1.
Stress & Overeating –
Understanding the Connection

2.
“Recipe” for Overeating
Example from Michele May, M.D.

3.
“Recipe” for Instinctive Eating
Example from Michele May, M.D.

4.
Focus on Stress – Don’t Ignore it!
 To change our stress and how we respond to it, we must
acknowledge and understand it
 Take a min to consider how (or if) you manage stress now. Do
you…
 Power through
 Stick your head in the sand
 Procrastinate (move on to something less stressful and avoid the actual current
problem?)
 Overwork, smoke, OVER EAT, drink alcohol to excess, isolate yourself, or take out
frustration on others?
 The above behaviors tend to make the stress worse.
 Do you pause and take a few deep breaths? If not, we’ll practice
this today.

5.
Explore Your Stresses
Many kinds of stresses…some stresses are universal such as the lossof a
loved one or a birth of child.
 Physical Stress
 Fatigue and sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, lack of physical
activity, illness, pain, and others.
 Can leave you more susceptible to stress from other sources.
 Emotional Stress and Depression
 Boredom, loneliness, anger, frustration, happiness, depression, etc.
 Emotions provide information so practice noticing what you’re
feeling without judging it.

6.
Explore Your Stresses
 Stressful Thinking
 How you think about stress and how you react to it can actually increase the
stress.
 Stress can be a result from your perception and interpretation of life’s
events.
Examples: Speaking in public - for one person, could cause a pounding
heart, dry throat, and inability to utter a word. To a different person, it is an
exciting opportunity to get one’s views across.
 Thoughts that can increase stress include:
 “I feel like everything is out of control!”
 “I have to get this perfect.”
 “I can do it all, have it all, and be it all!”

7.
Accept the Stress…So you can manage it!
 When you accept the stress you can’t control you can choose how you react to the stresses you
CAN control
 The demands in life for our energy and time can lead to unrealistic expectations and a sense of
urgency
 Leads to more stress
 Setting boundaries for ourselves and with others can help and takes practice
 Everyone has stresses, strengths and limitations
 At times, we may need to be reminded to use self-compassion about what we do well.
 A more realistic response to stress: “I’m feeling overwhelmed and tense. I can’t do
everything on my to do list; no one could, but I’m doing my best-and that will have to be
good enough for now.”
 It’s like imagining yourself at the center of the tornado; you are calm and centered while
everything whirls around you.

8.
What is Your Stress Response
Does Stress Causes Changes in Your Routine?
 Food Choices: Eat stress foods for comfort
 Schedule: Change your meal schedule (skip meals,
mindless snacking, eat on the run?)
 Sleep: Have trouble sleeping
 Physical Activity: Exercise less

9.
Short term impact of stress:
 Releases a hormone called
corticotropin-releasing hormone,
which suppresses appetite
 Brain –sends messages to the
adrenal glands to pump out the
hormone epinephrine also called
“adrenaline”.
 When you are in this “fight-or-
flight” stage your brain is revered
up and it temporarily puts eating
on hold.
If stress persists: adrenal gland releases a hormone called cortisone which actually increases
the appetite
Once stressful episode is over cortisol will drop unless stress persists it can leave the cortisol
levels stuck on “on” and stay elevated

10.
Stress and Overeating
 Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of
high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people toward
overeating.
 Researchers have linked weight gain to stress, and
according to an American Psychological Association
survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress
level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale.

11.
Stress in the long term:
http://fitness.makeupandbeauty.com/stress-hormone-cortisol-and-weight-gain/
o Physical or emotional distress
increases the intake of food high
in fat, sugar, or both
o High cortisol levels, in
combination with high insulin
levels, may be responsible vs
ghrelin, a “hunger hormone,” may
have a role
o High fat and sugar-filled foods
reduce the stress affect in parts of
the brain that produce and process
stress and related emotions – you
are treating the stress and it is
working! THIS MAY INCREASE
OUR STRESS INDUCED
CRAVINGS TO FOOD!

12.
Gender differences
 Some research suggests a gender difference in stress-coping behavior, with
women being more likely to turn to food and men to alcohol or smoking.
 Harvard researchers have found that stress is correlated with weight gain, but
only in those who were overweight at the beginning of the study period.
 One theory is that overweight people have elevated insulin levels, and stress-
related weight gain is more likely to occur in the presence of high insulin.
 How much cortisol people produce in response to stress may also factor into
the stress–weight gain equation.
 In 2007, British researchers designed an ingenious study that showed that
people who responded to stress with high cortisol levels in an experimental
setting were more likely to snack in response to daily hassles in their regular
lives than low-cortisol responders.

13.
Stress Response:
 Stressed people also lose sleep, exercise less, and drink
more alcohol, all of which can contribute to excess weight.

14.
Food Behaviors and Stress
 Do you know which foods to tend to eat due to stress?
 Do you know how much you eat? (Is it a portioned amount or until the
bag or container is empty)
 Try replacing these foods with alternatives :
 Nuts
 small amount of fruit
 Crunchy veggies and dip
 Soup broth
 If you crave carbs, try complex carbs like air-popped popcorn or whole grain
English muffin
 Portion out the food instead of eating from containers – OR purchase
pre-portioned foods (ex. 100 calorie snack packs of nuts)
 Keep tempting comfort foods out of the house
 Even better, work towards finding a non-food related activity instead

15.
Non-Food Ways to Manage Stress
 Meditation
 Studies show that meditation reduces stress
 Most of the research has focused on high blood pressure and heart
disease.
 Meditation may also help people become more mindful of food
choices.
 There’s an app for that! Cleveland Clinic Stress Free (iPhone)
 Exercise
 Intense exercise increases cortisol levels temporarily, but low-
intensity exercise seems to reduce them.
 Some activities, such as yoga and tai chi, have elements of both
exercise and meditation.

16.
Non-Food Ways to Manage Stress
 Social support.
 Friends, family, and other sources of social support seem to have a
buffering effect on the stress that people experience.
 For example, research suggests that people working in stressful situations, like
hospital emergency departments, have better mental health if they have adequate
social support.
 Therapy or Counseling
 Can be very helpful for reshaping our thoughts about daily stresses
and managing depression/emotions

17.
Stress Busters
4 Ways to Manage Stress
 Positive Self Talk
 I will do the best I can
 Emergency Stress Stopper
 Take 5 Deep Breaths
 Take a walk
 Make Time for Something You Enjoy
 Reading a book
 Learn How To Relax and Practice Often
 Let’s Practice Today

18.
Sources
 Adams CE, et al. “Lifestyle Factors and Ghrelin: Critical Review and
Implications for Weight Loss Maintenance,” Obesity Review (May
2011): Vol. 12, No. 5, electronic publication.
 Manzoni GM, et al. “Can Relaxation Training Reduce Emotional Eating
in Women with Obesity?” Journal of the American Dietetic Association
(Aug. 2009): Vol. 109, No. 8, pp. 1427–32.
 Mathes WF, et al. “The Biology of Binge Eating,” Appetite (June 2009):
Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 545–53.
 Spencer SJ, et al. “The Glucocorticoid Contribution to Obesity,” Stress
(Feb. 6, 2011): Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 233–46.
 Vicennati V, et al. “Stress-Related Development of Obesity and Cortisol
in Women,” Obesity (Sept. 2009): Vol. 17, No. 9, pp. 1678–83.
 http://amihungry.com/stress-management-101/
 http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stress-causes-
people-to-overeat