Since I hadn't weighed myself in a while, I was pretty nervous to find out what kind of damage had been done. When I finally drummed up enough courage to jump on the scale, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to find out that my weight was actually lower than previously.
I was super excited about losing a few pounds and thought back about what I did to create this result. After a few moments of reflection, my mind drew a blank. Truthfully, I hadn't really done anything differently. I ate pretty much the same, didn't exercise much. I wasn't focusing on my weight during that time at all. The weight seemed to just miraculously disappear.
Since I couldn't come up with a definitive conclusion, I just assumed there was no cause....that it was some sort of random occurrence.
Yesterday morning, the answer came to me as I conducted my morning routine. The weight loss that I experienced during that time could be a direct result of my regular meditation sessions.
Here's why.
Although I don't remember eating differently or increasing my workouts, the one change that occurred during that time was recommitting to my meditation practice. I meditate to experience my productivity and brain performance. Little did I know that it would help me shed a few extra pounds too. When we meditate consistently, we sharpen our minds. It's an excellent habit for mental clarity and focus. But I'm gonna also explain how it helps create a leaner body.
Mindful Eating
Most of us eat in an unhealthy way. I'm not talking about what we eat, it also has to do with how we eat. I know for a fact that I tend to eat too quickly and don't chew enough. I always tend to eat in front of my phone, tv or laptop. This almost guarantees that I consume more calories per meal than I should.
Mindful eating is the act of eating in a focused way by putting down your fork between bites or chewing your food until its nearly liquified. Mindful eating is an act of patience and self-control. It's especially hard to do if your brain is all over the place. Meditation helps calm your hyperactive mind allowing you to take your time while you eat in a mindful way. It aids in helping to control your portions without even trying. You'll feel fuller prior to polishing off your plate which eventually leads to a shrinking waistline as you consume smaller meals.
Conscious of Cravings
Typically, an hour or so after waking up, these cravings seem to take over. Without thinking, I immediately rush to grab a snack or two. After meditating again, I noticed that I didn't have a knee-jerk reaction to my cravings. Instead of rushing to shove food into my mouth, I reflected on what the cravings meant. Once my mind was calmer, I was able to discern between real hunger cravings vs when my body was craving for water. It realized that sometimes, I'm thirsty without the typical symptoms associated with thirst. I've written about this phenomenon in this post. But I hadn't experienced it for myself until I became more in tune with my body via regular meditation.
Another added benefit of meditation in our daily lives is it allows us to break our embedded subconscious behavior. If you always have a snack while watching your favorite shows, you're essentially creating a script that tells your mind to go grab a snack while watching, whether you're hungry or not. With meditation, you kinda break out of your trance, allowing you to make real-time decisions on whether you are actually hungry for a snack. Meditation also helps your control binge eating too!
When you eat consciously, you'll make better choices.
Increase in Daily Expenditure
As I mentioned earlier, I meditate for mental clarity and focus. When I do it consistently, I operate like Eddie Morra from Limitless. I'm filled with motivation and energy to get a bunch of stuff done. I fit in a bunch of stuff into a single day causing me to increase my daily activity (and calorie expenditure) without having to step inside the gym. Compare that to days when I'm unmotivated and sit around doing nothing. The weight just piles on. Burning more calories while plowing through my to-do is list a win-win!
Eliminating Resistance
Several times a week a thought will come into my mind that prompts me to work out. I usually respond with one of the following:
- Ignore it.
- Promise to do it at another time or..
- Ignore, once again, when that later time arrives.
I'm constantly ignoring the prompt to work out because of a thing called "resistance." Resistance is what stands in the way between your desires and the actions that cause you achieve your desires.
Regular meditation helps eliminate resistance in a major way. No amount of pep-talks and motivational books can do (for me) what meditation has the power to do. When my mind is clear, the limiting voice seems to just disappear. Last week, I went out for a run in the morning cold simply because I heard the voice that whispered "go workout" without being stopped by the other voice that usually responds "I don't feel like it." Instead, I just grabbed my shoes and went for the run.
Losing weight isn't easy, especially if you're trying. You've got to overcome embedded patterns, uncontrollable cravings, and resistance that stops you from being active. It's encouraging to know that weight loss can actually become effortless if we focus on addressing the root cause behaviors that lead to weight gain.
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