Why Stress and Cortisol Are Making You Gain Weight (And What to Do About It)
If you're new here, let me be clear—I’m not here to help you lose weight so you can look a certain way, shred for summer, or chase unrealistic beauty standards. My focus is on helping you reclaim your health by balancing your gut, hormones, stress levels, and metabolism. When your body is functioning optimally, weight naturally shifts, and more importantly, you start feeling like you again. I want you to wake up energised, feel comfortable in your skin and feel like you are in the best state of your life.
Its no secret that for many of us, when we hit our late 30s and 40s we can start to notice things change a little. Maybe you are struggling with unexplained weight gain, particularly around the midsection. You probably feel like you’re doing all the same things - eating well and exercising, but that stubborn fat refuses to budge and if anything no matter what you’re doing you continue to put weight on. It can feel really destabilising and for many of my clients they feel like they’re spiralling out of control. One of the most overlooked causes? Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels.
What is cortisol?
Cortisol, often called the "stress hormone," plays a crucial role in metabolism, energy regulation, and the body's fight-or-flight response. While we need cortisol, it like all hormones, must remain balanced. The problem arises when stress becomes chronic. This leads to cortisol dysregulation that can disrupt blood sugar levels, promotes fat storage, and throw hormones out of balance. This can contribute to stubborn weight gain and metabolic dysfunction, and for those of us over 35, it becomes even more challenging as we are already navigating significant hormonal shifts (hello perimenopause).
In this article, I want to dive into the connection between stress and metabolism and how cortisol plays a major role in weight gain. I also want to chat about Metabolic Balance—one of my go-to tools for balancing blood sugar, regulating stress hormones and restoring metabolic function. This isn’t some far-fetched idea; it’s backed by science and really is the key to getting your body back on track.
The Science of Stress and Cortisol: How It Impacts Metabolism
Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stressors—whether emotional, physical, or environmental.
Cortisol is essential for survival and even though it gets a bad wrap it’s not the enemy. It is a key player in keeping our body functioning optimally. It helps regulate metabolism, blood sugar levels, inflammation, and our sleep-wake cycle, while also giving us the energy and focus we need to respond to daily challenges. In times of acute stress, cortisol kicks in to help us think clearly and react quickly, which is crucial for short-term resilience. Beyond stress, it also plays a role in immune function and even helps maintain stable blood pressure. The key isn’t eliminating cortisol—it’s keeping it in balance so it supports, rather than sabotages, our health.
So a quick recap - Cortisol plays a crucial role in:
Regulating blood sugar levels by stimulating glucose production in the liver.
Managing inflammation and immune responses.
Controlling fat metabolism and storage.
Supporting brain function and alertness.
The issue is we live in a world where we are exposed to stress and a lot of it. It might not even be real stress but our body perceives it to be the case. In just one hour, we’re exposed to more information than our ancestors would have encountered in an entire lifetime. Always on our phone, with constant notifications, emails, news, and social media, our brains are in overdrive, processing an overwhelming flood of data that can contribute to stress and mental fatigue. Chronic low-grade stress has become the norm. I feel it, you feel it, we all feel it and it’s tricky because unfortunately our body cant distinguish between different types of stress. It doesn’t know whether it’s a work deadline, poor sleep, over-exercising, skipping meals, or emotional turmoil. When stress is constant, cortisol levels remain chronically elevated - and this is what can lead to metabolic dysfunction.
How Chronic Cortisol Elevation Leads to Weight Gain
There are many ways that chronic stress and raised cortisol levels lead to weight gain.
1. Increased Fat Storage, Especially Around the Abdomen
High cortisol levels promote fat storage, particularly visceral fat (fat stored around the organs in the abdominal area). This is not the kind of fat we want. Its not from just a vanity perspective but rather it can lead to serious health concerns, as it surrounds vital organs and increases the risk of conditions like insulin resistance, heart disease, and inflammation-driven diseases. So why does this happen? Cortisol activates lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme that promotes fat deposition in the belly. Studies have shown that individuals with high stress levels have increased abdominal adiposity, regardless of overall how much they eat.
