Have you ever wondered how your thoughts shape your experiences? Or how you can have even more joy in your health and wellness journey? If so, this episode is for you.
In this episode, we’re diving into two transformative practices: gratitude and positive self-talk. Together, these practices can help you shift your mindset and create the conditions for inviting more joy into your daily life. Both gratitude and positive self-talk are proven strategies to uncover more joy by enhancing your mindset and emotional resilience. Research in positive psychology suggests these approaches can significantly impact our mental well-being, and we’ll uncover how to use them to reframe challenges and cultivate joy.
Movement should be a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you eat or how you look!
Damianne President
It’s the start of the new year, and we keep hearing everywhere about goal setting. Health is one of the areas where people set goals. I fall into that goal, and I’m doing that because I see that health and wellness are related to joy and balance. Basically, my health and wellness affect what conditions I’m allowed to create for joy in my life.
How are you feeling about your health? Are you excited about your health and what you can do about health and wellness in the next month? Or perhaps you feel frustrated trying to follow rigid health advice that doesn’t seem to work for your body and current hormones? My goal with this podcast is really to get you to make decisions for yourself, and to see that you can take action at any moment to live the life that you want.
In today’s episode, I’m going to share something that might surprise you – the secret to lasting health and wellness in midlife isn’t more discipline or stricter rules. It’s joy.
Welcome back to Changes Big and Small. I’m your host, Damianne President. On this podcast, we explore small steps that can help you make big changes to build the life you want.
You know, I used to think health and wellness meant following strict rules and pushing myself to exhaustion. No pain, no gain, right? Well, I’m going to say wrong. Through my own journey and working with women in midlife, I’ve discovered something counterintuitive: when we prioritize pleasure and joy in our lives, we make movement and eating choices that naturally gravitate our body toward better health.
Today, we’ll explore this revolutionary approach to health and wellness. We’ll explore how physical health, body image, and self-care can work together to bring you greater well-being, while leading with joy. I’ll show you how letting go of “should” and embracing what brings you joy, deep, enduring joy, can transform your relationship with movement, nutrition, and your changing body. Let’s get started.
Understanding Midlife Changes
Let’s talk about what makes midlife unique when it comes to health and wellness. During this phase, our bodies go through significant changes:
- Hormonal shifts affect our energy levels, mood, and body composition
- Sleep patterns may change, impacting our recovery and vitality
- Stress from multiple life responsibilities can feel overwhelming
- Our metabolism and nutritional needs evolve
One of my clients, Maria came to me frustrated because her usual wellness routine wasn’t working anymore. She was exhausted from early morning workouts, restrictive eating wasn’t giving her the same results, and she felt like her body was betraying her.
Through our work together, Maria discovered that by listening to her body’s changing needs and choosing joy-based movement, she not only felt better but actually achieved better results than when she was pushing herself to exhaustion. She really wanted to dance, but she didn’t think that dance was exercise. So she was beating herself up dreading her workouts instead of exercise. And she was always hungry. We worked on a series of experiments to find things that worked for her body and for her life. She found more avenues for joy and was able to incorporate more movement, more regularly into her life. If you feel completely lost, I suggest the book Hangry. This book focuses on women and what we can do to rebalance our hormones, and I found it really helpful for understanding my body.
Joyful Movement
My goal this year is to integrate more movement into my daily routine. I’ve been walking regularly and lifting weights, which I absolutely love! Movement, I believe, should be a celebration of what your body can do, not a punishment for what you ate or how you look. Research supports that joyful, regular movement—whether it’s walking, weightlifting, or even playful activities—can enhance physical and mental health. For instance, strength training not only builds muscle but also supports bone density, which becomes increasingly important in midlife. Engaging in low-impact activities like walking or stretching can improve cardiovascular health and joint flexibility while releasing endorphins, those “feel-good” chemicals that naturally elevate your mood.
If weightlifting appeals to you, it’s a fantastic way to strengthen bones and muscles (always check with your doctor first). But joyful movement can take many forms—going for a nature walk, jumping on a trampoline, playing and rolling around with your grandkids, or simply stretching while seated on the floor. If you already have a consistent exercise routine that leaves you feeling energized and accomplished, that’s wonderful. Keep doing what works for you! My aim here is to encourage you to explore movement in ways that feel joyful and sustainable, because more movement, no matter the form, is great for your body and your mind.
Here’s a Joy First approach to movement:
- Start with Pleasure: Instead of asking “What should I do?” ask “What would feel good right now?”
- Honor Your Energy: Some days you might enjoy gentle stretching, others a vigorous dance session.
- Create Movement Rituals: Link movement to things you already enjoy. For instance, if you enjoy listening to true crime stories, set aside time to stretch or do yoga while listening to an episode. Or dance to your favorite playlist while cooking dinner.
