Stress and anxiety may adversely affect your efforts for weight loss

Excessive stress is harmful for our body in several ways. Weight gain is one of these. So if you are stressing over the fact that you are overweight then don’t because if you worry too much about your weight you might end up gaining more weight in the process. This does not mean that you should not be concerned about being overweight. It only means that you coolly plan ways of reducing weight instead of stressing over it.

Experts have noticed a strong association between stress, anxiety and weight. It has been noticed that many people tend to over eat during stress since they develop cravings for salt, fat and sugar to counteract tension. Eating high calorie food in excess definitely makes a person gain weight.

Impact of cortisol hormone
The impact of cortisol hormone plays a critical role in influencing weight gain due to stress. Cortisol is critical hormone that serves many functions in the body. One of its functions is maintenance of blood pressure as well as the provision of energy for the body. Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands and is a glucocorticoid. Cortisol along with insulin appears to be responsible for stress-related food cravings. Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy and stimulates insulin release and maintenance of blood sugar levels. As a result, a person may experience an increase in appetite due to stress.

Reward-based stress eating
Another theory that explains weight gain due to stress is called “reward-based stress eating” model. According to this theory, eating relieves a person undergoing stress. This is because stress and tasty, high-calorie foods cause the brain to make chemicals called endogenous opioids. These neurotransmitters are said to protect a person against the harmful effects of stress and anxiety as it slows down the activity of a brain process called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and thereby weakens the stress response. Repeated stimulation may make a person resort to compulsive overeating and hence gain weight.