2. Blood Sugar Dysregulation and Insulin Resistance
Cortisol stimulates glucose production in the liver, which helps to ensure the body has enough energy to respond to stressful situations. In the short term, this is a survival mechanism, helping us react quickly and stay alert. But again, we don’t live in an acute short term stress kind of world anymore. Our stress sways more on the side of chronic —whether from work pressures, family demands, or the mental load of juggling it all—cortisol levels remain high. This leads to consistently elevated blood glucose, which over time contributes to insulin resistance. Essentially, the body stops responding efficiently to insulin, forcing the pancreas to produce even more to compensate.
For women, especially those over 35 navigating hormonal shifts, this is a big problem. High insulin levels not only promote fat storage—especially around the belly—but also increase hunger and cravings, particularly for quick-fix energy sources like sugar and refined carbs. This cycle makes it even harder to regulate weight, energy, and mood. Combined with the natural decline in estrogen and progesterone, which already impacts metabolism and insulin sensitivity, chronic stress becomes a key driver of stubborn weight gain, fatigue, and hormonal imbalance.
Understanding this connection is crucial because it’s not about willpower or eating less—it’s about addressing the root cause: balancing stress hormones, stabilising blood sugar, and supporting metabolic function to help the body work with you, not against you. Which again is why I use Metabolic Balance for my clients who feel like they’ve tried everything and nothing works.
3. Disrupted Hunger and Satiety Hormones
Chronic stress disrupts the balance of ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and leptin (the satiety hormone), making it much harder to regulate appetite and cravings. When stress is high, ghrelin levels often increase, driving intense cravings for quick-energy foods like sugar and refined carbs. At the same time, leptin signaling can become impaired, meaning the brain doesn’t receive the usual "I’m full" signals as effectively. This combination can leave you feeling like you’re craving carbs with every cell in your body and struggling to stop eating, even when you’ve had enough.
On top of that, stress triggers emotional eating behaviors—reaching for food not out of true hunger, but as a way to self-soothe, escape overwhelm, or get a temporary dopamine hit. This cycle can leave you feeling even more out of control, frustrated, and disconnected from your body's natural hunger and fullness cues.
4. Muscle Breakdown and Slower Metabolism
Cortisol is catabolic, meaning it breaks down muscle tissue for energy—especially when stress is chronic and the body remains in a heightened state of alert. This is a problem because muscle mass is essential for maintaining a strong metabolism, helping to stabalise blood sugar and support overall hormonal balance. The more muscle we have, the more efficiently we burn energy, even at rest. But when cortisol stays elevated for long periods, the body prioritises breaking down muscle over preserving it, leading to a slower metabolic rate.
And we know that for women over 35, this becomes even more significant. As oestrogen and progesterone levels naturally decline, we’re already at risk of losing muscle mass and experiencing metabolic shifts that make weight management more challenging. When stress and cortisol are added to the mix, the loss of muscle accelerates, and metabolism slows even further. This not only makes weight gain—especially around the midsection—feel inevitable, but it also contributes to increased fatigue, blood sugar instability, and a greater likelihood of developing insulin resistance.
5. Impaired Thyroid Function
Chronic stress doesn’t just impact cortisol levels—it also suppresses the production of key thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, which are essential for regulating metabolism. When stress is prolonged, the body shifts into conservation mode, slowing down thyroid function to preserve energy. For women over 35, who may already be experiencing shifts in hormone balance, this suppression can make weight loss feel impossible. Many women struggling with stress-induced weight gain show signs of suboptimal thyroid function, including persistent fatigue, sluggishness, cold hands and feet, brain fog, and difficulty shedding excess weight, even when they’re doing all the “right” things. I see this a lot in clinic. All the time. Its so impactful.
Since the thyroid plays a direct role in how efficiently we burn calories and use energy, a sluggish thyroid means a slower metabolism, leading to increased fat storage—especially around the midsection. So if you have thyroid issues, one of the best things you can do is to work on your stress levels. This will be a key part in restoring thyroid health. It will keep your metabolism running optimally, and prevent the frustrating cycle of weight gain and low energy.
6. Poor Sleep and Increased Nighttime Snacking
Cortisol doesn’t just affect metabolism—it also disrupts melatonin production, making it harder to fall and stay asleep. This is a problem because poor sleep quality will set off a cascade of hormonal imbalances that fuel hunger and cravings. It’s a vicious cycle. When we don’t sleep well, ghrelin (the hunger hormone) increases, while leptin (the satiety hormone) decreases. This means we wake up hungrier, crave quick energy foods like sugar and refined carbs, and have less willpower to make balanced food choices. For a lot of women, this also makes us feel tired and like we need a coffee to start our day. This also raises cortisol levels (I know……its not what you want to hear - food before coffee ok).
