This month we’ll help you look within with the aim of finding fulfillment at a healthy weight from several different angles. After all, everyone wants to find fulfillment, be happy, and many of us are aiming for a healthy weight. Have you ever noticed that when you find fulfillment and well-being, that everything seems easier, including weight loss? If losing those extra pounds is difficult or you’re on a lose, gain, lose gain cycle, look beyond dieting and look within to find fulfillment and well-being at a healthy weight.
This week we’ll look at what it takes to thrive and flourish. We’ll look at 2 different approaches.
- How to Flourish:
First let’s look at 5 elements of well-being according to Martin Seligman’s book called Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. As a founder of positive psychology, the elements of well-being to which he refers:
Positive emotion includes how happy and satisfied you are with your life.
Engagement means being absorbed in what you are doing and being interested in learning new things.
Positive Relationships, as an element, makes the greatest contribution to well-being because of the effect positive relationships have in your life. It also includes doing kind actions to other people.
Meaning is defined as being in service of something that you believe is bigger than yourself and finding the things that you do worthwhile and valuable.
Accomplishment as an element, suggests enjoying an achievement for its own sake.
Taken together, these elements define well-being. For which of these 5 elements do you want to find more fulfillment in your life? How do these 5 elements fit with an aim to be at healthy weight? Example, positive relationships could be enhanced by making a family activity out of preparing healthy meals together for the week or taking a hike together on Sunday afternoons.
- How to Thrive
Marina Khidekel and Arianna Huffingtons’ book called Your Time to Thrive, End Burnout, Increaase Well-Being, and unlock Your Full Potential with the New Science of Microsteps responses to a widespread yearning to put an end to ever increasing stress and burnout.
These authors believe that people have a strong desire to make changes so they can thrive instead of just survive. Their approach is to offer science backed actions called micro-steps that can help improve individual physical and mental health. They recommend changing your life one step at a time with these micro-steps.
Next Steps:
Given what we’ve just highlighted about how to flourish and thrive, where is a good place for you to start making healthy lifestyle changes? What do you want to tackle first that’s getting in your way to finding fulfillment at a healthy weight. Consider these 5 possibilities:
- Sleep: Set a regular time to go to bed at night.
Photo by Lux Graves on Unsplash - Work: Set a regular time to stop working and start paying attention to your personal life.
- Food and Drink:
- Add 2 cups of water a day to stay more hydrated.
- Add a cup of cooked vegetables to dinner for more nutrients and fiber.
- Slow down while eating. Make a meal last at least 15 minutes.
- Physical activity: Take a walk on most days starting with 15-20 minutes.
- Finding fulfillment: Pick one thing that will help you thrive and flourish. Example: Keep up positive relationships with family and friends. Visit or call to a friend or family member each weekend.
Pick one thing to work on this week and reflect on what feels different. What progress do you see in how you act and feel?
Be on the lookout this month for more ways to find fulfillment at a healthy weight.
- Click here to watch the Latest Sweet Life Wellness Podcast Episode on How to Enjoy Mindful Eating.
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Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian
Lana Shahine
Nutrition & Food Science – Dietetics
University of Maryland, College Park | 2023