Do you lose weight when you're really stressed?

Because I do! This week I had 2 big research papers due and a really hard exam to study for. I barely had any sleep, and I think at one point during the week I was practically living off of coffee. My eyes were baggy, I looked horrible, I was always tired but way too anxious to sleep, and I completely lost my appetite ..which didn't really matter because apparently I was too busy to even eat.
This morning, my roomate asked me if I had lost any weight. So I went into the bathroom to weigh myself, and I was only 116lbs (and I'm 5'8)!! I lost almost 10 pounds this week! Oh my god I was so fixated on getting all my school work done that I completely neglected to take care of my body.
Right when I got out of my exam today, I drove home to visit my family for the weekend and my mom cooked me a HUGE meal in which I devoured with great comfort.

So happy this horrible week is over.

That's pretty scary.  Since you've had problems with being underweight in the past you have to make a big effort to regain the weight lost and, going forward, you can't afford to let your meals slip & neglect yourself either.  Even at 125lbs your BMI is regarded as below normal so you might decide it's sensible to add on another 7 or 10lbs to that, get well inside the 'safe' weight zone of BMI 20-25.  If for no other reason than as an insurance policy against this kind of thing happening again.

gi-jane, thanks for your concern!!

The thing is, at one point I was about 135lbs but that was from binging 6000+ calories per day. For me to maintain at 120-125lbs, I had to cut my intake to about 3000 calories a day (and I am very, very sedentary). If I eat 2000 calories, I will lose about a pound for that day. So it's not really that easy for me to gain the weight you suggested, unless I start binging again (and I REALLY don't want to go down that road again). It may be genetics, because everyone in my family is very thin even though we all eat like pigs.

If you need 3000+ to gain (and you'll have to do that at the moment) you don't have to binge to get there.... simply switch your food choices around to be the more energy-dense types, eat more often and increase your portions.  Takes work to do that but no more so than someone trying to slim down from 300lbs has to work at their calorie-reduced diet and plan their meals, etc.

of course what you said is all true. when i was finally able to stop binging, i regulated my eating by following my intuition, eating whatever I want whenever I want, but not going overboard. its a great feeling.

I never want to count calories again like I used to.. logging in every meal and all that. I am positive my weight will fluctuate back to normal (which for me is around 25). I think it is wrong to purposely force myself to eat things i dont want to eat, because some chart says i need to weigh a certain amount, you know? i just dont want any weight issues to take over my life again. and i believe 125 is my healthy weight, for my body type. its 19bmi, which is above the range for underweight. and i maintain that weight by not caring about calories what so ever, which makes me happy in the long run!

Twice in my life I lost major weight during a time of very bad stress.  I was never fat until I hit menopause, so both times I ended up too thin and got sick.  Stress and rapid weight loss are so hard on the body. 

As I've gotten older, I've learned how to use stress reducing meditation and relaxation exercise.  It really does help, but you have to make time for it each day.  I deal with things a lot better now that I'm old.  You're young, and you have all this to learn. 

Nourish  your body now and bring yourself back to health.  Try to eat calorie dense foods in place of lower calorie foods. 

My mother was the primary caregiver to my father when he was dying.  Over about a 2 year period she dropped about 20 pounds, which I found pretty scary because I was afraid that I would lose both of them if she couldn't feel better.  So, stress definitely caused her to lose weight.  (She stabilized at a healthy weight once my dad died, so all is well now.)

For me, moderate stress tends to make me gain weight, severe stress (fortunately rare in my case) does make me drop weight.  Even though I need to continue to lose weight, I prefer to do it in a more healthy and sustainable rate.

I hope that you are done with such stressful weeks in your life -- sounds as if you don't have much "cushion" to draw on when you don't have time/forget to care for yourself.  Good luck!

When I fight with my boyfriend, I REALLY lose my appetite. One time I poured myself some Dr. Pepper, and I couldn't even drink it! I felt like I was going to puke and I got naseus. But when I'm normal and happy, I eat a ton. It's crazy how your mood can affect your appetite so much. Do you think there are underlying factors that explain why??

I'm from a military family and all through my teen years moved around a lot - Just before entering high school we did an international move and although I don't feel stressed out or anxious - I loose my appetite - try to eat and find food nauseating - it got to the point my older brother tried to get me help by telling my parents he though I was anorexic due to the weight loss and eating decrease - thankfully my parents know me well enough that they realized all I needed was a little time to get over the stress - I ended up loosing 25 pounds - which after settling in I did slowly regain - I still loose the weight every time I move back to university - I; however, gain during exam stress - curious

Unlike you I wasn't at a weight that that loss was potentially hazardous