Recent studies show that there exists a direct relationship between stress and weight loss. There are many causes of stress which cause weight loss, including job loss, death of a loved one, chronic illness, financial difficulties, emotional problems, failed relationships, too much work etc. Regardless of the cause of stress, the level of weight loss varies from one person to another, depending on the situation. A stressed person may make poor diet choices and miss meals that may cause weight loss. On the other hand, other people lose appetite and the desire to eat. In most cases, this is usually temporary, especially if the cause of stress is managed immediately after a change is observed. One returns to normal, and the body starts functioning well. If you experience notable weight loss as a result of stress, there are increased chances of your body getting weak, losing muscles, and getting nutritional deficiencies.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Symptoms your Weight Loss is Associated With Stress

When you’re stressed out, you’ll experience weight loss alongside other symptoms as follows:

• Sudden mood changes
• Frequent headaches
• Indigestion
• Increased heart rate
• Sleeping problems
• Body aches
• Memory problems
• Fatigue

How Stress Causes Weight Loss

Stress leads to behavioral changes that affect how the body works/reacts, thus leading to weight loss. Below are some top causes of stress weight loss:

1. Digestion problems

Studies show that stress makes the body switch into flight mode. This further raises the energy level in the body, which increases blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, among others. For the body to be in a position to maintain this increased energy level, the digestion process completely stops or slows down rapidly, resulting in gastrointestinal distress. This makes one experience diarrhea, stomach pains, constipation or even bloating. Apart from gastrointestinal distress, stress also leads to irritable bowel syndrome, affecting normal food consumption, thus resulting in weight loss.

2. Increased activity

If you’re stressed, there are chances that you’ll make numerous movements to calm down. These movements include running, walking around, jumping, exercising etc. Studies show that physical activity is a natural way to reduce stress levels and improve mood. Although engaging in these physical activities will help you relieve stress, if you’re not taking enough food, you experience rapid weight loss.

3. Psychological disorders

Chronic stress is the leading cause of depression and anxiety. They both lead to weight loss, even if their severity is low. When you experience depression or anxiety, your appetite level will also decrease. This means that you’ll eat less than your body requires resulting in weight loss.

4. Skipping meals

This usually happens if you’re dealing with stressful situations, especially those with set deadlines or require additional effort and time for completion. These stressful situations will make you forget to eat and skip meals, sometimes even without knowing. This problem is usually associated with office workers who’ve got a huge burden of completing multiple tasks at a go. Due to increased stress levels, most people will find themselves taking unhealthy meals and also skipping meals, thus resulting in stress weight loss.

5. You feel exhausted to eat

Chronic stress levels make it difficult to eat at times due to exhaustion. This also leads to sleep deprivation, where you experience frequent sleep disturbances and decreased sleep duration. If you’re experiencing chronic stress, you’ll always feel tired to perform regular activities, including eating. This will make you lose weight since the body won’t be getting adequate nutrients.

6. Nausea

Apart from digestive disorders, increased stress levels also result in nausea. Nausea is similar to bloating and stomach discomforts, meaning that it causes decreased appetite. When you’ve reduced appetite, you’ll automatically eat less than your body requirement, thus translating to stress weight loss.

7. Reduced cortisol production

When you’re stressed, there are high chances that you’ll experience sleep deprivation. Therefore, if you can’t get enough sleep, you’ll always feel fatigued and weak. This further affects cortisol production, which plays a significant role in metabolism. When cortisol production is affected, you’ll also experience irregular eating habits, which will lead to weight loss.

Ways to Manage Stress Weight Loss

After noticing that your weight has gradually decreased, you can take appropriate measures to get back to normal. Below are top ways to manage stress weight loss:

Create a meal schedule

To avoid skipping meals, you need to create a meal schedule and stick to it. Failure to stick to the schedule won’t help you get back to normal. Since you’re stressed, you might not be in a position to eat whole meals. In this case, you can incorporate multiple snacks at different times of the day. Once you create a meal schedule, ensure you follow it daily as this will assist you in reducing inflammation, regulating circadian rhythm and improving stress resistance.

Consume stress-fighting foods

There are many stress-fighting foods in the market today, such as avocado, whole grains, citrus fruits, bananas and dark leafy greens. Most of these foods are rich in vitamin B, which reduces stress levels. They also contain other key ingredients that help release serotonin to stabilize mood, improve memory, boost immunity, reduce inflammation and depression.

Eat after exercise

One natural way of managing stress levels is through exercise. If you keep exercising while eating less, you’ll continue experiencing stress weight loss. To regain your lost weight, it’s essential to take a meal immediately after exercise, whether it’s running, walking, swimming, jumping or lifting weights. The best post-workout foods should be rich in protein and carbohydrates. Such foods include apples, rice cakes, yogurt, protein smoothie, nuts, bananas and avocado. Apart from preventing further weight loss, eating after exercising will decrease protein breakdown, improve protein synthesis and recondition your muscles.

Keep track of what you eat

When you’re stressed, some foods might hurt your stomach. Therefore, it’s essential to keep track of what you eat and how you feel in your stomach. If you experience some strange symptoms after a meal, you need to change your eating habits. Look for other meals with similar value and substitute them. This will help you eliminate some stress symptoms.

Take smaller bites

As earlier mentioned, stress causes digestion problems and nausea. This makes it difficult to eat the required amount of food. Therefore, if you’re experiencing any of these, you need to start taking smaller bites. Additionally, consume some healthy fruits and vegetables. This will start preparing your body to take bigger bites and get back to normal.

Get healthy pre-made food

If stress is making you feel fatigued or exhausted such that you can’t prepare your own food at home, consider getting healthy pre-made food. Feeling fatigued or exhausted will probably make you lazy to prepare food, thus increasing the chances of missing or skipping meals, further leading to stress weight loss. If there’s no pre-made food around you, you can make an order from a food store or restaurant.

Ensure you take breaks

Whether you’re at work, home, or school, it’s essential to take some breaks in between your routine. This will help you reduce stress. During these breaks, you can choose to practice yoga, spend time outside, or participate in creative activities like painting or drawing.

These are the top ways to manage stress weight loss. You can also consider taking stress supplements. The bottom line is to dig deeper and find the root cause of why you have increased stress levels. Once you identify the root cause, it’ll be easier to determine the best solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

The post How Does Stress Affect Weight Loss? appeared first on WeightDescent.com.