Grief and the Body: What They Don’t Tell You
Grief doesn’t just live in your heart — it camps out in your body too. I learned that the hard way.
A couple of years after my dad passed, I gained 20 pounds out of nowhere. My diet was on point, I was working out consistently, and still... my body was shifting in ways I couldn’t explain.
Sure, I had just turned 40. But the real culprit? Unprocessed grief.
Between the stress of being an entertainment executive, handling my father’s estate, and running on empty- virtually no sleep— my body was tapped out. I knew grief was heavy emotionally, but I didn’t realize my body was holding it too. I treated my mind and body like two different entities instead of a system that was working together.
And let me tell you — the body always keeps the receipts.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
Grief raises cortisol (aka the stress hormone that loves to hang out in your belly). That spike can lead to visceral fat, higher blood sugar, insulin resistance, and sabotaging your sleep — which is the real MVP when it comes to healing.
At first, I just wanted to feel good in my skin again. But this journey has turned into something deeper: learning to care for myself the way I’ve always cared for others.
So now, I’m focused on: getting my visceral fat down from 14% to 10%, being in bed by 10 pm (as a night owl- it’s a daily struggle) and tracking how I feel — not just what the scale says.
This shift is what led me to talk with Susan Koursaris, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who’s also no stranger to grief. She lost her sister in 2018, and both parents in 2021. She gets it.
Here are a few of the gems she dropped:
Gut check. Your digestion sets the tone for sleep, energy, and blood sugar balance.
Can’t eat? Sip bone broth. It’s nourishing, gentle, and counts as self-care.
Got a sweet tooth? Have the cookie. Just eat it after a meal with fat and protein to avoid blood sugar spikes.
Let your people show you love You don’t have to grieve alone.
Hydrate ! Lemon + sea salt = natural electrolyte.
Night owls, I see you, I am one of you. But your body wants you in bed before midnight so it can do the repair work.
Grief rewires your body — but it also gives you a chance to listen to it more closely than ever before.
Watch the full convo here — and if you’re grieving, healing, or just figuring it out as you go, you’re not alone.
