Stress affects your vagus nerve, which affects how your body digests, absorbs, and metabolizes food. This disruption may result in unwanted inflammation. Some people use physical activity to work through stress. Although an exercise-fueled endorphin rush can reduce your stress, engaging in more physical activity than normal could result in unexpected weight loss. Sometimes stress triggers unconscious movement, like foot tapping or finger clicking.
These tics may help your body process your feelings, but they also burn calories. Stress can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. It can also affect the quality of the sleep you do get, leading you to feel sluggish and fatigued. These disruptions can affect cortisol production, which can affect your metabolism. Your eating habits may also be impacted. Your doctor can determine whether your symptoms are related to stress or due to another underlying condition.
Whatever the cause, your provider can work with you to develop healthy coping strategies and prescribe medication, if needed. If stress has impacted your eating habits, there are steps you can take to gradually ease your way back into a routine. Maintaining a regular eating schedule can help improve your mood, boost your energy levels, and restore your immune system. To avoid missing meals, set an alarm on your smartphone or computer to remind yourself to eat.
Sticking to a regular eating schedule helps keep your blood glucose levels in check. Even a few small bites at mealtimes can help combat stress and may minimize further mood changes.
If you can, opt for foods high in protein or fiber. Avoid unnecessary sugar and caffeine, which can spike your energy levels and later result in an energy crash. Skipping sweets and other treats in favor of something healthy can have a noticeable impact on the way your body feels. A good rule of thumb is to stick to whole foods, like fruits and veggies.
Although foods high in sugar can provide a quick boost of energy, the comedown is inevitable. When the sugar leaves your bloodstream, it may leave you feeling worse than before. In , researchers from Ohio State University interviewed women about the stress they had experienced the previous day before feeding them a high-fat, high-calorie meal.
After finishing the meal, scientists measured the women's metabolic rates the rate at which they burned calories and fat and examined their blood sugar, cholesterol, insulin, and cortisol levels. The researchers found that, on average, women who reported one or more stressors during the prior 24 hours burned fewer calories than non-stressed women. Stressed women also had higher insulin levels, a hormone that contributes to fat storage. In addition to the hormonal changes related to stress, stress can also drive you to engage in the following unhealthy behaviors, all of which can cause weight gain:.
When you're stressed out, healthy behaviors likely eating properly and exercising regularly can easily fall by the wayside. Here are a few strategies that can help you break the cycle of stress and weight gain:. Psychotherapy, and in particular cognitive behavioral therapy CBT , can be very helpful in teaching coping skills to better manage stress and weight.
Struggling with stress? Our guide offers expert advice on how to better manage stress levels. Get it FREE when you sign up for our newsletter. Psychosocial stress and change in weight among US adults.
Am J Epidemiol. Goldstein DS. Adrenal responses to stress. Cell Mol Neurobiol. Stress and eating behaviors. Minerva Endocrinol. Daily stressors, past depression, and metabolic responses to high-fat meals: A novel path to obesity. Biol Psychiatry. A role for exercise in attenuating unhealthy food consumption in response to stress. The myth of comfort food. Health Psychol. Mindfulness intervention for stress eating to reduce cortisol and abdominal fat among overweight and obese women: An exploratory randomized controlled study.
J Obes. Self-monitoring in weight loss: A systematic review of the literature. Cortisol , a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands, increases in response to a threat. When you no longer perceive a threat, cortisol levels return to normal.
But if stress is always present, you can experience an overexposure to cortisol, which Seltzer says is a problem since cortisol is also a significant appetite stimulant. And to make matters worse, Seltzer also points out that excess calories consumed in the setting of high cortisol appear to be preferentially deposited around the middle. The study found that the women participants who reported one or more stressors during the previous 24 hours burned fewer calories than non-stressed women.
To arrive at this figure, researchers interviewed the women about stressful events prior to giving them a high-fat meal to eat. After finishing the meal, the women wore masks that measured their metabolism by calculating inhaled and exhaled airflow of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Not only did it demonstrate a slow down in their metabolism, but the results also showed that stressed women had higher levels of insulin. The researchers concluded that the fewer calories burned could add almost 11 pounds per year.
When stress peaks or becomes difficult to manage, more serious, long-term health-related consequences can occur. Depression, high blood pressure, insomnia, heart disease, anxiety, and obesity are all linked to untreated chronic stress.
Finally, your mental health can take a hit. An increase in anxiety or depression can also happen when you unintentionally gain weight. Stress affects all of us at some point. Some people may experience it multiple times a day, while others may only notice it when it begins to interfere with daily tasks. In addition to implementing the stress-busting steps listed above, your doctor may recommend working with a registered dietitian RD that specializes in stress and weight loss.
An RD can help you develop a balanced nutrition plan that fits your needs. Your doctor may also suggest working with a psychologist or therapist to develop strategies to manage your stress. And finally, your doctor may also talk with you about medication if your stress is related to chronic anxiety or depression.
With proper treatment, including medical interventions and lifestyle modifications, you can lower your stress levels, reduce stress-related weight gain, and decrease the chances of developing a long-term health condition.
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