Did you know that stress has a huge effect on whether or not you lose or gain weight? It’s true! High levels of stress often result in the release of a hormone called cortisol which can cause excessive increases in weight gain. Take a good look at your day-to-day life and find those things that are stressing you out.
Stress can come from various sources. It could come from losing a job, or family member. It could come from worrying about impressing friends or doing well in school. And stress doesn’t always have to be from negative things. It could come from having to get ready for a marriage or a new baby. It can even come from smaller things that add up.
Take time each day to look at the things that are going well in your life. Take a deep breath, and realize that you’re only human and there’s only so much one person can do. Stress is bad enough without the fact that it can cause weight gain!
For more info on stress’s relation to obesity, check out Insulite Laboraties’ article. For information on how to reduce stress, read up on about.com’s article on stress management.
My aunt suffered from severe stress because of the pressures she was experiencing at work. I remember her being “skinny” growing up and very active. She looked healthy and happy. But as her children started to get older, she concentrated more on her job and did not learn how to cope with stress. She didn’t realize that because she didn’t know how to deal with the stress and participate in activities that would help relieve some of her stress, her health was deteriorating. She started to gain weight and is now severely obese. Her tiny Asian body frame is suffering from her excess weight to the point where her eyesight and function in her lower extremities are impaired. When I read this post, I thought of her and how important it is that people are educated about the dangers of stress. I wish my aunt took the time to learn about the dangers of stress and was taught the proper lifestyle behavior changes to manage weight gain.