Stress makes me lose weight. How long until I recover body mass?

sword-

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Over the past few months I've slowly lost bodymass due to stress relating to job hunting. I have the special problem of losing mass when I'm stressed rather than my cortisol levels shooting up and me losing muscle and gaining fat.

I was around 195 - 200 a little under a year ago, now I am fluctuating around 180. This can be attributed to me not eating as often as I should. I have retained most of my strength but as you can see it is a detriment to my mass. Also it does hurt my ego a bit.

I am wondering how long would it take for my body to recover the muscle mass I have lost and what methods I could use to stimulate my appetite in order to gain more mass.
 

Joshua86

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I've gone through quite enough stressful times while trying to build mass to tell you that the reason you lose weight and strength if you're stressed out or depressed is because you're not enough and/or your energy level is down so you can't train as intensely. It's very easy to stop eating as much as you need to and not even notice it.

To counter this problem, try dealing with the source of the stress first. In the meantime, make more of a concentrated effort to eat like you should be eating, and training like you should be training. Training is a good stress reliever, so if you can self motivate yourself you can still maintain that intensity. Once your stressor is out of the way, things are easier to go back to normal.

Good luck. Stress is no fun, but most of the time it always seems to work out.
 
Stangtuner

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This sounds more like mental issue rather than physical. I'm sure once you get in a good mood again and start working out and eating it'll come back fast. Muscle has memory.
 
joelast

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This sounds more like mental issue rather than physical. I'm sure once you get in a good mood again and start working out and eating it'll come back fast. Muscle has memory.

Thank got for muscle memory, every summer I have various military training and usually lose 10lbs in 6 weeks, But it comes back much faster than when you originally put it on. Once you get your stuff sorted out you should see your weight come back up fairly quickly.
 

hyperCat

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I have the same reaction to stress - I lose weight. Stress KILLS my appetite, and makes me feel like hell! Unfortunately, it's part of my job, so I just deal with it by keeping my mind occupied with things like reading a book, playing with my kids, yardwork, etc. Find something therapeutic for you - something you enjoy - no matter how trivial it may be. Training is good, but for me, I find that it doesn't quite occupy my mind as much as some of these other things do - not saying to stop working out by any stretch, but just complement it with something that helps keep your mind at ease. I think a lot of times, its easy to forget about the simpler things in life, so try to embrace and enjoy them!

I wish you the best in your job search. Keep your chin up, and things will work out!
 

sword-

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Well I am glad I started working two weeks ago. I am broke until Friday, but after that I'm going to KILL the gym. Thanks for the support again.
 

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