The Burnout Body: How Stress Messes with Hunger, Habits and Health

I didn’t just burn out - I also added 8 inches to my waist (and the rest).
Somewhere between the tears, the overwhelming workload, and the ongoing moral injury, I gained over three stone.

At first I thought it was the usual story: too much snacking, not enough willpower. But this was different. There was a constant gnawing in my stomach - not emotional hunger, not boredom, just this deep, physical emptiness that only food could mute. Strangely, it went away when I was hungry, like my body was confusing exhaustion with appetite.

I wasn’t undisciplined; I was deregulated. My nervous system had been running a marathon in the background for years, flooding my body with cortisol and adrenaline. I’d mistaken survival mode for lack of self-control.

It turns out that when your brain thinks the world is on fire, it doesn’t care about balanced meals or portion sizes. It just wants fuel, and it wants it fast.