Do you want to achieve a more well-balanced life? Hopefully, the answer is yes because it’s not a luxury, it’s essential for your physical health, mental wellness, and overall life satisfaction. But life balance isn’t about perfection, it’s about creating harmony between different aspects of your day-to-day, with a focus on healthy habits to support both your weight management and your overall wellness.
FIRE up your Goals
What do you want to achieve? This is about everything – your ambitions and goals can go as far as you can dream, so let’s set them on FIRE!
Make them…
Far reaching goals that see you being effective in all parts of your life
Inspiring goals that light you up with new possibilities for tomorrow, not just today
Relevant goals that honour your values and respect who you are
Exciting goals that make you want to jump out of bed in the morning!
We all have things in life we want to change – be it losing weight, being more active, breaking free from an unhappy relationship, changing career paths, or spending more time with friends…
But too often it can be difficult to make them a reality.
The Balance Circle
“The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you’ve lost it.” Anonymous
The Balance Circle below gives you an opportunity to rate how satisfied you are with some of the elements that make up you and your life.
The Balance Circle Exercise
Print out the Balance Circle to help you determine your present state. On the scale of 1 to 10, circle the number that best represents how satisfied you are with each area of your life. The lower the number the less satisfied you are. Don’t take too much time to think; this will be a window into your perceptions today. Once complete join up the dots.
What does your Circle tell you? Do you have a lot of peaks and troughs, or is it fairly balanced? On a separate sheet pick the two or three areas you’ve rated the highest and write yourself a brief description of these.
Next, pick the two or three areas you’ve rated the lowest and again, write yourself a brief description of these.
Why and how have you achieved more satisfaction in some areas of your life than others? What is it about these aspects of your life that you are most satisfied with?
The vital task is to improve your rating on all those areas you have rated at less than 10. The aim is to identify the area of your life you would most like to improve and as you read on, ask yourself what you need to do. What changes do you want to make? What changes do you need to make?
“Here’s the truth: People who get what they want tend to be the ones to make the effort to know what they want.” Martha Beck
Of course, knowing you want to change is just the beginning of the task.
Too often we’re busy just dealing with whatever comes our way. Without having a clear idea of what it is exactly that we do want, and how we’re going to get there, it can be hard to make that change happen. Improving the ratings on your Balance Circle means living differently.
And this is where having your own personal Mentor, someone who can help you explore your own rebalancing process, your own process of change is so important. So, talk to your Mentor to get help re-balancing your life, along with giving and getting help and support from your fellow Group members.
One definition of insanity is “continuing the same behaviour and expecting a different result”. If you continue to adopt the same response tomorrow will be the same as today.
Five Ways to Live a Balanced Life
Now you’ve done the practical Balance Circle exercise, let’s look at some tips to help you start living a more balanced life.
1. Embrace the 4 pillars of a balanced life
- Physical wellness: Nutrition, exercise, sleep, and health management
- Mental and emotional health: Stress management, emotional awareness, and psychological wellbeing
- Social connections: Family, friendships, community, and belonging
- Purpose: Work satisfaction, personal growth, spiritual development, and meaning
When you regularly nurture all four pillars, without allowing one single area to dominate, this allows you to feel centred rather than pulled in too many directions.
2. Establish boundaries around your time
One of the biggest challenges to maintaining balance is how we allocate our time. Many of us overcommit, particularly to work responsibilities, leaving little energy for other priorities.
Start by auditing how you currently spend your time. Are certain areas eating into too much of your day? Setting clear boundaries – like dedicated work hours, technology-free periods, and protected family time – can help restore balance.
Remember, saying “no” is sometimes necessary so you can say “yes” to what matters most. Protecting your time isn’t selfish.
3. Prioritise self-care without guilt
Taking care of yourself isn’t indulgent – it’s necessary. Just as you wouldn’t expect your car to run without refuelling, your mind and body need regular replenishment too.
Self-care looks different for everyone, but might include:
- Quality sleep (7-9 hours for most adults)
- Nutritious, guilt-free meals that energise your body
- Mindfulness practices to calm your mind
- Activities that bring you joy and relaxation – such as colouring in Mandalas in your Re-Creating Me book.
The key is consistency. Small daily acts of self-care are more beneficial than occasional indulgences followed by neglect.
4. Align your lifestyle with your values
A truly balanced lifestyle reflects what matters most to you. Take all the time you need to get clear on your core values, and work out whether your daily choices align with these priorities.
