Obesity is a solution, not a problem.

"Obesity is a solution, not a problem."

What a thought! When I was first listening to this on a video I had to rewind because I thought I was hearing it wrong. But once I determined my hearing is 100%, I stopped the video to think about it. So stop and think-how can obesity be a solution? Simple. Everyday we have tons of stress-physical, chemical and emotional. There's no avoiding it, however we can reduce it. Regardless, we are also responsible for how we respond to that stress. Do we eat? Work out? Meditate?  

Many people turn to food, including myself in the past, for all the wrong reasons. Ever wonder why food is really here? FUEL. Think about your daily habits revolving around food. Do you go get that mocha on the way to work because you're stressed about things at home? Do you celebrate someone's Birthday or a holiday with cake and other goodies? When you want to catch up with an old friend do you meet up for wings and beer? Or my personal favorite-'rewarding' yourself for  losing weight by going out for a nice, big pasta meal. 

I was first made aware of this when my cousin was diagnosed with a disease where her body rejects all food. She is 19 and now has been getting nutrients from a tube they placed in her stomach for about a year. My family quickly learned that holidays were much more than the insanely large meal we had been revolving it around in the past. Now we eat something small together and spend most of the time playing games or catching up on each others lives. 

So what do we do with this thought? Change! When you start to get stressed or irritable, remember that eating that piece of cake isn't going to help you at all. It's actually going to set you back for many more reasons than the fat content if you take into consideration the chemicals that are in it that will effect your body. Some awesome solutions to a stressful week at work are exercise, massage, meditation, reading or writing in a journal. I personally work out multiple times a week, get a massage every 3-4 weeks, read daily and write in a journal typically 3-4 times a week. When one of these starts to slip, I notice my stress levels rise. So give it a shot-maybe add some daily reading to your list. Try setting aside 15 minutes a day. My husband does well right before bed. I love to get time in before I leave for work in the morning to start my day off well. And we recently incorporated reading our Bible every night after we finish dinner before we get up to clean up the dishes. 

I look forward to hearing how all of you are adding new ways to reduce stress, celebrate holidays, and reward yourselves! Leave us a comment!!!

--Emily