RELATIONSHIPS: How they effect your BODY and MIND

By now you know the rules of getting and staying in shape....Eat Right, Exercise, and Stay Positive. So why is it so hard keep that up while you are in a relationship? I am not talking about the "staying positive" part, but the rest. Why do relationships both romantic and platonic wreak so much havoc when it comes to our body?


You know the scenario. You are focused on your workouts, never skipping a day. You are bringing your healthy lunch to work without fail. Each night you get 8+ hours of sleep and drink alcohol only moderately. Then....BAM! Out of nowhere you meet someone. All of a sudden your world is turned up side down. You are gladly drinking during the weeknights, skipping morning workouts, eating buffalo wings and drinking Bloody Marys on Sunday morning.

What happens is that affairs of the heart can mess with our focus. In the beginning you don't mind skipping your health and wellness routine because in exchange you get to spend hours staring into the eyes of your new crush. But in the end the devotion of all of your free time to this person leads to neglect. I am talking about the neglect of your own personal needs both physical and most often emotional.

The lesson to be learned is two fold. No matter how great the other person makes you feel, no matter how far into the clouds your head may be, realize that in the beginning and in the end you always must be aware of the proverbial me, myself, and I. We tend to only try to "pull ourselves together" in the end when things start to go wrong.

Side note: Realize too that sometimes you can do all that you can to maintain your focus while in a relationship. But, despite your best efforts, things don't work out. You break up, your heart gets ripped out of your chest. A break up can be the quickest way to loose 5 lbs. (Yet, a most unhealthy method, emotionally draining, and therefore not endorsed by me OK? OK.)

Ladies, the summation of all of this is that we need to keep in mind that all we have is ourselves to make us happy. Momentary crushes, loves, best friends, new cloths, food etc. all have the potential to fill us up. Enjoy them, indulge them, experience them in the present with all of your consciousness. But please, just don't loose sight of one important fact. REAL, LASTING, emotional and internal happiness can be generated by only one thing in this world....YOU.