{"id":4652,"date":"2013-03-06T12:24:01","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T17:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/ourladyofweightloss\/?p=4652"},"modified":"2013-03-06T12:32:32","modified_gmt":"2013-03-06T17:32:32","slug":"fun-having-any","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ourladyofweightloss\/2013\/03\/fun-having-any.html","title":{"rendered":"Fun: Having any?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Are you having FUN yet?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Honestly, I really do believe one of the reasons that I’ve been able to “not find” those 50 pounds I “lost” over 11 years ago, is because I put a great deal of emphasis and effort into having fun, playing and doing things that are pleasurable.<\/p>\n

Therefore, when I work with people, one-on-one or in groups, one of the very first questions I toss out there to chew on is this:\u00a0 “How satisfied are you with the amount of fun and play in your life?”\u00a0\u00a0 Followed up by:\u00a0 “How heavy is its absence?”<\/p>\n

Their initial response is a “huh?” and\/or they look at me like I’ve got two heads. “What do you mean fun? Play? And what’s that\u00a0 got to do with weight loss?”<\/p>\n

To be clear, I’m not so much about weight loss as I am about lightening up, and fun and play are crucial to lightening; don’t you think? (Which will inevitably lead you to permanent weight removal!)<\/em><\/p>\n

They tell me that they are short on time; they don’t have time to do fun\/pleasure things.\u00a0 Short on time is a funny concept, since time is a human construct.\u00a0 It doesn’t exactly exist.\u00a0 But okay…I’ll go along with it.<\/p>\n

You’ve got 24 hours in a day, and most of them are taken up by work, errands, things that you “have to” do.\u00a0 (Oh, I really have an aversion to those types of “have to’s” and “musts.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

BUT…here’s what you have to<\/strong><\/em> know.\u00a0 Having fun, playing and creating pleasure is THE MUST!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The absence of pleasure can cause one’s mood to slip, depression can set in, and self-esteem is likely to erode. All likely to trigger emotional eating.<\/p>\n

Without pleasure, without leisure time, it becomes more and more difficult to define yourself apart from your job or your paycheck.\u00a0 Juliet Schor, Harvard economist, reported that factory workers in Britain were forced to give up their overtime due to the company\u2019s economic woes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What do you think happened?<\/p>\n

With time on their hands, people got together with their friends and family and the meaning of life became clear. Their self-esteem began to rise; they found emotional balance.\u00a0 They worried less and played more.\u00a0 They felt better.<\/p>\n

Adults need to learn, relearn and\/or reinforce their \u2018finding pleasure\u2019 skills.<\/p>\n