You Can’t Out-Diet a Stress Response
The Real Reason “Doing Everything Right” Isn’t Working
You’ve cut back on sugar, filled your fridge with greens, started walking again and even flirted with intermittent fasting. Yet the scales barely move, your energy’s up and down and you’re left wondering — what gives?
The answer might surprise you: it’s not your willpower.
It’s your stress response.
What Happens When You’re Stressed
When your brain perceives a threat — whether it’s a looming deadline, financial pressure or argument with a loved one — your body activates the sympathetic nervous system.
This triggers the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, designed to help you survive.
It’s the same response that once saved our ancestors from predators — but these days, the “threats” are more likely to be work deadlines, inboxes, teenagers or traffic jams.
There is only one stress response and it’s either on or off.
The result? Your body is constantly being put in a low-grade state of alert. And when that happens:
Digestion slows down
Blood sugar levels rise
Sleep quality drops
Hunger and fullness cues become unreliable
Essentially, your body’s trying to survive a crisis while you’re just trying to survive Tuesday.
When your brain thinks your life is in danger, it doesn’t want to be digesting a sandwich. It’s not prioritising digestion — it’s prioritising survival.
The problem is, modern life keeps hitting the panic button. Deadlines, notifications, worry and overload mean your stress response gets triggered so often it forgets how to switch off.
Over time, that constant “on” state becomes your new normal — and that’s when stress turns chronic.
The Cortisol–Insulin Connection
Chronic stress doesn’t just make you feel tired and wired — it actually changes the way your metabolism works.
When cortisol stays high for too long, it interferes with insulin, the hormone that helps move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells.
This means your body holds onto more glucose — and over time, that can contribute to insulin resistance and increased fat storage, particularly around the middle.
This is why so many women in midlife find themselves gaining weight despite “doing everything right.” The body simply won’t prioritise weight loss when it’s under perceived threat.
Why Pushing Harder Doesn’t Work
The typical reaction when progress stalls?
Double down. Eat less. Exercise more.
Unfortunately, this usually makes things worse.
Restriction and overtraining further elevate cortisol, reinforcing the same metabolic roadblock you’re trying to overcome.
You can’t fight physiology — and you certainly can’t out-diet a body that thinks it’s in survival mode.
What to Do Instead: Calm First, Food Second
The key is to reduce your body’s stress load so your metabolism can function normally again.
I’m not saying give up on nutrition or movement — just change the order of operations.
1. Prioritise Restorative Sleep
Aim for eight hours every night. Poor sleep increases cortisol, reduces insulin sensitivity and drives cravings.
2. Move In Ways You Enjoy
Movement is essential — and it can be a form of stress or it can help you relax. Walk, lift, stretch, swim, dance — whatever feels good in your body. When you move with enjoyment rather than obligation, it calms your system instead of exhausting it.
3. Eat Real Food, Regularly
Balanced meals with protein, fibre, low-GI carbohydrates and healthy fats help keep blood sugar stable, which in turn stabilises mood and appetite.
4. Practise Mindful Breathing
Deep, slow breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system — your body’s “rest and digest” mode. Even a few minutes a day makes a measurable difference.
5. Stay Connected
Social connection is one of the most effective ways to reduce cortisol. A chat over a cuppa (or a wine) with a trusted friend can regulate your nervous system better than any supplement.
6. Do Things You Enjoy
There’s no single formula for managing stress — but doing things you genuinely enjoy is one of the most powerful. Read, garden, paint, potter, laugh, walk the dog, sing in the car — whatever makes you feel like you again.
Pleasure isn’t indulgent; it’s regulating. It tells your body, we’re safe now. And the more often you spend time in that space, the more your cortisol levels naturally come down.
Midlife, Hormones and Stress
In midlife, stress management becomes non-negotiable.
As oestrogen levels drop, cortisol naturally becomes more dominant and the body’s resilience to stress decreases. That’s why many women find their metabolism, mood and sleep all shifting during perimenopause and menopause.
You’re not broken — your biology is changing. The solution isn’t restriction, it’s regulation.
The Takeaway
You can’t out-diet a stress response — but you can help it.
When you calm your nervous system, nourish your body properly and give it the rest it’s asking for, metabolism begins to cooperate again and it becomes possible to lose weight. Even that stubborn role around your middle.
The goal isn’t to push harder — it’s to work with your body, not against it.
And from that calmer, more balanced state, everything else — energy, appetite, mood and weight will naturally fall into place.
References:
Tariq et al., “The Stress Axis in Obesity and Diabetes Mellitus: An Update.” Endocrines, 2021, 2(3):334-347. DOI:10.3390/endocrines2030031. This review explains how chronic stress (via HPA axis dysregulation) contributes to insulin resistance, increased adiposity and type 2 diabetes.
Chao & Miller-Science (2022), “Stress-level glucocorticoids increase fasting hunger and decrease metabolic rate” (Obesity journal). This longitudinal study links elevated cortisol, insulin and stress to weight gain and disrupted appetite regulation.