Stress whether mental or physical, can wreak havoc on the mind and body. Stress can cause us to feel extra hungry and give us that urge to “stress eat”, completely take our appetite away, make us feel really lethargic or bloated. Maybe stress causes you to feel a combination of all the previously mentioned. Let’s talk about stress can affect our bodies, fat loss efforts and mind.

Stress is defined as any external pressure put on the body. Stress can be related to exercise, such as performing a high volume, taxing workout, or stress can be mental such as feelings about a big work project or financial woes. Whether physical or mental, our bodies response to stress is the same.

When our bodies are under stress, a “fight or flight response” is triggered. Along with a few other physiologic processes, cortisol will be released into our blood stream. In a perfect world, once the stressor is gone, our bodies cortisol levels would return back to normal. Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and more often than not our bodies can remain exposed to the stressor for days or weeks or end, which can keep our cortisol levels elevated.

Now that we have a brief understanding of how stress works in the body, let’s talk about how it can affect our fat loss efforts and overall mental health. We’ll even cover some ways to cope with stress.

Stress & Fat Loss:

• can mess with our hunger / fullness cues causing us to either eat too much or not eat enough
• can slow down digestion which can lead to bloating & less frequent bowel movements
• can cause our bodies to hold on to excess water and leave us feeling really bloated

So while stress may not cause body fat to be gained, we can see the scale spike upwards due to excess water retention. If stress is getting you down and you’re currently working towards a fat loss goal, the best thing you can do is not let yourself get caught up in what the scale says. Maybe even consider taking a few days away from weighing in, especially if you know the number you’re going to see will cause you even more stress. If you continue to weigh in and see a higher number than expected, the vicious cycle of feeling stress will only continue.

Stress & Mental Health:

• can cause lack of sleep
• can cause prolonged feelings of anxiety / depression
• can make us feel lethargic and not have a desire to do much
• can cause a lack of concentration / memory

Learning to cope and deal with stress is the best way to manage it. Some ways you can cope with stress are:

• getting in some light movement (take a walk, go for a jog, do some yoga, bike ride etc.)
• spending time doing something you really love like reading, painting, gardening, etc.
• figuring out what your specific stressor is and facing it head on
• talking to a friend or family member about it
• talking to a professional about it

What are some of your favorite ways to cope with stress?