Can stress make you gain weight?

Can being under stress make you gain weight? I believe that it totally can. I am certainly been under a lot of stress lately which means: I tend not to eat correctly; I am not getting enough sleep nor am I getting enough exercise; and most of all I am not making time for me to get out and have fun. Believe me, that is what I am going to start this month, trying to make more time for me. Get in the work-outs that I miss and start eating right. I think actually that I do not eat enough since I am always on the go, that is not good either since your body then tends to store the fat. So the message of today: Get out and make time for yourself so the stress does not get you down!

Article taken from www.uticaod.com

By JIM LaFOUNTAIN
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Jul 23, 2009 @ 12:07 PM

QUESTION: I recently was informed by my girlfriend that my inability to deal with stress is making me fat. How can that be? I just started a new job and do have a lot on my plate (no pun here), but how can it make me fat? I exercise and eat pretty healthy.

ANSWER: Over the course of many thousands of years, our bodies survived because they adapted to various stressors. Whether it was running from a large, swift beast or fighting off a smaller predator, we learned to survive an enormous number of physical stressors. The majority of us, however, do not do such a good job of handling emotional or psychological stress. Our fast-paced world encourages us to work hard and worry even harder.Even those who exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet are falling prey to the ill effects of emotional and psychological stress. Physically fit, “type A” personalities are experiencing the negative effects of their hard-driving lifestyles. Many factors contribute to becoming fat. Overeating and under-exercising obviously are ingredients for an increase in fat storage.
Psychological and emotional stress also can contribute to gains in stored body fat since your body cannot distinguish the difference between physical, emotional or psychological stress. With that said, your brain acts as though you are in physical danger and triggers the production of generous amounts of adrenaline. This encourages your body to release energy in order to fight or flight (run real fast.)
The “fight or flight” mechanism runs amok because a surge of cortisol is released into the system by the adrenal glands. Cortisol causes your body to begin replenishing what is perceived as a large amount of energy your body would have used had you been exposed to physical stress. Psychological or emotional stress, however, does not induce a large caloric void. The bottom line is that in the presence of cortisol, your body attempts to replenish large amounts of calories it has not used and the excess is stored as body fat. Over time, stress causes the body to repeat this process and large amounts of weight can be gained in a few weeks.An added negative to allowing stress into your life is that when adrenal glands are pumping out cortisol, testosterone production slows. A reduction in testosterone causes the body’s lean mass to drop. Less lean mass causes a reduction in both exercising and resting metabolism and subsequent weight gain.

Some methods for dealing with stress include:
Regular exercise.
Resisting the urge to go on a highly restrictive diet.
Limit caffeine intake.
Eat a nutrition-filled breakfast.
Get more sleep.
Discipline your mind to think more positively.

Jim LaFountain is president of All-American Fitness Center in New Hartford. He has a master's degree in exercise science and is a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
Write to him at 1 Campion Road, New Hartford NY 13413.

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