Day Three Hundred and Thirty Six!!!!

Humour V.S. Seriousness


Having a good sense of humour and a positive outlook is an incredible help with weight loss. Taking the positive approach can help you accept your lifestyle change, the challenges presented to you, and overall dealing with the ups and downs of weight loss.


A good sense of humour can be a helpful crutch that you can lean on when you feel uncomfortable, like when you are out with friends and everyone orders a burger and you get a salad with grilled chicken; say a joke to lighten the mood, address the new you, and move on. Doing this can make everyone, including yourself more comfortable to the new lifestyle change.


When is humour inappropriate though? When is it time to pull out the serious self? I remember when I was volunteering for vacation bible camp and there was a volunteer who laughed a lot… honestly a little too much. Everything that would happen, positive, negative, fun, irritating, she would giggle and laugh. At some points it was appropriate and fine but when there was a situation that needed a serious tone, like one of the kids refusing to listen, she would just giggle and shrug it off. This would give not only that kid, but other kids permission to act out and not listen to her and the rest of the volunteers, making everyone’s else (my) life harder.


So how does this apply to weight loss?
Friends are actually terrible at understanding what being supportive is, and most of the time being supportive to them means enabling you to cheat on your new lifestyle and have a good time. It is important to have a gentle yet firm grip on how you speak and address your new habits and lifestyle change. You can make fun of it at first but when the opportunity arises for someone to sabotage you, like offering you a slice of pizza, it is very important that you can say, “No. I’m not eating that any more.” This informs that friend and the friends around you to get the hint that you are actually being serious about your new you, and if they continue to push back keep your tone light but continue to insist that your foot is down on the subject and you are not lifting it for anyone, even them. 


Even if you have the most positive personality or sense of humour, stress eats away at everything over time. When you feel yourself depleted of the ability to laugh and make fun and joke around and say no to temptation, then it is time for you to leave and for a time so you can replenish your positivity and self-control in order to come back, energized.