As I sit down to write this, my youngest daughter is playing imaginary games in her bedroom with Lego and my eldest is spending the week with her best friend’s family at the beach. Meanwhile I’ve just sat down after running a couple of training sessions earlier this morning (after which I made lunch for the family and sorted out some work and life admin) and my husband is hanging out the third load of washing for the day (good man).

It’s a sad reality but as we get older we tend to spend less time prioritising fun stuff and more time on work and bills and kids (feeding, bathing, dressing, nagging, etc etc, and on it goes!) and boring (but necessary) logistics. Because, you know, life.

But what if I told you having more fun could actually improve your weight loss efforts? Would you make it more of a priority then?

Here’s the thing, when we’re stressed or bored, we often reach for food (or alcohol) to relieve that tension or boredom and give us a boost of those feel-good hormones we all crave.

Which is not to say we shouldn’t derive happiness from a great meal or a nice glass of wine – food is one of life’s great pleasures and a way to connect with friends and family! But it shouldn’t be the only (or main) source of pleasure or joy in our life.

Ask yourself, when was the last time you did something fun that didn’t revolve around eating or drinking?

I’d been feeling like the fun factor had been a little lacking in my life recently. So last week I went snowboarding with my two girls – it was the most fun I’ve had in ages. Which made me realise I probably need to make more time for fun in my life! For me, that means snowboarding or playing touch football or anything that gets my adrenaline pumping (I’ve tried skydiving, trapeze, rock climbing, white water rafting, wakeboarding… They all scare me to death but that’s the point!).

For others, doing something fun might be as simple as going for a run, bushwalking, singing, painting, swimming at the beach – whatever brings a smile to your face or gets your blood pumping or your heart racing.

Make more time for fun in your life and I guarantee you’ll be less likely to rely on food and alcohol to make you happy.

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