Looking for ways to find joy beyond sugar and inactivity

[Pinkrosestoday]

I’ve decided this is going to be the summer I’m going to overhaul two key things I hate about myself - the constant eating of sugary stuff and being rather inactive.

I know I can do it because I’ve done it before but I realise that the issue I’m struggling with is sweets and food being me joy. When I eat more sensibly, I just feel a lack of fun stuff in my life but I know sugary food is not really fun or good for me and leaves me feeling worse.

please tell me what else I can do to bring me joy or some spark. I don’t like alcohol, limited friends sadly.

I’ve put in place much better boundaries this year which has meant the removal of a lot of people from my life but I know it’s best in the long run.

just want to Create a life that is fun and interesting and happy again.

any advice, suggestions or your own experiences would be great!
thank you!

No advice I’m afraid but definitely solidarity! Would also be interested to see replies

Also watching. Am struggling to find joy after end of long marriage, house move & family bereavement.

I’ve had to cut out sugary foods & processed stuff due to a medical condition. I’m nearly 6 months in now and I’ve lost over two stone (naturally, no jabs), feel much better & taken up walking. I don’t drink alcohol too for the same reason I’ve had to cut out sugary foods. So my new hobby has been using the AllTrails app, walking and taking an interest in the natural world. Apart from MN I’m also off all social media as I feel more engaged with the real world. Been really positive for me even if I do look forlornly at cake when I’m out in a cafe. I’ve found I’m fine with a 2 stick Kitkat, so treat myself to one of those whilst I watch DH stuff a large slice of cake when I’m out. 😂

I get outside. Go to the beach, drive to a local beauty spot, paddle in a river, take a picnic, go somewhere to see the sunrise.

Well, I returned to my faith after an absence of decades, and that has brought me fulfilment, peace and joy. I found a great church and this has provided me with a 'church family' and support that I didn't have before. Other interests will ebb and flow, they don't provide any constancy in the way this does.

I love being in the countryside, I feel genuinely happy walking in a field or woods. I build in time where I can to do this and the difference it makes is noticeable. It makes me happy.

I’ve joined a chess club as I love to play so once a week instead of playing online I pop along to play in person. It’s been lovely too.

I try to build time in to read as I love books and can easily fall out of the habit. Again, I feel so much better when I do.

Obviously hobbies and interests are very personal but it is worth seeing what is in your community that you could go to.

Can you join some groups locally so you’re getting out and meeting people?

gym classes have been a life changer for me not only in terms of health but meeting new people and feeling like I had more of a life! I know gym isn’t for anyone but there may be other things.

Walk round your neighbourhood with a photography project in mind

Can be anywhere it doesn’t have to be an area of outstanding beauty- look at Martin Parr’s photos for inspiration - pick a theme like “pink things” and create a series of images with pink things in

Or clear a bit of your garden to in time plant flowers to help bees and butterflies

Learn how to solve the Rubik’s cube.
Or play chess, have you got a partner or kids?

I draw portraits and dystopian landscapes, I cut out sugar snacks by making fruit salads and having Greek yogurt in.

In summer I escape into good but not deep fiction I am enjoying Jennifer Egan novels at the moment, love Zadie Smith as well.

Buy the weekend papers and read over coffee in the garden, bliss!

6music is great at the weekend a real mix of music styles, or put Spotify lists of music you want to listen more of funk, blues, disco.

Become a super whizz at microscopic excel there is a world competition it’s nuts, but oddly mesmerising.

Learn a language so you can understand a film or documentary without completely relying on subtitles.

Learn to make clothes, a top or dress, that will fit you in all the right places in material you choose, gives you freedom you don’t get with off the peg clothes.

What brings you joy is going to be so personal.

What did you like doing as a teenager? Get back into that.

I get it.

Some things that are easy quick fix joy for me:

Brilliant music. I put on really fun, uplifting music first thing in the morning and after work- songs from any carefree or happy time in your life or anything that just makes you feel good.

Comedy shows - either an episode of a favourite comedy or a filmed stand up routine by a favourite comedian or clips on You Tube.

