Losing weight has been a journey for me for the past ten years. It’s true! I have lost weight and regained weight only to lose it again. When I gain weight, I am seriously under a great deal of stress in my life. Learning what triggers the weight gain process in my life should give me an edge to change that behavior when I am stressed. It appears to be easy; however, implementing strategies of what to do when I am stressed remains to be seen.
The Light Bulb Moment
Have you ever felt you had everything in control only to find out later you did not? Yes! The reckoning. Knowing you have a problem and figuring out a way to tackle that issue productively is critical. Drilling down to the issues at hand will be a key factor in restarting a stalled engine. The word engine is being used here metaphorically to encompass various indicators that may have caused one who is going through a difficult time in their life.
We Need To Write Down What We Feel
Why write? To write down how we feel is therapeutic and necessary to hone in on what may be the key reason we are feeling a certain way. Let me use myself here as an example. Below are some of the things I am experiencing and feeling the weight of life on my shoulders.
A sense of Loss – I, like so many others, have lost many family members. However, the loss of my sister affected me in ways I have never felt before. My wife has suffered several heart attacks within the past couple of years. Learning how to deal with this has been a process. To make matters worse, my wife of twenty-four years is on limited time here before she goes home to heaven. The doctors have extended her life another year, and hopefully, many more to come. Since she has a lease on life, I want to cherish every moment with her but find it difficult because she is always in pain and has constant trouble breathing because she suffers from congested heart failure.
I am being strong for her making sure she has everything she needs to the best of my own ability. Knowing all of this, I have turned to heavy prayer. Becoming a prayer warrior for my wife. God has a plan, and I know he will not give me more than I can handle. I also know I am equipped with God’s grace to handle this. However, I am not naive either. I know that I am not perfect and still have shortcomings as a person. You are probably wondering, what does all this have to do with losing weight? I have noticed I stress eat and realize I am still mourning, and I am afraid of losing my wife.
Keeping my emotions in check to function and be productive to earn a living still to care for my wife is more challenging. There are times I don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. That is the weight that tries to drag me down. When I feel like this, I still get up and say my prayers and write in my journal telling myself that I am blessed to be alive, and I look for ways I can help others as well. I ask God to use me to be a blessing to others. I write down how God has answered my prayers and know he is in control; he is at the helm of my faith and Jesus the foundation, my rock, and my salvation. This helps me to restart the engine that has stalled.
The Process of Rebuilding
Everything is a process. So how do I rebuild? Take one day at a time and feed my mind with the word of God and good information that will benefit me and ultimately be a blessing to others. I get on the treadmill and walk for fifteen minutes. I pick up a dumbbell and perform curls. Walk and get some fresh air. Pick up a health journal and read the benefits of being healthy. Read stories of those who have survived unthinkable circumstances and realize my issue is small in comparison. When I awake in the morning, I am grateful for being able to live another day. Being grateful is a state of my I choose because it is a choice.
I am only human and imperfect. There are times I choose not to be upbeat, sad, motivated, or inspired. Hence the reason for this article. I will leave you with this; there are going to be times of dismay in our lives. There will be times we feel we can’t go on, or what we may be dealing with is insurmountable. The storms in life are not permanent. When the clouds dissipate, we will again be able to enjoy the sunshine. Given time, whatever storm you are experiencing in your life, this too shall pass. What does not destroy you will only make you stronger. You may not understand it; you may not see it through the pain. Allow time to work its magic, and you will again feel whole, stronger, more confident. Your storm in life will refine you into a better person.
