Psychological Factors and Overeating

[Kayleigh]

I’ve been researching psychological factors that lead to weight gain.

Since I’ve had Gastric bypass surgery I’m more aware of what I’m eating and tend to gravitate toward salty snacks when I’m experiencing anxiety or feel stressed.

A few weeks ago I found out that I didn’t get this job that I interviewed for after having six interviews. It took about eight weeks and ended up being a huge disappointment to me. While I was going through this interview process my weight pretty much stalled and I reached for salty snacks. I felt hungry although I was eating an adequate amount of food.

After researching this topic because I’m aware of my reaction to stress, I’ve found that many people lean toward food to cope. When I’m experiencing depression, I tend not to eat.

I remember meeting with my surgeon as a final step before my surgery. He wanted to educate me on the different types of bariatric surgeries and offered me an opportunity to ask him questions. I asked what the percentage of patients who gain the weight back after surgery. He said it was about 40 percent and stressed the importance of staying connected to the surgery center’s team. He said that he was giving me a tooI and that long term weight maintenance is going to be based on food choices, going to follow up visits, and reaching out when and if I started gaining back weight.

I’m not an expert but I feel that psychological challenges often lead to weight gain. Have any of you researched this and do you have suggestions for books on this topic? I want to learn coping mechanisms so that I don’t regain my weight and continue losing because I’m close to my goal weight.

 

[3momchaos]

For me I know I reach for more snacks when I’m mentally or physically stressed. I had a conversation with my dietitian about it in February. Obviously overeating/over snacking isn’t great, but snacking on the right things is better than grabbing chips or candy or whatever anyone’s trigger food is for overeating. My trigger food is candy, so a pantry full of Easter candy that my kids haven’t eaten yet is not ideal. I’m keeping cheese, nuts, yogurt, and halo top in stock at my house so when snack time comes along I’m prepared. I also measure or weigh them to keep my portion size in check. If I’m still hungry, I wait 15 minutes, sip on water for a while, then listen to what my body tells me.

 

[WazzuCoug]

Psychological factors are a large part poor choices for a lot of people when it comes to weight gain. Stress eating, depression eating, other emotional eating, they all fall into that category. Without a doubt, I feel like eating more when I'm stressed.

It's tied to hormones and body chemicals in large part. When we don't feel right, we want to do things that will trigger a dopamine hit, and obtaining foods is one of those things. Dopamine is centrally involved when we feel pleasure, and it is usually release when we "get what we want." For example, when we finish up something we are working on, or when you've been saving up for something you want to buy and then you get it, or when you get some ice cream and feel satisfied. People often stress eat to try to combat the feelings of cortisol in their system, often referred to as the stress hormone. Cortisol has a negative effect on metabolism and other body functions and often leads to weight gain.

Not everyone reacts the same way, of course, but this dance of hormones and chemicals in our system can lead many people toward food, salty, sweet, or almost anything to try to get "pleasure." In the extreme, there are people who eat to "punish" themselves for making mistakes or a means to "prove" to themselves they aren't worthy of losing weight or whatever.

It's not always about willpower. Hormones and chemicals are extremely powerful forces, and when they are out of balance due to stress or other life experiences, it can really send a person off track.

WLS doesn't do a dang thing to help us with our coping mechanisms, so it is still a major challenge for many of us. We have to find different ways to trigger positive responses from our body, such as exercise, hobbies, and other methods of stress release or dopamine/endorphin release to help combat those things.

There are other complicating factors of course. Our biology is very complex and each person responds to things a bit differently, but I guess this has been a long answer to say, yes, there are frequently psychological factors related to weight gain.

 

[Tokash]

I’ve been researching psychological factors that lead to weight gain.

Since I’ve had Gastric bypass surgery I’m more aware of what I’m eating and tend to gravitate toward salty snacks when I’m experiencing anxiety or feel stressed.

A few weeks ago I found out that I didn’t get this job that I interviewed for after having six interviews. It took about eight weeks and ended up being a huge disappointment to me. While I was going through this interview process my weight pretty much stalled and I reached for salty snacks. I felt hungry although I was eating an adequate amount of food.

After researching this topic because I’m aware of my reaction to stress, I’ve found that many people lean toward food to cope. When I’m experiencing depression, I tend not to eat.

I remember meeting with my surgeon as a final step before my surgery. He wanted to educate me on the different types of bariatric surgeries and offered me an opportunity to ask him questions. I asked what the percentage of patients who gain the weight back after surgery. He said it was about 40 percent and stressed the importance of staying connected to the surgery center’s team. He said that he was giving me a tooI and that long term weight maintenance is going to be based on food choices, going to follow up visits, and reaching out when and if I started gaining back weight.

I’m not an expert but I feel that psychological challenges often lead to weight gain. Have any of you researched this and do you have suggestions for books on this topic? I want to learn coping mechanisms so that I don’t regain my weight and continue losing because I’m close to my goal weight.

I have not done research but psychological reasons are in general pretty common behind eating issues. Im a big emotional eater. I eat when I am bored and stressed. Thankfully I work out of the home again which helps as I only have the food I bring with me and do not allow myself to go to the gas station or fast food place across the street. I dont necessary crave any certian food I just eat whatever is there.

