Weight Gain while under stress

[Anonymous]

How do you manage this? I've gained almost fifteen pounds in 2 months and it just keeps piling on.

I'm not eating that many extra calories. I'm still exercising. I eat for comfort sometimes (carbs at 9pm) but not 15lbs worth. The rest of my diet is normal and how it always was.

It seems like my body stores every calorie as fat instead of burning anything. Like if I use 2500 calories during the day, and eat 3000 I gain two pounds.

Does anyone else have this or have any advice? My stress is divorce related (two years in) and anxiety producing at times and not going away anytime soon but the weight gain is making me feel so much worse.

This has happened to me in the past, where as soon as my life calms down it falls off quickly but my life won't calm down for awhile yet. Any advice for managing it or losing weight while under stress?

[Anonymous]

You're eating too much - more than you think. And/or drinking more calories.

People all over the world in famine, war-torn countries are under severe stress but don't gain weight. Calories in, calories out.

I'm not ignoring the hardship you're going through, stress is hard and makes lots and lots of people overeat. But it's the food, OP.

[Anonymous]

You are eating more than you think. Define "9 pm carbs."

[Anonymous]

A run to KFC for mashed potatoes and Mac and cheese. Yummmm

[Anonymous]

My bodies metabolism haults under stress. And ppl are who claim I'm eating more than I realize I can assure you that I'm truly not. I've been tracking my intake daily on an app for 7 years. I own multiple food scales and do all of that weighing and potioning. And I have a distinct pattern of gaining under stress. I find upping my outdoor time (walks and gardening) and letting time pass help. If I gain more than 4 lbs I start IF.

[Anonymous]

I do this and actually went to a weight loss clinic about it. The key was finding ways to reduce stress the best you can. Yoga, church, meditation, music, anything you can do to help yourself relax.

[Anonymous]

I do think you are eating more than you think. When I get stressed I lose a lot of weight but it isn’t anything to do with my metabolism speeding up. Stress makes me feel nauseous and I eat less.

Rather than over thinking the weight gain, you need to address the stress. I find really strenuous exercise helps me keep my mind off it - Bikram Yoga or Crossfit. This of course doesn’t work for everyone and some people are helped more by meditating and calmer activities like walking.

[Anonymous]

Cortisol has a known linkage to weight gain. When you are stressed your levels of cortisol go up. You are not crazy.

You need to find the time to do things like yoga and/or meditation to help reduce the stress and also increase your sleep.

Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

You are not crazy! I also have stress-related weight gain.

DS has a long-term disability and requires frequent surgeries. I gain weight in the weeks leading up to surgery - I have tracked what I eat and I almost always gain 3-4 lbs the month before. (I’m a size 2, so the weight really shows and bothers me.).

Oddly, I lose the weight when he is in the hospital and home recovering. The anticipation of the surgery and feelings of helplessness is what is truly stressful, as the surgeries have all gone well. I think after surgery, I go into a super-mom mode and have a purpose helping him recover, making sure he gets what he needs, etc. Before surgery, it’s just awful because there is nothing to do but wait.

OP, this not in your head. Our bodies, especially as mothers, react to our emotions. My best suggestions are medication and talk therapy. You could try low-carb - I can’t austain it, but my sister swears that it helps her depression. Xoxo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not crazy! I also have stress-related weight gain.

DS has a long-term disability and requires frequent surgeries. I gain weight in the weeks leading up to surgery - I have tracked what I eat and I almost always gain 3-4 lbs the month before. (I’m a size 2, so the weight really shows and bothers me.).

Oddly, I lose the weight when he is in the hospital and home recovering. The anticipation of the surgery and feelings of helplessness is what is truly stressful, as the surgeries have all gone well. I think after surgery, I go into a super-mom mode and have a purpose helping him recover, making sure he gets what he needs, etc. Before surgery, it’s just awful because there is nothing to do but wait.

OP, this not in your head. Our bodies, especially as mothers, react to our emotions. My best suggestions are medication and talk therapy. You could try low-carb - I can’t austain it, but my sister swears that it helps her depression. Xoxo

OP here & thank you. What medication would you suggest? I've tried wellbutrin, including two different generics and though it helped at first, then the manufacturer shorted my generic. Then I tried a different generic that made me crazy. Then I tried the brand name and it was ok but not really helpful, and then when my generic became available again it seemed different and didn't help. I also had to quit BC as it helped for a year or so but then got worse over 6 months. So just as of recently I'm on nothing.

Normally I'm a size 0-2, so yeah 15lbs is a big difference for me. Thanks for the support and sorry to hear you and DS go through the stress of repeated surgeries. My stress is related to the custody aspect right now, so maybe the mom body emotional stress stuff really does wreck havoc.

[Anonymous]

OP again. I might be eating a few extra calories then I think, but I don't think enough to cause my issue. I have a food scale for snacks or tricky portions.

The issue that frustrates me is that when I'm feeling okay (just normal life stress) I can have whatever foods around, any and all of my favorites and plain and simple, I don't even want to eat them. Maybe a few bites but just don't want them.

When I'm stressed I want all of the junk food (most of it is 'healthy' junk food, think non-gmo, organic).

Plus it's like I lost the ability to feel hungry or full. More like when I start eating I really don't want to stop.

Example: it's lunchtime, and 4 hours since I last ate. I decide to eat so that I don't end up ravishingly hungry later. So I eat something (two eggs cooked in avocado oil on little big bread toast). But then I eat 8 more things. Normally I would stop somewhere towards the end of the eggs on toast. But when stressed I don't feel much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. I might be eating a few extra calories then I think, but I don't think enough to cause my issue. I have a food scale for snacks or tricky portions.

The issue that frustrates me is that when I'm feeling okay (just normal life stress) I can have whatever foods around, any and all of my favorites and plain and simple, I don't even want to eat them. Maybe a few bites but just don't want them.

When I'm stressed I want all of the junk food (most of it is 'healthy' junk food, think non-gmo, organic).

Plus it's like I lost the ability to feel hungry or full. More like when I start eating I really don't want to stop.

Example: it's lunchtime, and 4 hours since I last ate. I decide to eat so that I don't end up ravishingly hungry later. So I eat something (two eggs cooked in avocado oil on little big bread toast). But then I eat 8 more things. Normally I would stop somewhere towards the end of the eggs on toast. But when stressed I don't feel much.

How are you still not getting it:

Normally you are a light eater. When you stress, you eat more because you're a stress eater. You've been eating a lot more due to stress. You don't need Wellbutrin. That's why you're gaining weight. Weight is calories in, calories out. Your calories in are high.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are still eating more than you think. And/or not moving as much. It doesn't matter much if you eat 3000 of calories worth of avocado toast or ice cream - eating more than you burn off will cause weight gain. It's just math.

Can you increase your exercise to help deal with your stress?

[kburggraf]

I am in your same boat with stress. I have noticed that with the added stress- I do not get enough or good enough sleep unless I 'drug' myself with Benadryl or melatonin. I have thought about starting a take shape for life diet- optavia (spelling?) have you heard of this or does anyone have any thoughts on this diet if they know of it? I have read reviews and they go both ways... it having a coach is the rave of the reviews etc...

[Anonymous]

There is a chapter on how cortisol (the stress hormone) causes weight gain in the book “The Obesity Code”. This is a hormonal reaction. Calories are a part of the equation but not all of it. The people who say “just watch your calories” are ignoring (or are ignorant of) the impact hormones have on weight gain.