Learning to relax and enjoy life will help you reach your ideal weight.

Stress and emotional eating are a common cause of weight gain.
When you are stressed you may look for comfort food and gain weight
This is why is important to learn to relax to calm your mind and recharge your body.

Chronic stress can cause chronic health problems like heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, stroke, immune disorders and others

Chronic stress increases the production of the hormone cortisol. When cortisol increases, it causes accumulation of fat around the waist.

Cortisol interferes with the action of insulin that regulates blood sugar and it can cause insulin resistance. Cortisol interferes with the production of other hormones like Leptin and Ghrelin that regulate appetite and fullness.

Chronic stress inhibit neurotransmitters in the brain causing depression and leaves the body susceptible to illness.

The University Of Otago, New Zealand had a study of 225 overweight women that were divided in three groups. The first group practiced Yoga, meditation and positive visualization, the second group focus in diet and exercise and the third group had a course in nutrition. The first group loss and average of five and a half pounds and after two years was the only group that keep the weight off. The group that focused only in the weight loss instead of a lifestyle change was the first group to give up.

The researchers concluded that practicing relaxation techniques as part of a lifestyle change helped them manage stress instead of requiring emotional eating.

Yoga, meditation and prayer can help you to relax.

If you like to try Yoga, look for an expert Yoga teacher and follow the instructions. Yoga teachers include breathing meditation at the end of the session.

There are thousands forms of meditation, I practice the breathing meditation when I focus in my breathing; the appreciate the moment meditation when I enjoy the view, sounds, and feelings of the moment; the walking meditation when I focus on the feel and movement of my body while I walk and positive visualization meditation when I close my eyes and visualize nice things that happened or desire to happen in my life. You can practice this forms of meditation during the day beginning in five minutes intervals and with continuous practice 30 minutes to an hour a day.

When I practice prayer I feel relaxed, I connect with God and I am thankful for my personal blessings and it is time for asking for family and friends blessings.

This practices help me cop with life challenges and help me relax.

There are other activities that can help you relax , enjoy the present moment and enjoy life :  drawing or/ and painting, listening to music, playing a musical instrument, walking in nature, looking at the sunset, writing.

Look for something that helps you relax, enjoy the present moment when the things are good and do not let worries pile up. If you are relax you will find the solution to life situations.