Stress might seem harmless, but it’s anything but. While short-term stress can lead to bothersome headaches, stomach cramps, weight gain, and more bouts of colds and flu, chronic, unremitting stress impacts every part of your body, from your digestive and reproductive systems to your immune system.

Left unaddressed, chronic stress can even increase your risk for conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, and anxiety, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

That’s right: Stress isn’t just making you grumpier — it may also be making you fatter and sicker.

To help you build the ultimate stress-busting diet, we came up with a 7 day meal plan that’s specifically balanced to meet all of your nutritional needs while calming stress hormones, increasing feel-good hormones, and keeping the energy high. 

Preparing healthy food may be the last thing you want to do when you’re pressed for time and strung out. But rest assured that your time and effort will pay off in a big way — and that you’ll likely notice the benefits of this plan when your stress levels are at their highest. What you’ll potentially be getting out of this plan: more energy, a calmer mind, a boosted immune system, and maybe even a slimmer waistline. Need we say more?