What’s the number 1 cause of being overweight?

It may not be what you think.

It’s not what you are eating or lack of exercise.

Those are just the symptoms.

It’s was causing you to reach for less than optimal foods and put off going to the gym.

It’s also what’s causing your body to hold on to fat, so even if you are doing everything right, it’s why you may not be getting the results you want.

What is this root of all weight gain?

STRESS!

But even this isn’t what you think.

Stress is not the external things happening in your life.

Stress is your reaction to everything that is happening in your life.

Every negative thought and emotion releases a stress reaction in your body at the cellular level.

Over time, this stress reaction can make it easier to gain weight—and harder to release it.

Most women want to control outside circumstances to release their stress. You may think you need a new job, relationship, more money, more health, etc., etc., to decrease the stress in your life.

As long as you are trying to change anything outside of yourself, you will never find peace—and you are only causing yourself more stress.

This is why you may turn to food for comfort.

But then downing a pint of ice cream makes you feel guilty—which just increases the stress reaction in your body.

It is your reaction to outside circumstances that has to change!

But if you are seeing something happening in your life as stressful, how do you change your response?

Here are some ways to relieve the stress that you might feel. As you find better ways to cope, you will also begin to see situations from a different perspective and can then begin to choose your response rather than just react.

• Get adequate sleep. Most of the women I work with don’t consistently get adequate sleep. And this plays a huge role in how much energy you have to get things done—and how you respond to external challenges. Make getting adequate sleep a priority for a couple of weeks and you will be amazed at the difference in how you show up in the world.
• Move your body. Walking, dancing, Yoga, etc. While stress drains your physical energy and makes you want to sit on the coach and do nothing, actually getting up and moving your body can generate the energy you are looking for.
• Listen to uplifting music. Sad music will just make you sad–which causes a stress reaction in the body. Listen to music that actually makes you feel better.
• Meditate. Quieting your mind for a few minutes every day can have a significant impact on how you begin to react to the situations in your life. Can’t stop the mind chatter? Focus on petting your cat, something you appreciate, the sound of the air conditioner or the birds chirping.
• Talk with friends who leave you feeling better. Rehashing all the trash going on is not helping. Ask your friends about what’s going well in their lives. Relive that awesome party or trip. Have them help you take your mind off the problems rather than to dwell on them.
• Read inspiring books. That best seller that has a downer ending? Not helping you deal with stress. Be as choosy about what you allow into your mind as you are about the shoes that you wear.
• Laugh. Find the humor in the situation—and yourself! The situation isn’t nearly as serious as you are making it out to be.
• Play. Drag a string around for your cat, play with your kids, shut the TV off an play a board game with your friends. Play is not just important for children.
• Get outside. Watch the birds fly, admire the flowers, feel the breeze on your skin. Nature is a huge antidote to stress.
• Drink a cup of herbal tea. The ritual of heating water, steeping the bag, sitting and drinking a soothing beverage out of a beautiful cup is a meditation all unto itself.
• Take a bath. Hot water, quiet time, taking a moment to yourself—all powerful ways to cope with stress.
• Snuggle with a pet, loved one—or even a stuffed animal or blanket. Regardless of what you snuggle with, research shows it changes the chemical reaction in your body.

What are some of the non-food ways you can cope with the stress you are feeling? Make a commitment to consistently do that.

Together we can do it!

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