Is it possible to lose weight under stress and how dangerous is it?

It's no secret that stress has a negative impact on your health. It can cause insomnia, and it worsens the condition of the skin and overall well-being. In addition, excessive worries can cause excess weight. Why this happens and how to deal with it, explains Natalia Kozitskaya

, nutrition consultant, member of the National Association of Clinical Nutrition, partner of the International Festival of Healthy Lifestyle and Sports SN PRO EXPO FORUM.

Emotional hunger: how to stop stress eating

To relieve stress, you don’t have to indulge in fast food.

How does stress affect weight loss?

Any, even short-term, nervous tension causes calorie consumption. Chronic stress has an extremely negative effect on metabolism, causing eating disorders. Some people begin to eat everything in sight, while others lose their appetite. Thus, people begin to suffer from weight loss due to stress.

According to research by psychotherapist R. Gould, stress and nervous disorders are perceived by the body as a disease. This state is not natural for humans. When sick, the body begins to save energy that could have been spent on eating and processing food. Therefore, appetite decreases, stress begins to affect weight loss.

CNS response to stress

In a chemical sense, the process looks like this. During stress, adrenaline is released, which enters the bloodstream and stimulates brain activity. At the same time, the hormone cortisol is synthesized, which is responsible for the formation of new fat cells. Glycogen in the liver begins to break down into glucose, and fat reserves into amino acids.

The main task of this process is to provide the body with the necessary energy while saving resources during stress.

So, with a sharp jump in adrenaline, metabolism accelerates, and the production of fatty acids decreases. Protein catabolism (breakdown) increases, causing muscle fiber contraction. All this leads to additional stress on the myocardium. With constant stress, self-sufficiency in energy causes exhaustion of the body. Weight loss after stress becomes irreversible. Fat reserves are melting literally before our eyes. A person is rapidly losing weight.

Norepinephrine has a significant effect on the body during stress. It helps increase blood pressure. When the heart is active, all systems of the body accelerate. And reserves are being used up at an increased rate.

Cortisol is produced to conserve energy sources. But due to the lack of a constant supply of food, you have to spend your own fat accumulations. Losing weight due to stress occurs quite dramatically. Increased work of the heart causes overstrain throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Stress eating disorders are affected by:

• A weak nervous system provokes a refusal to eat.
• Heredity, that is, problems with nutrition among relatives in the family.
• Weak immunity leads to loss of appetite, sometimes even nausea after eating.
• Asthenic body type. It can be identified by its slender limbs, underdeveloped back muscles, narrow chest and shoulder girdle. Such people quickly lose weight, but due to constant stress they cannot gain it back and get into a normal diet.

Appetite is a natural reaction of the human body. It ensures the timely supply of nutrients necessary for the normal functioning of all systems. When it disappears from stress, the body uses up accumulated reserves. But they gradually end, exhaustion begins.

We recommend reading about the first signs of anorexia. From the article you will learn about the symptoms of anorexia in adolescents and women, health consequences, and treatment. And here is more information about how to lose weight for a teenager without harm to your health.

Physiology of weight loss

There are three main reasons for excess weight:

• Hereditary predisposition.
• Hormonal imbalance.
• Wrong lifestyle.

Losing weight in the first two cases is impossible without the participation of an endocrinologist. You can try to cope with the latter yourself. It is worth noting the following here: I am talking specifically about weight loss, that is, the loss of fat reserves, and not about weight loss in general (for example, through dehydration or loss of muscle mass). These are completely different things.

Theoretically, can people without obesity lose weight? Of course, they can! It's good? I don’t think so, because, as a rule, this leads to exhaustion of the body and, as a consequence, to other health problems. But stress spares no one, fat or thin.

Consequences of malnutrition

Poor appetite has an extremely negative effect on a person’s condition. He may begin to notice problems only when the weight begins to reach a critical level. To prevent this, it is important to know what causes loss of appetite under stress.

