Game Over: Tales of a Gamers Quest for Weight Loss

Stress. We all have it, everyday. Whether it is work stress, family stress, or personal stress, it is there, looming over you.

Me? I have plenty of stress in my life. Sure, life is good for the most part. I have a wonderful home, a very good job and a lovely fiance. No matter how good things are, there is always something hanging over it.

Im not going to go into a long woe-is-me paragraph about what in my life really stresses me. Most of it is personal, and those of you close enough to me know what is going on. Suffice to say, my job is safe, my love life is stable and secure, and I have a roof over my head each night.

For me, being stressed impacts my weight in a serious way. First off, when I am stressed, my natural reaction is to find comfort, and unfortunately, that is usually through food. Eating comfort food has always been my natural way to combat being stressed out.

On top of that, studies have shown that being stressed can slow down ones metabolism. Ive been prone to a slow metabolism anyways, so when I let stress get to me, it is just hurting a process that is already running slow.

Being stressed has a lot of other side effects in general, indirectly related to my weight. Being stressed is usually because I am very busy, and when I am very busy, I tend to eat fast food. Clearly fast food is very bad for my weight issues. On top of that, being busy and stressed causes me to have little time for exercise and physical work. All of this just adds up.

Those of you that know me know that on the outside, I am a pretty easy going guy. I can get intense occasionally, but I try and be laid back. Im going to do my best to not internalize my stress and find good outlets for it, like boxing or some other sport that will let me not only burn my stress, but burn my calories as well. So when I say to you, "Dont Stress!", Im only looking out for both of our best interests! Heres to a stress-free year!