weight gain and anxiety?

[Kat03]

Has anyone been told there is a correlation between weight gain and anxiety?  Or have you noticed a correlation between the two?

I have always been a very healthy eater, used to exercise a lot and was very into sports and working out.  I got married in 2000, started gaining weight in 2001 (with no changes in diet or exercise whatsoever).  By 2002 I had gained nearly 70 pounds.  During that time, we were trying to get pregnant and were having a lot of stressful things going on.  My doctor told me that it could be the stress alone that was making me gain weight, because of the constant surges of stress hormones into my body.  

So here it is 2008, 2 kids later, still at the 70 pounds overweight stage.  Nothing I do to lose weight works...I still eat very healthy and although I had stopped exercising with my last pregnancy and hadn't gotten back into it as I should have, I am pretty active and have been making an effort to exercise more.  I am having constant panic attacks and anxiety around the clock, and I wonder if this is holding up my weight loss still. I am tired all the time, have low appetite, feel full after just a few bites of anything, have body aches and pains constantly, etc.  I think it is all stress related, so I don't see why the weight thing wouldn't be too.

Next time I have an appointment at the doctor's, I would like to ask her if I could have hormones tested because I do have other hormone-related issues, and would like to know what is causing it, but I'd like to check out and see if there are any ideas as to what should be tested.  

Any ideas?  

[DremoraLord]

That'd be terrible news to hear, as i was trying to lose a few pounds myself. Hopefully, I won't gain any. I'd at least like to stay the way I am now :)
I do know i've read some things about chronic stress contributing to weight gain as it can slow your metabolism, make the body store more fat and raise the sugar levels in your blood.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

no i lose weight with my stress/anxiety i can drop 23 pds in 8 weeks done it twice now , when am in anxiety i dont eat much.

[Kat03]

I know..I thought it would be the opposite too because when my husband is stressed he drops weight like crazy.  I don't eat a lot and I eat very healthy, but I still stay the same.  I think that when I gained the weight it was because of some other issues (hormonal, I think), but now trying to lose the weight is just not happening no matter how little I eat or what I do.  It is very frustrating, and to try to explain to my doctor that I am not overeating or eating ****, and that I think there is something else that is contributing to my weight gain/inability to lose, is just going over her head.  I have been diagnosed with PCOS, which is known to contribute to weight gain, but she won't even acknowledge that, and also have low thyroid levels, which she also won't acknowledge.  Everything to her is "anxiety."  Needless to say, I am looking for another doctor at the moment, but hard to find one that is taking new patients.