Main problems:

• Difficulty gaining weight occurs, especially when it becomes too small.
• Sleep problems, insomnia. A person has trouble falling asleep. There are no deep phases. A person does not get enough sleep under constant stress.
• Constant lethargy, chronic fatigue, and drowsiness appear.
• When women are stressed, losing weight provokes a disruption in menstruation or even cessation of menstruation.
• Hair may begin to fall out, skin and nails may deteriorate.
• The musculoskeletal system is disrupted under stress. Nerves get pinched.
• Memory deteriorates significantly and irritability appears.
• Problems arise with the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, and blood pressure drops.

If the process is not stopped in time, your health will suffer greatly, and weight loss from nervous stress will become irreversible.

The effect of stress on the brain

Why do you lose weight when stressed: symptoms

• Fatigue
• Difficulty falling asleep
• Stomach upset
• Body pain
• Tight neck muscles
• Frequent mood swings
• Palpitations
• Decreased sex drive
• Slow brain function
• Loss of appetite
• You need to do the task obsessively and repeatedly
• Biting nails or lips
• Stomping your feet
• Dilated pupil

If you are showing more than one of these symptoms, we can help you. Try the following ways to reduce stress and prevent unexplained weight loss.

How to stop losing weight after

As soon as a person notices that during anxiety, appetite will disappear and weight loss occurs, it is necessary to take action. First of all, you should make an appointment with a doctor. Next, it is important to follow simple recommendations for stress:

• It is advisable to give up bad habits: smoking, alcohol. They should not be used to relieve nervous tension and fatigue.
• It is important to rest fully and get enough sleep. Sleep should be at least 7-8 hours. If you can’t do this on your own, your doctor may prescribe special medications to calm you down during stress. You can drink tea at night with ginseng, chamomile, oregano, lemon balm or mint, or turn on an aroma lamp with lavender.
• You should not drink coffee, because it increases the hormone cortisol. And this enhances weight loss from stress.
• You need to eat small meals often. You need to eat every 3-4 hours. There are 5-6 meals per day. Be sure to include B vitamins. You need to eat bran, grains, nuts, and plant foods. Don't indulge in sweets and baked goods.
• Food should be different and tasty during times of stress.
• It is important to engage in active sports or, conversely, relaxing sports, such as yoga. This helps muscles under stress.

• It is important to keep your hormonal levels under control, which is why you need to visit an endocrinologist and get tested. This will prevent sudden weight loss due to stress.
• It is important to drink vitamin and mineral complexes twice a year: in spring and autumn.
• Eliminate the source of anxiety and stress. You need to turn off your phone, Internet, and TV for several hours. Many sources of stress are created by humans themselves.
• Spend more time there or with those where it is good and calm. You can go to nature, walk in the park, go to exhibitions and movies, and start a hobby. Spend time with near and dear people more often.
• It's good to listen to light, melodic music.

Watch this video about how stress harms your health:

Why stress can cause people to lose weight

I will add that during stress, a lot of protein is lost. We must remember that our body is a very demanding thing. Therefore, if necessary, he takes from wherever he can. Thus, against the background of malnutrition, irreversible processes occur, and a person who has lost weight in this way is unlikely to boast of health.

Earlier I said that with acute (sudden) stress, you can lose weight due to loss of appetite. Why is this happening? The body understands that its owner is in a difficult situation, from where it must be pulled out by any means.

Chronic stress, on the contrary, leads to overeating. And this is also logically and psychologically explainable. People who are constantly worried about something are literally drawn to food containing harmful sugars. The interesting thing is that they are the only ones that are absorbed during the period of experience.

Don’t think that by being nervous once again, you will finally find the figure of your dreams. Here's what losing weight from stress leads to:

• Weakness, drowsiness.
• Low immunity.
• Impaired performance, memory.
• Malfunctions of the heart.
• Increased irritability, causeless aggression.
• Deterioration of the condition of the skin.
• Hair loss, brittle nails.
• Unreasonable worries, panic attacks.
• Menstrual irregularities.

