Losing Weight While Under Chronic Stress Thread

[Carolyn R]

Anyone want to join me? Because I have enough stress in my life without worrying about how tight my pants are getting!!!

A little about me: In addition to losing a child 6 yrs ago, my dh and I have found ourselves in an incredibly stressful financial situation that we will most likely be in for at least several more years, if not longer. I have relied heavily on comfort eating over the years, and have watched my weight slowly creep up. Many books I've read about losing weight suggest not trying to lose when under a major life stressor, but I feel like I want to be healthy no matter what, and not just helplessly sit back and watch the scale go higher and higher.

Today was a wake-up call...I weighed myself for the first time in three weeks and I had gained 6(!!!) lbs.

This is not how I want to live my life. I have many relatives that are morbidly obese, and I am afraid that will be me in a few more years if I don't get a handle on things now.

My stats:
Current weight: 183
Goal weight: I think around 145. I am only about 5'2", but I have a stocky build in general.

So 38 lbs to go. Eesh.

If there are any others who would like to join this thread, I would love to be able to discuss ways of coping with stress without eating, and have it be a place for us to be accountable and find caring support.

Any one on board?

[pacificbliss]

I can hang out for support. I don't have nearly the stress you do. I can not imagine the pain of losing a baby. I am 4 months postpartum, my job is stressful and I travel and work out of the house. When travelling I eat at restaurants and tend to overeat, order the wrong stuff, and never exercise. When I am in my home office I wander out and check the fridge to "take a break". I am 188 and need to be around 140.

[e.naomisandoval]

I think that's everyone who needs to lose weight. And I think one of the keys is in learning how to be less stressed. I know, easier said than done. But don't you just know some people who seem to let stuff roll off their backs more easily? I have improved in some areas and did much better after learning about this whole cortisol--stress-belly fat link. And sleep is part of it all as well; you must get enough good solid sleep in order to allow the body to do what it needs to do to let go of fat. So destressify! Meditation is what really helped me. You can read more in my essay.

Diet is the key to it all, but stress, drinking water, it's all in the elusive formula.

[Carolyn R]

Thanks for the replies, Pacific and Naomi!

Pacific - have you given any thought to how you're going to tackle the weight you need to lose? I would love some fresh ideas!

And Naomi, would you mind sharing what sort of meditation you did? And where could we look to find more info on controlling stress, and the cortisol effect you mentioned?

Today has been a better day than I've had in a long time! I am excited to feel like I'm finally starting to take control! I walked this morning, and have been really conscious about what I'm eating, rather than numbly shoving food in.

Talk again soon!

Carolyn

[e.naomisandoval]

Why oh why are all my forum replies going into my spam folder? Until I checked it the the other day, I'd totally not realized. Oopsies!

Okay, the meditation can be listening to a podcast from iTunes but I don't always do that because somehow I wake up when it stops. So here is what I devised. It's maybe sort of like yoga. Anyway, it's helped me stave off anxiety attacks. I should preface this by saying it's important to get up early and go to bed early. The key to being able to get to sleep is being tired so this requires work for me. I need to make myself get up and out of bed and I do have a tendency to backslide and stay awake later and later. But it's worth it to get up early and be in bed by 10, lights out by 10:30. Reading something peaceful is the best before sleep activity.

Okay, so anyway, here it is. It's counting. High counting would make me anxious so I count to my breathing. In for 2 long, slow counts, and then out for 4 long, slow counts. Sometimes, my heart is racing and it's hard to do at all but I just keep focusing on the breath. It's never taken me more than, oh, I don't know, 5 minutes to calm down and actually be asleep. If the mind wanders, bring awareness back to the breath and the counting, if that helps. I've heard something similar in yoga for many years but never with the numbers. Somehow, those small numbers, never getting anywhere, always seem to do the trick for me.

I sure hope that helps.

Other things I've done:
no more caffeine (well, I have it maybe once a month now but I notice if I start back up, it's around day 3 where it's messing my sleep up again)
daily movement or better, exercise
do fun things daily
do things instead of worrying about them
get out if bed if you can't sleep after 15 or so minutes - either work on something that worries you or read a nice book but don't surf the net
keep the house cleaner and declutter

Nothing new.

[julie80]

I've actually been doing a lot of reading lately on this and from what I've read, when you're under chronic stress, it makes losing weight really difficult. So it's not so much that you shouldn't try but rather that it is much harder.

But it could be a combination of things. Some people eat more when they are stressed too.

I will say that I've seen this firsthand with my mother. She has an extremely stressful job and she can't lose weight no matter what. But when she goes on a week long vacation without any stress, she actually loses weight without trying!

Go figure... I guess we all need to quit our jobs and go on permanent vacations.

[pacificbliss]

Well, I am nursing so I hope that helps and trying to control portions and exercise. I refuse to diet anymore. I can lose weight that way but it always comes right back with a vengeance. Slow and steady this time. Don't let weight be another thing that stresses you.

[bandgeek]

Hi! I'm almost done losing weight (10 lbs or so to go) but my situation is similar so I figured I'd chime in. My DD is disabled and has a lot of health problems. I disagree with the idea of waiting until the stress is gone before trying to lose weight. The only way my DD will "go away" is if she dies and then I will have grief to deal with! It just makes no sense to wait until the "right" time. There's never a right time. There will always be something you have to deal with. So I say just do it! That was how I felt about my own situation anyway.

I am an emotional eater. I was never heavy before. Maybe 10 lbs overweight at most. Usually a slim 110-130. After DD was born though, I shot up to 180 or so (I'm 5'2" as well), though I would tend to plateau around 176, which is what I was this past january. And I KNEW I was an emotional eater and I saw the trend. My dd would get sick, land in the hospital, and I'd eat and eat and eat. I KNEW what I was doing. And every time I'd tell myself I wouldn't do that again. I would not let my DD's health condition run my life. And then I'd do it again.

