stress eating and weight gaining

[Quantum Buckyball]

I bought a XL double pepperoni and three-cheese pizza from Papa John's two days ago for 14 bucks....and now I'm paying the real price 

[Safferz]

I mean, it's not so much an issue of frame as an issue of starting weight. If you start at 400 pounds and lose 30, you won't go down even one size. If you start at 110 pounds and lose 30, you might lose your life.

Not really, it's very much a question of frame and where and how you carry weight, not that Varangian (or me) are starting from a fatter place lol. Bodies are different, and weight looks different on different people, even when they're the same height.

[rising_star]

I bought a XL double pepperoni and three-cheese pizza from Papa John's two days ago for 14 bucks....and now I'm paying the real price 

I approve of this plan anyway. It's all I can do not to order myself some Domino's for dinner once a week...

[PhDerp]

Dude, why?

One of the reasons I do it is to try new things! It works out nicely for me. The vegan food at restaurants is always so interesting... I usually use hedge words in these kinds of statements, but I really don't remember ever experiencing a bad vegan meal at a restaurant! It's an easy cop-out for me to go straight to bread-n-cheese options, but this restriction has me trying a much greater variety of foods.

I support veganism for a few reasons, but I don't want to hijack the thread, and there is plenty of material on the internet about why people consider going vegan.

I haven't been vegan for a few years, but I will be again once I'm settled in across the country! I'm excited for that.

(In before all the hate. )

Edited March 26, 2014 by PhDerp

[microarray]

One of the reasons I do it is to try new things! It works out nicely for me. The vegan food at restaurants is always so interesting... I usually use hedge words in these kinds of statements, but I really don't remember ever experiencing a bad vegan meal at a restaurant! It's an easy cop-out for me to go straight to bread-n-cheese options, but this restriction has me trying a much greater variety of foods.

I support veganism for a few reasons, but I don't want to hijack the thread, and there is plenty of material on the internet about why people consider going vegan.

I haven't been vegan for a few years, but I will be again once I'm settled in across the country! I'm excited for that.

(In before all the hate. )

 

FYI there's so much good vegan food in LA! I'm jealous, I totally miss being around so many vegan options.

[Josh70]

I have found not drinking soda or other sugar drinks as often has helped me lose and keep off a few pounds. It's hard though since have to get caffeine fix through other means. 

[AwesomeBird]

Seriously. Time to get my shit together. I hate feeling like I've just treated my stomach like a trash can.... and I feel I've been doing that for the past 3 months. No more. Stress really is a dumb excuse, isn't it?

[maelia8]

Maybe this is less common, but is there anyone else out there who tends to lose weight and forget to eat when they are going through periods of stress? Normally I eat quite generous amounts of food, but when I'm working on a thesis or a big paper or doing a lot of research, I sometimes forget to cook/eat and end up living on a diet more common to birds, squirrels, or rabbits - basically dried fruit and nuts as snacks or raw fruit and vegetable slices as "meals." When I was going through a period of great stress a couple of years ago, I lost about 12 pounds over a period of two months (I am 5'9" and my healthy weight is around 125 pounds, so that is a rather large amount of weight for me to lose). When I am going through stress I have to make more of an effort to remember to eat so that I don't end up in that unhealthy place again. Even though I am a vegetarian and a fairly fit person, I sometimes forget to listen to my body and give it what it needs when the going gets tough. 

Edited March 31, 2014 by maelia8

[kittythrones]

I don't eat when I am stressed. I lost like 15 lbs this application cycle. Let's not talk about how much I lost during my break up or studying for the LSATs. When I get stressed or depressed, all I eat is soup. 

 

Maybe this is less common, but is there anyone else out there who tends to lose weight and forget to eat when they are going through periods of stress? Normally I eat quite generous amounts of food, but when I'm working on a thesis or a big paper or doing a lot of research, I sometimes forget to cook/eat and end up living on a diet more common to birds, squirrels, or rabbits - basically dried fruit and nuts as snacks or raw fruit and vegetable slices as "meals." When I was going through a period of great stress a couple of years ago, I lost about 12 pounds over a period of two months (I am 5'9" and my healthy weight is around 125 pounds, so that is a rather large amount of weight for me to lose). When I am going through stress I have to make more of an effort to remember to eat so that I don't end up in that unhealthy place again. Even though I am a vegetarian and a fairly fit person, I sometimes forget to listen to my body and give it what it needs when the going gets tough. 

