So does stress cause weight gain? Let’s think about it!
Have you ever found yourself eating fries without even thinking while trying to make an important deadline?
Or maybe you are a student who struggles with the bachelor paper and that makes you anxious when you finally need to finish it. Instead, you try to eat your stress and anxiety away. I was there and done it.
Probably, it wasn’t too bad. But I remember buying chocolate after chocolate when I felt stressed about my work. How about you, my dear reader?
I know, I know. This kind of eating habits has consequences. One of them is weight gain.
I also know that you have questions about stress and weight gain. Can stress cause weight gain? If yes, then why does stress cause weight gain? I will try to answer them for you. Just stay with me and keep reading!
Does Stress Cause Weight Gain? How?
At first, stress makes you lose your appetite, but long-term stress does the opposite. Chronic stress boosts your hunger.
When you are in the presence of a threat, for example, a big credit card bill or urgent deadline, your brain triggers the release of hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. In this way, your body prepares to handle the threat by making you ready for action.
If it’s a short-term, adrenaline helps you feel less hungry, because your body is preparing for “fight or flight”. But if stress is long-term, effects of adrenaline wear off, stress hormone cortisol signals your body to replenish your food supply and that is why you want to eat more.
Nowadays, humans don’t use as much energy as our ancestors did fighting wild animals, so people gain more weight when they are stressed. Usually, you work long hours at the computer to make the deadline, and you aren’t chased by wild animals. Right? So you don’t work off much energy while dealing the stressor.
The worst thing about this is that too often many of us eat sweets, cookies, and chips when we are stressed or worried. I believe we all know what it does to our bodies. In long term, these kinds of food make us feel worse, gain weight and cause other health problems. Yes?
So do you understand why you want to eat more when stressed? I believe you do.
Stress Eating?
One of the worst ways to deal with stress is stress eating, and I think many of us fall for it and sometimes don’t even see the problem before it’s too late. Then we need to think about weight loss. So I am not even amazed anymore how many people write, read and talk about weight loss, and it’s a huge problem, that many people suffer from it.
How to stop stress eating?
Oh, yes, I know you want me to answer this question right away, and I will, however, you need to wait a little bit longer. But I promise soon I will write a new article about it.
But in the meantime, you can read my other articles about how to relieve stress, reduce cortisol levels and balance your life, so that you can avoid stress eating and weight gain that is related to stress.
Conclusion
I hope I answered your question, does stress cause gain weight. Stress can cause a lot of problems in your daily life, but you can do everything in your power to minimize or avoid them.
Remember that I believe in you, in all of us. We have the power to change our lives in more ways than one. You have the power to be free of any obstacle, and you are able to manage stress and anxiety. I am here to remind you about that.
There are many tools that can help you to reduce stress and live a happy life.
Do you ever experience weight gain that is related to stress? How do you overcome it? Let me know below!
I would love to hear from you, so please leave me a comment below to let me know if this article helped you.
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Thank you!
Until next time, my friend! Return here if you want to know more.
Linda Mo
Founder of How To Reduce Stress Naturally