I have just “come back” from a weekend course (running over Zoom of course) covering solution focused hypnotherapy and weight loss. What I didn’t know was the relationship between weight loss and gain and the stress hormone, cortisol.
For those adrenaline junkies who love the really scary theme park rides, have you ever noticed how there is often a junk food stand at the end of the ride, selling sugary drinks and fatty foods? And have you ever noticed how you crave the junk food as soon as you have finished the ride? That is the cortisol doing your thinking for you.
Cortisol is the main stress hormone. It also regulates other stuff in your body, including how your body uses fats and sugars. If your body produces too much cortisol, it starts to crave sugar and fat. “Comfort food” is so-called because that’s what you eat when you’re stressed.
So reducing stress is one of the ways we can control our eating.
For a summary of Cortisol, see https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol#2
