Water Retention: Can stress cause bloating or water retention?

Can stress cause bloating or water retention?

I’ve been very stressed and my body feels bloated and sore all over. I am retaining a lot of water. Can this be caused by stress?

Answer

In the short term the direct cause of your bloating and water retention is probably not stress. That means if you have only been under stress recently then there is probably some other cause.

But if you have been under stress for several months, then yes, this can cause hormonal changes in your body which can increase the size of your waistline and also makes you more prone to water retention.

Stress makes you release a hormone called cortisol. If you are constantly producing too much cortisol due to stress, you will be likely to put weight on mostly around your middle. Some people with stress-related weight gain have a very large middle and quite thin arms and legs.

If you have only been under stress recently, then you may be eating a worse diet than usual, and your digestion may be bad. Bad digestion tends to cause bloating and gas.

If you are consuming a lot of soft drinks and convenience foods, these can be high in sodium, which could account for the water retention.

You can find more information about all this in my book Linda’s Flat Stomach Secrets available from Amazon.