What's Eating You?
Who doesn't like a good meal? A trip to their favorite restaurant? or All You Can Eat Buffet? We've all indulged at one time or another but it's the another, and another that gets some of us in trouble.
It seems as though over eating has become a favorite pasttime for a population of this country. So much so that some physcians have upgraded this issue to an addiction. Who would have thought that we would come to this but it is a fact that we must face.
I must say that I've waver between a Size 12 and 16 for years, hoping in this last year to settle at a Size 8! Gotcha! The need for this became evident when I looked in my closet and saw the amount of clothes that I had accumulated and simply kept believing that one day "I will get back into this!" Ironically, I have this beautifully taupe designer dress that I've carried through five moves. It's still covered in wrapped in the garment cellophane it came home in with tags still intact!
So let's talk about an issue that keeps some of us pushing the needle on the scale upward!
Stress
What is Stress?
Stress is the number one reason for emotional eating. The reason being that stress is naturally weaved into our lives. We can experience stress in the following avenues:
- Jobs and The Workplace
- Financial Problems
- Personal Relationships
- Children
- Daily Hassles / Being Too
Since it affects important parts of our lives, we need to understand what stress is and how it relates to our overeating.
Stress: refers to the response you have when facing circumstances that force you to act, change, or adjust in some way to maintain your footing, or to keep things balanced. (The circumstances themselves are known as stressors, (Elizabeth Scott, M.S.)
This stress response, also known as the fight-or-flight response, triggers many involuntary changes in your body, which give you an extra burst of energy so that you can fight or run away from perceived threats. This was a helpful response for us in earlier times, when most of the stresses we faced were physical--this burst of physical energy was needed to keep us alive in many cases. Nowadays, though, more and more of our threats are psychological-- job stress, interpersonal conflict etc.--and this response to stress, which can actually make us think less clearly, isn't always necessary, or even helpful.
Stressors
Definition: Stressors are situations that are experienced as a perceived threat to one’s wellbeing or position in life, when the challenge of dealing with which, exceeds the person’s perceived available resources. When one encounters stressors, the body’s stress response is triggered, and a series of physiological changes take place to allow the person to fight or run. Sometimes when people talk about ‘stress’ in their life, they are really talking about stressors; stressors lead to the body’s stress response, and the experience of stress.
What Situations Become Stressors?
What situations are stressors? That can vary from person to person. While some things tend to stress many people—job demands, relationship conflicts, a hectic schedule—not every potential stressor causes stress in everyone. This is everyone has a unique set of resources, understanding of the world, and way of perceiving things; what seems like a threat to one person may be perceived as a challenge to another.
How to Handle Stress
The key to managing stress is to simplify your life as much as you possibly can. That may mean taking 1 course instead of the 3 you had orginally planned. You may have to reduce cable services to a basic package in order to bring your finances back in focus. Little Calel may have to go to karate all day on Saturday instead of 3 times a week. Make dinner entrees for the week on Saturday nite and freeze them for the week. Cancel some activities that take you away from home.
Top priority, please, please unclutter your environment, especially your bedroom where you sleep. If you can, take the television and the computer out of your bedroom. I took the computer out and the laptop took its place and the TV simply refuses to leave! LOL!
Loose toxic relationships, lessen your contact with people who do not celebrate you but have become your dream killer! Stop buying off the clearance rack -- most of that stuff usually ends up on the floor of your closet!
Don't feed into negativity. One of my co-workers sent an e-mail to all of us who she talks to/e-e-mails on a daily basis simply stating that she doesn't want to be contacted with any "negative" subjects, e-mails, or gossip! Only good testimonies and positive life changes stories will be accepted!
Finally, say no to things that will overwhelm you and make time for yourself -- schedule it if you must. I find that a daily To Do List is essential to not having to keep all of what I need to do on my mind. I do a complete one on Sunday night, I start work on it on Monday and add to or delete as the week goes by. What doesn't get completed goes on the new Sunday List!
Enjoyed chatting with you! Thanks for stopping by! Send me a note and/or suggestion or comment on how you manage stress or on how you need to get rid of stress!
Until next time, Let's Talk...
