How Stress Affects Appetite

It’s not necessarily a one size fits all type of equation, but there are many ways that stress affects appetite. This is something to consider as you try to lose weight or work towards a healthier lifestyle. Though we recognize the importance of eating right, if you happen to be a person who feels a lot of stress, then you will find that it can add a lot of negative aspects to your life. Though we don’t focus enough on it, stress can cause a lot of health problems and also contribute to worse habits. You may use food as a weapon or you may not eat enough, but one thing holds true and that is the fact that stress will always have a negative impact on your life, your eating, and your overall health.

When you look at the relationship between how stress affects appetite, it is never a positive thing. For a lot of people when they feel stressed they may turn to food more readily. Food can offer them that comfort that other things do not and therefore work in the way of emotional eating. So the stress that they feel seems to impact their appetite directly and cause them to eat more. Not only that but stress may cause an individual to have diminished willpower and therefore eat foods that they know aren’t good for them. So eating more, eating the wrong foods, and having no willpower are all negative ways that stress can affect appetite and unhealthy eating habits.

Learning to Manage Things From the Outside In Works Well

Another negative way that stress affects appetite is the other extreme. Some people may feel stress and anxiety and therefore not eat enough. This is perhaps less common, but it can show itself more often than you realize. People allow the stress to overtake them and then they don’t eat enough on a daily basis. This is not only unhealthy alone, but it often leads to binge eating later on when they finally feel hungry. It’s not a good cycle and either extreme isn’t good for your health or your ability to lose weight overall. So learning to control your stress can help you in so many ways!

When you consider how stress affects appetite it’s all about your makeup. Whether you eat too much or not enough, it’s all about how the stress is compartmentalized and how you let it rule your life or not. If you can stay ahead of it and really learn to manage the stress then you will enjoy positive benefits. The best way is to focus on eating the right foods in the right way, in addition to controlling your stress. Though stress may be a common thing, it’s all about how you learn to take control over it. This will keep your appetite in check and also ensure that you focus on healthy habits moving forward.