How Stress Causes People To Overeat

Anxiety can have a significant impact on your food intake, resulting in your overeating. Stress eating can derail your weight reduction efforts. The idea is to discover stress-relieving activities that do not involve food.

We’ve all experienced being stressed, whether it’s from a quarrel with a spouse, a job deadline, or simply having too much to accomplish. And if you’re exposed to a lot of it, it might influence your eating patterns. There is a clear link between stress and our hunger – but it isn’t the same for everyone. Being stressed can lead some people to disregard their hunger cues and go for extended periods without eating. Others become emotional eaters who mindlessly nibble as a result of stress.

When we are stressed, our brains transmit signals to our bodies. That is part of our fight-or-flight response to perceived threats in our surroundings. When you are stressed, your body produces cortisol, often known as the stress hormone. Cortisol might drive you to seek sweet, salty, and fatty meals because your brain believes it needs fuel to combat whatever threat is generating the stress.

You may, however, learn how to manage stress without resorting to food. First, you need to understand the connection between being stressed and binge eating.

Stress and Binge Eating Cycle

Being stressed can lead to binge eating disorders as well as the desire to overeat. It is normal for people with the disease to use food to cope with stress and other feelings they desire to suppress, such as anger, grief, and boredom.

It can result in a bingeing cycle that looks like this:

• You overeat when you’re anxious.
• When you overeat, you feel guilty or anxious about gaining weight, which adds to your stress.

One in every four persons who binge eat has a mental health condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How to Avoid Binge Eating When You’re Stressed

Keeping a food journal might be beneficial. Keep track of the time you binge eat and how you feel while doing so. Once you’ve identified what causes you to overeat, you may attempt these healthy stress-reduction strategies:

• Exercise. Take a long stroll outside or enrol in an aerobics class. Staying active also takes your focus away from the fridge and pantry.
• Meditate. For a few moments, concentrate on your breathing. It can help with anxiety and tension. Doing this on a regular basis may help you make more deliberate dietary choices.
• Consume nutritious “comfort meals.” When you want something to eat, choose meals that will make you feel good without adding fat or calories.
• Seek assistance. Seek help from professionals such as a therapist or counsellor, a nutritionist, and/or a trainer. When things get rough, even chatting to a friend or relative might help.

If you are experiencing problems with stress eating or overeating, you can try VitaPro Health’s Metabolic Miracle Capsules.