 

[Kayleigh]

For me I know I reach for more snacks when I’m mentally or physically stressed. I had a conversation with my dietitian about it in February. Obviously overeating/over snacking isn’t great, but snacking on the right things is better than grabbing chips or candy or whatever anyone’s trigger food is for overeating. My trigger food is candy, so a pantry full of Easter candy that my kids haven’t eaten yet is not ideal. I’m keeping cheese, nuts, yogurt, and halo top in stock at my house so when snack time comes along I’m prepared. I also measure or weigh them to keep my portion size in check. If I’m still hungry, I wait 15 minutes, sip on water for a while, then listen to what my body tells me.

That’s a really good point about having healthier snacks on hand. I don’t keep any sweets or processed foods in my pantry, but Wegmans grocery store is about 3 minutes from where I live.

My mom brought me up eating healthy foods and wouldn’t buy processed foods or sugary snacks. I didn’t start gaining until I went to college and kept putting on pounds. I’m bringing my son up with healthy eating and plan to teach him about nutrition and how poor food choices can affect ones health. I bought into the the fat free beliefs that lasted decades. I would lose weight initially only to gain it back even more weight. My sisters bought Easter candy for my son so I let him have a couple pieces of chocolate and threw the rest away. He’s 28 months old.

 

[Kayleigh]

Psychological factors are a large part poor choices for a lot of people when it comes to weight gain. Stress eating, depression eating, other emotional eating, they all fall into that category. Without a doubt, I feel like eating more when I'm stressed.

It's tied to hormones and body chemicals in large part. When we don't feel right, we want to do things that will trigger a dopamine hit, and obtaining foods is one of those things. Dopamine is centrally involved when we feel pleasure, and it is usually release when we "get what we want." For example, when we finish up something we are working on, or when you've been saving up for something you want to buy and then you get it, or when you get some ice cream and feel satisfied. People often stress eat to try to combat the feelings of cortisol in their system, often referred to as the stress hormone. Cortisol has a negative effect on metabolism and other body functions and often leads to weight gain.

Not everyone reacts the same way, of course, but this dance of hormones and chemicals in our system can lead many people toward food, salty, sweet, or almost anything to try to get "pleasure." In the extreme, there are people who eat to "punish" themselves for making mistakes or a means to "prove" to themselves they aren't worthy of losing weight or whatever.

It's not always about willpower. Hormones and chemicals are extremely powerful forces, and when they are out of balance due to stress or other life experiences, it can really send a person off track.

WLS doesn't do a dang thing to help us with our coping mechanisms, so it is still a major challenge for many of us. We have to find different ways to trigger positive responses from our body, such as exercise, hobbies, and other methods of stress release or dopamine/endorphin release to help combat those things.

There are other complicating factors of course. Our biology is very complex and each person responds to things a bit differently, but I guess this has been a long answer to say, yes, there are frequently psychological factors related to weight gain.

That’s is interesting the role that chemicals and hormones play on our weight. I believe that half the battle is being aware that when we’re under stress, healthy eating habits can be difficult to maintain. Eating to fill an emotional need can lead to making poor food choices. This is why I’m making an effort to find coming mechanisms other than reaching for food.

I bought a book from Amazon today called The Food Feelings Workbook; A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health. I’ll share some of the strategies and techniques that the book shares.

 

[Kayleigh]

I have not done research but psychological reasons are in general pretty common behind eating issues. Im a big emotional eater. I eat when I am bored and stressed. Thankfully I work out of the home again which helps as I only have the food I bring with me and do not allow myself to go to the gas station or fast food place across the street. I dont necessary crave any certian food I just eat whatever is there.

I bought a book today from Amazon that you may be interested in too. The Food Feelings Workbook; A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health. The author is Karen Koenig.

 

[WazzuCoug]

That’s is interesting the role that chemicals and hormones play on our weight. I believe that half the battle is being aware that when we’re under stress, healthy eating habits can be difficult to maintain. Eating to fill an emotional need can lead to making poor food choices. This is why I’m making an effort to find coming mechanisms other than reaching for food.

I bought a book from Amazon today called The Food Feelings Workbook; A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health. I’ll share some of the strategies and techniques that the book shares.

What is really interesting is that the more researchers learn about the microbiome the more they are seeing incredibly important links to brain health. The microbiome produces the vast majority of the serotonin in our body, which is frequently linked with depression. So are many of the other chemicals that provide balance day to day, produced in our guts. I think there is strong correlation with obesity and these psychological factors are directly related to the poor diets we generally eat in the years leading up to the decision to get surgery.

 

[Tokash]

What is really interesting is that the more researchers learn about the microbiome the more they are seeing incredibly important links to brain health. The microbiome produces the vast majority of the serotonin in our body, which is frequently linked with depression. So are many of the other chemicals that provide balance day to day, produced in our guts. I think there is strong correlation with obesity and these psychological factors are directly related to the poor diets we generally eat in the years leading up to the decision to get surgery.

The company i work for recently brought in a functional nutrtionist to speak. She had a lot of info around food fueling chemical balances and all around health.