Keeping a Smile on Your Dial

When we are overweight, there is a fair chance it will get us down from time to time.

But if we want to lose weight and lead a happier, healthier life it's very important that we try to keep our spirits high and enjoy life.

This article discusses why keeping our spirits high is important to our weight loss efforts and life in general, and provides some ideas and tips to help us bring more joy into our life and keep a smile on our face.

Negative feelings can be very destructive.

When we couple weight related issues with life's many other challenges it is easy for us to get into a rut of negativity that can leave us feeling angry, unhappy, miserable and depressed.

This type of situation can be very destructive as it often becomes a negative spiral.

At best, these feelings can be counterproductive to us turning around or overcoming our weight and life challenges, and at their worst can lead to things that are far more serious and damaging than the original problems themselves, such as deep depression.

Constantly feeling angry, unhappy, miserable or depressed can adversely affect, among other things, our:

• Self-esteem
• Body Image
• Confidence
• Self talk
• Sense of control over our lives
• Sense of humor
• Sense of fun
• Sense of achievement
• Sense of freedom
• Relationships
• Family lives
• Working lives
• Anxiety levels
• Stress levels

Chances are that many of these, such as our self-esteem, body image and confidence are probably already at very low points to begin with and are in desperate need of a boost rather than another dose of negativity.

Why our sense of humor and fun is important.

Of all of the things listed above, our sense of humor and fun may seem the most trivial, but there are some very good reasons why we are going to focus specifically on these and not the others in this article.

The four most significant reasons for this are:

1. The other elements listed (self-esteem, body image, etc) are relatively complex things and each deserves an article of their own
   
2. The other elements aren't typically things that can be dramatically changed overnight
   
3. Our sense of humor and fun can assist in restoring all of the other elements and can be improved dramatically, simply and quickly
   
4. Keeping high spirits and the right attitude is critically important to our weight loss efforts, which when successful will dramatically improve our lives

Why high spirits is important to our weight loss effort.

When our spirits our down, we are more likely to feel:

• That our weight is beyond our control
• Unmotivated to exercise or be more active
• Uninspired to change our current lifestyle habits
• Like eating to regulate our mood
• That we are unworthy of support and leading a happier life
• Like we are going to fail

Clearly, all of these are contrary to what we need to feel and do in order to achieve our ideal weight and what we actually need to feel is the exact opposite of those things listed above.

That's where getting our sense of humor and fun back comes to the fore. They can help raise our spirits and in doing so make sure we have a more positive mindset and attitude towards our weight and our weight loss effort.

Getting back our sense of humor and fun.

Humor and fun helps us cope better with all of life's challenges, including weight related ones.

Here's how:

• They make us smile and laugh which make us feel good
• They help improve our overall attitude
• They help us make new friends by helping establish communication and rapport
• They relieve tension
• They defuse tense situations
• They help break down barriers between people
• They help dispel anger and aggression

Here are some tips for getting your sense of humor back if it's been missing lately:

• Learn to laugh at yourself (we all make mistakes, are they really that serious?)
• Spend more time with funny friends and relatives
• Watch funny movies, videos and television shows
• Read funny comics in newspapers and magazines
• Collect funny stories from your own and other people's experience
• Listen to comedy CD's and tapes
• Visit comedy clubs, shows and festivals
• Check out joke sites on the Internet
• What's funny about you? Work on your joke telling, impersonations, etc
• Buy a joke book and share the jokes in it with your family, friends or workmates

When you're not laughing, try to smile.

Like humor, smiling makes us feel better and cope better with life's challenges, especially when it provokes positive responses to us from others.

One of the reasons that those of us who are overweight often feel bad and suffer from things like low self-esteem is that we think others think less of us because of our weight.

If you ever think that someone is judging you or thinks little of you, try smiling at them. You'll be surprised at the number of positive responses you get when you do.

It's very hard to think poorly of someone who is friendly, good natured and appears happy, and most people will get a sense that they know you a little if you share a smile with them.

Most of the time, people walk around thinking about their own problems and lives and are a lot less judgmental than we think.

Passing on a smile to someone may help them forget their problems for a minute and make both of you feel better about yourselves.

Give it a try. What have you got to lose?

Conclusion.

When we are overweight, there is a fair chance it will get us down from time to time.

But if we want to lose weight and lead a happier, healthier life it's very important that we try to keep our spirits as high as possible and enjoy our life.

This article discussed why keeping our spirits high is important to our weight loss efforts and to our life in general, and provided some ideas and tips to help bring more joy into your life and keep a smile on your face.

We sincerely hope that it helps do just that.

Good luck with your weight loss efforts and thanks for visiting weightloss.com.au.

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