Many people have this doubt in mind can stress cause weight loss? The straightforward answer is “yes.” But, not only stress leads to weight loss for some people but it also contributes to weight gain. Stress is one of the major culprits in our body that gives birth to a lot of health issues. It makes some people skip their meals and opt for nutritionally-poor food options.
Moreover, it can also cause some to skip the idea of eating. But, the sigh of relief is that the sudden change is often temporary in nature. Once the stress triggers go down, people get back to their regular food habits. You already know stress can make people put on weight. But, do you know the process? It starts working by alleviating the appetite but, over time, it enhances hunger in the body.
The matter of concern is that almost every person deals with stress on a day-to-day basis. So, it’s hardly possible to make the mind 100% worry-free. But, we can at least try to manage it to an extent.
The post will help you to know about the relationship between stress and weight. Go through it and you will get some motivation to manage your stress.
What Causes Weight Loss In Our Body.
People can start losing weight for various reasons. It can be a result of daily regimes like exercise as well as dieting. Moreover, alleviation in muscle mass, body fat, or body fluid can also lead to weight loss.
Different health issues like viral infections, depression, parasite infection, and bowel diseases, etc can also be responsible. Above all, stress is a significant cause of weight loss that can give rise to many other health issues.
Can Stress Cause Weight Loss?
Stress causes the body to change its normal behavior that eventually leads to weight loss. Stress sucks the thinking capability of a person and leaves him/her completely exhausted.
And the obvious consequences include alterations in eating habits. Moreover, it also suppresses hunger and makes a person forget about his/her meals. The overall situation causes a drastic weight loss.
How Can Stress Cause Weight Loss?
It’s almost impossible to imagine today’s life without stress. And almost all of us have been going through the same problem.
Once stress crops up, you will start behaving in some unusual ways. For instance, you would start working during your meal or late at night. These changes will adversely affect the internal reaction mechanism of your body against stress.
When stress attacks your body, it heads to “fight or flight” mode or acute stress response. As a result, your body gets the message that it must address the stress. Soon, two hormones cortisol and adrenaline come into the picture.
Adrenaline lowers the desire of taking meals and prepares the body for more strenuous activities. It’s the main cause of weight loss in response to stress.
Does Stress Cause Weight Gain In People?
Most people adopt the habit of overeating under uncontrollable pressure. It’s actually due to the fight-or-flight response or survival mode.
Once our body attains a specific stress level, we start feeling what it’s demanding is right. And most of the time, it’s characterized by the habit of overeating.
The reason behind it is the misjudgment of our body that we are running out of calories. It thinks all the calories are consumed during stress management. So, it encourages us to take more food. There is no requirement for this additional consumption most of the time.
Contributions Of Cortisol.
Cortisol (popularly known as “the stress hormone”) starts elevating during stressful moments. It contributes to the conversion of overeating into a routine.
Moreover, increased levels of cortisol lead to higher levels of insulin. As a result, blood sugar starts lowering and our body automatically starts craving unhealthy foods.
How to Lose Stress Weight In Natural Ways?
Some easy-to-follow regimes can help you to get rid of stress-related weight gain:
1. Incorporate Protein To The Diet.
If you want to address the stress-related weight gain problems, protein intake will help you. The metabolism of protein needs the digestion of calories. That means a protein-dense diet can largely accelerate the metabolism of calories.
Moreover, protein-rich foods help you to get a fuller feeling for a long time. A simple start with a high-protein breakfast in your daily diet can prove to be a powerful boost.
2. Consume Whole Single-Ingredient Meals.
Start opting for single-ingredient whole foods if you have put on weight due to stress. Thus, you can omit a vast portion of sugar, processed foods, and fats from your diet. Most of the whole foods impart a fuller feeling. It will further help you to maintain a healthy calorie limit.
Moreover, eating these foods will help your body to get some essential nutrients for proper body functioning. As a whole, you can expect to lose weight.
3. Stay Away From Processed Foods.
If you are going to get back to your slim-trim avatar, it’s really important to bid adieu to processed foods. Since these food options are rich in added fats, sugar, and calories, it will adversely affect your body.
Moreover, such foods are prepared to impart addictive like effects. As a result, you can start feeling out of control whenever you come across these food stalls. Prepare a daily regime of healthy snacks and foods, such as whole fruit, yogurt, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, etc.
Over To You.
Can stress cause weight loss? Now, the question should be on which body part stress doesn’t have any effect.
Simply put, other than weight-related problems, stress also contributes to headaches, asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. It also causes gastrointestinal issues, anxiety, depression, and many other ailments.
It’s high time to take some actions to manage your stress level. Start the process by excluding alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine from your life.
Make a routine of physical activities under expert supervision. Have enough sound sleep regularly. Divide your day-to-day tasks into manageable ones and fix their time accordingly.
So, which of the stress management techniques are you going to adopt?
Well! i never knew that a lot goes behind people gaining weight or losing it when they are under duress or stressful situation. I just usually notice changes to their body system which could either be weight gain or loss. This is really eye opening and interesting to see here. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I feel the way we overeat during stress is the cause o weight gins and you have shared how to keep our weight imbalance in check. Thanks.
