Many people overeat when stressed. Their main argument is that food calms them down and makes them feel better. In this article we analyze the reasons.
Stress affects a large percentage of the population today. The overload of work, the amount of overstimulation to which we are subjected or the difficult reconciliation of family and work make millions of people in the world suffer from this disease.
Evolutionarily, we are adapted to having specific moments of stress because it is something that has facilitated our survival as a species. However, there is a very important mismatch between the design we have and what we are actually experiencing.
Living a stressful time is not the same as living stressed. The first is normal, unexpected and generated by the environment, while the second, living under stress, is toxic, sought and generated by ourselves because it has become a habit and we do not know how to live otherwise.
Bernardo Stamateas - Toxic Emotions

From point stress to chronic stress

The stress maintained on a daily basis becomes chronic and affects health in many ways:
  • Worsen hypertension and allergies.
  • Pain increases .
  • It generates anxiety, insomnia or depression.
One of the factors that are most affected when we suffer stress is appetite. Thus, there are people who, in the face of stress, can hardly eat a bite and, on the other hand, others cannot stop eating.

Relationship between unhealthy food and stress

Many of us, when we are stressed, not only have a tendency to eat more, but also the type of foods that calm our anxiety tend to be inadequate.
A study published in 2006 in the journal Physiology and Behavior showed that people under stress tended to choose unhealthy, high-fat foods, such as M & M's chocolate dragees, over healthy, low-fat foods, such as grapes.
Another experiment by the same authors showed that more women than men significantly increased their dietary intake when stressed, especially if they were already following some type of low-calorie diet to lose weight .
In many occasions, this type of behavior responds to what we know as emotional hunger .  This is characterized by being a type of hunger that leads us to compulsively eat highly palatable foods to calm annoying feelings and emotions such as stress, sadness, anger or loneliness.

What physiological factors influence increased appetite?

According to a study published in 2007 by the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology , excess cortisol leads to consuming unhealthy foods . This is one of the hormones that is most secreted when we are stressed.
Another study published in 2009 by the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism  shows how stress induces the secretion of glucocorticoids, which increases motivation for food, and insulin secretion, which promotes ultraprocesados food intake and obesity.
Thus, a diet rich in sugars and unhealthy fats reduces the stress response . The negative effect is that it reinforces the habit of eating improperly. For this reason, the experts emphasize the importance of teaching techniques to the patients so that they learn to identify their sensations and modify their responses of excessive intake.

What can we do to reduce our appetite when we are stressed?

Here are some tips that can help us reduce food anxiety caused by stress:
  • Learn to listen to what the body tells us : we must know how to distinguish whether the hunger we feel is real or emotional in order to act accordingly.
  • Eating real and satisfying food: If we eat enough real food and cover our daily needs for carbohydrates, proteins and fats, it will be much easier to feel satiated.
  • Avoid having unhealthy food at home: The best way to avoid falling into a binge of ultra-processed food is to not have access to it.
  • Substitute inappropriate foods for healthy snacks: if we feel excessively stressed and we cannot avoid eating, at least we consume foods that provide us with nutrients for the body.
  • Substitute another type of binge eating : compulsive eating can become a habit and habits can change. Thus, instead of eating we can try to take a walk, call a friend or be with our pets.
  • Analyze what happens: eating excessively is still the answer to avoiding feeling uncomfortable emotions. Recognizing them will be one of the solutions to our problem.
  • Making room for our discomfort: feeling what needs to be welcomed will be another of the essential steps to take to overcome our stress.
  • Thinking long-term: When we overeat, it's easy for us to focus only on the present moment. Therefore, it is important to think about the consequences of our actions.
  • Being rational: When we are overly stressed, we are often overwhelmed by emotions. For that reason, it is key that rational thinking comes into play to regulate our behavior.
  • Practicing acceptance: Being permanently stressed puts us in a situation of constant struggle between what happens and what we would like it to be. In order to solve any problem, there is nothing like accepting the situation in which we find ourselves.

Final recommendations to control appetite against stress

Excess appetite, weight gain, and stress obesity are the consequence of the problem, not the cause. Therefore, it is important that we not only try to eat better, but, above all, we investigate what leads us to maintain this type of behavior over time.
Only if we are able to understand what causes us chronic stress, we can begin to solve our inappropriate eating behaviors. In the event that we do not find an answer or do not know how to manage this stress, it is best to ask a mental health professional for help.
Good habits increases stress

Why stress increases appetite?

