***Full disclaimer: I am not a medical or nutritional expert. I’m a writer and someone who has lived and dealt with anxiety and emotional eating my entire life. Below is an amalgamation of research and personal experience intended to help you see that you’re not the only one facing this.
You should always consult a medical professional if you believe you’re suffering from anxiety. These are just some tips that helped me gain better control over my anxiety.***
Now, onto the article…
We all experience anxiety to different degrees, but we all experience it. It takes a significant toll on us mentally… but it can also take a toll on us physically.
That’s not hard to imagine, just think about how exhausted you feel after a bout of anxiety. Think about what it’s like when anxiety fades and leaves you feeling vacant and lethargic.
When we experience anxiety, we are desperate to alleviate it. For some of us, we choose to cope with anxiety’s onslaught with our favorite foods.
Now, this is okay. There’s no reason not to delight once in a while in food that makes you happy… but the trouble arises when our coping mechanism becomes food.
This post discusses how anxiety affects weight gain and weight loss and offers a few healthy alternative coping mechanism that helped me, personally.
Now, let me be clear, anxiety comes in different degrees for different people.
Anxiety can be a crippling mental illness that will require more extensive intervention either through therapy or medication.
And that’s okay, too.
All that matters is feeling better in the healthiest and safest way possible. This post is just here to offer some baseline options that anyone can introduce into their lifestyle. But if you find that none of these work for you, don’t get discouraged.
There will be links at the end of this post with helpful resources that I encourage you to investigate.
Alright, with that added disclaimer out of the way…
Can Anxiety Cause Weight Gain?
The short answer is yes. Anxiety can absolutely contribute to unwanted weight gain. Anxiety causes long-term stress to our bodies and minds that could lead to ORGAN DAMAGE and MEMORY LOSS. Even your DNA could be negatively impacted by the “long-term stress” that anxiety produces.
So if anyone has ever made you feel like you’re overreacting… just tell them to go do a little research on what anxiety actually does to the human body.
And understand that you are NOT overreacting. This isn’t your fault.
Even though weight gain can be a symptom of anxiety, it doesn’t mean you have anxiety- or that anxiety is (technically) the cause.
Anxiety can impact us in a way that drives unhealthy habits and coping skills. Coping skills that (can) cause emotional eating, and thus, contributing to someone gaining unwanted excess weight.
So don’t panic and think you’ll always be stuck with excess unhealthy weight. Anxiety might be a factor in your weight gain, but you can regain control.
Now that we’ve confirmed that anxiety can take a toll on our bodies, here’s some science-y stuff showing how anxiety and weight gain are often linked.
Certain Chemicals In Our Body Can Cause Fat Build Up
Anxiety can cause a chemical imbalance in the form of increased cortisol. Our bodies release cortisol when under stress (and anxiety, obviously, causes incredible and long-term stress). When cortisol is released, it can actually cause excess fat build-up around our bellies.
Excessive Eating
As mentioned earlier, we all seek a way to alleviate anxiety. Anxiety is a terrible experience, and it makes life a little harder than it should be. So, for those of us who choose food to cope with anxiety, we can overeat. Like Pavlov’s dog, some of us might feel anxiety, and our knee-jerk reaction is to go grab some ice cream (speaking from personal experience) to distract ourselves.
Focusing on the pleasure that food gives can, sometimes, provide a reprieve from anxious thoughts.
Not to mention, sugar gives us a false high, so those unhealthy foods technically make us feel better… but it’s only for the short-term… and we end up feeling worse once we crash. Especially considering some of us might choose to refocus our anxiety toward self-depreciation and resentment for having eaten the ice cream in the first place.
It’s a vicious cycle. But you can control it. It will take work, but you are not alone, and it is not impossible.
Anxiety Makes Us Sedentary
Remember how earlier on I mentioned that anxiety can leave us feeling unbelievably drained and exhausted? Think about how draining anxiety really is, and how it can drive us to vegetate from that exhaustion.
This lack of activity obviously contributes to unhealthy and excessive weight gain. Not to mention, when humans don’t exercise… our mental health usually suffers. It’s not to claim that exercise will stop anxiety… but taking time for physical activity will improve your emotional well-being.
How To Avoid Emotional Eating From Anxiety
In this section, we’ll go over some healthier alternatives to emotional eating due to anxiety. None of these are “cure-alls”, but they can definitely help you feel better.
Meditation
As someone who also deals with anxiety, I can say that introducing meditation into my routine has been shockingly beneficial. Not only has meditation given me an alternative to emotional eating, but every session, I learn how to better recognize, embrace, and manage my anxiety.
