Can Being Happy Make You Thin?

 

A man's life are what his thoughts make of it.

--Marcus Aurelius.

Before we consider the answer to this question, let’s look at this question from the opposite angle:  “Can being sad make you fat?”  

From personal experience, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that negative emotions walk hand in hand with eating.  I learned, at a very early age, to use sugar, salt, and fat to deal with my feelings.  Food was super-convenient.  If I felt stressed about something in my life, food was a reliable companion.  It didn’t question me, argue with me, or invalidate me.  If I felt angry about something in my life, food was a way to zone out and numb myself from the uncomfortable feelings I was having.   If I was tired after putting in a 12-hour day, I counted on food to be there for me.  It always was.  And of course, the more intense my negative feelings, the more I ate.  And the more I ate, the more weight I gained.  And the more weight I gained, the sadder I felt.  And the sadder I felt, the more I ate.  And the more I ate. . . well, you get the picture. 

So, if it is true that being sad can make you fat, can being happy make you thin?  I believe the answer to that question is “Yes,” as well.  I believe that when we focus on happiness (or pleasure, joy, satisfaction, fulfillment, and fun), we have less of a need to medicate ourselves through food.  As I feel happier in my life, food becomes a less-important way to generate happy, positive feelings.  As I focus on creating situations that bring me emotional satisfaction, food begin to play a less-integral role in my emotional well-being.  As I look for ways to experience pleasure and joy in my life without food, food becomes more like fuel and less like love.

If you feel that being sad can make you fat, and that being happy can make you thin (it’s simplistic, I know), consider focusing on happiness.  Create a list of things that bring you joy that have nothing to do with food.  And refer to that list often.  Post it on your refrigerator door, or your bathroom mirror, or by your computer at work.  Recognize and celebrate every positive, fun, happy, and joyful thing that happens to you during the day.  Celebrate every beautiful thing you encounter, whether it is a quick smile from somebody you pass on the street or feeling a dog’s tongue on your cheek or hearing a baby giggle with glee.  The more you celebrate and recognize happiness, the happiness you will have to share with the world.  And as you celebrate and recognize happiness, you may find yourself becoming happier.  And thinner. 

What makes you happy?

Up Next:  Gratitude Revisited