All of these are ways to add more joy.
Mindful Nourishment
Another element of health and wellness is nutrition. Nutrition is about more than just counting calories or following the latest diet trend. It’s about nourishing your body and soul. Research shows that stress and strict food rules often lead to poor eating habits and decreased satisfaction. Instead, let’s talk about mindful nourishment.
Here’s a powerful exercise called The Joy Plate:
- Observe: Before eating, take three deep breaths
- Engage: Notice colors, smells, textures
- Appreciate: Think about where this food came from
- Savor: Eat slowly, noticing flavors and satisfaction
This simple practice has helped many women transform their relationship with food. It will allow you to actually taste your food, and notice how it affects your body. For example, you may notice which digestive issues change. So often, we say we want a particular food to eat, and finish it without noticing. With the joyful plate, you’ll actually notice all the features of food and how it affects your body. And guess what, you might notice that cinnamon roll doesn’t feel that great after the first few bites. In that case, you don’t need to finish it.
Embracing Your Changing Body
The last part of this is our body. Food and movement affect our body and our body affects what we want to eat and how we want to move. It’s fascinating to me how all the pieces are related!
Our bodies are constantly changing, and learning to embrace those changes is key to wellness and joy. This might be the most challenging part of the journey for many women, but it’s also where the most profound transformation can happen.
Last year, I wrote a blog post about buying a larger size of pants. It’s crazy that it felt like a revolution for me to buy a size 16 pants instead of size 14. It felt like quitting, and I had to deal with all sorts of mind stuff that came up. Did buying a size 16 pants actually change my body. It did not change my body but I got pants that fit. And it was wonderful.
Notice your body, your real body, not your imaginary body. Dress the body you have. Accept the body you have so you can move it and nourish it in ways that elicit joy. I’m not going to do crossfit right now, or powerlifting, but I can still life heavy weights. I’m not going to do high intensity exercise, but I can go for a walk every day. I’m honoring my body every day, and you can do the same.
Practical Tools for Your Joyful Journey
Let me share some specific tools that have helped me and my clients transform their relationship with health and wellness:
- The Joyful Movement Journal
- Track how different movements make you feel
- Note energy levels before and after
- Celebrate every time you discover a movement that makes you feel good, that contributes to your joy.
- Mindful Eating Practice builds on the joy plate
- Use all five senses when eating
- Rate hunger/fullness on a scale of 1-10
- Notice emotional connections to food choices (and learn how to process emotions, e.g. with RAIN meditation)
- Body Appreciation Prompts
- What can my body do that I’m grateful for?
- How has my body supported me today?
- What wisdom is my body sharing?
Client Success Story of Transformation
Let me tell you about Jane (name changed), who came to me feeling exhausted and disconnected from her body. She was following all the “rules” but feeling worse than ever. Through our work together, she:
- Discovered her love for morning yoga and evening walks
- Figured out what foods really nourish her and when she’s eating emotionally
- Learned some new ways to have fun with friends besides eating out
- Found joy in movement again
After six months, Jane told me, “I finally feel like a friend to myself. I’m not fighting against my body anymore, and surprisingly, my life is so much fuller.”
Your Practice Invitation
As you go about your week, I invite you to experiment with one of the practical tools I shared in this episode. And if Jane’s story resonates with you, and you’re ready to discover a more joyful approach to health and wellness, I want to invite you to join my coaching program.
Together, we’ll:
- Create your personalized joyful plan
- Develop practices that invite more joy in your life
- Build sustainable self-care rituals
- Transform your relationship with yourself, mind and body
- Discover what true wellness means for YOU
Don’t wait to start feeling better in your life. The joy you’re seeking is possible, and I’d love to show you how to find it. Visit ChangesBigandSmall.com/coaching to schedule your free joy session with me.
Closing
Next time, we’ll explore strategies for navigating health challenges while maintaining joy. Life can throw unexpected hurdles our way, and we’ll talk about how to develop resilience and joy even when faced with physical limitations or health struggles. You won’t want to miss these powerful insights and tools.
I also want to share one more thing before I go. I want to share a book I’m eagerly awaiting: Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, coming out on March 4th. It’s a fresh approach to goal-setting, encouraging us to treat our goals as experiments—playful tests that help us discover what works, refine what doesn’t, and enjoy the process. This perspective excites me because it aligns with bringing joy into every step of our journey. Let’s embrace a bit of experimentation together!
You can connect with Damianne on the Changes BIG and small website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. You’re also invited to join the Changes BIG and small Facebook community.
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Accept the body that you have so that you can move it and you can nourish it in ways that elicit to joy.
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Quick Links
- Hangry: 5 Simple Steps to Balance Your Hormones and Restore Your Joy
- Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World
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Credits
- Theme music by Rafael Krux. Inspiration on freepd.com. License: CC0
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