What if your weight struggles, cravings, emotional eating, and stubborn belly fat were never about discipline — but about stress?
In this episode, I’m breaking down the one hormone that quietly controls your metabolism, hunger signals, fat storage, emotional regulation, and eating behaviors — your stress hormone.
This conversation goes far beyond food rules and diet culture and into the real driver of self-sabotage: your nervous system state.
In This Episode, I’ll Teach You:
Why Cortisol Is the Master Hormone
Cortisol isn’t the enemy — it’s your body’s survival hormone. But when it stays elevated, your body shifts into protection mode, prioritizing survival over fat release, digestion, and emotional regulation.
When cortisol is high:
Fat storage is favored
Your body isn’t broken — it’s responding exactly the way it was designed to.
How Chronic Stress Drives Emotional Eating
I explain how constant stress — emotional, psychological, physical, or environmental — creates a cycle of:
Blood sugar spikes and crashes
Intense cravings
“Out of control” eating moments
Shame and self-blame
And why trying to diet from this state only makes the cycle worse.
The Hidden Reason Willpower Fails
When cortisol is elevated, the prefrontal cortex goes offline — the part of your brain responsible for logic, decision-making, and restraint.
That’s why you can know exactly what to do… and still feel unable to stop.
This isn’t a character flaw — it’s biology.
How Cortisol Impacts Other Hormones
You’ll hear how chronic stress disrupts:
Thyroid hormones → slowed metabolism
Insulin → blood sugar chaos and fat storage
Estrogen → PMS, PCOS symptoms, water retention
Muscle tissue → metabolic slowdown
When one hormone becomes dysregulated, it creates a cascade throughout the entire body.
Why Weight Gain Often Shows Up in Your 40s
It’s not “just menopause.”
This phase of life often comes with:
Increased emotional responsibility
Caregiving stress
Loss, grief, or major life transitions
The nervous system adapts to chronic survival mode — and the body responds accordingly.
How to Begin Regulating Cortisol
Healing doesn’t start with harder workouts or stricter diets.
It starts with:
Nervous system safety
Thought awareness
Reducing perfectionism
Nourishment (not restriction)
Rest and recovery
Addressing unresolved emotional stress
Health truly begins from the shoulders up.
Closing Reminder
Your body is not working against you.It’s responding to stress the only way it knows how.
When you create safety — everything changes.
Listen to more episodes at makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube.
Listen to more episodes at www.makepeacewithfood.com/podcast or subscribe to me on Spotify, Podcast, and YouTube so you never miss an episode!
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