Your efforts around being more active and healthy food choices will see you lose weight and improve your health. Something we can do to further assist your results are to introduce mindfulness. Mindfulness, sometimes referred to as meditation is the practice of focusing your attention to find calm and clarity. The benefits of meditation are now being backed by science and research. One of the best things about meditation is that it can help you manage stress, which drives most people’s poor behaviour and habits.

There are several approaches to using meditation for weight loss, but Let’s start by clearing up some of the common misconceptions about meditation and mindfulness. A lot of people may think that mediation is a bit airy fairy or a waste of time, this however couldn’t be further from the truth. Another common misunderstanding is that the purpose of meditation is to turn the mind off, or be totally free of thoughts, again, this is misguided and neglects one of the most valuable aspects of meditation. Meditation allows you to be more conscious of your thoughts and emotions, that often lead to stress, that then lead to overeating and poor life choices.

The most powerful and proven form of meditation for attaining and sustaining long-term healthy weight management is awareness or “mindfulness” meditation. Mindfulness meditation also has the most scientific research backing its claims. It works in several ways. Mindfulness meditation reduces stress, heals the mind/body split that is at the root of most disordered eating, and puts you in touch with your natural hunger and satiety cues.

How to Meditate

As stated, there are many ways to meditate, but a good way to start is to find a quiet location. A good place is your favourite chair, a couch, or even sitting up on your bed.
A specific comfortable posture, such as sitting, lying down, standing, or walking. A focus of attention. You can focus on a word or phrase, your breath, or something else. Something simple like counting backwards from 10 is an easy way to start. An open attitude. It’s normal to have other thoughts while you meditate. Try not to get too interested in those thoughts. Keep bringing your attention back to your breath, phrase, or whatever else it is you’re focusing on. The objective when first starting is to complete a 10-day meditation practice. Headspace is an app that you can use on your phone and computer and is an awesome way to begin meditating. Sign up for a free 10-day introduction here https://www.headspace.com/register

As we discussed, there is an extraordinary amount of research pointing to meditation as one of the greatest practices to physically alter your brain chemistry and thought pattern. These studies suggest people who meditate have stronger immune systems, deal with stress better, and are happier. It’s also been shown to help you lose weight without radically changing your lifestyle. In fact, just by becoming more aware of what you are putting in your mouth, you will naturally begin to lose weight. Your stomach is connected to your brain, and when you are mindfully eating, your stomach naturally tells your brain to stop eating when it’s full.

Developing this type of mindful awareness is the first step to changing any type of behaviour. For the 10 days, all we require is for you to follow the guided meditations in Headspace. It only takes 10 minutes of your time. We suggest you set aside a time that you can stick to every day. For some this may be in the morning, for others this will be in the evening. When you begin your practice don’t get disheartened if you don’t feel that you are very good at it, or if your brain is full of lots of thoughts. This is perfectly naturally. Like any skill, you’re not going to be great the first time you try something. Meditation requires consistency and patience but the effort is well worth it.

Is stress stopping you from getting results?

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