Coax Yourself Into Hitting The Gym
Ugh. We fully understand. Getting to the gym or heading outside for a workout can feel so overwhelming when youre laid out with anxious feelings. But its one of the best things you can do for your body and brain.
Exercise helps you lose weight, but a research review also showed that it reduces physical and mental symptoms of anxiety and improves mood and sleep all of which will help you lose weight.
Its like a positive feedback loop that will leave you feeling better mentally and physically.
If your anxiety is making it hard to work out on a regular basis, start slow. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, a 10-minute walk can be just as effective for relieving anxiety as longer, more intense exercise.
And once your anxiety is in check, itll be easier to get to the gym and start doing the kinds of workouts that will move the needle on the scale.
The important part is to start small, then increase your involvement, which will lead to less anxiety and more assurance: Short walks can lead to longer walks, which can lead to alternating walking and running, and eventually lead to a 5K.
Set goals along the way for continued improvement, but start wherever you are and keep at it. It also helps a lot to let somebody know what you plan to do.
Talking about a goal can help you make it real and enable the first steps toward smashing it.
Can Stress Cause You To Lose Weight
Yes, stress is one of the major reason behind lose weight in unhealthy manner. Sudden loss of weight after a stressful event, can also be a sign of a serious illness. In sudden loss of weight through stress can be explained as:
- Sudden loss of weight for no apparent reason
- Weight loss in pounds during short amount of time.
- Feeling anxiety and restlessness whole day.
- Low sleeping time.
- Inadequate food intake and emotional stress.
How to Get Rid of the Weight Loss Anxiety Symptoms?
You can get rid of sudden loss of weight by simply getting relieve from stress. Try to avoid things that cause stress in your life. If you are not able to get rid of your current situation then try yoga therapies and counselling from the expert.
Reduce your body stress: Reduce your body stress by using yoga and other practices meant for reducing stress.
Slow down your bodys metabolism: Slow down your body metabolism in rest, relaxation. It helps to gain body weight and try to take small meals after every 3-4 hours to reduce the fat in your body.
Increase your food intake: Increase your food intake and take small meals after every 3-4 hours rich in carbohydrates and protein. Try to eat more vegetables and fresh fruit.
Stress Eating Hormones And Hunger
Stress also seems to affect food preferences. Numerous studies granted, many of them in animals have shown that physical or emotional distress increases the intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both. High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible. Other research suggests that ghrelin, a “hunger hormone,” may have a role.
Once ingested, fat- and sugar-filled foods seem to have a feedback effect that dampens stress related responses and emotions. These foods really are “comfort” foods in that they seem to counteract stress and this may contribute to people’s stress-induced craving for those foods.
Of course, overeating isn’t the only stress-related behavior that can add pounds. Stressed people also lose sleep, exercise less, and drink more alcohol, all of which can contribute to excess weight.
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Prepare Meals Ahead Of Time
Following suit from tips 3 and 4, meal prep is a great way to stop stress and anxiety from causing unintentional weight loss. Use your slower/rest days to prepare food ahead of time. Doing so will give you the peace of mind that your meals are all portioned out and ready to go for the week ahead.
Meal prepping will prevent stress-related overeating when you’re at home and ensure you don’t forget to eat on those go-go-type days.
You Can Lose Muscle And Gain Fat
When you diet and lose weight quickly, you’re losing muscle along with fat. Then, when you are in the phase of yo-yo dieting where you are gaining weight, you will gain fat first, not muscle. In the long run, this can impact your ability to walk, lift things or climb stairs. However, this can be offset with exercise, like weight training to ensure you’re building muscle.
Studies have also found that weight cycling can increase body fat percentage. A review of published research found that 11 out of 19 studies connected the history of yo-yo dieting to higher body fat. Half of the reviewed studies also found that weight cycling is linked to future weight gain.
