Why is it that more kids makes me eat more?

[Cathy in IL]

I feel like I am eating like a pig today. I have been hungry and craving junk, and that is not like me. the only thing that changed is having two more little people around. I have noticed I lose weight better when I only have my own three children in the house. One would think the opposite would be true - more kids should mean more activity and equal increased weight loss. Somehow it just doesn't seem to work that way.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I feel like I am eating like a pig today. I have been hungry and craving junk, and that is not like me. the only thing that changed is having two more little people around. I have noticed I lose weight better when I only have my own three children in the house. One would think the opposite would be true - more kids should mean more activity and equal increased weight loss. Somehow it just doesn't seem to work that way.

 

Stress, of course. :)

 

My theory as to why this happens has to do with the fact that stress will use up your nutrients as your immune response kicks in, your cortisol levels rise, and your body systems go into overdrive. Unless you're being very careful to not only eat enough calories but to eat nutritionally dense calories, your body is going to ask for more food.

 

The body thinks that more calories of any kind must surely mean more nutrition, but with the typical American junk food available, this is not necessarily true. You have to deliberately eat your yogurt, your spinach, your berries, your lean proteins in order to satisfy your nutritional requirements.

 

It's that whole paradox that has a person being enormously overweight and at the same time clinically malnourished.

 

Just like you have to take quality sleep when you can with that many kids, you also have to take quality nutrition as you can. Your body craves junk because it needs more nourishing, and the less nourishment it gets, the more calories it's going to tell you to eat eat eat so that even if the Twinkie has only 2% of the vitamin C you need, by gosh your cravings will prod you on to eating 50 of them so you can get 100%, and the 250 calories that you get per package be durned.

[momo4]

Yes, stress! Eating relaxes me.:)

[Cathy in IL]

Hmmm, that answer does make sense. It's odd though because I have typically been a person who loses my appetite when stressed. I wonder if that is changing with age.