Meditation is surprisingly hard, but it is a great way to practice some self-care. You can meditate for five minutes or for an hour, so it’s easy to squeeze into your day. I practice 10 minutes of meditation every day and have been for around a month. It has truly made a positive impact on my mental health and my fitness goals.
Here are my favorite meditations that I do at least once a week (pending how I’m feeling that day)
Yoga
Yoga is like meditation for your body. Yoga is a beautiful, expressive, and gentle way of loving and appreciating your body. I do yoga every day because every part of my being feels better for it.
It’s slow, it’s methodical, and it’s definitely something that will help take your mind off of anxious thoughts.
Just like meditation, you can fit yoga into your schedule based on your needs.
There are plenty of Yoga sessions that help with multiple goals.
From fat-burning — to building courage — to better sleep, if you’ve never tried yoga, I can’t recommend it enough.
As a bit of a side-tip: I have always preferred to do yoga by myself, I just like the privacy and peace. It helps me relax because I’m not worrying about what I look like or what other people are doing.
However, I’m very glad that I was already practicing yoga alone before taking my first yoga class. This is cuz’ I HATED doing yoga in a group setting.
I didn’t enjoy it. At all. It just wasn’t my vibe. So, if you’ve tried yoga before, but didn’t like doing it as a group, try it in a solitary setting.
Or if you didn’t like it alone, go to a class.
You just have to remember that yoga is a personal experience. It’s all about you. Yoga’s all about your wellness and happiness in whatever way that looks for you. So don’t sleep on yoga to help ease anxious thoughts.
I love watching Yoga With Adriene. She’s super sweet, very soft-spoken, and just fits my vibe. If you don’t know where to start with yoga, start with her.
But there are HUNDREDS of yoga channels on Youtube, so you have plenty to choose from.
Eat Healthier Snacks
It’s okay to treat yourself to some snackage if it makes ya feel better, but maybe try to replace the unhealthy snacks with healthier options. That way, if you do find yourself needing some tasty relief, you don’t have to worry about the physical and emotional crash that comes with sugary snacks.
Try popcorn for salty, crunchy snacks; or have dark chocolate, yogurt, or fruit for something sweet.
Learn A New Hobby
No big deal if you aren’t quite up for exercising yet. It definitely takes some time and effort to get that initiative, especially when you’re super stressed out.
Even if you find that you’re not into yoga or meditation, think about learning a new skill or craft. Maybe you’ve wanted to take up weaving, crocheting, acrylic pouring, quilling- or anything else.
This is the perfect time to start discovering new interests. Since we’re all still in quarantine(at the time of writing this), perhaps you’ve been stuck inside. Finding something to take your mind off of everything COVID-related, whenever possible, is important.
Not to mention, you’ll be able to enjoy the catharsis of working with your hands, and experience feelings of accomplishment as you watch yourself test out new crafts and improve at them.
Therapy
The stigma around mental health and going to therapy is toxic. If you have considered therapy, or don’t find any of the above methods as helpful as you’d like, find a therapist in your area and check them out. Talking is crucial to grappling with your emotions. Having a safe and private place to work through your anxiety is very important.
Don’t let stigma stand in the way of your happiness.
Find Supportive Communities
Since therapy is a very personal decision, it’s okay if you’re not sure you’re ready to take that step yet.
Instead, consider joining a group or community of people who support you and your goals. This can be a great stepping stone to gain comfort in talking about your feelings, as well as seeing you’re not alone.
Even if it feels like we are sometimes.
Helpful Resources
I hope that this post has shown you that you’re not alone when it comes to trapping with anxiety and weight gain. Moreso, it is my wish that this post helps you realize that you are strong and you can overcome this.
Anxiety is real. Anxiety is painful.
But you can beat it.
You can live a healthy and HAPPY life.
YOU are an incredible person, and I hope you can feel some of the good vibes I’m sending your way.
Here are some links to other online blogs and resources that share more info on emotional eating and anxiety.
Anxiety — American Counseling Association
Depression, Anxiety Linked To Weight Gain- WebMD
Weight Loss: Gain Control Of Emotional Eating- Mayo Clinic
Struggling With Emotional Eating? — Harvard Health Publishing
If you are willing to, I’d love to hear some of the techniques and coping skills you use to deal with anxiety-related emotional eating. I’m always looking for new ways to feel peace and tell anxiety go fuck itself.
Thanks for reading
XOXOXO
