Stress = Fat?

[cstrand1211]

okay so I've heard tons of people say that stress is a huge contribution to weight gain. Well i'm trying to PREVENT and Loose my FAT! So here what is my biggest stress factor in my life right now and its been bugging me for a few days and i HAVE no idea what to do!

okay here's my deal i asked my boyfriend and father of our son if he Wanted to marry me. . and he replied " I've been thinking and all that kind of stuff has been put of hold for awhile, so No i wouldn't want to marry you"

UGH its almost gut wrenching, Tear jerking to think about it! what am i suppose to do! we've been together for 3 years and have a kid PLUS i'm trying to focus on myself now to meet my body goals i just don't know what to do!!! UGH!!!!!

any ideas on how i can stay focused on my goals and try to keep this out of my mind???

[7rmr]

okay so I've heard tons of people say that stress is a huge contribution to weight gain. Well i'm trying to PREVENT and Loose my FAT! So here what is my biggest stress factor in my life right now and its been bugging me for a few days and i HAVE no idea what to do!

okay here's my deal i asked my boyfriend and father of our son if he Wanted to marry me. . and he replied " I've been thinking and all that kind of stuff has been put of hold for awhile, so No i wouldn't want to marry you"

UGH its almost gut wrenching, Tear jerking to think about it! what am i suppose to do! we've been together for 3 years and have a kid PLUS i'm trying to focus on myself now to meet my body goals i just don't know what to do!!! UGH!!!!!

any ideas on how i can stay focused on my goals and try to keep this out of my mind???

Yes stress does have an effect on weight gain mainly through the HPA axis and the release of corticosteroids. There is no magic bullet to dealing with stress but any quick search on " stress busting tips" or " how to deal with stress" through google should give you a lot of good examples. A quick list including exercise, social support, positive thinking, optimism potentially writing down your emotions and relaxation are all great ways to deal with stress. One of the more effective ways is through active coping where you tackle the problem head on. In this case it would be working out the problem with your boyfriend. If that fails then your forced in to emotion focused coping where the best way to cope is by sorting out your feelings and working on those. Like I said though, just google stress release tips or something like that and you will find some good stuff.

[AdverageJoe]

I have a high stress job and I literally run my stress away. I get on the treadmill at the company gym and run until all my stress and frustration is gone.

[peter03]

lots of ways to release stress, however, most of them are not legal

[Da-Risin-Smoke]

lots of ways to release stress, however, most of them are not legal

Yeah, I think my venting of tripping old ladies is not a good idea anymore.

[ArauzDurandal]

Yeah stress increases some bad hormones...

PLus, most people have some natural tendency to bing on carbs when stressed. It's anatural response from the brain to feeling ****ed up. That's why some people get fat from it.

[LGDIII]

One of the biggest reason stress makes you fat is that when most people are stressed they become inactive and in many cases eat more. Food is a comfort to many people. People don't get to be 300lbs because they are hungry. Without getting into all the scientific mumbo jumbo, many foods, especially sugary and fatty foods have a positive effect on the brain in regards to mood.

Any psychologist and psychiatrist (those that look beyond taking a drug for any bad feelings you have) will tell you the best thing you can do for mental health is exercise. Numerous studies have even shown that a 30 minute workout is more effective for mood than taking one Zoloft or *****. Besides the release of endorphins, exercise also helps loosen your muscles. When you are stressed, your muscles usually tighten. People shrug their shoulders, don't move around much, don't drink as much water, and eat non-healthy foods. All these things, especially the inactivity, are the worst things you can do for your muscles.

I was looking at some of your old posts. First of all, don't feel ashamed of yourself or your body. Are your overweight? For your height yes. Is that so bad? No. You have had a child, you have stated you have been overweight for years. If you buckle down and exercise there is no reason whatsoever that at this time next year that you can't be only at your ideal weight but also have a good body fat ratio and level of fitness.

As for as your fiance, I see why you are stressed. Look, you had a child out of wedlock to a man who was too immature and irresponsible to marry you as soon as you found out you were pregnant. He obviously was a deadbeat since he has a daughter that is already 11 (you are 19) and isn't still or never was married to the girl's mother. Maybe he is a widow, which wouldn't excuse him for still sleeping with such a young girl at his age while already having a child. This guy sounds like a loser.

I am sure you have already heard this before. I am sure that what I have said has stressed you from hearing it from friends and/or family. So put it out of your mind, forget people telling you that. Your biggest responsibility in life is your child and your health so you can take care of your child. While I am all for people getting married when they have children people like your baby's daddy are not. In that case you need to grow up. You need to make yourself healthy. You need to find a way to support yourself. You need to find a way to eventually support yourself without government help (Nothing is wrong with it at first, but eventually that will drag your self-esteem down.) You need to make sure your have the self confidence and the maturity for when you start a new relationship; otherwise you will just meet another loser.

Being young myself once, I usually stayed away from girls with kids. They were usually just looking for a daddy or they had their parents watch the kids while they slept with ever guy they could find. My thoughts on that were they felt like they were not as attractive as all their other childless young friends and felt good that men where attracted to them, even if they didn't want a relationship.

I met my wife when I was 24 and she was 21. She had a 3-year old girl. The father split after promising to marry her. She worked at a day care full time (her daughter got to go there) and went to community college at night. By the time I met her; she was working as an assistant manager in a hotel and had her own place. She felt good about herself. She was also very picky about the men she dated because she wasn't just looking for any guy to be the daddy. I never even met her daughter until we had dated for three months. She now is a district manager for a big hotel chain. I digress..

My whole point is that I can see why you are stressed. You have many things going on. Some things you can't control, like this deadbeat father. Certain things you can control, like how you react to everything. If you stay stressed or not, one year from now will be here in 365 days. If you stay stressed you will feel worse mentally and physically, you will have accomplished little, and your situation in life will probably be worse. And for sure your child will be affected negatively. Now if you work on yourself I can't say all your problems will go away. But you will feel better in your head, heart, and body. You will be able to work through stress easier instead of letting it defeat you and holding you back. And the most important your child will be better off having a happier, healthier mother.

A book that did wonders for me and is at your library, "Stop Worrying and Start Living?" by Dale Carnegie.

Good luck!



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Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have. ~ Dale Carnegie

We live longer than our forefathers; but we suffer more from a thousand artificial anxieties and cares. They fatigued only the muscles; we exhaust the finer strength of the nerves. ~Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Give your stress wings and let it fly away. ~Carin Hartness

Don't let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries. ~Astrid Alauda

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths. ~Etty Hillesum

[SocratesTX]

Yep - cortisol production increases. Google for effects.