For example, if family connections are a top value but you regularly miss important events due to work commitments, this can create stress. Bringing your actions back in line with your values creates natural balance and greater fulfilment.
5. Create rhythms, not rigid schedules
Rather than striving for perfect balance every day (rarely achievable), accept that some days may require intense focus on work, while others allow more space for relationships or personal pursuits.
The goal is ensuring all important areas in your life receive enough attention to create a balanced lifestyle over time, as opposed to the pressure of daily perfection.
7 Top Tips for Keeping a Balanced Lifestyle
“Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create.” — Jana Kingsford
Maintaining balance is an ongoing practice – try these tips to help you keep up your balanced lifestyle.
Practice mindful transitions
Many of us rush from one activity to another without mental closure, carrying stress and preoccupation between task. Think about creating some small transition rituals – deep breaths before entering your home, a brief walk after work, or a moment of gratitude between tasks – to help your mind shift gears.
Schedule regular self-assessments
Set a monthly reminder to test your newly balanced lifestyle. Ask yourself: Which areas of life feel neglected? Where am I overcommitting? What adjustments would help me feel more centred?
Start your day intentionally
How you begin your morning sets the tone for balance throughout the day. If you don’t already have one, think about setting a morning routine to nourish your mind and body before outside pressures start knocking on the door. 15-20 minutes of meditation, journaling, exercise, or simply enjoying breakfast without distractions can really set you up for your day ahead.
Batch similar tasks
Constantly switching between different types of activities drains mental energy and creates a sense of overwhelm. When possible, group similar tasks together – set aside specific times for emails, meetings, creative work, household chores, and social activities – to improve efficiency and lighten your mental load.
Make technology work for you, not against you
Digital tools can either support or undermine your balanced life. Rather than mindless scrolling, try using apps promoting mindfulness, limit notifications during focused or family time, and establish tech-free periods before bedtime. Remember, you control your devices, not the other way around.
Create physical spaces that support balance
Your environment significantly impacts your sense of balance. Set aside specific areas in your home for different activities, such as work, relaxation, exercise, or creative pursuits. This helps your brain switch more easily and reduces mental overwhelm.
Cultivate supportive relationships
Surround yourself with people who respect and encourage your commitment to balance. Share your goals with friends, family, colleagues, and your Mentor and Group, who can all provide accountability and understanding when you set boundaries to protect your wellbeing.
Key Benefits of a Balanced Lifestyle for Weight Management
“Work, love and play are the great balance wheels of man’s being.” Orison Swett Marden
While a balanced lifestyle enhances overall quality of life, it also creates ideal conditions for your weight loss transformation journey and your ongoing weight management success. Here’s how a well-balanced life supports healthy weight maintenance:
Reduces stress-related eating
When life feels out of balance, many of us turn to food for comfort or stress relief. Chronic stress increases cortisol levels, which can trigger cravings for high-calorie comfort foods and promote fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. By cultivating balance and healthy stress management techniques, you naturally reduce those stress-related eating patterns.
Creates space for mindful eating
A rushed, chaotic lifestyle often leads to mindless eating – whilst working, driving, or scrolling through your phone. This disconnect can lead to overeating as your mind isn’t fully present to recognise your body’s fullness signals. A balanced approach to life includes making time for mindful meals, allowing you to tune into hunger and satiety cues that support healthy weight management.
Enhances emotional regulation
Emotional eating is a common barrier to weight loss. But when you learn and develop new healthy coping strategies your life becomes balanced again.
Provides sustainable structure
Extreme approaches to eating (hello, yo-yo dieting) rarely yield lasting results. A balanced lifestyle creates the structure for moderate, consistent healthy habits that can be maintained long-term for sustainable weight management over time.
Balancing Your Life Into the Future
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein
Ask yourself: “If I continued living exactly as I am now for the next five years, would I be heading toward the life I want?” Balance is an ongoing practice, not a perfect state to achieve. It’s about making conscious choices that align with your values and support your overall wellbeing.
Remember, balance is highly personal – what achieves harmony for you may feel restrictive or chaotic to someone else The journey toward a sustained, well-balanced life involves continuously assessing and updating your approach as circumstances change.
A balanced lifestyle isn’t just about doing better, it’s about being better. Because when you care for yourself holistically, you create a positive ripple effect on you and everything you do. And that includes your weight loss and long-term weight management.
