If so I'm doomed. I stress SO much on my weigh-in days. As I approach the door to the clinic on Wednesday's I dread even opening it. I have a great counseling team there and they are always telling me I'm doing great and to relax.

*stress*
My mother also has been battling stage 4 cancer for two and a half years and things are starting to get pretty bad. I'm sure I don't have to get into what all we're dealing with on that end...anyone who has watched someone get eaten away by cancer will know what I mean. So there's that.

But either way I've made this hard core, "I'm really gonna do it this time" 2 months ago and I'm going to do it.

But the stress over my loss has just about driven me mad. (and I'm sure my boyfriend wishes he could just stay in bed on Wednesday's than deal with me..lol)

I'm so sorry about your mother. I spent three years nursing my mother through a lingering illness before she died, so I know the kind of stress you're talking about. And I have to admit, my weight loss stalled during those years.

But I don't think it was the stress alone that stalled me--it was the way I dealt with the stress, which included sometimes leaning on comfort foods, often not getting enough sleep, often missing meals while sitting at mom's bedside, then eating too much at dinner after having barely eaten all day, not getting much exercise, etc., etc., etc.

I don't know whether it was really possible for me to have coped better, but the best advice I can give is to make sure you're dealing with stress in the healthiest ways possible, and do the things that will help you stay resilient (make time to get enough sleep, eat on as regular a schedule as you can, etc.)

As far as stressing over weigh-in goes--I don't think it will make a single ounce come off, so why bother?

Best wishes!

I think its how you handle stress that makes the difference....Ive managed to lose weight while being under a constant state of regular stress

I work full time, managing a childcare center, as well as raising two boys with DH, who also works full time...and I also serve on a board of directors in town...So between work, board stuff, working out, laundry, grocery shopping, bills, never enough time etc I'm always very busy.

I'm so sorry about all you're going through with your mom. My heart goes out to you! That is so rough!

I looked up your question because I was also curious and yes, extreme stress, such as in your circumstance, can have a negative impact on weight loss efforts. Here is the article: http://www.livestrong.com/article/25...s-weight-loss/

I have some very stressful things going on and I have times of extreme stress but I can still lose weight as long as I don't give into using food as comfort. I think you can still lose weight if you are able to take good care of yourself.

Hugs to you!

Hi,
My understandng is that even the Mayo Clinic states that under periods of much stress,it is better to put weight loss on hold and jus try not to gain weight.

Good luck

Sheridan

I am so sorry your mother is sick and you are watching her suffer. I canon even imagine that pain.

For me, stress itself doesn't seem to impair my weight loss efforts, but lack of sleep, which goes hand in hand with stress for me, does. I can always expect a whoosh on the rare mornings I get more than 4 hours of sleep.

Just keep on doing what you are doing, and have faith the scale will catch up.

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. I do plan to keep going. This has been going on a while now but in 7 weeks I dropped 21 pounds so I'm very happy about that. Losing weight and fitting in to clothes I haven't been able to wear in a year is helping with the stress.

Yes stress and "weigh in expectations" can stall weightloss. Look at what is going on with Elvislover right now...
Sorry about your Mom
Maybe make some fitness goals too. That way, if the losses aren't great, you've walked x amount of miles per week, etc.

Yep, look at me!!! Stressed about stress!

Well tomorrow is my weigh in day. Just gonna focus on work and try not to think about it.

But since I brought up my mom and stress I'll give you a perfect example from today. My boyfriend and I went to bring her lunch and she said, "Wow! How much weight have you lost?" I said, "About 21 pounds now." She said, "Well great keep going!" -- then looking over at my boyfriend, "Michelle is SO beautiful when she's skinny."

*sigh*

DanielsGrl I am so sorry you are going through this. Hang in there. I have also been under extreme stress. I lost both of my parents within a short period of time. During this time I was able to lose all of my weight and maintain for a year. Since my Mom's passing, my thyroid got out of whack. The stress caught up with me and my Synthroid dosage was not enough. My Endo had to increase my Synthroid several times. I have gained some weight during this time even though I have continued to work out the same and eat in the same calorie range. I seem to be stabilized right now. I am not happy with this since I would rather be losing, but at this time it's better than a gain. I'm not sure what else I could do or if I could do anything any better.

Well it's nice knowing I'm not alone. A co-worker of mine did MF last year and during his plan he lost his father and still dropped a ton of weight. I opened up to him today too after posting this. NOT being alone and being able to vent (like on this board) has been such a great help.

It can be done. Keep Calm, Carry On.

Yes, stress and sleep are definitely important.

I started gaining weight when I became a high school teacher, 3 years ago - and that's no coincidence.

I am so sorry about your mother, my heart really goes out to you. We went through the heartache of cancer for 2 years with my Gma, and then again with my Gpa, then with hubby's Gma all within two years (also nearly lost my mom twice during this period). You are a brave person to continue with your weight loss goals while caring for your Mom. I find weight loss to be slower with stress, but that may be more about finding time to cook and exercise than about the actual weight loss. Taking a maintenance break when the stress is really bad may be a good idea. Then again, it may give you something else to focus on and take your mind off of everything. Exercise really helps me when I am stressed. The most important thing is making sure you get enough sleep, and are eating healthfully regardless of weight loss. Keeping up your strength and health will definitely help you to deal with stress. If your weight loss slows or stalls, I wouldn't get too upset about it. As others have said before, weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.

Keep up the good work, 21 lbs loss in 7 weeks is amazing! Wow!

Stress can make weight loss more difficult for many people for several reasons. First, stress causes many people to stress eat. Stress eating is a type of emotional eating, which contributes to excess calories and when done often enough causes weight gain. In addition, the types of food people crave when stressed are usually high fat and sugar. Second, stress causes the body to produce more of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that promotes body fat and makes it harder to lose weight, especially around the stomach. Third, when someone is stressed they generally sleep less. Less sleep, chronic fatigue causes the hormone ghrelin to rise. Ghrelin is the primary hunger hormone, and causes someone to feel hungry even when they don’t need to eat.

For other people, stress causes weight loss, but not in a good way. For those people that lose their appetite weight loss is unhealthy and can cause dehydration, weakness, and suppresses the immune system. Overall health is negatively affected.