For many women, this cycle also leads to late night snacking. After dinner cravings where you find yourself reaching for comfort foods to compensate for exhaustion and low energy. Over time, these extra calories, combined with slowed metabolism from stress and poor sleep, contribute to stubborn weight gain.
How to Regulate Cortisol and Restore Metabolic Balance
So now that we understand how stress and cortisol drive weight gain and can lead to us feeling all out of balance, the next step is understanding the best lifestyle and nutrition strategies we can implement to rebalance the body.
When it comes to managing stress, metabolism, and hormonal balance, the foods we eat play a massive role. We want nutrient-dense foods because they don’t just provide energy—they actively support the regulation of cortisol, insulin, and other key hormones that influence weight, mood, and overall well-being.
Chronic stress depletes essential nutrients, increases inflammation, and disrupts blood sugar control, making it even more important to fuel the body with foods that help restore balance.
Adding more protein
Protein is essential for keeping cortisol and insulin in check. When stress is high, the body tends to break down muscle tissue for energy, which slows metabolism and makes weight management even harder. By prioritizing high-quality protein sources—such as lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes, and dairy—you help preserve muscle mass, stabilize blood sugar, and keep hunger levels in check. Protein also supports neurotransmitter production, which helps with stress resilience and mental clarity, reducing the brain fog and fatigue so many women experience when stress and hormone imbalances collide.
Healthy fats yes please
The right kind of fat won’t make you fat. Fats are often misunderstood, but they are critical for hormonal balance and stress management. Healthy fats—such as omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts, as well as monounsaturated fats from olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds—support brain function, reduce inflammation, and help regulate cortisol levels. These fats also aid in hormone production, particularly estrogen and progesterone, which naturally decline as women age. When you add more healthy fats, you create a more stable hormonal environment, reducing mood swings, sugar cravings, and metabolic disruptions.
Real food real carbs
Carbohydrates are often demonised, but they play an important role in stress and hormone regulation—when chosen wisely and again, eat real food. The key is balance. Too many refined carbs (fake food thats highly processed like white bread, pasta, and sugary snacks) cause rapid blood sugar spikes, leading to insulin resistance and increased fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. On the other hand, going too low in carbohydrates can also be problematic, as it can increase stress on the body, raise cortisol levels, and trigger energy crashes. The best approach is to include slow-digesting, fibre-rich carbohydrates—such as vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and berries—ensuring steady blood sugar levels without the rollercoaster effect. My favourite at the moment is black rice. I also love chickpea pasta, buckwheat pasta.
Chronic stress puts an immense burden on the body, but the right foods can help restore balance. You really can do this by prioritising high quality protein, healthy fats, and the right type and amount of carbohydrates. This will help you to regulate cortisol and insulin, maintain muscle mass, prevent energy crashes, and reduce inflammation. This approach not only helps with weight management but also improves mood, mental clarity, and long-term metabolic health—allowing you to feel stronger, more energised, and in control of your body again.
For women who feel like they have tried everything and nothing works, my first recommendation is often Metabolic Balance. Why? Because it designed to address everything outlined about above and give you exactly what your body needs. It helps to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, directly addressing one of the main metabolic issues caused by chronic stress. By working with a naturopath and following a personalised meal plan tailored to your unique biochemistry, you can:
Reduce blood sugar spikes, lowering the stress response.
Support insulin sensitivity, reducing excess fat storage.
Promote satiety with nutrient-dense, whole foods, stabilising appetite and cravings.
Unlike generic diet plans, Metabolic Balance® is highly individualised. Using your blood test results, it creates a nutrition plan that matches your unique metabolic needs, ensuring your body receives the precise nutrients in the right amounts to restore balance. This removes the guesswork and frustration around food choices, making it easier to achieve sustainable results while supporting your overall health, energy levels, and hormonal equilibrium.
Sleep
Prioritise sleep to feel good. To do this, I want you to conduct an honest audit on where you’re current at with your sleep. Do you scroll to fall asleep? Do you have inconsistent sleep times? Do you throw everything out the window when the weekend rolls around? Going to bed late and sleeping in? After this audit I want you to create a sleep hygiene protocol for yourself.