That is good your understanding, I can undestand your kowledge according to this post.If you have any suggetion or comment please contact me with keeping comment.
Oh, this is really nice. I am a very big absorber of tress and this is majorly because i work at home and i get to sit on a spot for a very long time. Over time, i have found out that for me to stop gaining weight i needed to do something. So for me, stress is a thing of weight gain instead of weight loss. The good thing here is that you have added ways in which i can reduce the weight and i am very happy with that. Thank you.
Thanks your comments. I like to suggest, please share among your friends to make inform abut this article.
Dear Saman
Thanks for that educative article. I fully agree with you on this because it has happened to me before.
I’ve realized that whenever my stress levels rise over a prolonged period of time, I tend to lose a lot of weight. I remember a time of over 12 years that I lived underweight due to the weight of issues that encompassed my life. Once I overcame them, my health got restored.
The good thing is that, as you’ve rightfully put it, once normal life is resumed, the weight comes back. I’ve come to realize that it’s not a good thing to be stressed up- especially for a prolonged period as this could even lead to depression and early death.
Boniface- from AndroidBix
Thanks for you valuable comment, because, I can understand, your experience is more valuable example for stress directly link with weight loss. I’d like to suggest, please share others too. to make inform in this regards. And I like to ask, what is your suggesions, in this regards, as experience person on the stress for weight loss? Thanks for joining to comments on my post.
Hey, I’m someone who suffers from chronic stress and social anxiety and I really appreciate the time you took to write this article. I can confirm two things for you. I have been getting better ever since my counselor started making me go for regular walks and an established bedtime routine. Both have really helped me a lot to stabilize things and find a little balance in my daily life. Stress has caused both weight gain and weight loss for me so I know the struggle is real. Thank you.
Thanks your comment, I think, you have experience in this stress, if you have any think to know, please keep a comments. I will help you.
Rather interesting to read on here for me and I truly fancy this post a lot. Just what I need right now. I am in a rather depressing mood right now because of some depressing situations I was going through and I’m beginning to lose weight seriously and thankfully that I read this post, I have been able to figure out the source of the problems. I really like this a lot and I never even know that stress can also cause weight gains. this was a worthy read for me.
Thanks for comment and make informative, I like this post share among your friends because, many friends doesn’t know such help issues, please do as a help for them. thanks and i will suggest, if you have question, please remind me.
Stress today is seen as a normal thing today and it’s not supposed to be. There isn’t much knowledge to people on how to deal with stress naturally, and the gaining weight aspect of it is what makes it really annoying. I’m glad to see you listed some natural way to deal with it and your detailed explanation of how stress can cause weight loss and weight gain. Thanks for the information .
I agree with your idea because with our busiest working life every time it makes stress, such as if we came to road, office etc. and when we assume not adults, but also children, they also are with stress anytime, headache, psychological issues, etc. this is because, if you can think, weight gain and weight loss. Thanks for your valuable comment.
Wow, this is a very good thing for me to learn because i think the alcohol and caffeine that i take so i can work well is beginning to take a serious toll on me and i need to change that very soon. I like the fact that you could share these tips here and i think i will be needing a change in lifestyle soon. Thank you for this.
Sure, I happy about that, because, Our trial is more successful, And I’d like to suggest if you have suggestions and comments or questions, please make me inform, I will support you to solve it. Thanks you
Thank you for sharing this informative article, stress and weight gain can be separated likewise stress and weight loss because the two have specific effects based on the output of stress. Sitting for too long and not eating good balanced diet is very detrimental and can cause weight gain, also when stress infringe on your eating habits and you don’t eat properly or you skip meals, you definitely lose weight. Thanks
Thanks for your comment and suggestions. I will suggest you if you have suggestions or question, please keep a comment on my site. Thanks
I never knew stress could cause you to add weight my whole life, and I know I’m not the only one who lacks the knowledge of it. I’m someone who goes through stress 5 days a week because of the nature of my jobs and I have been losing weight the whole time, and I guess that is why I have no idea one can gain weight from stress. I’m glad to have learned about it now. When it comes to avoiding fatty food as you said, how about those on keto diet?
Yes, your idea is correct, Ketogenic diet is more suitable for weight loss. mainly, you can understand and you have experience with stress that can cause weight loss. Because you should know in this regard. I think this will important for and please inform others about such health issues face to weight loss. I would like to tell, if you have any question in this regards, please add a comment me. Thanks for you comments on this
I found this article really interesting. I have struggled with stress for years (Probably more anxiety) and never once considered my diet to be working for or against me! I know that when my wife is stressed she eats. She recently changed eating habits an found a fitness club. Shes doing great losing a stone now. Stress is clearly the one thing that holds her back. The article was both informative and helpful. I truly believe that stress effects us all. A must read for all of us. Thank you. Ron
Sure, this will more support for you. I like to request, plese share amoght others because, some of them your friends are like to read and make inform them. if you have a any question or suggestion, please keep a comment for me. Thanks your comments