High anxiety can produce a domino effect on your body—and soon your scales will inch upward as eating right and exercising become low priorities.

Then guess what? You’re stressed out even more because you’ve gained weight.

In busy, stressful times, nutritionists say, one of the first things to suffer is diet. For example, if you're having a busy work week, you might find no time to prepare healthy meals and fuel yourself with caffeine and “comfort food,” but that greasy cheeseburger or Salisbury steak is high in fat and calories.

But anxiety can definitely affect more than just your waistline. Before long, stress, if left unmanaged, may very well send you to an early grave, or at least make your quality of life go down the tubes.

Stressed at work

Last year, British researchers said that people who are seriously stressed out at work, especially those on the lowest rungs of the corporate ladder, are twice as likely to suffer from heart disease and other cardiovascular problems than their laid-back coworkers.

What’s more, men who held stressful jobs for more than 14 years were almost twice as likely to be extremely overweight, have insulin intolerance, high blood pressure and high cholesterol than those not exposed to stress, medical sociologists at the University College in London warned.

But they can easily reverse the trends by exercising, losing weight, and not smoking, the sociologists said.

So why does stress add to your waistline? One theory is that people sleep less when they are stressed out, which causes a dip in leptin, a hormone that helps temper the appetite. When your body really just wants rest, you may misinterpret the dip in leptin as a sign of hunger.

The cortisol curse
 
What's more, cortisol is a stress hormone also linked to weight gain. It causes the “fight or flight” reaction people experience under acute stress or threat. Our bodies were wired to have this reaction as a survival mechanism against predators.

In today’s world, however, stress mostly comes from emotional triggers that don’t require a physical response, but may prompt stress-related overeating.

Nubella Tip: Want to reduce stress in your life? Then try these 15 tips.

Health experts say the best way to deal with acute stress in the healthiest way is by burning off excess energy - and calories - through exercise. When the calories are not burned off, they are often stored in the body as fat, which is commonly stored in the belly where it poses a greater health risk than fat stored elsewhere in the body.

Some people may turn to herbal supplements to beat stress, but no sound studies exist to support claims that they lowr cortisol levels. In fact, behavioral methods of stress reduction may be more effective: practicing yoga, managing time better, and becoming more assertive.

What about foods?

Some nutritionists say that your brain produces the chemical serotonin, which then exerts a calming influence. When stressed, a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, such as broccoli, potatoes, squash, and brown rice, may help release serotonin in your body and calm your jittery nerves.

In addition, high amounts of B vitamins in asparagus, beets, soybeans and spinach also may help you beat back stress.

You can change your body’s reactions to stress the moment it hits. If you eat under pressure, find other alternatives to help you relax instead. Even waiting just 10 more minutes after food cravings occur can calm the body into relaxation and will prevent overeating.

Nubella tip: In The Fitness Zone, exercise enthusiast Jodi Rigotti blogs about the need to beat stress, In “Down Time,” she discovers that a sedentary behavior does nothing for her moods.

•   Nubella’s Emotional Health Message Board—share tips, get advice on managing your moods.

•   Nubella’s Weight Management Message Board—share your secrets and get tips on winning the battle of the bulge.

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•   Embracing Exercise—from Nubella's popular health, nutrition, fitness, and recipe e-newsletters.

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