I wanted to talk about something that I know we all struggle with especially us women!  As soon as we feel that dreadful disappointment or heartbrokenness we start reaching for the ice cream, chocolate bar, chips, cookies, pizza.  We turn to comfort food sometimes in an effort to relieving stress. 

Enter “emotional eating”.

I know I have been guilty even though I know better! Emotional eating wrecks your body and spirit as we turn for things that cannot truly give us peace. Sure it can make us happy for a moment but you will regret that you did it later and you still have to face that situation later anyway!

We all have to face stress on a regular basis. It is a part of life and it is not going anywhere.  But how we deal with it can lead to a whole healthy lifestyle or a unhealthy unfulfilled one! So you can choose the negative way of dealing with stress or the the positive way to cope.

Since it is our nature to choose the negative most times we have to actively look for and plan for the positive ways to cope with stress.

There are many things you can do to cope with stress without turning to food. Here are three things you can do when life throws you a curve ball.

1. Going for a jog, long walk, or drive
All three gives you the opportunity to let me you just zone out and think. In fact,  if you do go for a run when your stressed you will find that you may not really realize your exercising because your mind is distracted so much from the fact that your really “working”. You may even get to a mile or two without even realizing it’s been that long/far. At the same time, you are clearing your mind and getting the “feel good” endorphins pumping throughout your brain — a natural great way to relieve stress.

And if for whatever reason you just don’t feel like exercising, hop in the car and go for a drive. Nothing like cruising and thinking a bit to clear your mind and cope with whatever may be currently going on in your life.

2. Jammin’ out to some POWERFUL music

I absolutely love music. I love how music can evoke so many different types of emotional responses. Chose positive music that is uplifting and encouraging. For me, I listen to gospel or contemporary Christian music. I can completely forget my worries and I can even hear from God solutions.  My raging emotions just calm all the way down. Please do not listen to songs that encourage focusing on your problems. You know that song that make you cry every time you hear it – NO! Make you a Get Happy playlist now!

 3. Pray

I cannot tell you how many times I have forgotten to do this! We cannot forget the One who cares and fixes those things that concern us! Pouring out my heart to God just does the body and soul good. If you feel like you don’t know where to begin just talk to Him like you are talking to a friend. He does hear you and if you allow He will do something about it. I say pray to God also because if you turn to one of your friends she or he might just say “Girl, we need go get some ice cream.” or “Dude, let’s go some pizza and soda.” They mean well but that is not helping you. Talk to them after your stress relief session.

And you know what’s even better? Combining music with all of the activities above. When you do…

BAM! Stress be gone!

Stay committed to your goals. Life happens but you do not have to let it happen to your goals!

Here’s a quick tip to curb your appetite and reduce your cravings.  It  seems that snacking is always the death of any diet!  I’m doing good, and then a craving comes and sometimes I cave in and I am like “Help”!

Well I have found an unlikely veggie that can curb my sweets craving! Its SPINACH!  If your goal is to lose as much body fat as possible, then you may want to start incorporating more spinach in your diet according to a recent study performed at Sweden’s Lund University.

In the study, 38 overweight women consumed either a beverage containing 5g of spinach extract (made up mostly of the cell membranes from spinach stems) or a placebo prior to breakfast each day.  At the end of the 3 month study, the spinach group lost 50% more weight!

Researchers credit the increased weightloss to an overall decrease in calorie intake as a compound in spinach stems known as thylakoids has been shown to reduce hunger, particularly cravings for sweets and fast food, by up to 95%!  Thylakoids work by slowing down the digestion process, giving intestinal hormones time to communicate to the brain that we are satisfied. 

Naturally, if you’re feeling more satisfied you won’t fall victim to regular snacking on all the wrong foods — and that means increased weightloss and a flatter stomach for you.

Here are some easy ways to get more spinach in your diet (be sure to include the stems): 

1. Throw a couple handfuls of spinach in the blender along with your next protein shake.  While it may change the color, it has virtually no taste.

2. If you’re into juicing, add spinach to your next juicing recipe.

3. Enjoy a spinach salad or sauteed spinach as part of any meal.