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Balancing Mental And Physical Health On Psych Meds
Even when not taking a psychiatric medication, some people with mental health disorders may already be battling overweight or obesity, says Dr. Wharton and his colleagues. Research has shown that those with mental health disorders seem to have up to 1.5 times greater odds of having obesity. 2,3
In addition, the weight gain linked with antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs has been well recognized, although the experience varies and is not the same for everyone.4-7
So how much weight gain are we talking about? In another recent study,7 researchers looked at the weight status of 362 patients taking an antidepressant medication for six to 36 months. More than half of them gained weight, with 40% of individuals gaining at least 7% of their starting weight. The only drug of the eight psych medications evaluated in the study not linked with weight gain was fluoxetine . The study did not have funding from pharmaceutical companies.7
The links between weight gain and medications have been shown to differ by medication type, says J. Michael Gonzalez-Campoy, MD, PhD, FACE, medical director and CEO of the Minnesota Center for Obesity, Metabolism and Endocrinology.
“In general, the use of antipsychotic medications are most often associated with weight gain,” Dr. Gonzalez-Campoy tells EndocrineWeb “In general, the use of antidepressants is associated with more modest weight gainwith the exception of fluoxetine and bupropion , which appear to be weight neutral.”
Weight Gain Can Cause Added Worry With Psych Meds
You are not alone in gaining benefit from psychiatric medicationand you arent the only one who stresses about the weight gain linked with many of the drugs. As such, this challenge inspired Ms. Christensen to test for a solution that would address this vexing problem. She tells EndocrineWeb that concern about weight gain is both a real and almost universal experience among the patients in her clinic that are prescribed psychiatric medications.2
“The fear of weight gain is sometimes so powerful that people will stop taking their medication,” says Dr. Wharton who is the senior investigator of the study that shows that participating in an organized, medical weight loss programs work.
As if to confirm how common this conundrum is, Michael McGee, MD, chief medical officer at The Haven at Pismo, an addiction treatment center near San Luis Obispo in California, says that he frequently hears about the anxiety linked with medication-related weight gain.
“My patients fear and complain about weight gain, particularly the women, who often do gain weight, but it is not a given,” he tells EndocrineWeb. With years of practice, Dr. McGee has seen many patients who have experienced weight gain, increasing about five to 10% of their starting weight. That means, for example, a 150-pound woman would be facing up to a 15-pound gain in body weight.
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Anxiety Meds And Weight Gain
Does taking anxiety meds cause weight gain?
The short answer: Absolutely!
The long answer:
Note: We believe this person was asking about SSRIs . These meds are taken everyday .
The short answer: Absolutely!
The long answer:
If you ask your MD he/she will probably tell you two things: 1) SSRIs dont cause weight gainor, at least, not a significant amount and 2) if someone is gaining weight it is because she feels better and, consequently, has recovered her appetite .
As Anxiety Sisters who have battled with the disorder for 30+ years, we respectfully disagree. Ok, maybe not so respectfully. Heres the deal:
The first studies of side effects were sponsored by Big Pharma. Lets face it, if their studies had shown a connection between Americas biggest sin and their incredibly profitable drugs, it would have been a PR nightmare. Big Pharma thus conducted studies with very small samples and over a very short period of timetypically 8 to 12 weeks. As you may know, SSRIs take a month or two to get into your system, so not many people reported weight gain in the first 2 or 3 months. Therefore, the data did not support the idea that people on SSRIs gained weight.
But the authors of the Mass General study suggest in their conclusion that one year may still be too small a time period in which to see significant weight gain.
So, what can you do about this? The decision is a very personal one as so many other factors are involved in the equation , but here are some ideas:
Activation Of The Bodys Fight
When the body is under stress, the sympathetic nervous system triggers the release of epinephrine, also called adrenaline, from the adrenal glands. A rush of epinephrine activates the bodys fight-or-flight response, which prepares a person to flee or fight off an impending threat.
Epinephrine causes the heart to beat faster and breathing to speed up, which can burn calories. Additionally, it changes how the gut digests food and alters blood glucose levels.
