YES, say researchers. In their studies, they claim to have found that stress can indeed make you fat.
According to this, the causes are not only mental but also biochemical. Because if the stress hormones are sustainably activated, fat is continuously stored more and more in the body – and this primarily on the hips and stomach. Our self-image also often depends on those fat pads.
Who does not know it. One is stressed, seeks relaxation and reaches for food. Eating seems to be a universally valid relaxation recipe. The more tension there is, the more relaxation and thus food intake are the result. If you want to stay slim, you have to be a very good “food processor”.
Thus, the formula for successful weight loss seems clear: if you want to shed pounds, you should reduce your mental and emotional load. A conscious approach to life’s grueling situations is helpful.
The German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam Rehbrücke regularly conducts studies on nutritional behavior. A study shows that stressed mice and rats gain weight under stress and do so significantly. Cortisol plays the decisive role in this process. It is no different with humans. Our body also releases the hormone cortisol in stressful situations, which causes us to store increased amounts of fat in our abdomen. In addition, the fat stored deep in the abdomen in the process – also called visceral fat – is more dangerous than the subcutaneous fat, which is what we carry around us just under the skin. Visceral fat is considered a risk factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, among others.
Of course, some people also react to stressful situations with weight loss. Reactions to stress remain individual, even if a large part of the population runs the risk of gaining weight under stress. Increased eating is a popular but deceptive antidote to stressors. Stressful emotions play an important role and can cause unfavorable to disturbed eating behavior. And those who eat more than they need are known to run the risk of becoming fat.
It is therefore very beneficial to monitor one’s mood and respond with appropriate measures when signs of stress appear.
The EMDR device REMSTIM 3000 is successfully used for positive intervention in everyday sensitivities. Among the positive effects observed is a perceived reduction in stress. The REMSTIM 3000 anti-stress device helps in the self-coaching process to reduce mental and emotional stress. A lasting calming effect, accompanied by less tension, is often the pleasant result. And those who are stress eaters have the chance to rethink their reaction to stressful situations and learn new behavioral strategies. Stress and its triggers are successfully coached in self-coaching, so that the stress reaction EATING soon belongs to the past.