Last november, after having the thought in the back of my mind for years, I went vegetarian. It was something I've wanted to do and just didn't know how. After some trial and error I figured it out. Now, I'm not suggesting anyone do this if it's not for them. Or solely to lose weight. Because that's not the key. The key is that I was doing something important to ME. That made ME feel good. I had a goal, and that was to live my life the way I wanted to. Vegetarianism helped me with that. Eventually the weight started to come off and as it did, my self-esteem went up. The better I felt, the more weight I lost.

My dietary restrictions did help some with the binging because when DD would land in the hospital, I couldn't just eat the crappy food there. I had to plan and think about what I was going to eat. So it really did help in that respect.

DD's health is not any better and things just keep getting more and more stressful, but I'm having an easier time of it because I've found something important to me to keep me going. I've made a lot of life-style changes and it keeps me going. I'm not restricting my calories or anything. I just stick with the changes and it's working.

I'm not sure if my post will help anyone or not...just thought I'd drop in!

[Carolyn R]

Hello, and thanks to everyone who's chimed in!

Naomi - thanks for elaborating on the meditation you used...I like that it is very simple and doesn't require a bunch of memorization, etc.

julie80 - maybe we could plan a mass MDC vacation...I'm sure we could all use it!

Pacific - I really like what you said about trying to keep the weight loss slow and steady, and not having it be one more thing to stress about. That really makes sense to me, because for a long time I just ignored my body, thinking that I would be healthier when life slowed down, etc, but then my weight reached a point of being stressful also. I knew it was time to do something about it.

And Bandgeek, thanks so much for your post...much of what you wrote really resonated with me because my personal situation is so chronic and long-standing. I love your inspirational story of taking control of your health/weight in spite of your stress. I also really like that you were able to accomplish your goals by lifestyle changes, rather than a "diet".

AFM, I'm finally beginning the journey towards being healthier! I've realized over the past few years that I show many of the symptoms of insulin resistance and sugar addiction, so I've been focusing on making healthy eating choices, ie more protein/healthy fats and WAAAAY fewer carbs/sugar. I'm already feeling less anxious and "foggy" which is awesome. I do weekly weighs on Tuesdays, so hopefully the scale will reflect some change.

So besides Naomi's list of things that can help de-stress (doing fun things every day, decluttering house, etc) what have the rest of you found to be helpful for controlling anxiety, staying present in the moment instead of worrying, and so on?

Blessings to all!

[e.naomisandoval]

Originally Posted by Carolyn R

So besides Naomi's list of things that can help de-stress (doing fun things every day, decluttering house, etc) what have the rest of you found to be helpful for controlling anxiety, staying present in the moment instead of worrying, and so on?

Blessings to all!

Being grateful. Taking time to really count blessings and feel them. Knowing we all face quite similar issues and challenges (somehow, I didn't fully get this until recently). Well, okay, I'll admit there are some situations that are insanely difficult and some people do seem to have extra challenges heaped on. My point is that most of us face a lot of hard stuff and it's not less hard just because someone else's stuff is so hard.
Doing something. Anything. Sitting here feeling bad about my dishes not being done is not cool! I need to get up and do the darned things and I know I'll immediately feel better. It happens every day. The dishes need doing. So every day, I climb this and many other mountains. Getting up off my tush and doing something, anything, helps.
Making short lists helps.
Timers can help - FlyLady stuff.
Listening to inspiring podcasts while chipping away at stuff usually helps.
All pretty obvious and yet I have to constantly remind myself!

[Carolyn R]

Naomi,

Thanks so much for the additional thoughts you posted. I agree with what you said about everybody having something that makes their life difficult, whether it be big or small. I do feel like right now I have a disporportionate amount of stress, but hopefully it will not be this way forever. And I know so many people just in my own small circle of family/community that struggle with their own personal anguish, whatever the cause may be.

I've tried to incorporate things into my life that help me feel more centered:

One of my favorites is getting up an hour or so before anyone else in my house. I light some candles at the kitchen table, start the coffee pot, and do some spiritual reading/prayer. It is amazing how much more calm and focused I feel for the whole day after.

I go for walks.

I put favorite music on while I'm cleaning.

I try to remember that even though these are tough, tough times, they are also the only years that my kids will be little, and I don't want to fritter away the time worrying.

Rather than putting off difficult phone calls and tasks, I try to tackle them early in the day so they are done and I can focus on more positive things.

I try to see the beauty in all the little things...the joy of cooking a warm meal in my cozy kitchen, really listening to my kids talk, spending time with a few close friends, and so on.

And on a "lighter" note, I lost three pounds this week!!!! I'm assuming every week won't be as stellar, but I was quite excited to see the numbers drop. So I am 180, and 35 pounds to go. Slow and steady, right, Pacific?

Hope everyone is well!!!

[pacificbliss]

Originally Posted by Carolyn R

And on a "lighter" note, I lost three pounds this week!!!! I'm assuming every week won't be as stellar, but I was quite excited to see the numbers drop. So I am 180, and 35 pounds to go. Slow and steady, right, Pacific?

Hope everyone is well!!!

Right! I am down a pound this week too. I judge this by the scale hitting the same number several days in a row at different times of day. Obsessive I know.

[FitnessGoals]

I totally understand stress. For me, however, stress usually takes the form of not being able to eat. And, though I also find it hard to fall asleep when I’m under a ton of stress, a good night’s sleep really helps to improve my outlook and mood the next day. Fitness Republic has a nifty sleep tracker tool that you can use to keep tabs on how much sleep you get and how it affects your mood. It might help you find a better balance and help decrease your stress, making it easier to work out and lose weight.