Is Your Weight Up Because the Stock Market is Down?

By Caryl Ehrlich

When the stock market goes down does your weight go up?

Do you eat because of stress, tension, anxiety, and pressure? Have financial woes given you additional reasons to eat when you’re not hungry?
If you’ve lost your job or your company is downsizing, you may have time on your hands, time to kill, and are bored with inactivity. Are you reaching for food to fill the hours? Is it more difficult to keep a stable weight as your savings slide downward? Is a planned retirement or much needed vacation delayed because of money problems?
Some people use food to change their mood, or they think food is a comfort or a friend. It is not. You may think that eating cheers you up, when you’re down and depressed. It does not. It merely distracts you from feelings and thoughts you don’t want to feel and think. There are some things you can do which can help separate the market fluctuations with your weight fluctuations.
1) A good thing to do when you have money problems or are out of work is to get up every morning, shower, and dress as if you are going to work. Routine is helpful in keeping emotions from ricocheting off the inside of your skull. It helps to structure your time.
2) Eat breakfast slowly and thoughtfully while making a plan about how to schedule your day. It is helpful to reach out to industry contacts. Or this might be a perfect time to do something (work-wise) you’ve always wanted to do. A wonderful hairdresser friend of mine who has two children in college paid for by her working, decided to go to Nursing School, something she’d wanted to do since her children were small. She goes 3 days a week and cut down on her work schedule a little bit. She’s in her second semester and loves it. But make sure your resume is updated, just in case.
3) Remember to incorporate a rest break and lunch into your schedule too. If you don’t eat when you need to, you may overeat later in the day.
4) Meet a friend outside your home for either a meal or a walk. It is a good mental-health strategy.
5) Save money by preparing lunch at home. It will most likely be more nutritious than something that is ordered in a restaurant or fast food emporium. When you prepare your own food, portion size will most likely reflect how much you need rather than what someone serves you based on what they want to charge you.
6) Staying alone is too isolating. If you’re used to having people in your life in a workplace, going cold turkey by being alone may cause additional emotional distress. Think of doing volunteer work one day (or evening) each week. If you can volunteer in your field of work, even better. You want to pro-actively find other things to do with your time, other than eat when lonely, tired, bored, frustrated or angry.
7) Treat yourself as a worthwhile person rather than punishing yourself for financial problems beyond your control. Overeating doesn’t change the outcome of anything except your waistline and self-esteem.
8) Check on-line job-hunting sites. Explore head hunters in your field. Network with friends and relatives who may have connections who can help you find work.
9) If you’re home more than usual, the food in the kitchen looms large. Food is not entertainment. Shop more thoughtfully with an eye toward meals rather than instant, quick, foods that can be eaten with fingers. More nutritious foods heal the body and supply needed energy. When you feel good about how you look, you’ll make a more confident job applicant when you do get an interview. Junk food enervates, bringing you down with the stock market.

The moments will pass whether you eat or not. Think about how much better you’ll feel when you take care of yourself in a meaningful way.