I am beginning to think my stall in my weight loss was all because of stress. My kids started school last Wednesday. I went from 6 kids home to just my 2 littles. I can get so much housework done, cooking, laundry all with a smile on my face. My older kids are having a great school year and the arguing between siblings has been greatly reduced .

This summer was very stressful and frustrating for me for many reasons most of which out of my control. My weightloss was stalled all summer till this week. I went from bouncing around 178-176 and 180 during my monthly visitor all summer long. This week I weighed in 174.1. Happy happy happy!!!!

I was as good as could be all summer but I think the daily stress was holding my body hostage. I need to plan and prepare better next summer.

If your stalled and really doing everything right, it could be the stress in your life. I never would have guessed that was my issue but this week proves it.

I think you're right on the money with that one. I've noticed a few times already when I have a stressful week, the numbers reflect . . . just haven't quite found the right stress reliever for me yet . . . . fun experiemnting with different things though

Congrats on the 174!! Thats so fantastic!

I agree. Everyone reacts to stressors differently, and we each have to find our own ways out. Personally, I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel after tackling two primary cancers. I'm green lit for starting to move around more and regain a healthier body , and am hoping that part of the weight I gained will come off just from that stress being gone, and the rest from developing healthier habits (with the support of this forum, of course

Wow SeaWave! Thats amazing! You're very inspirational!


Nikki6kidsmom, I believe the stressors are a HUGE part in the weightloss issues! I think your body stores extra fats on purpose if it feels stressed out? I think I read that somewhere!

Your body chemistry and metabolism acts entirely different under lots of stress. I get gestational diabetes and I'd have to prick my finger one hour after every meal to measure my blood sugar levels and control my carb intake to ensure that the number was never too high. If I had a particularly stressful day, my numbers would be skewed and too high even if I kept the carb intake to a very minimal amount. They had warned me about this and I DID notice it much more dramatically than I would have ever guessed!

WoW! I had NO IDEA that it stress could hinder weightloss when you are still eating right. I knew it could contribute to over eating, but geesh! I will definitely keep this in mind from now on.

Way to go SEAWAVE!

Nikki6--

Thanks so much for posting this, and wow, of course YOU ARE RIGHT.

I just realized that I have a stress related pattern and I even RECOGNIZE it... I have had a BUSY BUSY year and whenever things start getting really over the top stressful, I stop losing, and I always think "well, I have to get home and get back to my normal routine and then I'll lose a pound or two..." and it always works. But in my mind, even though I realized that was happening, I still didn't really "believe" it.

But then I thought about what Boots said, and it's true. From a medical point of view, your body relates to stress in a specific way, by raising your cortisol levels.

My mom is an insulin dependent diabetic, and pain, stress, and fatigue all shoot her blood levels way out of whack even if she doesn't change her food at all.

I'm sure I'm plateauing right now because I have so much on my plate.

I'm really glad you brought this subject up.

The more I thought on this today the more I realized about the possible factors. I also think not getting decent sleep was also a problem for me. Being super stressed out kept me from sleeping well. With summer having no set schedule and lots of flexibility on a bedtime for my teenagers. I often found myself staying up too late or having my sleep disturbed by them making too much noise.

I did all the right things all summer so I was totally confused. Too much stress + crappy sleep most nights = BIG Ole STALL

I am excited to get in some cardio tomorrow I am super jazzed that the numbers are moving again.

Thanks for posting this. I need to be reminded of how bad stress is, and what it does for weight.

I have a stressful job, disabled son and DH and am a cancer survivor. If I don't take care of me, and use eating as my stress reliever, it is a very bad thing. It is bad also even if I don't overeat....if I don't get my sleep, relaxation and exercise.

So, Nikkis6kidsmom--- that big ol' stall happened to me too, and then I blew my plan for a week or so. Starting over again!!! Time to listen to some neat tunes before bed!!

yeah I've also read in some article somewhere that getting less than 8-9 hours of sleep a night increases your weight gain, and thin people on average sleep full nights vs overweight people usually get less than 6 hours a night due to highly stressful lifestyles


(as I type this at 12:32 am)

Boots - you're right! Irregular sleep is also a contributor to how we metabolize food and how well we deal with stress. The home care nurse who comes to see me reminded me that the 'healing time' of sleep is in the 3rd to 4th hours of continual sleep. I've always (ie for the past 48 years LOL) been a very light sleeper, so lately I've been leaving a radio on low volume to cover other noises that wake me up.

And many people who are overweight have sleep apnea double whammy.