I\u2019ve heard it said that when you allow yourself to become bitter against someone, it\u2019s like you are letting them live rent-free in your head.\u00a0 He may be miles away, but you can still hear his voice, and his actions get rehashed, again and again.\u00a0 You can\u2019t get away from him — or her.<\/p>\n
Not good.<\/p>\n
Besides being a torment to your mind, it can also derail your healthy eating and exercise plan.\u00a0 Have you ever played out this scenario?<\/p>\n
Some chance remark reminds you of what this ogre-person said and did to you.\u00a0 You grind your teeth and remember the scene and think of new things you should have said.\u00a0 This is gratifying in a way, because\u00a0 you can control the situation and make it go like you want — with the offender being overcome by your righteous anger and well-chosen words.\u00a0 But not really.\u00a0 It\u2019s not as if it actually changes anything, and several things happen that only hurt you – not the offender.<\/p>\n
For one thing, when you are angry, your body cranks out a super dose of the hormone cortisol.\u00a0 Like most of our body functions gone wrong, cortisol is meant to be a blessing.\u00a0 If you were being chased by a lion, for example, it would kick in and do some helpful things. \u00a0 It provides a quick burst of energy — helpful for getting away from the lion.\u00a0 It heightens memory function, so you might remember the location of a convenient tree to climb to safety.\u00a0 You get a lower sensitivity to pain, which is good if the lion wins, and a burst of increased immunity, which you may need to survive your wounds.\u00a0 It also tells your body, \u201cHey, we are living in a dangerous time.\u00a0 Make sure you store up lots of energy so that the next time a lion comes around you\u2019ll have the energy reserves to get away.\u00a0 Pack it around the belly where we can get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, in today\u2019s world, it doesn\u2019t work that way.\u00a0 When you remember the hurtful things done to you, cortisol kicks in, just as if a lion was chasing you.\u00a0 You have an extra burst of energy, but you aren\u2019t running away, so you spend it slamming doors and stomping around.\u00a0 Your heightened memory function only helps you bring up all the other crummy things that person did to you.\u00a0 And so it goes.\u00a0 The worst thing is the effect cortisol has on your blood sugar levels and on the fat storage plan.\u00a0 Even though there is no lion, cortisol tells your body, \u201cDangerous times — store up fat around the belly.\u201d<\/p>\n
So you are not only letting the jerk live in your head rent-free, you are allotting him space around your middle in the form of belly fat.\u00a0Add to that the tendency we have to console ourselves with carbs and sweets, and you have allowed that person to harm you in yet another way.\u00a0 He has made you fatter.<\/p>\n
How do you defeat this person who is harassing you, even when he is nowhere near?\u00a0 By forgiveness.\u00a0 That\u2019s the only way to get them out of your head for good. \u00a0He doesn\u2019t deserve it, you say?\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 But you deserve to be free.\u00a0 That\u2019s enough reason for letting go and letting God deal with the offender.<\/p>\n
Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n
Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve heard it said that when you allow yourself to become bitter against someone, it\u2019s like you are letting them live rent-free in your head.\u00a0 He may be miles away, but you can still hear his voice, and his actions get rehashed, again and again.\u00a0 You can\u2019t get away from him — or her. Not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,26],"tags":[136,15],"class_list":["post-1283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encouragement","category-helpful-tips","tag-belly-fat","tag-weight-loss"],"yoast_head":"\n