Today is Day 14 of our 30 day challenge! How are things going? What challenges and successes have you had thus far? For me I have had some challenges & successes so far. I will share with you high level both. My biggest challenge has been resisting the temptation to emotionally eat. This was my old go to/habit/method of coping when I was dealing with stress. Instead of drinking alcohol and taking drugs I chose food as my drug of choice. Which is how I became overweight in the first place. I was averaging a weight of over 260 pounds for most of my life… Thank God I can say that was the old me… That person is gone now! Thank God I can say that I have not fallen into the emotional eating trap but just fighting off the temptation has been a challenge. This month has been one of the most stressful months this year between work stress, family stress, ministry stress and interpersonal stress. Trying to juggle all of the hats that I wear daily can be challenging at best but I thank God for giving me the grace to handle each issue successfully.
Instead of emotionally eating to deal with the stress I decided to first pray, second praise & thank God for what he has already done and what he is going to do and lastly I got in some extra exercise. Instead of falling off the wagon and getting a dessert or ice cream, eating chocolate or an extra helping of food I decided that when I get stressed that I would take it out on the treadmill or the elliptical trainer and I also threw in some sit ups, flutter kicks and some push-ups! I felt so much better after doing that. I had to shift from my old patterns of dealing with issues and shift to something new, beneficial and healthy for me. I had to have a paradigm shift in my thinking. I have come too far to turn back now. Can I get an AMEN? We all have to make the decision to just say no to bad and unhealthy habits and build/implement a list of new ways that you will handle things in stressful times. I would encourage you to get a pen and paper or your tablet or smartphone and write a list of activities you can do in times of stress. I’ll start us off:
Instead of Emotionally Eating I am going to do the following:
- Pray alone or reach out to someone trusted to pray with you.
- Meditate on the word of God
- Praise/Worship God
- Go EXERCISE at the Gym, Outside or at Home!
- Reach out to a trusted friend or accountability partner that you can talk to who can help encourage you
- Listen to or sing a Christian/Inspirational song
- Listen to Christian/Inspirational Preaching/Teaching podcasts
- Read a Christian/inspirational book or blog
- Drink a nice cold glass of Lemon Water 🙂
Feel free to add to this list but this is what I do to get through those stressful times. If you find yourself needing additional support coping with life and issues from your past I would highly recommend you getting an appointment to meet with a highly rated Professional/Licensed Counselor/MSW Therapist (If you are in Charlotte, NC I recommend Dominion Counseling at http://www.dominionccs.com), Pastor/Minister or a Life Coach. There are resources available in the community to help so take advantage of it so you can start the process of becoming whole BODY, SOUL & SPIRIT!
I am praying for your wholeness & success! Let’s Get It!!!!
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