If there are two things people would associate weight loss with, it probably wouldn’t be the words ‘easy’ or ‘fun’. If that were the case all the time, a lot more people would be living a healthier lifestyle, and seeing weight loss as a straightforward process. Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle with weight loss.

Are you scared to try to lose weight? Does the thought alone drive you away from achieving what you want the very most?

Fear of the unknown is enough to make anyone quit before they even start. But what if I told you losing weight could be FUN?

I know it sounds too good to be true. You’re probably saying “How in the world do you expect me to have fun while going on a diet, or working out all the time?”

How to make weight loss fun

Let me tell you how losing weight can be fun — and doesn’t have to be scary at all:

First, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. While actions are more important than thoughts, having an “onerous” mindset about losing weight can be one of the biggest obstacles.

If we are trying to change behaviors, we need to enjoy the process or we will never maintain the new habits. A study conducted by B.J. Fogg in the book Tiny Habits suggests that positive experiences reinforce behaviors. He states that “pleasure can reinforce a behavior and make it more likely to happen in the future.”

Well duh.

But we often don’t do that when it comes to losing weight and changing how we eat!

We frame improving our nutrition — which is a GOOD thing, remember? — as denial, pain, hunger, cravings, and misery.

Is that any way to go about doing something good for yourself?

Try these 6 techniques to take the Awful out and put the Fun into losing weight!

1. Choose a change with the right level of intensity.

There must be a balance between difficulty and ease. If it’s too easy —  like only eating 5 candy bars a week instead of 6 — this may be too simple and won’t be very impactful. And no impact is no fun.

But if the changes you pick are too difficult, it’s not fun either. ‘Stressful’, ‘Overwhelming’, or ‘Impossible’ are indications that it is too challenging for you. And too hard means not only no fun, but not sustainable.

You should think about how you can make the change doable, so that it becomes a FUN challenge for you.

2. Don’t Take the Process Too Seriously

Remember to maintain your sense of humor and put things into perspective. Yes, your health is very important and needs to be a priority, but so many times we turn our lifestyle behaviors into statements about our self-worth.

If you make a food choice that you regret, you’re not a bad person. You have not ruined everything. You are not a failure.

3. Giggle at the silly subconscious messages.

There are many ways our brain tricks us into thinking things like:

“It’s not a special occasion without sugar,”

“She will be offended if I don’t eat it,”

and “I already ‘blew my diet’ today, so nothing else I eat matters.”

Try to catch your brain offering you these illogical excuses and laugh at it. Almost everyone thinks like this at times.

4. Make it into a game or a competition.

Challenge yourself to a series of successes! Keep a chart or reward yourself with stars if you go a week without eating cookies. For those of you who are competitive, start a step counter competition with a friend, or institute a “X number of days without dessert” contest.

5. Adding music to things that you don’t think are FUN can help you boost your mood.

Listen to your favorite playlist while you prepare healthy food or exercise. Dance your heart out if you feel like it!

6. Focus on wellness products during your downtime.

A focus on diet and exercise will undoubtedly be stressful for most, though taking it slow and easy is the first big step. Once you start incorporating a more routine diet, you can start focusing on what to do during your downtime. A good example would be to enjoy an indoor or outdoor hobby, or perhaps even incorporate recreational sports (volleyball, softball, golf, tennis) into your exercise for a clever combination of exercise and fun.

To help solidify your sense of rest and relaxation, you can rely on wellness products to get the job done. It can be something as simple as a cup of your favorite relaxation tea, a meditation app, organic CBD from onefarm.com (which has a slew of potential health benefits), or aromatherapy with essential oils. It’s all about getting you to relax and enjoy yourself during your free time.

There is no reason for crash dieting!

According to new research, crash diets can cause problems with heart function through transient deterioration. Even without that knowledge, most people know that crash dieting isn’t good. There’s no reason to resort to such a thing, and it would be wise to consult your local physician before deciding on potential weight loss treatment.

There’s never any reason to torture your body with a crash diet. There are always better (and more fun) ways to lose weight.