Stress makes you fat, discussions too

Stress makes you fat, discussions too

Faced with a sustained stress situation, the body begins to release hormones that influence our perception of satiety and our food intake.

During periods of psychological tension, some people lose their appetite. Instead, others experience significant weight gains that are uncontrollable. Staying in a state of calm and emotional balance is not only necessary for our psychic world, but also for our bodily health. Well, in effect, stress makes you fat and carries serious consequences beyond the physical aspect.

In this process of increasing weight and volume, both biological and behavioral factors are involved. That is, part of the problem is developed at the level of hormones and neurotransmitters. But this phenomenon is fed back by the behaviors carried out by the person suffering from stress. Fortunately, we can take certain measures to prevent this lack of control over our weight.

Stress makes you fat, but how do you do it?

The effect of hormones

There are two hormones that are especially relevant in stressful situations and that contribute to weight gain. These are leptin and cortisol. It has been shown that stressful situations can reduce the level of leptin in our bodies. This substance is responsible for controlling the feeling of satiety and caloric expenditure.

Therefore, a decrease in it will lead to an excessive increase in appetite and an inability to transform sugar into energy. In this way, we will feel a constant need to eat hypercaloric foods and the sugar will remain in the bloodstream instead of being used by the cells.

On the other hand, cortisol is known as the stress hormone. It releases in situations perceived as threatening to help us act quickly. It is useful as long as the circumstance is punctual and is followed by a relaxation response. But when the tension is maintained over time, cortisol begins to wreak havoc.

By placing ourselves in a survival mode it can generate sleep disturbances and, of course, appetite. Signs of hunger intensify and there is an urgency to eat foods that are not very nutritious and high in calories. In short, the signals that our body emits from stress are those of an alarm situation, so all our efforts to maintain weight are boycotted from the inside.

Emotional feeding

But in addition to this sequence of internal sensations, there is an important psychological factor that contributes to the stress that causes us to gain weight. It is known as emotional feeding. This consists of using food as a mood regulator, rather than as a source of energy for the body.

Stress, sadness, frustration ... are negative emotional states that are unpleasant to us. If we have not been able to acquire more functional and adaptive ways of handling them, the food becomes a lifesaver. By eating foods high in sugars and calories, the brain circuit of pleasure is activated. In this way, we get a pleasant sensation that temporarily eliminates the discomfort.

However, when this effect fades, the stress continues and the fault of having consumed excessive harmful foods is added to it. Finally, the emotional discomfort grows instead of being reduced and leads us to take refuge in food again to find ourselves better. This constitutes a vicious circle from which it is difficult to leave.

Stress makes you fat until you learn to handle it

Become aware of how stress affects your eating habits (and life in general). Write down what changes you experience in your diet, in your sleep, in caring for yourself, when stress appears.

Reduce the stress levels of your daily life and learn strategies to deal with it when it appears. Start practicing meditation or learn relaxation techniques to start when situations overwhelm you. Keeping your activation levels under control will help you a lot.

It returns to the food its function of fuel for the organism. Learn to detect hunger signals and differentiate them from others such as boredom, anxiety or sadness. Eat only when you feel hungry and pay special attention when the body asks you to eat excessive food or low nutritional value.

Finally, develop more functional strategies to regulate your mood. For example, go for a walk, take an infusion, chat with a friend or relax and distract your mind by reading a book.

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