Sleep hygiene is all about creating habits and an environment that support deep, restorative sleep. Inconsistent sleep schedules, excessive screen time, late-night eating, and high stress levels all interfere with the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. I would like you to establish a consistent bedtime routine. This will include going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. This helps to regulate the body's internal clock. Reducing exposure to blue light from screens at least an hour before bed allows melatonin, the sleep hormone, to rise naturally, making it easier to drift off. Creating a calming wind down routine also works a treat. Personally I like to read from 7.30pm. I do this on my kindle with the backlight turned to night mode. I also love gentle stretching, or meditation, which sends a signal to the nervous system that it’s time to rest. Keeping the bedroom cool, dark, and free from distractions can also improve sleep quality. I also recommend absolutely no caffeine from 12pm and to avoid heavy meals too close to bedtime prevents sleep disruptions.
By also focusing on protein-rich and magnesium-containing foods throughout the day you are supporting relaxation.
Exercise: Choosing the Right Type to Lower Cortisol
This is tricky. When I ask my clients to reduce what they’re doing in the gym they are often shocked and very reluctant. The thing is over-exercising, especially excessive HIIT and cardio, can increase cortisol rather than reducing it. It often means my clients who are trying to lose weight will not only just maintain there body fat but they feel like they get bigger and bigger. Instead of over the top exercise, you might like to prioritise the following movement.
Strength training (2-3x per week) to build muscle and regulate insulin.
Walking and Zone 2 cardio for fat metabolism without excessive stress.
Yoga and meditation to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and lower cortisol
Reiki for reducing cortisol levels
Reiki is a gentle yet powerful energy healing practice that promotes relaxation, reduces stress, and supports the body’s natural ability to heal. Rooted in Japanese tradition, Reiki works by channeling universal life force energy through the practitioner’s hands, helping to remove energetic blockages and restore balance. For women navigating hormonal imbalances, chronic stress, or feelings of emotional overwhelm, Reiki can be a deeply grounding experience, calming the nervous system and shifting the body out of a constant fight-or-flight state. By promoting relaxation and reducing cortisol levels, Reiki supports better sleep, improved digestion, and a greater sense of emotional clarity. Many people describe Reiki sessions as deeply restorative, helping them feel lighter, more centred, and more in tune with their body’s needs. While it may seem subtle, the effects of Reiki can be profound, making it a valuable tool for those seeking holistic healing and energetic alignment.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT tapping)
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), or tapping, is a mind-body practice that helps release emotional stress and reprogram negative thought patterns. It combines principles of acupressure and cognitive therapy, using gentle fingertip tapping on specific meridian points while focusing on distressing thoughts, emotions, or physical symptoms. For women struggling with stress-related weight gain, hormonal imbalances, or emotional eating, EFT can be a powerful way to break free from subconscious patterns that keep the body in a cycle of stress and self-sabotage. By tapping on acupressure points, EFT helps lower cortisol levels, regulate the nervous system, and shift the body out of a reactive stress state. Many women find it particularly effective for reducing cravings, overcoming anxiety, and cultivating a sense of self-compassion. Because EFT works directly with the brain’s stress response, it creates rapid and lasting changes, making it a valuable tool for emotional and physical well-being.
Conclusion
Stress and cortisol dysregulation are major drivers of weight gain in women, particularly after 35. By addressing the root cause—chronic stress, blood sugar instability, and hormonal imbalances—we can restore metabolic flexibility and sustainable weight loss.
Metabolic Balance is an option for many of the women I work with as it provides a structured, science-backed approach to stabilising insulin, reducing inflammation, and supporting the body’s natural stress resilience. Combined with lifestyle interventions like prioritising sleep, mindful movement, and stress-reduction techniques, women can finally break free from stress-induced weight gain and reclaim their metabolic health.
If you would like to have a chat to about seeing a naturopath, metabolic balance, yoga, reiki or EFT you are very welcome to book in a free discovery call with me. I know it can feel very confusing working out what the right thing to do is and I am here to support you. You can book a free call HERE or if you know its right for you, book an Initial Naturopathic Consultation and we can jump right into getting your health on track and have you feeling amazing in no time.