Facilitating a Healthy Environment

You know that blobby stuff that hangs out over your pants known as the Muffin top. Yeah that stuff is hard to get off as you get older – no matter the exercise. No dieting or cleanser is going to rid of that excess belly fat, which is contributed from cortisol until you start incorporating a healthy environment into your lifestyle.

“Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, which sit atop the kidneys. The hormone has earned the nickname ‘the stress hormone,’ because it's released as the body's natural response to stress. Cortisol can be helpful on the short term, but chronic stress can cause the adrenal glands to become overworked and this oftentimes leads to a medical condition, known as adrenal fatigue” (http://www.bodylogicmd.com/hormones-for-women/cortisol).  

Symptoms of cortisol imbalance in women (http://www.bodylogicmd.com/hormones-for-women/cortisol):

•Fatigue

 •Depression

 •Weight gain

 •Bone and muscle loss

 •Foggy thinking

 •Anxiety

 •Irritability

Cortisol can also lead to weight gain such as, belly fat. Additional weight can start to appear as we get older, for many reasons; however, one significant reason is due to stress, which can be brought on by worrying or over extending your mental and physical capacity (http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/why-anxiety-and-stress-might-be-causing-your-weight-gain.html). We as women must remember that we are not Super Woman; our mind and bodies can only do so much within a 24-hour span of the day and part of those 24-hours should be donated to sleep. Just like we plan our weekly or daily schedule, we must also facilitate a healthy environment around our schedule. This means, avoiding negativity. Ask yourself this simple question, “How will ______ (fill in the blank) enhance my lively hood and the well being of my family or personal relationships with others?” This question does not only apply to things, but people as well. You may not be able to avoid negative people your entire life because you will run in to them everywhere you go, but you can choose how you will respond to them. You can allow them to upset you or you can choose not to dignify their ignorance with a response. Sometimes, not saying anything, can be saying a whole lot.

Be mindful of the people you keep company, the things you watch on T.V., the music you listen to, the things you read, and the places you go. All of these impact your mental and physical being. Your mind and body is like a sponge, it absorbs whatever you put into it. So just remember, what goes in must come out and I don’t know of any woman who enjoys sporting a Muffin Top.

XOXO,

Jay

Don’t Settle For Loose Change

February is the month of love, so If you’re single, you may be disheartened by the fact that you’re not attached to a significant other, while you watch other women receive gifts of love, you may feel alone, but do not allow your temporarily loneliness to cause you to settle for, “Loose Change.” Remember, your loneliness is only temporary.

I have friends who are unhappily married with children or they are in unfulfilled relationships because they decided to settle for, “Loose Change.” Many of my friends rushed into marriages or relationships because they were lonely or they were getting older and didn’t want to be by themselves and not risk ever having children. But one thing I notice that they all have in common is that they are miserable because they settled for temporary happiness or the second best thing. My dad once told me that when you date or marry a man, he’s supposed to enhance your life spiritually, physically, and mentally and vice-a-versa, meaning, if you were happier or doing better off without him, then he’s not the man for you.

Those same attached friends don’t understand why I am content with being single, temporarily. Because of my past relationships, I am very hesitant on who I allow into my heart, so I am not in a rush to get married and nor am I looking for a man to marry. I get asked a lot by younger women and girls, being in my early thirties, when am I going to get married and have children or do I want to get married and have children? I respond with, “In God’s timing.” Of course I want to get married and have children one day, but I am no longer bothered by my biological clock ticking because I have come to learn that when God has a purpose for your life and you follow the path that he has set out for you, everything has its perfect timing, including love. Love cannot be rushed, forced, or planned. The biggest mistake that you could make in your love life is to go looking for love. Let love find you. When you go looking for love, you end up with, “Loose Change,” someone whom you’ll be unhappy with later because you chose them and not God. God does not give temporary happiness and leave out the joy. When he chooses someone for you, he judges their heart and intentions, while we judge appearances and their actions, but not knowing their motives behind their actions. Stop short changing yourself. What God has for you, is for you.

In the meantime, enjoy being single and following the adventurous path that God has set out for your life. Eventually, He’ll put someone in your path who will turn out to be the man beyond your dreams and you will be ever so joyful that you waited and did not settle for, “Loose Change.”

 

XOXO,

Jay

Becoming the Best Version of You Part 3: Don't Look Back

I believe part of the reason that women struggle with liking themselves is because they are constantly comparing their achievements and success to their peers’. STOP DOING THAT! You are only holding yourself back because you’re stuck measuring your success to the next woman. It’s okay that you finished your degree at 40 rather than 21 and it’s okay that you waited later in life to get married and start a family. What God has for you, is for you. Everyone’s life is measured at a different pace and timeline. You have to take your own path. Stop focusing on past setbacks and mistakes. What’s done is done, now move on. Focus on the goals that you have established for yourself and work towards them. In the meantime, don’t worry, love will come when you least expect it. But you have to STOP focusing on what you could’ve done…be grateful that now you know better and when you do accomplish your goals, you’ll be much wiser. Life doesn’t consist of who is the strongest or who finishes first – the whole goal is to finish, but you can’t get to the finish line if you keep looking back.

XOXO,

Jay