[stella_ella]

No weight gain but have gained eye bags, crow's feet, and permanent frown lines *sigh*

[gingin6789]

Maybe this is less common, but is there anyone else out there who tends to lose weight and forget to eat when they are going through periods of stress? Normally I eat quite generous amounts of food, but when I'm working on a thesis or a big paper or doing a lot of research, I sometimes forget to cook/eat and end up living on a diet more common to birds, squirrels, or rabbits - basically dried fruit and nuts as snacks or raw fruit and vegetable slices as "meals." When I was going through a period of great stress a couple of years ago, I lost about 12 pounds over a period of two months (I am 5'9" and my healthy weight is around 125 pounds, so that is a rather large amount of weight for me to lose). When I am going through stress I have to make more of an effort to remember to eat so that I don't end up in that unhealthy place again. Even though I am a vegetarian and a fairly fit person, I sometimes forget to listen to my body and give it what it needs when the going gets tough.

I have OCD. when my stress is related to obsessive thoughts, I don't have an appetite. When my stress is related to things that make sense (for instance, research for my thesis), I can have the tendency to eat more.

I just find I eat more when I have less to do or if I'm at home all the time, like I am now.

I've been keeping up at the gym, I have my "my fitness pal" app ready to go because I suck at being conscious of/keeping track of what I eat otherwise.

At the end of today, I met my healthy eating goal for the day. Super pumped. Get upstairs to get ready for bed, see a bag of skittles my boyfriend got for me.

Ate half the bag.

Yepppp.

[buddyman]

I found I gaind weight in undergrad more. I picked up weight training in grad school in order to stay sane and lost quite a bit of weight.

Edited September 30, 2014 by buddyman

[spectastic]

check out this guy's story http://austintriathlonstore.blogspot.com/2014/01/from-fat-kid-to-state-tt-champion.html

 

when I first talked to him, I had no idea who he was, only that he was on the same team as a couple of friends. when I asked about the lose skin on his arms, they said he used to weigh 400 lbs.

 

this guy is awesome.

[Amelorn]

For reference's sake, I'm a guy

 

18th birthday, high school: 220 pounds, size 44 trouser.

HS graduation: 190, size 38

Beginning of freshman year: 180, size 34

Spring break, freshman year: 155: size 31

Mom dies, Sept 2011: 180 size 33

UG graduation: 190, size 35

July 2013, master's degree: 220, size 39 (worst relapse)

Now (age 24)/beginning of PhD: 200, size 35.

 

My body composition has been in tremendous flux, but I finally have a handle on diet/exercise.  Basically, I can't have soda (made that mistake twice), and I need to lift weights for a long-term metabolism boost.   My goal is to hit 180 with a 6 pack.  

 

Edit:  I use trouser size as a crude proxy for bodyfat, because as you'll notice, even though I was 190 at my HS graduation, I had a larger trouser size/waist (more fat) at 190# than I do now at 200#.  

Edited October 10, 2014 by Amelorn

[shadowclaw]

Grad school had made me quite fat! I was never a skinny person. At my thinnest in high school, I was 196 lbs and a size 14 jeans (and I'm 5'8"). I did have a lot of muscle because I was fairly active doing karate and my job at the time involved a lot of lifting somewhat heavy things. When I went to undergrad, I no longer could fit karate classes into my schedule and I got a job in fast food. I actually didn't gain much my first year, maybe 10 lbs, which didn't even put me up a pants size (although clothes were a little tighter). After that first year, I started working more, eating the free food more, and drinking massive quantities of Dr. Pepper while I worked 5 days a week (we're talking 100+ oz each day). I gained about 100 pounds over 3 years or so. I did yoyo a bit, and by the time I graduated, I had lost 45 lbs and was down to 250. I started to creep back up over the summer, and once grad school hit, I started gaining fast. It wasn't so much that I was eating crappy food, but I became way less active. I have a 1.25 hour drive each way to school, plus I spend a lot of time on the computer doing research or writing. I just don't have any time to be active. So I ended up gaining back all the weight I had lost and I'm trying to come up with a game plan now.

[seeingeyeduck]

I've been holding steady. I lost 5 lbs after two straight months of stress related to a move on short notice before my program started, but then gained it back as we settled into the new place. I've noticed that I tend to crave snacks a lot more with school. We've been shopping at a place that has a lot more less than healthy snacks so we've been caving to temptation. I've been spending slightly more on groceries and I think it's due to the uptick in processed snacks and foods.

 

However, I'm maintaining my Asian diet that's chockfull of veggies (yay high density of Asians in my location!) and school has also made me more active - I have to walk 30-40m a day - so it's a wash, but now that we live in a place where we don't have to climb stairs all day everyday, I probably should think about some more high intensity exercise...

