Gratitude Promotes Weight Loss. Written by: Sandra Gultry, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Weight Loss and Health Coach who resides in Orlando, Florida.
How Gratitude Reduces Stress, Improves Your Health and Promotes Weight Loss
Are grateful people healthier?
Is gratitude the key to stress relief? Research suggests that grateful people may have better sleep, healthier hearts, and fewer aches and pains. Would you like to increase your ability to maintain a positive attitude in your life, even in the face of significant stress? Read more as I reveal how building your “gratitude muscle” will help you step into your highest level of health so you can lose weight, boost energy, and feel better!
I will leave you with 3 key “take away” points!
Take Away Point #1 (Gratitude Promotes Weight Loss)
“Improve work-related mental health and reduce stress”
Without a doubt work-stress ranks high on the list of negatively impacting
- weight loss goals,
- sleep quality,
- consistency with exercise,
- blood pressure and sugar levels going sky high.
- Just to name a few.
If we’re being honest, most of the work-related stresses we carry we have absolutely NO control over. Employing gratitude at work can have a significant impact on your mental health and stress. Finding things to feel grateful for at work, even on stressful jobs, can help protect you from the negative side effects of your job.
Work-Life Balance is so important. Unfortunately, we live in culture that does not promote work-life balance. That just means, we must behave more intentionally to bring balance to our own lives Growing to a place where work is left at work and picking back up the next day is crucial for mental, emotional and physical wellness Of course, you will have your exceptional periods (seasons) where work will spill over to family time and/or personal time, but this should not happen 7 days a week, 365 days a year!
Take Away Point #2 (Gratitude Promotes Weight Loss)
Improve your sleep
Inadequate sleep also ranks high on the list that negatively impacts to health goals. Such as
- weight loss goals,
- consistent exercise,
- raising blood pressure and sugar levels sky high.
Those that have been following me for a while, know I speak OFTEN about sleep and its importance in building healthy habits. Evidence continues to support 7 to 9 hours of sleep EVERY night for adults for is important overall total body wellness. If you feel 7 hours is “way too much” or I’ve heard people say “I don’t have 7 hours to sleep”
then you have way too much going on and overcommitted – just speaking honestly. Our body must rest, recover and rejuvenate in order to function at optimal levels and prevent illness and disease. If you’re having trouble sleeping or wake up feeling tired all the time, try a quick gratitude journaling exercise (YES, ole fashioned paper and pen/pencil 😊) before going to bed – it can make the difference between feeling groggy and feeling great in the morning!
It will also help shift your focus OFF all the ‘stress’ in your life giving your mind an opportunity to handle the stressful situation(s) more productively. Instead of reading work emails or thinking about all that you must the get done the next day, take a moment to write down what you are “thankful for” and “what IS going good”
Take Away Point #3 (Gratitude Promotes Weight Loss)
Increase your frequency/Consistency of exercise
The first two points mentioned above: 1. Stress and 2. Not getting enough sleep, spills over to either
- not feeling motivated to exercise or
- simply just not having the energy
True enough – Nutrition is 80% of the equation in healthy/sustainable weight loss. Effective and consistent exercise works synergistically with balanced nutrition. We cannot “Out Workout” a bad diet!
It’s true: being grateful can help you get fit! You’re likely to exercise more often and are more likely to attend regular check-ups with your doctor, which is likely to contribute to further longevity.
Take Away Message
Having a balanced approach to
- weight loss,
- stress management,
- improving health outcomes, and
- having peace with your body (from the inside out)
are key ingredients to happiness and feeling good. All the parts work together to benefit the whole.
Three reasons why being thankful is so important:
- It reflects our relationship with God,
- Our reliance on God
- and our peace in God
The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.
Developing an attitude of gratitude toward the people, things, and events in your life is a life-affirming and effective way to strengthen your emotional resilience and reduce stress because you’ll be focusing on the positive aspects of your life while also reaping the benefits of journaling in general. Journaling and expressive writing can even help us process traumatic events1 and possibly improve our physical health.
Sandra Recommends
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Listen to the FB LIVE Replay for more insightful information on this BLOG
Listen to the FB LIVE Replay for more insightful information on this BLOG.