I’ve noticed I’ve begun to laugh more. I don’t just mean a chuckle. I’m talking about side splitting, can’t stop for a few minutes laughter. Even now I’m smiling as I think about the birthday card we gave to our new 17 year old. Apparently, freeing my mind of the stress of dieting is allowing room for me to appreciate the funny things in life a bit more. I even woke up this morning…. smiling. I opened the blinds, looked out at the gorgeous pinkish, purple mountains and grinned. My first thoughts weren’t, “ok, I’m going to be good today.”

How sick I was of the usual morning routine of donning guilt and determination to do better. I would lay out exactly what I was going to do to lose weight that day. I’m telling you, my mind didn’t have room for laughter. But this morning, I smiled, just happy to be in the moment.

We’ve all heard that “laughter is the best medicine”, so I thought I would look up a couple of articles about it. The first one surprised me with its huge emphasis on how many calories you burn when you laugh. Seriously? Now we’re making laughter into a diet plan? So, I moved on to the next article. You may find it an interesting read, so check it out if you like. Here’s a quote I resonated with:

Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.

 

One of the primary things I’ve focused on lately is recognizing and eliminating negative thoughts. I had started to think I have a thyroid issue (which as it turns out I may), but it seems that my particular thyroid results may be rooted in stress and negativity. I’ve begun looking for ways to help alleviate stress in my life, as well as coping mechanisms. Releasing diet mentality has been a huge step toward that end. In doing so, it appears laughter comes more easily.

Well, I’m going to go about my day and look for opportunities to laugh along the way.

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” ~ Psalm 126:2