Weight loss

• If you make this mistake, gaining extra weight will be easy.

The results of scientific research blur the boundaries of the beneficial and harmful form. Today, a hearty breakfast and dinner until 6 pm and clearly defined meal times are no longer a prerequisite for successful weight loss and maintenance.

At the same time, there are some factors that can affect the set of excess weight, regardless of the time of day. We are talking about moments when a person is upset, angry, feeling guilty, or experiencing other negative emotions. In other words, in a state of psychological stress.

• Why Does Eating Under Stress Affect Weight Gain?

There are two main factors that can negatively affect food intake with stress on figure.

The negative effect can cause overeating.

• overeating

• violation

 The relationship between anxiety, depression, and stress for binge eating behavior, which is behavior in which a person with the disorder eats more than usual. Then he may feel guilt and shame, which only aggravates the situation.

As a rule, at such moments, a person does not feel real hunger and chooses not healthy food, but some kind of fast food saturated with fats and sugar.

Psychogenic overeating is very common and can exist in the form of single episodes or in a chronic form. The latter leads to significant weight gain.

 Cognitive avoidance`

  negative feelings.

 Chewing food, along with taste sensations, distracts from disturbing thoughts. This works quickly, but not for long: once the meal is over, feelings return or are exacerbated by guilt about overeating.

Stress can disrupt the metabolism of hormones and peptides.

So far, this topic has only been studied in animals. However, it can be assumed that eating under stress is more risky for the figure, not just because of the choice of foods and portion sizes.

Scientists' experiences

The scientists divided the mice into two groups: some were simply fed a high-fat diet, and the second group was provided with stressful conditions in addition to such a diet. Animals from the second group accumulated significantly more fat.

It turns out that neuropeptide Y (NPY) is to blame. This 36-amino acid chemical is released by neurons in various parts of the brain and plays an important role in regulating eating behavior, appetite, and obesity.

Scientists have found that the combination of stress and high-calorie foods increases NPY production in the central amygdala, a brain structure responsible, among other things, for the stress response.

Normally, the release of this peptide is controlled by the hormone insulin, but under stress conditions, neurons lose their sensitivity to it, which leads to increased appetite and lower energy costs.

To test whether NPY was really responsible for severe obesity in mice, scientists "turned off" its production by injection. After that, the participants accumulated significantly less fat, despite the persistence of stress and extra calories.

• How to avoid overeating when stressed

There are many strategies that can help you avoid ingesting negative emotions.

1. Learn to distinguish between physical and emotional hunger.

If you are angry, bored, or guilty, ask yourself if you are really hungry before eating.

In the book My Best Friend is the Stomach, nutritionist Elena Motova explains how physical hunger differs from emotional hunger. The first occurs a few hours after eating, gradually increases and disappears after eating. includes a variety of empty stomach signals, decreased focus and performance.

Emotional hunger appears suddenly, like hiccups, no matter how long ago the last meal. At the same time, a person longs for certain products, but is not satisfied with them. He still feels bad and wants something else.

If you can detect emotional hunger, move on to the next paragraph.

2. Finding ways to deal with stress without food

Various activities are appropriate to deal with