Stress And Weight: Does Stress Cause Weight Loss?

I’ve covered extensively how stress affects your life. For instance, you learned what stress does to your blood pressure. Today, we’ll focus on stress and weight. Does stress cause weight loss or gain?

Unfortunately, lots of people support both sides. The same goes for experts. Cortisol (the stress hormone) affects your metabolism. That much is certain, at least.

Solving that doubt is my goal for today. I’ll summarize everything you must know. Likewise, recommend a great product that can help your metabolism.

Can stress cause weight loss?

First off, the answer is “yes.” Stress can result in many repercussions, like inflammation and adrenaline release. Many of these processes accelerate our metabolism. Stress triggers our fight-or-flight response.

Thus, our body will produce extra energy to meet our survival needs. However, it can also cause gastrointestinal issues.

However, stress and weight gain are also common

On the other hand, some people gain weight. That’s because of other consequences. Mainly, sleeping issues, cravings, and fatigue can make you gain weight.

In these cases, we must evaluate the mental side. Psychologically, stress clouds our judgment and motivation. If you’re in a weight loss program, weight gain could be more noticeable.

In the end, stress disrupts your metabolism

We can summarize the first answer here. Stress causes weight loss and gain. It merely depends on the situation. As such, our main takeaway must be metabolic disruption. Improving our metabolism could resolve most weight shifts.

What lies behind stress and weight?

Now, let’s dive into the connection between stress and weight. Again, let’s not focus on gain or loss. Two people can experience different results. Moreover, the same patient can go through different consequences. Everything depends on the situation.

Stress can make you lose weight unnoticed as well. Indigestion, tension, and fatigue can change your lifestyle.

Metabolic acceleration

As mentioned, stress triggers your fight-or-flight mechanisms. It boils down to boosting your metabolism. That way, you’ll produce energy faster to respond to threats.

Moreover, adrenaline can also disrupt your appetite. It suppresses “unnecessary” functions for emergencies. Other victims include our immune and reproductive systems.

Digestive complications

Your digestion also takes a hit. That’s because your body needs to focus entirely on the stressor. The results include stomach aches, diarrhea/constipation, and heartburn.

Naturally, your weight can go both ways. You might start eating less to avoid that discomfort. Conversely, slower digestion can accumulate weight.

Poor nutrient absorption

Hyperstimulation also hampers your body’s nutrient absorption. You’ll essentially process food differently. If left unchecked, it can cause inflammation and apparent weight gain sometimes.

Lifestyle changes

Finally, stress can change your lifestyle. Your physical activity could increase—consciously or not. You might start exercising to cope with stress. Yet, you could experience unconscious movement. All this calorie-burning adds up quickly.

Typically, sleep also takes a toll. That can increase or decrease your appetite and cravings.

How does stress cause weight loss or gain? Metabolic implications

Cortisol belongs to a group called glucocorticoids. As this study suggests, this group could have a big metabolic influence. Weight loss and fatigue typically link back to glucocorticoids. Luckily, most research has focused on their excess rather than deficiency.

The main link seems to include increases in insulin sensitivity. Conversely, protein loss and energy expenditure decrease. Thus, hypoglycemia can be a common consequence. On the other hand, appetite could suffer from lower protein loss.

The holistic takeaway

Many of us take stress for granted. As you can see, that can be a huge mistake. Stress can be helpful. It allows us to boost our efficiency now and then. However, most people allow it to get out of hand.

The results can be catastrophic. Learning to control your stress is the first step to change your life.

That’s especially true if you wish to live healthily. That’s why I want to show you HB5. This product focuses on balancing five crucial hormones. The goal is to help you lose weight. Yet, its benefits can extend to countless other areas. Cortisol is among its focus hormones.

If you wish to learn more, make sure to read my review over here.