Many of our clients tell us how they struggle with overeating. They get upset and blame themselves for it but they often lack understanding for how stress makes it very difficult for them to change this.

About two-thirds of us will overeat when we are stressed. Part of the reason we do this is psychological. Many of us put considerable effort into monitoring our food intake such that once our systems are taxed with extra stress, we have less energy to accord to this task. During times of stress, willpower almost always goes out the window and this is why a restrictive relationship with food can be so problematic.

Another way stress causes us to overeat is because our brain secretes glucocorticoids with the onset of stress. Glucocorticoids have the effect of increasing appetite such that you will be motivated to replace all the energy you depleted during the stressor. Once glucocorticoids are released, they stay in our system for awhile, so for any given stressor there will be a period of increased appetite.

If stress is chronic for you – horrible boss, traffic every day, juggling the demands of work and home, ailing parents, unstable relationship… you will have bursts of these intermittent stressors all day and secreting glucocorticoids each time.

Here comes the bad news. As appetite increases, we tend to gravitate toward the foods that are high in energy (breads, sugars) and we can end up with more abdominal fat. You have probably already heard that abdominal fat is the worst kind. It releases inflammatory signals which increases inflammation throughout the body (most dangerously in the heart) and it pulls the spine forward. Stress causes abdominal fat which in turn puts more stress on your body.

Under stress, our heart rate and blood pressure will go up to send blood to the areas it is most needed – the thighs and the lungs for example. Meanwhile, our brains will divert blood away from the areas that need it less in a crisis such as your gut and reproductive organs. Under chronic stress, the digestive system gets shut off repeatedly and you end up with functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome or spastic colon.

Stress is a nasty bugger. It is why we write about it so much on our blog. Becoming aware of how much stress costs us can be the inspiration to do something about it. We hope you will find some of our earlier blog posts on stress helpful in your efforts to better manage stress in your life here, here and here .

If you need help to get a handle on your stress, you can reach us at 514 223 5327.

Written by Shawna Atkins, Ph.D., Psychologist