% of the predisposition to be overweight. That’s a lot.

Bad news? You cannot edit your genes. Good news? There are weight loss medications available that could help reinforce your ability to say “no” to overeating and weight gain — even in times of great stress. That said, not everyone is a suitable candidate for weight loss pills. You’ll have to consult a qualified medical doctor. 

If you feel like you’ve been trying to lose weight your whole life, tried all the diets and they only work for a short time or don’t even work at all, or your weight keeps returning or even going up no matter what you try to do, the  NOVI Optimum Plus program may be for you.