Stress = weight loss

[lmmore 0]

Tiff, I was somewhat joking with the valium. What I meant was try to find a way to relax, whether it be long walks, or long drives, meditating or whatever. Have you thought about the fact that you are always on this board giving the best advice. Could that be causing you some stress? You could be worrying about everyone on this board, and that wouldn't be good. Work with your husband on this, he probably knows how to help you reduce your stress. I also what to thank you for all your posts that have helped me through this...........you are appreciated.

Les

[Tiffykins 673]

Tiff, I was somewhat joking with the valium. What I meant was try to find a way to relax, whether it be long walks, or long drives, meditating or whatever. Have you thought about the fact that you are always on this board giving the best advice. Could that be causing you some stress? You could be worrying about everyone on this board, and that wouldn't be good. Work with your husband on this, he probably knows how to help you reduce your stress. I also what to thank you for all your posts that have helped me through this...........you are appreciated.

Les

I figured you were joking about the valium. And, I promise, I'm not on here that much. I may reply to a lot of posts, but it's easy for me considering I type about 85 wpm, and hitting new posts occasionally pops up the new threads so I reply when I'm taking a break from my other stuff. The forum may show me logged on, but that doesn't mean I'm on the forum constantly. I leave my laptop on, and am typically on here for a couple of hours a day, at different random times.

Today, I've been off and on for a couple of hours, but honestly I have already done all the prep work for our dinner tonight, scrubbed both bathrooms, completed 4 loads of laundry, cleaned my kitchen swept and mopped, took inventory of my pantry and fridge, and played basketball on the driveway with John and Caysen.

Also, I typically surf the net to relax. It keeps my mind occupied, I frequent pogo.com to play games, and read some research articles when I have the hankering.

My stress is directly related to an issue we are dealing with regarding my husband's career, and the military in general. I had this happen when my mom and I had a huge falling out right before spring break. I was so distraught, and even though I was eating, I was losing weight. It's just weird how my body has changed.

[thinoneday 445]

This is more of a vent than a question, but I need to share with someone.

I'm having one those weeks. We all have them, we all know that sh*t happens. Anyway, what I can not wrap my head around is why stress causes me to lose weight.

I'm eating a very balanced diet. Getting in between 1200-1500 calories a day, and have quit worrying about carbs. All I really make sure I get are my calories and Protein.

I can't for the life of me understand this cycle. I've tried to stop stressing. I've been praying for peace and grace. I've been repeating "Let Go and Let God".

I've slipped below 124 for a few days, and I feel so lost and frustrated. I'm doing everything "right". Yet, I can't get this figured out.

Pre-op when I would stress, I would eat, and gain weight. Now, I eat and lose weight. The only thing that is different is my sleeve gets finicky when I stress. I can still eat anything I want, but I notice that I have to eat a lot slower than usual. I had a weird GI reaction to stress pre-op as well. My stomach would get sour, then I'd find myself in the bathroom for an hour. I think I feel like I'm not in control of sleeve anymore. I was so compliant, and truly diligent during my losing phase and saw results. Now, I'm trying to be compliant with maintenance, eating properly, enjoying life overall, but my clothes are falling off of me again, and my husband is truly freaking out.

Please someone tell me that when they stress they lose weight. Thanks for listening.

'

This is exactly what i worry about. . . i know i have tons of weight left to loose, but i can tell it's dropping off me like mad . . people at work are calling me "flacka" or skinny in spanish . . . it's not insulting at all, but what are they seeing that i am not???? my tummy burns when i get stressed. . also this morning for some oddball reason i had really bad diarrhea with extreme pain in the intestial tract which made me vomit tons of bile (I don't have a gallbladder) this went on for about 1 hour, I was soooo tired after that i took a 1 1/2 hour nap woke up really hungry but could tell my tummy was hurting. . . ate without a problem and carried on for the day without another episode. . . go figure. . . after this doctor appt on wednesday, I am getting a scale and will start weighing myself cause i think i'm losing pretty quickly too. . .

[Smelly Melly 0]

Hi Tiff. I hear you about stress!! My son has autism and I stress a lot! I think that you need to learn how to deal and cope with stress. Ride it out so to speak. There are some situations that you cannot change or control but you need to learn coping mechanisms to help you deal with them. This is all from personal experience mind you! Maybe if you learn how to relax a little your body will behave the way you want it to? It takes time and practice but I have found that it does work.

Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress

Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun ? plus the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it?s helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.

I was referred to this site and it has some great ideas (and some crappy ones too!) on how to manage stress. Have a read and it might just help you to help yourself

Good luck with your journey!!

[KZol 0]

Tiffy, this may sound a little out there but on any music download site you can do a search for "relax" or "hypnosis" and find subliminal relaxation tracks or self-hypnosis tracks for relaxation. It's a little goofy, but they really have worked for me. I have a hard time relaxing and it messes with my GI system, plus having your muscles constantly tensed burns calories. It's cheaper than valium!

[AJW 18]

Tiff,

My husband, the Sagittarius, handles stress like you do. His stomach acts up and then he either can't go to the bathroom, or it's diarrhea all day long. Everyone handles stress differently. I tend to not eat when stressed/depressed. I used to eat when I was bored. I can't eat junk food though; the sleeve conditioning/diet mindset says NO JUNK food or you feel guilty, and it doesn't even taste good anyway. You need to find a way to just relax even if it means taking a low dosage Valium or Xanax. And you have to figure out what the stress is and deal with the issue to resolve it. If you're worrying about not being able to conceive you'll be right - you won't. You have to adopt the attitude that either I do OR I don't.....all in God's time and REALLY MEAN that. That's the only way to get to the baby goal. Release the need to achieve the outcome and THEN it will happen. Truly. I know what I'm talking about.:thumbup:

It's funny you mention that because in the past, I've been known to sabotage myself. I'm typically a very positive, never let failure enter my mind type of person. Over the last couple of months, negative situations keep creeping in, and I let my emotions get the best of me.

I did really great today food wise. I was able to tolerate everything without going to the bathroom which is a good thing. Usually within a an hour of eating when I'm stressed, whatever I've consumed is making an exit. I'm sure that contributes to some loss, but that's how my body has always worked.

I just keep telling myself that things will be okay, and that I need to be patient.

[avelan4337 0]

I am a little confused - are you saying you think you have lost to much weight? I just want you to know that stress will make you loose. I have the sleeve done in March of 09. I was 193 pounds and I am now 114 pounds - my family started asking was somethng wrong with me. I also thought I was losing to much and that something was wrong so I went to the doctor. I had them check everything out and the only thing was my Iron level was low and my potassium was low. They gave me an iron infusion and some liquid potassium to take for a month and all my levels have gone back up. Needless to say, I have been stressing out about things going on around me at my house with family and the doctor said the only thing that could be causing my to lose weight is STRESS. It has been 13 months for me and I am not going to let myself get it back. Take care of yourself and stop stressing, remember you were upset when you had the weight, don't worry about losing it, it will come back, just make sure you are doing everything you should be doing. Good Luck!

[Tiffykins 673]

I am a little confused - are you saying you think you have lost to much weight? I just want you to know that stress will make you loose. I have the sleeve done in March of 09. I was 193 pounds and I am now 114 pounds - my family started asking was somethng wrong with me. I also thought I was losing to much and that something was wrong so I went to the doctor. I had them check everything out and the only thing was my Iron level was low and my potassium was low. They gave me an Iron infusion and some liquid potassium to take for a month and all my levels have gone back up. Needless to say, I have been stressing out about things going on around me at my house with family and the doctor said the only thing that could be causing my to lose weight is STRESS. It has been 13 months for me and I am not going to let myself get it back. Take care of yourself and stop stressing, remember you were upset when you had the weight, don't worry about losing it, it will come back, just make sure you are doing everything you should be doing. Good Luck!

I have not technically lost too much weight as I'm right in the middle of a normal healthy weight for my height/frame size.

My up and down loss/gain is definitely related to stress. My eating habits have remained the same for maintenance, my labs were just pulled in February, and I was scoped as well during gall bladder surgery.

Physically, I am fine, healthy. Mentally, it is draining to lose when I simply want to maintain my current weight. I'd actually feel better with a 3-7lb gain. The most recent stressful situation has been resolved, and I'm mentally clear, and no longer stressed.

I'm not sure why stress does this to me now post sleeve, but it definitely causes a domino effect because then I begin stressing about losing more weight.

Today, I'm weighing in at 123.5lb. So, now that my stress has been resolved, I'm hoping my body will cooperate and bounce back with a few pounds.