Have you ever experienced stress eating? When your body craves a high calorie reward or treat to help you get over a difficult situation?

Stress also makes it hard to lose weight. Our food choices and how we feel are more closely interconnected than we realise. Stress is one of the most important - yet most often ignored - factors leading to the obesity epidemic, especially among working professionals.

Chances are, when you are under stress, it can be much harder to eat healthy. Food tends to play a role in satisfying your emotional needs. During this time you tend to choose high calorie foods even if you are not hungry. Stress causes certain hormones to be released like adrenaline, serotonin, cortisol and neuropeptide Y causing comfort food craving, which also results in overeating.

Short term stress can stimulate the hypothalamus to release a hormone called corticotrophin which suppresses appetite. The brain also sends messages to the adrenal glands to release adrenaline. This triggers the body's fight-or-flight response and provides the muscles with extra oxygen. There is also an increase in strength and alertness. After the stress is reduced, adrenaline's effect can last for up to an hour. This physiological state can temporarily put eating on hold. However, if stress or a stressful event persists in an individual, the adrenal glands start producing cortisol which has the opposite function and increases appetite. Here again, after a stressful event, cortisol levels ideally should fall but if stress persists, glucose is released which is not utilized. The combination of high levels of cortisol and calorie rich treats or foods leads to high insulin and finally fat deposition around the abdomen.

Increased cortisol can also cause feelings of restlessness, nervousness and irritability. On a long term this can even result in sleep disorders like insomnia or heart damage.

How hormones influence food choices

Serotonin

Reaching for unhealthy foods while under stress could be the body's response to self medicate. This releases serotonin- the feel good hormone, which stimulates the brains reward centre that is satisfied with these fatty or sugary foods that it recognizes as ‘palatable'.

Neuropeptide Y.

The body also digests food differently when under stress. A hormone neuropeptide Y or NPY is released during stressful situations and causes insulin resistance as well as mutation of leptin (a hormone which controls appetite). This in turn causes an accumulation of fat. The higher a diet is in fat and sugars, the more the release of neuropeptide Y.

How our body reacts to stress

Chronic stress must be avoided at all costs, its results are destructive. Human beings are equipped to deal with stressful situations which are short term. This kind of flight or fright stress helps and is beneficial as it increases alertness and improves the ability to handle and deal with life's challenges.

Chronic stress on the other hand does not produce any positive results and in fact harms health. A person dealing with such unrelenting stress eventually gives way to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness which psychologists term a "defeat response". This affects mood, eating and even sleep patterns. Insomnia causes impairment in the way carbohydrates are digested and can cause a gain in weight of up to 5%.

It's time to break the cycle

It may seem that when we are stressed, our own body is working against us instead of helping us. But the good news is you can get a handle on things before it is too late.

These tips can help manage stress-related weight gain:

Deal with stress and recognize its warning signs

Look out for stressors such as anxiety, frustration, irritability and muscle tension. Do not react immediately and if possible try and step away from whatever is causing stress for a while before you try dealing with it. Try relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation and yoga. Seeking professional help is always an option. A counsellor can help you put your situation into perspective and help you understand and cope with it. (You can reach out to our professional counsellors at 1to1help.net. All information that you share is kept strictly confidential. You can write here to get in touch with a counsellor - https://1to1help.net/ecounselling )

Before you eat, think.

Before eating (especially a high calorie treat), ask yourself why you're eating. Are you really feeling hungry or are you feeling stressed or anxious? Remember that food is fuel for your body and your brain. If you're tempted to eat when you're not hungry, find a distraction.

Eat well

Yes, you read that right. You do need wholesome nourishing food for your body. This helps you perform to your optimal best. Do not deprive yourself or skip meals, especially breakfast. This causes a drop in blood sugar levels making you reach out for those treats. It will also help to keep ‘comfort' foods away from where they can tempt you.

Keeping a food record or journal

This helps you to keep track of and know exactly what you are eating. The results will be interesting and may even surprise you. This helps establish patterns and connections. You can then take help to overcome them.

Fitness

Fitness and engaging in regular physical activity or exercise, boosts your mood as it increases the feel good hormones and promotes circulation. It will also tire your body in a good way so that you get a good night's rest. Rope in family members or an exercise buddy so that you stay accountable.

Stress is a part of our daily lives, but we do not have to let it control us leading to unhealthy weight gain.