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Energized with Dr. Mariza

735: The Stress–Metabolism Connection: Why You’re Gaining Weight, Craving Sugar & Struggling with Energy

Energized with Dr. Mariza

Dr. Mariza Snyder

Alternative Health, Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.8999 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Feeling like you’re doing everything right… but still struggling with unwanted weight, cravings, and low energy?  This episode is for you. We’re unpacking why your metabolism may not be broken at all—and how a dysregulated nervous system could be the real reason your body feels stuck.  For midlife women especially, chronic stress can quietly drive insulin resistance, hormonal shifts, and that frustrating loss of resilience that seems to hit in your 40s and beyond.  So this conversation sheds light on the powerful connection between stress and your ability to create and sustain energy in your body.  You’ll walk away with an empowering perspective on how supporting your nervous system can unlock real, lasting change in your health.  Tune in here to learn how to work with your body—not against it—and start feeling like yourself again! IN THIS EPISODE The correlation between stress and your metabolic health  What’s really happening in your body in a stressful state The negative impacts of stress-induced blood sugar responses  How you can experience a blood sugar spike without eating  Simple tips for calming your nervous system and stabilizing your metabolism and blood sugar levels  Movement recommendations for getting stress out of your system  How to take control of your body in my Midlife On Fire Collective  QUOTES“This is what's called a stress-induced blood sugar response, and it's completely normal in the short term, right? We are built for this…But the problem is, for most of us, this isn't happening once in a while. It's happening all the time, and over time research shows that it can lead to higher insulin levels, increased fat storage, especially in the abdomen, and more inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.” “Your metabolism is deeply connected to your nervous system. So what can you do about this? I want to keep this real simple because this isn't about doing more, it's about doing fewer things consistently.” “If we can start to create more safety in our bodies, it just changes everything. And we deserve that. We deserve to feel safe, because that translates into the safety of the people around us as well.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Join my Midlife on Fire Collective https://go2.drmariza.com/midlife-on-fire/ Join my 7- Day Metabolism and Hormone Jumpstart https://go.drmariza.com/lp/metabolism-jumpstart/ Order my latest book: The Perimenopause Revolution https://peri-revolution.com/ Dr. Jason Fung’s book: The Hunger Code https://www.doctorjasonfung.com/ RELATED EPISODES  729: Why Counting Calories Doesn’t Work (And What Actually Controls Hunger) with Dr. Jason Fung 730: The Metabolic Shift After 40: What’s Really Driving Weight, Energy & Mood Changes 732: The Silent Disruptor: How Chronic Stress Hijacks Perimenopause 698: Food Noise, Cravings, and Midlife Weight Gain: How to Regain Control Naturally with Sarah Kennedy

Transcript

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0:00.0

The truth is you can't always think your way out of stress.

0:05.0

You know, I'll be honest with you, you really cannot think your way out of stress.

0:08.7

Sometimes your body just needs to feel safe first.

0:12.0

That's why I always say, you know, when people always like, how do you know when you're

0:15.4

in a stress response kind of state?

0:18.0

Often your biology is going to give you a signal before you think you are.

0:23.2

Welcome back to the energized with Dr. Marisa podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Marisa, and I'm here

0:30.0

to help you rock your hormones, optimize your metabolic health, and feel energized in your body

0:35.3

so that you can age powerfully and wake up feeling amazing in your

0:39.6

body for many years to come. Let's jump on in. Have you been gaining weight, especially in the

0:45.9

belly area, craving sugar in the mid-afternoon or late at night, or just feeling exhausted and

0:51.6

depleted, even first thing in the morning. But you know that you are

0:55.4

eating healthy. You are tracking your protein numbers. And there are times when you are calorie

1:01.2

restricting just to get your body back to the way it was. This episode might explain everything

1:08.1

because your metabolism may not be broken. Your nervous system,

1:12.5

on the other hand, might just feel unsafe. And it is really, really hard for your body to heal

1:18.3

or create the kind of energy that you desire when it is stuck in overdrive or in survival mode.

1:25.4

Today we're talking about one of the most overlooked drivers of insulin resistance,

1:29.0

stubborn weight gain, and cravings, especially as we get older.

1:32.6

Because you know that once we hit our 40s, all of a sudden that stress buffer,

1:37.1

that stress resilience begins to falter.

1:40.1

And it has a profound impact on the body.

...

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