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[memyselfi10]

I have a highly stressful job, and suffer from anxiety disorder. Not a great combo! Recently I've noticed a clear link between my level of stress/anxiety and my weight. For over a month things were going really well, I was much less anxious, and I lost 10 lbs. The last two weeks have been extremely stressful at work, and I haven't been able to lose anything. I was doing the same level of exercise and eating the same. Then I tried exercising more and eating less and still the scale hasn't budged. I've even noticed that my stomach, which was getting flatter, is now looking like it used to. I've read that high levels of stress can cause weight gain (or prevent loss), even without taking in any more calories. Also that stress weight especially settles in the stomach area. So I was wondering if anyone else has had the same experience?

I'm going to have to stop caring about what happens at my job, because I'm committed to improving my health this year. I'm also very suspectible to other stress-related conditions like high blood pressure and insomnia. Some people do better under stress than others. I'm definitely one of the others. Can anyone relate?

[SleepDeprived]

Relax at the end of each day. Take a warm bath, set aside a good movie, TV show, book, to enjoy.

[LaurynJcat]

I can totally relate to this. When I've gained the most weight in my life was during high-stress periods, and it does settle on my belly. I also have "food anxiety" from growing up without much in the way of food or material possessions. Luckily I have some financial stability now, after years of none. I'm really hoping to lose some belly fat. I'm not obese but carry too much weight on my stomach.

I'm taking L-theanine for my anxiety, plus doing some yoga.

I'm currently trying a "sugar blocking" eating plan. Try googling it or I can send you a link. It's pretty simple, no restrictions, and is supposed to target belly fat by reducing blood sugar spikes.

[StoniumFrog]

Age old problem memyselfi10 - how to switch off and just remember the adage "work to live, not live to work!". Sounds easy but by f!*k, its anything but! Why do ya think I am here on this forum? Couldn't shut out and see the stupidity of somehow seeing that my work was NOT more important than my health. That said, I am currently unemployed and seeing it from the other side of the coin (a tad stressed but NOTHING as bad as what I was, thank God/Buddha/whoever's up there!)

You are caught in a bit of a dilemma alright, with this recession having everybody saying "Oh you have a job so be grateful and shut up!" Phooey! I think you are doing the right thing in recognising now that something needs to be done. It can start by doing small things which will eventually form habits. Sleepdeprived's idea of a warm bath is ideal - think about it! Most of us come home, have some TV dinner and sit down in front of meaningless bubblegum for the night! Do yourself a favour and do exercise, go for the long soak and get a good book. Even if you don't have a bath I find even soaking the feet for 20 mins before hitting the hay is great!

Longer term changes in attitude are harder to get but what you must remember is that you are doing your job WELL! Some of this boils down to sheer organisation (sending of an email when a particular task is done, maybe having a whiteboard with your timetable for the week and what has been done/needed to do). Look at the people in your workplace that seem on top of things - they are highly organised ... I'm not saying you aren't, but its a great thing to have the workplace clear and clean (just saying from my experience).

Another small thing - have plenty of fruit and water with you. And don't be afraid just to get up and have a quick walk in the air before heading into a task. Both of these will refresh the brain and are more productive than spending 20 mins thrashing the head thinking "How the flog do I do this now?"

Just out of interest, have you had one of those allegy/diet tests i.e. are you gluten intolerant etc.? Your weight could be attributable to physical impediments that could be done with a change of diet. Please don't be starving yourself though. That is only a stopgap! Another way of actually helping with the stress is actually taking the time to cook proper food, not chucking stuff into a microwave or those god-d**n health smoothies!

I am sorry for rabbiting on but just feel that we work ourselves to the bone for what???? I have no doubt that you do your job well and I hope that you are able to slowly turn the tide and appreciate the better things in life ... or as Terrorvision once put it "I want to live my life, not survive my existence!"