Stress?

lizvanb

I skimmed the latest 10 pages of posts and I didn't see any about this topic. I've always heard that stress can curb/slow down weight loss. Is this true? If it is, does anyone know how much of a factor it is? As a graduating college student who's busy with homework AND job searching, I'm curious to know lol. Thanks everyone!

alecta337

I think it all depends how you deal with the stress. Some people stuff their faces because they are stressed.

I personally find it hard to eat when I am super stressed out. I tend to lose weight when I'm stressed just because I can't eat.

noexcuses1218

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001

I love the Mayo Clinic's website.

NYCDutchess

Stress makes your body retain cortisol. Working out releases cortisol from your body...so if you can get some cardio in, you should be fine.

That's what my dr. told me.

scheys76

Stress can slow down weight loss, if you're stressed over a period more than a few days. I took this from an article I just looked up:

Stress and Weight Loss: Cortisol

When this stress occurs, cortisol is released. Cortisol is a hormone of your body. It is also referred to as the stress hormone.

It has a destructive and catabolic effect on the body. It degenerates and breaks down muscle cells. I causes belly fat. I also raises blood sugar and raises blood pressure.

In the short term, it has fat burning effects. But with consistently high levels of cortisol in the blood your body breaks down and it also causes the storage of fat.

When someone cannot lose weight despite exercising harder, I know that there is excess cortisol.

jewelzz

cortisol levels go down when stress is present,therefore slowing the weightloss process.I workout out harder when Im stressed.

W0zzie

In general I think I'm less stressed now due to working out compared to when I was a lazy oaf LOL

Ashia1317

For me it went one or two ways ...

When i suffered my depression over 8 years ago, I lost over 12 lbs. I went from 129 my whole high school years (that I can remember) to a 117 and still losing ... I had started a new job, graduated high school, anxious about college ... Then again 4 years ago going through a bad break up and buying a house - stressful times!! - I lost over 10 lbs .. going from 140 something to 130.

It didn't last long.

Now a days, PMS, work, life ... I can either lose or I can gain. They say stress can be a big factor in weight gain because of cortisol(?). I think it all depends on the situation and how we deal with it. Those days I was soo busy and over worked - no time to sit down ... Now I seem to find comfort in food, but I'm getting a good handle on that.

Ashia1317

In general I think I'm less stressed now due to working out compared to when I was a lazy oaf LOL

Agreed. I can handle situations a little better than I used to. And it helps me with sleep - which is one thing I find very difficult to do when stressed/anxious.

lizvanb

Thanks everybody! Your input and information helped a lot! I'm going to try cutting back on stress, hopefully between that and my longer workouts and healthier eating I will see some freaking progress this week!

austxdreamin

I'm going to try cutting back on stress, hopefully between that and my longer workouts and healthier eating I will see some freaking progress this week!

Also...elliminate the stress over "freaking progress"...yes, we all want to see those number go down (as quick as possible), but just know that by eating better and working out you are already doing yourself a HUGE favor and your body thanks you!! Don't worry, the numbers will go in your favor soon enough on the scale...one day you will weigh in and it will reward you for your efforts!! This was a lesson I had to learn and once I quit stressing over the scale number and concentrated on how I was feeling and how my clothing was feeling (like not so tight)...well, it's amazing the progress I started to see.

lizvanb

Also...elliminate the stress over "freaking progress"...yes, we all want to see those number go down (as quick as possible), but just know that by eating better and working out you are already doing yourself a HUGE favor and your body thanks you!! Don't worry, the numbers will go in your favor soon enough on the scale...one day you will weigh in and it will reward you for your efforts!! This was a lesson I had to learn and once I quit stressing over the scale number and concentrated on how I was feeling and how my clothing was feeling (like not so tight)...well, it's amazing the progress I started to see.

I'm totally with you. I guess I forgot to mention that for the past few years I was totally against scales; they just cause unnecessary amounts of stress and self-loathing. I weighed myself once every few months and focused more on how I *felt*. So I totally get what you're saying. But once I joined this site and noticed how high my BMI was (not "morbidly obese" high, but it's high) I started paying more attention to the number again. I'm trying not to be neurotic about it because, like you said, it causes stress for no reason.

W0zzie

@austxdreamin Great comments - that helps me too

I felt I sort of stalled over the last 2 weeks and first got sort of hung up about it but then thought - hey my belt is 3 notches in and I'm wearing trousers that were left in the back of the cupboard over 12 months ago - so what am I miffed about. On top of that I have more energy, enjoy the workouts and generally feel great compared with 3 or 4 months ago.

I am going to try to see the numbers as a bonus and not get hung up week to week - still I'd like to see that downward trend toward goal though over a month or two...