Is Anxiety Making You Fat?

Posted: Nov 05 in Healthy Lifestyle, Weight Loss Blog by

Does your stomach carry the weight of the world? It’s tough to drop pounds and inches when life is stressful. Discover why it’s hard to lose weight when you’re under pressure, and you’ll spot clues about how to remedy the situation.

Constant cravings

Did your mom give you ice-cream to cure your anxiety when you were a kid? Then guess what? You learned it was a good way to deal with stress. Now, when your boss is unpleasant, or your telephone bill’s higher than expected, you reach for comfort foods.

Luckily, though, you enjoy other things as well as unhealthy snacks. Swap popcorn and candies for healthy treats like foot rubs and country walks and persist until they become go-to fodder when you need to feel good.

Raging hormones

Do your hormones run the show? The answer is yes if you find it hard not to dip into the fridge despite lack of real hunger. Stress increases chemicals in your system that stop you feeling famished, but that’s good news, isn’t it? Well, not really.

Stressed people experience mood swings, and as the saying goes, “what goes up, must come down.” Once you switch from fight-or-flight to okay, your stress level drops and you hanker after unhealthy foods more than ever.

The answer is to learn how to manage stress, so it doesn’t overwhelm you. Deal with anxiety and the urge to splurge on sugary goodies and oily fries will fade. Meditation, about eight hours of sleep a night, and fun will stop pressure mounting.

Lack of exercise

When you are down, the last thing you want to do is get up and go to the gym. So, you’re likely to eat snack foods in front of the TV night after night rather than move your body.

Luckily, as well as reducing feel-bad hormones, you can get feel-good ones to work on your behalf. Work out, or go for a brisk walk each day to increase happy hormones that help you feel upbeat. The positive influence of exercise will grow if you have an exercise buddy to share the experience, so ask a friend to join you.

Stressful thoughts

Stress stems from negative thoughts, which, given free rein multiply. The more you worry, the more you want to cram sweet or fatty foods into your belly and revel in the high they provide.

Research shows writing negative feelings in a journal gets them out of your head. The act of placing your sentiments on paper accomplishes two helpful things; it forces you to acknowledge your emotions and offers clarity.

Without a jumble of worries cluttering your brain, you can see what troubles you. Solutions are easier to find than before, and you note when you’ve blown matters out of proportion.

Don’t let stress add insult to injury by making you fat. Take control of your habits and manage your emotions. Otherwise, anxiety will result in the temptation to consume unmentionables.

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