 

So far, all my clothes are still fitting, but the trend in the last 3 years has been tighter and tighter... I've gradually started to embrace a looser style of clothing - buying stuff I can grow into, lol.

[trogdorburninator]

felt too guilty and busy with work + internship + school during year one of my MA, decided to switch work for yoga year 2 and felt wayyyy better, now I"m in app season, unemployed and living a 24/7 couch/netflix/box wine/tater tot life. NOT GOOD. I definitely stress eat. And I can do very well when I'm on my game (happy to cook vegetables, bike commute often, sometimes can have 1 beer not 5..) but have zero motivation when I'm anxious.

[Pol]

I do judo twice a week and also go to the gym twice a week, no more weight worries.

[spectastic]

LARD!

[hreaðemus]

HS grad : 75 lbs

UG Grad : 105 (and it has been 3 years since I graduated). 

Currently : 110 but this is all from muscle. I lift a lot of weights and I do a lot of cardio. I eat very healthy every day. 

 

To maintain a thin frame, I work out about 3 - 5 times a week - cardio & weight training & ab work out. I also eat extremely healthy : a lot of salad, vegan, and lean meat (predominately white). No snacks & alcohol maybe once a week, if that much. No soda, no sweets, no ice cream, no candy...trust me, life is not worth living without sweets & alcohol. 

 

Oh yea, I also forgot to mention that I am 5'5. 

 

Um... kittythrones, perhaps I am missing something. All of the weights you list, at 5'5" - even the 110 lb you say is "all muscle" - would be considered medically underweight. Perhaps you're simply an extremely small-boned person, but I find your comments to be a bit concerning. Please take care of yourself! If life is not worth living without sweets and alcohol, it sounds like you could absolutely afford a few indulgences.

[Chai_latte]

I had maintained my normal weight for 10 years with minimal effort until I decided to overburden myself with a side project, extra lab work and another application process/test prep (in addition to my normal stuff) this spring.  I gained 20 lbs in 5 months...mindlessly eating away.  A doughnut here, Chipotle there and flub distributed on my body everywhere.   I didn't realize the weight gain until I tried to put on one of my favorite dresses.  That was a sad, sad day.  I was wishing for the elastic waist band pants that old ladies wear.

Since then, I've gotten serious about eating healthily and not snacking.  Next, I'll hit the gym w/ my roommate.  I'm hoping to get back to my regular size by 1/1/15.

[VulpesZerda]

Since then, I've gotten serious about eating healthily and not snacking. Next, I'll hit the gym w/ my roommate. I'm hoping to get back to my regular size by 1/1/15.

Healthy snacking is actually good for your metabolism! So don't cut out snacking, just change it. Carrot sticks, an apple, or almonds are a few great choices if you're hungry between meals.

[wildviolet]

I'm holding steady... but, my clothes are starting to feel a teeny bit tight... I definitely move less than I did before coming to graduate school. Graduate school is not as bad as college, though. I definitely gained the Freshmen Fifteen. I entered college a size 4 and left a size 12 and have stayed a 12 for most of my adult life. I'm not disciplined enough (or don't care enough, I suppose) to lose weight through diet/exercise because I love food, and I hate exercising. I love dancing and walking outside, but those aren't necessarily "exercise." The only time I lost weight (and actually went back down to a size 4) was when I was breastfeeding. But, I gained all the weight back once my son was weaned.

 

Maybe I'll be more motivated/better able to lose weight after grad school. I've seen it happen.

[fancypants09]

I find that I stress-eat and gain weight when I have low to moderate levels of stress above normal levels, but that I stop eating and actually lose weight when I am super stressed. I stress-ate throughout law school and through parts of my former day job, but lost 20-30 lbs when I became incredibly stressed at work and almost literally stopped eating. This is also part of the reason why I left the said day job. I've also noticed that I've been losing weight now since we're almost at the tail end of application season. 

 

That said, I've also had periods of my life when I was moderately stressed but was able to maintain a steady weight. It does require constant work though, which is why I think it's difficult to do when in graduate school---I found that at least for me, working in corporate, while time-consuming and stressful, was nothing like now when I'm teaching and trying to work on my own research for the applications. 

 

I used to be super weight conscious, but I realized, especially after the 20-30 lbs loss last year, that sometimes in life you gain some and then at other times you lose some. The most important is to be healthy, and of course, not spending cash on clothes because of an unexpected weight gain/loss. 

[maelia8]

I've definitely been losing weight over the past month and a half as the semester winds down - forgetting to eat or living off hors d'oeuvres from department events is not the way to go while studying my butt off and writing papers! At least I know that my mom will remind me to consume three balanced meals when I go home over Christmas. Hopefully I can get back to a healthy place then.