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Obesity And Sleep Issues
A concern for individuals with obesity is that not only does sleep loss lead to weight gain, but being overweight also causes sleep issues, which can in turn worsen biological processes that contribute to weight gain. It is a frustrating cycle!
Researchers suggest that obesity may change metabolism and/or sleep-wake cycles in such a way that causes sleep quality to deteriorate. Its also possible that there are physical effects of carrying excess weight itself which impact sleep quality.
Overweight patients may encounter the following sleep disorders:
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Anxiety Can Reduce Your Appetite
Have you ever been so worried about an assignment or chore that youve worked right through lunch? Or stewed in your room for hours on end about a particular problem before realizing that youve lost a whole chunk of time without eating?
There may well be stress hormones behind your lost appetite. A research review found that your body produces a hormone called corticotropin-releasing factor that messes with your desire to eat.
Eating less food while your metabolism is potentially amped up could mean that you start shedding a few pounds.
Anxiety doesnt only chip away at the pounds. It can be just as likely to trigger changes that increase your body mass.
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The 5 Most Severe Consequences Of Extreme Weight
1. Loss of muscle mass
When you lose weight, its not just fat that you lose but muscle as well. A loss in muscle mass often comes with decreasing metabolism rate, which further destabilises the fat-to-muscle ratio. Weaker muscles translate to more inconvenience in day-to-day activities like carrying heavy groceries or climbing the stairs. Even if the number on the weighing scale ends up looking nicer, your quality of life may not be as rosy.
2. Imbalance of electrolytes
Many of our bodily functions are regulated by naturally occurring elements. Any imbalance to the proportion of these elements could be potentially dangerous and may cause conditions such as seizures and arrhythmia . Electrolytes in particular are critical to cellular function and integrity. If the latter were to break down, it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the body follows suit.
3. Nutritional deficiencies
Extreme weight-loss deprives your body of the essential nutrients that are necessary for healthy function. Furthermore, deficiencies in certain nutrients like vitamin D and calcium can lead to an increased risk of developing certain health conditions or predispose you to injury. One such example of a disease associated with nutritional deficiency is anaemia, which is characterised by feelings of weakness and fainting spells and can occur when you your intake of iron is insufficient.
4. Gallstones
5. Drastic drop in energy levels
Stop Spiraling And Get Your Health Back On The Rails
Emotions like anxiety and stress are part of life, and all people experience these two emotions at various times in life. Our mental health has a way of affecting our physical health. Therefore, it is important to know how these two emotions affect our bodies. What is stress? What is anxiety? Can stress and anxiety cause weight loss? All these questions will be tackled in this article.
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Work With A Licensed Therapist
Work with professionals who will guide you in learning ways to manage stress and weight-related issues. If you’re suffering from anxiety due to prolonged stress and feel your weight or physical health is being affected, a licensed therapist can help you. With compassion and expertise, licensed therapists are equipped to help you develop positive and healthy eating habits. You can read reviews of some BetterHelp therapists below, from people experiencing similar issues.
Counselor Reviews
“Shana is a very helpful and thoughtful counselor. Shana not only helped me work through my immediate problems but discussed a path forward so that I could find more time to enjoy myself and manage the stress and anxiety in the future. I really appreciate her counseling.”
Nervous Movement Burns Calories
Some people use physical activity to work through stress. Although an exercise-fueled endorphin rush can reduce your stress, engaging in more physical activity than normal could result in unexpected weight loss.
Sometimes stress triggers unconscious movement, like foot tapping or finger clicking. These tics may help your body process your feelings, but they also burn calories.
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Stress And Weight Gain
With all of the above in mind, its not surprising that periods of stress can lead to weight gain. Stress-related risk factors for weight gain include:
- Increased appetite
- Lack of sleep
- Not exercising enough
All of these factors can combine with other stress symptoms to cause a negative spiral, leading to greater weight gain. For instance, feeling so stressed that you cant sleep may stop you from doing regular exercise, which in turn worsens feelings of anxiety and stress, perpetuating the cycle and making it harder to break.