Women are at risk of developing a mental illness – anorexia nervosa. Men are also at risk of this, but the likelihood is much lower.

How to lose weight due to nervous stress

Some people, when stressed, begin to gain weight. In this case, they are interested in how to bring their figure back to normal. Due to stress, the synthesis of cortisol increases, which increases the formation of fat cells. If a person is accustomed to eating away at nervous tension, then soon the weight begins to increase.

You can prevent the process if:

• Abstract yourself from the source of anxiety. Each person has their own source of stress6: personal relationships, work, study, etc. First of all, these problems need to be solved.
• To reduce stress eating, you can start meditating. This can be done at any convenient time: in the morning or in the evening after work. If possible, even during lunch break.
• As soon as you feel stressed, it's good to start doing high-intensity training. Fitness, running, jumping, aerobics, and other group classes are suitable for this. The main thing is that they are regular and active.

• You can’t be tempted by junk food full of empty fast carbohydrates. You should avoid fast food, baked goods, sweets, soda and coffee.
• It is important to maintain a daily routine during times of stress. You shouldn't plan more than 2-3 things. A person will still not have time to do more, so a constant feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself will remain. This once again promotes the production of cortisol. You need to create as many situations as possible when you have a reason to be happy and proud of yourself. It is advisable to please and pamper yourself, to praise yourself as often as possible. Don't deny yourself pleasant little things when you're stressed.
• Finally, it is important to adhere to a special diet.

Expert opinion

Yulia Mikhailova

Nutrition expert

If you cannot cope with stress on your own, then you need to ask for help. It's good to make an appointment with a psychotherapist. He will develop an individual plan. There is nothing scary or shameful about this. Everyone has problems. It’s much worse to do nothing, not pay attention to them and eat buns.

How to gain back your previous weight

To correct the consequences of losing weight, you need to follow several rules:

1. Train your digestive system to work rhythmically and efficiently, this is the need to eat small but frequent portions.
2. Food should be high in calories, but at the same time correspond to physical activity.
3. Increase the protein and fat content in your diet.
4. Eliminate bad habits.
5. Spend some time after eating without moving.
6. Get rid of various experiences.

Special diet for men and women

To avoid losing or gaining excess weight, it is important to closely monitor your diet during the disorder. It is believed that stress causes weight loss in men, but vice versa in women. Although everywhere there are exceptions.

The diet should be based on proteins, which help the body work and are building materials. Foods rich in vitamins C, B, and E also help cope with stress. They work as follows:

• Omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids relieve nervous tension and improve mood.
• Zinc, selenium, vitamins A and C reduce cortisol synthesis.
• Calcium consumption increases under stress. It is needed for the musculoskeletal system, hair, skin and teeth.
• Vitamin D is also a natural antidepressant.
• Magnesium helps muscles relax, regulates the functioning of the heart muscle, and acts as a sedative.
• B vitamins control the functioning of the nervous system.

To stop losing weight due to stress, you need to eat foods with a low glycemic index containing all the “anti-stress” components:

• Dairy and fermented milk products, cottage cheese containing retinoids, calcium, proteins.
• Greens and leafy vegetables. This includes spinach, broccoli, parsley, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. They are high in omega-3s, B vitamins, magnesium, vitamins A and C.
• Bran and whole grains, which help normalize digestion and cleanse the body during stress.
• All types of legumes, as they contain protein, magnesium, zinc, carotenoids, and B vitamins.
• Rose hips and black currants contain a lot of ascorbic acid.
• Buckwheat contains tryptophan and zinc.
• Carrots and pumpkin are rich in carotenoids and B vitamins.
• Chicken eggs contain protein and vitamin D.
• Veal, beef, turkey and rabbit provide zinc, tryptophan and a lot of protein, which are needed during stress.
• Trout, tuna, herring, sardines and salmon contain omega-3. Cod liver also contains vitamin D.
• Omega3 can be obtained from nuts such as walnuts, pine nuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds and peanuts. But you need to eat them raw without sugar or salt.
• Avocado is rich in vitamins B, A, C and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Selenium is obtained from mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, and garlic.
• Dark chocolate is a source of tryptophan and zinc.