Healthy food joys - fresh raspberries or chunks of watermelon chilled from the fridge are delicious; strawberries with plain greek yoghurt, radishes with a bit of seasalt. Chunks of chilled cucumber on a hot day are so refreshing. Sparkling water infused with mint and citrus fruit, with loads of ice.

A page-turning novel.

How about a fitness magazine - you get all sparked up thinking about how fit you'll be.

Very quick workouts on youtube - 5 mins yoga or HIIT or bodyweight bootcamps. there are loads of them.

Pampering routines - deep bath with scented oils or bubbles and candles; home facial, pedicure or manicure.

Going to a department store and trying lots of different scents.

Watching and listening to the birds first thing in the morning, or sitting in the garden or a park as sun goes down. Focusing on a beautiful flower in bloom, or the dappled sunlight through the trees - any natural beauty.

Cuddling the cat if you have one, or just watching cute dogs and toddlers around and about always makes me feel happy.

Going for a walk in nature. Doesn't have to be strenuous - a slow stroll, appreciating sky, trees, wildflowers. It's still exercise. If you are not near nature or a good park, any place where you can just stroll and look which isn't based on food - a flea market or boot sale, antiques centre, fabric store, garden centre etc.

As a solo pursuit this summer I am planning on starting to see if I can master watercolours my least favourite paint medium but have been inspired by more modern images recently so will happily set up in the garden under shade with a carafe of water and lemon, radio on and attempt to paint abstract-lite sunshine on fences and such like

This will keep me quiet and happy for hours

I also mastered a few curry dishes which are now easy to put together

Great thread btw, happiness/contentment is definitely out there, it’s just finding what makes you tick. For me nature, wildlife & the landscape has always been my spiritual home & comfort, looking back especially as a child. But as I got older modern life & noise just got in the way, especially in this online age. I now limit exposure to news & iPhone, deleted all social media except MN & read a lot more books. Honestly the turn around in my mental health has been great too. In my case Mother Nature was all I needed and reconnecting with the world in a way that I did before I was an adult. Fitness & weight loss has been an accidental bonus! 😊

Give Glucose Goddess a follow on IG or buy her book. She has lots of tips on how to still eat sugar in moderation but so it has minimal
impact on your blood sugar levels.

Gosh just reading this thread and some of the lovely activities that bring people joy, is bringing me joy!

I'm calorie counting etc to bring my weight down which means also removing chocolate and sweets etc so I get it.

I discovered Park Yoga recently. On Sunday mornings they do free yoga outdoors in parks. Absolutely love it. It's gentle based, suitable for beginners. Donate if you like but free otherwise.

I am finding going to the gym twice a week is also giving me energy to do other things.

What do you like OP? What kind of thing do you like on TV so we can see if there's a real-life activity to match?

Dog?

Hi OP, what a fantastic thread! I have a health condition and have recently retired and am finding such comfort and ‘medicine’ in my garden. It truly is my place of solace. This time of year I spend most of the day outside (except most of this week due to the heat, very glad that’s on its way out now). I watch the birds and the bees, document the weather and the changing patterns of the seasons in a personal diary, it’s so comforting and reassuring. I also grow lots of plants from seed and adore watching them grow (or not!) - and learning what works and what doesn’t. I have a large garden so it’s pretty much a full time job! But I am at my happiest when in my garden, either gardening or just sitting and relaxing with a drink and listening to music.

I also paint and sew, sing in a choir and read when I can although I seem to have lost the ability to get stuck into a good book recently.

what’s interests you? History? Crafting? Nature? Psychology? Can guarantee there will be an online course for it, some of which are free. Have a google. Good luck OP. I fully acknowledge it’s hard reducing or giving up sugar, I’m addicted myself!

This sounds so lovely! Im a Watercolourist too and this has given me ideas….thank you.

the issue I’m struggling with is sweets and food being me joy

Oh me too - I swear nothing brings me more pleasure than a cup of coffee and some chocolate biscuits. Tragic, I know 😊

So rather than completely cut my small pleasures out, I've decided I can have them once per day. Not for breakfast and mid day and after work and bedtime. Just once. I now really savour that coffee and 2 (no more!) chocolate biscuits.

