Could my stress be contributing to water retention?

  • I have been going through a lot in my life, crying a lot and freaking out and I noticed that in the past 2 weeks, I seemed to have gained 7 lbs. I have been eating more-I am now eating at maintenance level (and basing it on my lowest weight/activity level 2 weeks ago and not at my highest) and not at weight-loss level. I am eating at this level because I want to focus less on weight loss right now and more on my living/work/school situation...its too much for me to deal with both and I don't mind if for a few weeks, I don't lose much weight.
    At worst, I should have gained 1 lb, but to go up 7 lbs...I think that I would have noticed all the extra thousands of calories ha
    I am just in shock, this weight...its not getting back down to the 19 lbs I lost 2 weeks ago? I would have expected it to be down a couple days ago, since I pooed and I was doing well with my calories.
    I tried looking it up but I could not find too many facts on this.
  • Stress could be a LOT to do with is! Plus if you're not really focusing on weight loss right now it could be that you're eating more than you realize or working out less to burn calories.
    But stress always seems to make me a little more retentive.
  • Your stress hormones (Cortisol and others) have a lot to do with regulating sodium in the body. When there is more stress your body pumps out more of these hormones which then hold on to more sodium which we all know could then lead to water retention. This is my understanding anyway- I learned about this when I was doing research about high blood pressure after my dad had a stroke (NOT that this has anything to do with your situation, but it's just how I came upon this info). I think these same systems have to do with regulating inflamation in the body too.

    Also, I just think that in general when I get stressed a lot of things go out of whack- eating, sleeping, caffeine intake, relationships, etc. and those things just throw my body off in general. I'm like 99% sure that you didn't eat enough to calories to gain 7 actual lbs. Once you are able to manage the stress, the water weight should go away. In the meantime, I always like to drink lots of water and get a good, sweaty workout in !

    Hang in there!