"Hey TWD. Despite the amount of energy I expend at work, I'm still putting on weight at an alarming rate. What's up with that?" When I however questioned her further, I found the puzzle in my banker friend's weight issue.
Her most striking confession was, "I get home emotionally drained every workday because of my job nature such that I relapse into a moody state and before I know it, I reach out to the fridge in search of anything edible even when not hungry."
Today’s living challenges have turned being in charge of weight control into a herculean task for most. We live in a society that demands we do more, be more, and achieve more. Stress moves us forward and helps cope with life's demands, but it also affects our mood and emotions.
From time pressure that influences when and how you eat, to advanced tech that switched what you eat most times from natural to artificial; to eating anyhow and anywhere to pacify emotional strain, the world is experiencing more weight-related issues than ever before.
When you start to gain or lose weight and there is no medical issue, the amount of stress that gets to you may be the culprit, which you often respond to by over-or under-eating.
Many stressed people who tend to overeat do so by craving for ‘sugar’ and thus turning to food for comfort to reduce anxiety, to stuff anger, or to push beyond their exhaustion and re-energise themselves. They tend to prefer high-carbohydrate foods because these foods trigger an increase in the brain chemical serotonin, which has a calming effect. It is almost like self-medicating,
Over time, eating becomes a way to manage uncomfortable feelings from either the past or the present. Food becomes an area where that tension plays out and can cause quite a bit of emotional distress.
Until there is an understanding, release, and resolution to what you are feeling, the choice to manage emotions through overeating will happen again.
And mind you, burning energy through stressful activities does not equate burning energy for weight loss or fitness. In fact, stress response triggers a biochemical process where our bodies go into survival mode, Our bodies store fuel, slow down metabolism, and dump out chemicals [cortisol, leptin, and other hormones] which are more likely to cause weight gain especially around the waistline.
As a health therapist, medical doctor and psychologist, I know that most people do not want to turn to unhealthy eating behaviours to cope and are sometimes not even aware that the urge to over-eat is connected to either a state of worry or other emotional issues.
In fact, those who struggle with compulsive or binge eating often describe it as an overwhelming need. They feel compelled to engage in these behaviours and are not really conscious about why they are eating when they are not hungry. Afterward, when they feel lousy from the unhealthy food choices or have gained weight, they inevitably feel ashamed and helpless about their inability to remain in control.
The same holds true for those who under-eat who when continually stressed, their appetites can actually get suppressed.
Also, when your work stress chronically deprives you of good sleep, your body functions become less than optimal because they only function best when well rested. Hence, your body begins to experience physiological stress and, biochemically, you store fat more efficiently.
Any stress on your emotion which you fail to tame could be the puzzle in your quest for an ideal weight. Let it off!
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