Tips For Not Gaining Weight Due To Stress

Stress influences appetite. This is a reality that most of us will have experienced at some point, rising as that factor that leads us to weight gain and even obesity. The opposite can also happen: there are those who stress causes a decrease in appetite.

People generally change their eating behaviors when they perceive that they are stressed or under persistent external interpersonal, financial, or other stresses. Although about 20% of people do not change eating behaviors during stressful periods, most do; about 40% or more increase and 40% or less decrease caloric intake when stressed.

Likewise, we must also point out that not everyone gets fat in a stressful situation, there are those who lose weight.

However, the usual thing is undoubtedly to gain a few kilos, thus initiating a health problem that we must know how to stop. We explain it to you.

Why do we get fat when we are under stress?

This data is interesting. As revealed by a study carried out by the doctors  Debra A.  Zellner and   Susan Loaiza, from Montclair University, when we experience stress the brain has the need to consume less healthy foods, that is, those rich in fat and above all, more caloric.

Stress, cortisol and fat accumulation

To better understand this link between our emotions and weight gain, it will help us to understand how our body reacts to stressful situations.

It appears from studies like this one, the release of glucocorticoids during the stress response of the HPA axis promotes food intake. This can have adverse consequences for the development of central obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Thus, studies such as the one carried out at the University of Cincinnati, show us that chronic stress is behind a large part of people with obesity.

Avoid gaining weight in stressful situations

The main measure we will take to resolve our stress situation is to identify the sources that trigger it and manage the problem appropriately. For this we may need to see a mental health specialist. It is the first thing we recommend in these cases.

Establishing a balance between our personal life, knowing how to put priorities first, will help us to be able to face our reality little by little.

This is the first step to overcome, where good psychology professionals will help us. Let’s see now what points we should know how to treat to prevent stress from making us gain weight.

Identify when you feel anxious about eating

It’s about studying your hunger. We have to keep our main meals on your schedule. As we have already said, a specialist is the one who can best help us in this case. If we feel that stress is affecting us in our diet, we probably need strategies to manage our food intake.

On the other hand, when we suffer from stress, it is common for our brain to demand to eat at certain times, since it feels the need to stop anxiety with some food, thus obtaining pleasure and relaxing.

Identify when this happens to you: Before going to work? When do you get home? Identifying those moments is a way to control them.

We recommend that you avoid industrial food, sugars, and fats above all. Replace them with healthier foods.

Foods that could help you

Diet plays a role in stress and anxiety. These foods that we show you below could be useful to relieve certain symptoms of stress:

Green Tea

Thanks to its various compounds, green tea could help reduce stress, while accelerating metabolism.

Blueberries

Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, a compound that has been shown to play a role in preventing and managing anxiety.

Integral rice

Brown rice is a food that provides benefits in the treatment of hyperglycemia and anxiety disorders.

Dark chocolate

It may surprise you. In stressful situations, consuming 70-90% dark, bitter and cocoa chocolate can be very beneficial: it provides us with flavonoids, and most importantly, it could reduce stress hormones.

Although yes, you can consume two ounces a day, and when you do, eat it little by little promoting salivation.

To conclude, you should know that introducing these foods into your diet to reduce stress could or could not help you. Therefore, do not forget to seek professional help to better deal with daily stress.