After a long day at work or a tough shift, do you ever find yourself demolishing a pizza, a tub of ice cream, or whatever junk food you can get your hands on? That’s stress eating in action and it hits a lot of men harder than you think.

When you’re stressed, your brain tells your cells to release powerful hormones. You get a burst of adrenaline and cortisol, which signals your body to restore energy, even if you haven’t actually burned any. This makes you extremely hungry for no reason and keeps cravings high until you’ve de-stressed. Junk food, especially high-fat or sugary foods, becomes irresistible.

High cortisol also slows testosterone production (your muscle-building hormone),  meaning you burn fewer calories and risk losing muscle mass. Not exactly ideal if you’re working hard in the gym or trying to lose fat.

Slow down

Eating while stressed is like food shopping when you’re hungry. You grab everything in sight, as fast as you can and wolf it down. Instead, try to slow down when eating. Savour each bite and really take your time to enjoy your food. This’ll make you feel fuller and lower your cortisol levels. Win win.

Stop dieting

The problem with a drastic, short-term diet is that as soon as you experience a little stress, every goal goes out the window and you end up eating all the foods you’re trying to avoid. Had a stressful day in the office and grabbed pizza and wine to de-stress? We’ve all been there, lads. If you stick to wholesome, healthy nutrition all year round you’ll learn to appreciate foods that make you feel good and enjoy them. So even if you’re feeling low or stressed, you’ll still make the right choice, because you haven’t been restricting yourself the rest of the time.

Skip the coffee

We’re a nation of coffee lovers with plenty of us seeing it as a life-saving ingredient in our days. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a coffee to perk us up, but when you combine stress with caffeine it raises our cortisol levels even further. Remember how we said that high cortisol levels can cause stress eating? It might be a good idea to reach for a decaf if you’re having a tough day.

Solid sleep

If you’ve ever laid in bed at night unable to doze off, then you’ll know how stressful it can be on the body. Sleep deprivation is a major cause of stress. It’s said that anything less than seven hours of sleep a night can increase our appetite and lead to weight gain. Not what you want if you spend an hour every day trying to prevent this.

Ways to help you sleep soundly include:

  • Exercising regularly to make sure you’re physically tired.
  • Avoid late naps if they stop you dozing off at bedtime.
  • Cut caffeine, alcohol and screen time before bed.
  • Listen to your body and head to bed as soon as you feel sleepy.
  • Prep for the next day to calm a racing mind when your head hits the pillow.

Take control today

Stress eating doesn’t have to control you. Track your stress triggers this week. Notice patterns, make small changes like slowing down, swapping coffee, or improving sleep, and see how your energy, muscle retention, and weight management improve.

Share your wins and tips with the MAN v FAT community, helping others and getting support will keep you accountable and make beating stress eating easier.