You can also chew raw, fresh vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, apples, and cucumbers as gum. Jaw work relieves stress. Only it's much more useful.

The daily menu during stress may look like this:

• For breakfast, it is good to choose dishes from boiled eggs, a sandwich made from whole grain rye bread with avocado and salmon, baked lentils with spinach and tomatoes, or natural muesli with fruits and berries.
• You should drink herbal teas, green teas or fruit drinks without sugar. A decoction of rose hips, juices from vegetables and fruits are suitable.
• They dine on meat dishes from turkey, beef, lamb, rabbit or fish. All this can be stewed, grilled or boiled. The meat is accompanied by stewed vegetables, salad or buckwheat, rice, durum wheat spaghetti. It is advisable to include carrots, tomatoes, spinach, parsley, and cauliflower.
• For dinner you can eat paella with beans, rice, and seafood. Lean meat with vegetables, boiled lentils with herbs are suitable.
• During the day, you can snack on fruit, a handful of nuts or berries, or pieces of dark chocolate.

We recommend reading about how to stop overeating. From the article you will learn about the psychology of overeating, compulsive overeating and methods of dealing with it at home. And here is more information about how to get rid of the feeling of hunger.

Stress is a serious test for the body. He needs help dealing with it. By eliminating the source of anxiety, maintaining a healthy diet, and energizing yourself with positive emotions, you can avoid many of the terrible consequences of stress-induced weight loss.

How to overcome stress and stop losing weight

We have already discussed how experiences affect our health. Therefore, if you notice that you have lost a lot of weight, immediately find a way to prevent it.

It may sound banal, but you need to start eating, adhering to certain rules:

1. Eat small portions at least 6 times a day (one standard portion is divided into two meals).
2. Drink herbal teas.
3. Include physical activity without exhaustion.
4. Sleep at least 8 hours a day.
5. Stop worrying about trifles.

• Keep a positive attitude.

Are you experiencing anxiety in a certain situation? Imagine that everything will be successful, and in the event of a fiasco, do not forget: everything is done for the better. At least learn a lesson for yourself.

Is it possible to lose weight due to nervousness?

People often wonder if it is possible to lose weight when under stress. The answer to this question is ambiguous. In a difficult situation, the body requires more energy. However, this only happens on the first day of stress. Then the body adapts to psychological and physical stress, and metabolic processes in the body, on the contrary, slow down.

We recommend reading the weight loss story of Christina Peterson, who lost 54 kilograms due to nervousness.

It has been proven that nervous tension stimulates metabolism due to the release of adrenaline and increased blood circulation. As a result, your metabolism changes and calories are burned faster. However, this effect does not last long, so it is sometimes difficult to determine whether stress is causing people to lose weight or gain weight. After some time, the body begins to replenish lost calories, and the weight first returns to normal, and then begins to exceed its usual limits.

This is due to the fact that the body perceives a stressful situation as a signal to accumulate fat reserves for the future. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat your problems with chocolate, ice cream and cakes. Stress must be dealt with psychological methods.

↑ Factors of weight loss under stress

Increased stress is not always the only trigger that provokes sudden weight loss. Weight loss due to stress is often accompanied by other factors. In addition to physiological reasons, there may also be purely domestic ones. This is non-compliance with the daily routine and nutrition. A person in a state of anxiety and anxiety refuses to eat; there are cases when an individual provokes vomiting. This is a psycho-emotional state that requires the intervention of a psychologist and the appointment of special therapy.

Negative factors also include all bad habits, such as alcohol, smoking and drugs. Interruptions in sleep lead to weight loss. Sometimes, due to stress, food refusal may occur. This manifests itself in attacks of nausea and vomiting.