Randy's Renovation: The Stress Ball Is Not For Throwing At What Stresses You Out...

I've promised that I'll always be as honest as possible. I'm a little uncomfortable about this one, but in order to overcome it, I feel I must.

I talked about stress before and what it does to my eating habits. To try and calm down, I would eat. I could never sleep when stressed out, so I would eat a lot at night. After I finally got rid of almost everything that was stressing me out, the holidays showed up. Me and stress had been doing fine. I hadn't seen it in a few months, so I assumed we were done. I had unfriended it on Facebook, and I even unfollowed it on Twitter, but all of a sudden there it was. I didn't send it an invitation. I didn't ask it for a RSVP. I opened the front door and there it was. Showing up like it owned the place. It walked right in and sat down on my couch and refused to leave. I had tackled all other kinds of stress. Death. Work. Hectic schedules. Then as the holidays appeared and so did financial stress. I think it was the worse one yet. This year was the first-time in several years I didn't have more than one job lined up during the fall. Usually, I work my full time job and had a couple of part-time jobs. We decided to take some time, and just slow down for awhile. Health wise it has been great, but on the financial side, not so much. This year at Christmas, trying to pay bills, and trying to provide for family and friends, I felt that sickening flutter in my stomach.

Any adult knows that feeling. Butterflies set on a high level of frenzy in the pit of your stomach. It seems funny how everything is going along fine, then out of nowhere a bill shows up. You pay it, then another pops up. If I didn't no better, I would almost think bills are like rabbits. You put two together on the table and you turn around and its multiplied into four. Wait a few minutes, there are now eight. Then you get those under control, then the unexpected ones turn up. A broken water pipe. A broke-down vehicle. Before you know it, your outcome is greater than your income. The mounting stress can do a number on your health! Your mind can do nothing but think about finances. Wondering where your next dollar is going to come from. How are you going to pay for this or that? Then you toss and turn at night. You get little sleep at night. You are so tired at work, you can't focus. You lose your focus, then you get thinking about finances again. It seems to be a non-stop cycle! The best analogy I can come up with is that your stomach feels like a golf ball swung full swing in a tile bathroom. It just ricochets all over the place.

You're so stressed at this point, your hair looks like you licked your finger and stuck it in a light socket! Your health takes a back seat, and you find your eating habits are locked in the trunk. You look for whatever cheap food you can to feed your family. You can buy a cheap roll of hamburger meat, that has 25% fat and a box of hamburger helper cheaper than you can a pack of chicken and fresh vegetables. You compromise on healthy eating so much! You look for deals that can put food on the table. Forget about if it's healthy. You can get a XL burrito for $1 for lunch, but a small salad will cost you $2.98! When there's financial a crunch, how do you stay healthy?

I wish there were a simple answer, but it's not. I'm not going to give you a sugar coated, happy ending. I'm not rich. I'm not famous. I'm just an ordinary middle age man trying to get healthier. I struggle. I cut corners everywhere I can, so I can still go to Weight Watchers and the gym. I have to work hard to maintain my goal. I have to push myself at times. The hard work has been paying of though. As of last Wednesday, I lost another 2.2 lbs. and did that over the Christmas holiday! I was so nervous about all the food that was out there, but I passed the test! That brings my total in four months to 59.8 lbs lost! For the first time in since I started I could tell I a difference while working out. I can see it around my face a neck. I am also excited about my weigh-in this Thursday. Despite a really good College Football Bowl Season, I behaved myself. I dint make it to the gym as much as I would've liked to. I came straight home from work so I could watch all the games, but this week all the games I wanted to see is over, the holidays are over, and now to try and get rid of the financial stress. Happy 2016!