Perfume, hair spray, fabric softener, car exhaust, pesticides, smog, wheat, sugar, smell of coffee, a date with a smoker or many other foods or chemicals can all be triggers for cravings, binges and water retention, which can result in weight gain.

There are 4 different ways that allergens can stimulate weight gain. 1. Addiction Many people are overweight because they are actually addicted to certain foods. It’s usually one of your favorite foods and one that you eat quite frequently. When eaten it supplies you with a fix, an instant lift and relieves your allergic symptoms temporarily

2.Cravings Any irritants that cause allergies can also cause intense hunger pangs. A craving can be for a specific food like as ice cream or for a general family such as pasta.

3.The Appestat Switch-Off Scientists have found that certain substances can go directly to brain and shut off appestat, or appetite control center. Normally it should tell you that you are full and it is time to stop eating, but if it does not shut off you never feel full and thus want to continue eating.

This adverse reaction can be caused by anything –hugging a friend who is wearing perfume, dryer exhaust from your neighbor, or eating a wheat cookie. If you never feel full or hungry after a meal, your appestat may not be functioning properly.

Once you can identify what substances are problematic for you can eliminate them and reactivate your hunger control center.

4. Edema The most common form of allergic obesity is fluid retention. If you notice that you are heavier day after you eat a particular food, your body is probably responding to an allergy.

Pay close attention to your eating habits, air you breath and chemicals and fragrances that you use, looking for possible connections between changes in your weight and kinds of food you eat (instead of being focused on how much you eat) also taking note of when cravings, uncontrollable hunger and binges occur.

Perhaps most difficult of these transitions is loss of identity one held before becoming sick. Often, there is a complete restructuring of way one defines oneself and ways in which one interacts with world. Sometimes it is difficult to feel good about oneself as our illness or disability is incorporated into a new self-image. The work of rebuilding one’s life and identity can be further complicated by loss of spouses or partners or other supportive relationships that sometimes follow onset of serious illness. And, as all persons who suffer with an invisible illness know, lack of validation and support for our illness creates further grief and frustration. At a time when we most need compassion, love, understanding, sympathy and support we may be met with criticism, disbelief, and anger.