Love food too but eating good comfort food iis just as easy as bad comfort food.

Best of luck, OP.

I came back from holiday at a size 18/20 feeling sluggish and not actually very well, and decided enough was enough. The last 3 weeks I’ve tried to get out walking every day which is making a difference to my mental health as well as physical heath. I have been rediscovering listening to music from my youth which brings me a lot of pleasure! Listening to an album in its entirety is a joy as I used to rather than playlists. I joined Pure gym but haven’t been going crazy. I’ve been eating much better. Eating real and proper food. Getting my sweet hits from what I call “expensive” fruit instead of rubbish. Raspberries. Blackberries and watermelon. Stopped having sugar in my tea (actually haven’t had a cup for over a week as it’s too blinking hot!) and I have to say 3 weeks on, the cravings have very much subsided. Weirdly the less rubbish you eat, the less you actually want and your body starts to want better things. Best of luck. You can do it. One day at a time.

Agree with @ThreeDaysinJune My one daily small Kitkat is something to look forward to. Sugar is addictive so it’ll be hard initially, but it does get easier as time without it goes on.

It's really hard OP 💐I had cancer end of 2024/start of 2025 and it has forced me to see life with a new perspective and to take my health more seriously. I'm also caring for my DD, who has autism and needs a lot from me, so I need to be intentional about looking after myself. I've been getting joy from the following:

As many walks outside as my schedule will allow
Listening to podcasts around my interests while I do boring house jobs
Buying myself cheap supermarket flowers to cheer the kitchen up
A daily iced coffee in the garden
Crafting - I am the least naturally creative person you will ever meet. But my daughter loves craft and after everything that happened last year, I needed something to take me out of myself. I'm loving scrapbooking and punch needling at the moment 😊

I did WLI last year and my treat was outrageous glam clothes from charity shops and my weight declined - I loved the hunt and the chase - walked miles across diff towns to scour shops. I was like a magpie anything glittery and glam for a few quid - I’ve never worn anything ‘out’ but it’s like being a little girl again with a dressing up box - I would get stuff to slim in to - and see the progress each week and then donate it back when it became too big for me. Soooo much fun. Go to wealthy areas where people are never seen dead in something twice - always loads of occasion wear. Also started buying expensive designer brands from these shops for basic knitwear etc so have £200 jumpers for £3. Another top tip is accessories - belts, scarves, bags - a couple of pounds for instant glamour - probs spending way less on fashion fix this way than on my previous daily chocolate and wine habit.

Agree. Nature. Take photos of flowers and insects. Do something creative in your garden. Develop interests or make new ones. Read.

I love sweets and cake and go through phases where I eat too much of those. However, when I cut down and focus on eating lots of fresh stuff, I feel physically so much better- so that’s the motivation. If you don’t notice a difference in how your body feels, then I can see how it’s more difficult to want to do it. Do you notice any difference in how you feel when you cut down? For me, the advantages I feel within days are: better digestive functioning, reduced anxiety, and much more stable moods. When I’m tired or stressed, I’m much more susceptible to reaching for sugar.

Being active is great and will make almost everyone feel better- both physically and mentally. That one’s easy for me as my job involves loads of exercise so I don’t really have to find the motivation besides just needing to get paid and keep my job!

Sedentary things but I always have a game, a book and a good tv show on the go. These things bring me joy every day. I love a long walk with a good podcast too when it’s not so hot, I don’t feel well in the sun unfortunately!

I was having an increasingly bad reaction (inflammation) to sugar so it became easier to give up in the end. However the health benefits have been even better than expected and you do lose the craving. Like others, crafting has been great for my head. It’s quite therapeutic. I learnt to knit, do nålbinding (historical Viking knitting) & needlepoint. All are cheap hobbies with classes or online communities if needed. Also podcasts as someone else mentioned (mostly history related in my case). I had a few false starts with my reset, so it can take a bit of effort. But a few months in, it’s been great for my physical & mental health. Like you OP, I had a pivotal moment where I cut out a few toxic draining people from my life, and I just want some peace & happiness.