Many people overeat when stressed. Their main argument is that food calms them down and makes them feel better. In this article we analyze the reasons.
Stress affects a large percentage of the population today. The overload of work, the amount of overstimulation to which we are subjected or the difficult reconciliation of family and work make millions of people in the world suffer from this disease.
Evolutionarily, we are adapted to having specific moments of stress because it is something that has facilitated our survival as a species. However, there is a very important mismatch between the design we have and what we are actually experiencing.
Living a stressful time is not the same as living stressed. The first is normal, unexpected and generated by the environment, while the second, living under stress, is toxic, sought and generated by ourselves because it has become a habit and we do not know how to live otherwise.
Bernardo Stamateas - Toxic Emotions

From point stress to chronic stress

The stress maintained on a daily basis becomes chronic and affects health in many ways:
  • Worsen hypertension and allergies.
  • Pain increases .
  • It generates anxiety, insomnia or depression.
One of the factors that are most affected when we suffer stress is appetite. Thus, there are people who, in the face of stress, can hardly eat a bite and, on the other hand, others cannot stop eating.

Relationship between unhealthy food and stress

Many of us, when we are stressed, not only have a tendency to eat more, but also the type of foods that calm our anxiety tend to be inadequate.
A study published in 2006 in the journal Physiology and Behavior showed that people under stress tended to choose unhealthy, high-fat foods, such as M & M's chocolate dragees, over healthy, low-fat foods, such as grapes.
Another experiment by the same authors showed that more women than men significantly increased their dietary intake when stressed, especially if they were already following some type of low-calorie diet to lose weight .
In many occasions, this type of behavior responds to what we know as emotional hunger .  This is characterized by being a type of hunger that leads us to compulsively eat highly palatable foods to calm annoying feelings and emotions such as stress, sadness, anger or loneliness.

What physiological factors influence increased appetite?

According to a study published in 2007 by the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology , excess cortisol leads to consuming unhealthy foods . This is one of the hormones that is most secreted when we are stressed.
Another study published in 2009 by the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism  shows how stress induces the secretion of glucocorticoids, which increases motivation for food, and insulin secretion, which promotes ultraprocesados food intake and obesity.
Thus, a diet rich in sugars and unhealthy fats reduces the stress response . The negative effect is that it reinforces the habit of eating improperly. For this reason, the experts emphasize the importance of teaching techniques to the patients so that they learn to identify their sensations and modify their responses of excessive intake.

What can we do to reduce our appetite when we are stressed?

Here are some tips that can help us reduce food anxiety caused by stress:
  • Learn to listen to what the body tells us : we must know how to distinguish whether the hunger we feel is real or emotional in order to act accordingly.
  • Eating real and satisfying food: If we eat enough real food and cover our daily needs for carbohydrates, proteins and fats, it will be much easier to feel satiated.
  • Avoid having unhealthy food at home: The best way to avoid falling into a binge of ultra-processed food is to not have access to it.
  • Substitute inappropriate foods for healthy snacks: if we feel excessively stressed and we cannot avoid eating, at least we consume foods that provide us with nutrients for the body.
  • Substitute another type of binge eating : compulsive eating can become a habit and habits can change. Thus, instead of eating we can try to take a walk, call a friend or be with our pets.
  • Analyze what happens: eating excessively is still the answer to avoiding feeling uncomfortable emotions. Recognizing them will be one of the solutions to our problem.
  • Making room for our discomfort: feeling what needs to be welcomed will be another of the essential steps to take to overcome our stress.
  • Thinking long-term: When we overeat, it's easy for us to focus only on the present moment. Therefore, it is important to think about the consequences of our actions.
  • Being rational: When we are overly stressed, we are often overwhelmed by emotions. For that reason, it is key that rational thinking comes into play to regulate our behavior.
  • Practicing acceptance: Being permanently stressed puts us in a situation of constant struggle between what happens and what we would like it to be. In order to solve any problem, there is nothing like accepting the situation in which we find ourselves.

Final recommendations to control appetite against stress

Excess appetite, weight gain, and stress obesity are the consequence of the problem, not the cause. Therefore, it is important that we not only try to eat better, but, above all, we investigate what leads us to maintain this type of behavior over time.
Only if we are able to understand what causes us chronic stress, we can begin to solve our inappropriate eating behaviors. In the event that we do not find an answer or do not know how to manage this stress, it is best to ask a mental health professional for help.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)