Is Stress Making You Gain Weight?

Is stress making you put on extra weight? Perhaps it is. Although, what you eat is still a major factor in your weight. But new research is showing that stress can have an effect on how your body stores excess calories. If you are a self-directed person with a busy life, chances are you're often feeling a bit overburdened. Do you find yourself waking up feeling unrested? Do you catch colds frequently or feel a bit under the weather? Do you find that your clothes are getting to be too small? Guess what? It may be the hectic pace of your lifestyle that's making your clothes so tight. Research shows that stress can not only raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other disease--it can add to your waistline, too. You can wind up storing more fat around your middle because of chronic stress at work or home. Feeling tense or anxious can also lead to overeating in an attempt to not deal with the situation at hand and make yourself or feel better. There are reason why stress may be your diet's worst downfall. This week I will acknowledge a few. The first one is stress itself.
Stress Itself High Cortisol and adrenaline occur when your system gets revved up for action. Unfortunately, today's stressors, i.e. a problems at work, don't usually require additional fuel to deal with them--so those calories get stored as fat. The problem with chronic stress is that it can provoke this kind of response continuously--and you wind up with a constant urge to eat. There would be no problem with this if you were to engage in physical activity, like running from the perceived threat. But, you end up being stationary and not engaging in the activity that will counteract the hormones that are responsible for the urge to eat. When this becomes chronic, you end up gaining weight. More to come tomorrow.