If you think Meditation is just about calming the mind, think again. In this blog, I open up and share my personal journey—the ups, downs, and unexpected lessons. Read along if you’re curious about how meditation for weight loss support.
My story is probably just like everyone else’s. We experience the yoyo life of going on a diet and losing some weight. Gaining it back and dieting again only to gain it back. People say that we don’t have any willpower, but it doesn’t really seem like it’s about willpower. There is something else going on inside the brain. Or, conversely, if those thin folks understood the voices and the cravings that go inside of us, their willpower wouldn’t be sufficient to stop it either.
My Struggles As A Child
And then there’s the question of genetics. I was always inclined towards being chubby. A good portion of my jeans are Mongolian, so that immediately brings up the image of big folks riding horses and playing field hockey with a lamb’s head. When I was a child, my nickname was Bootsy because my legs were so plump they looked like boots. I remember holding my mother’s hand as we walked into JC Penney’s and being deathly embarrassed when she shrieked out, “Where is the Husky department.” Back in the day, JC Penney was the only place where you could get clothes that fit me. They didn’t tailor well for big people back then. That always resulted in too much cloth around the crotch, which would ride up and have to be pulled back out from between my thighs.
Back in elementary school, because I was always adjusting my clothes, all the girls started calling me “cooties” and running away from me. The hurt, the pain, and the shame that washed over me in 3rd grade followed me for decades. We feel that we are not normal. We go around looking at all the regular people going about their lives (at least we think) smoothly, with the same ease that they deftly get in and out of cars, while our lives are a constant struggle.
How Mindfulness Helped Me Break Free from Imposter Syndrome and Redefine My Life
In the first half-century of my life, I only felt comfortable in my body when I found out that my size was useful as a lineman in football. Finally, I found something that gave me a sense of pride, And I had some success. But still, deep down inside, I knew that all I really was a grown-up version of Bootsy. Imposter syndrome filled me then and follows me today. Because I’m fat so I’m not like other people and so how could I possibly fit in anywhere? In the crazy workings of my mind, I still feel that somehow, I tricked the admissions board into letting me into law school and I fooled the Bar Association into licensing me as a lawyer. And somehow, I think that my entire financial picture is built on a House of Cards, even though I own my home and my cars, and at 74, I am debt-free.
In my 50s, I began my Meditation practice, which particularly helped with my weight loss journey. It took me a few years of fits and starts and the coach to finally become consistent with it. Once you master the basic meditation skills of watching your thoughts and noticing when your mind wanders (it’s really not about quieting the mind), you begin the work of designing and crafting the person you want to be. Meditation leads you to cultivate generosity, compassion, wisdom, gratitude, and loving-kindness. It is impossible to cultivate these qualities for others without it eventually causing you to become much more compassionate with yourself.
How Meditation Supports Weight Loss Journey
Mindfulness puts you back in touch with your body. Through meditation for weight loss, you become more mindful of the physical sensations you experience. You notice:
- this sluggish feeling that comes after a large meal
- when your breath labors going up the stairs
- when you struggle to get out of the car
- the deliciousness of food, your cravings, and the
- fleeting and temporary nature of your enjoyment.
All these things have a collective force that builds slowly until you finally decide, “You know, I just don’t want to live like this anymore.” My solution, if I were to follow my traditional patterns, would be to restrict my food into an almost fast aka “diet plan for weight loss” to try to accomplish losing a pound a day and, of course, failing.
Meditation for weight loss support by teaching us to watch all of these dynamics without resisting them, for what you resist persists. It’s almost like cravings are a bratty little child who just wants to bother you, and the more attention you pay it, the more energy it has. Meditation teaches us to notice this bratty little child without judgment and let the thinking simply pass through our consciousness without resistance. Soon, that bratty little boy gets bored and stops bothering you.
I wrote a free flipbook to guide you on your mindful weight loss journey. It contains the science of stress and weight loss, the mind-body connection and samples of Koru meditation techniques such as: Mindful Eating Meditations, Body Scan Meditation, and Breathing Meditation that you can practice. Click the button to get your free access.
It’s not that the cravings go away, and it’s not that the habits are immediately broken, but they begin to lose their power. It’s a process, perhaps a little slower than we would like, but our meditation practice has helped us become more patient, and so we give it the grace and the time to take hold. And it does.
The forces that cause us to become overweight, well, actually obese, are multifaceted. They are genetic, environmental, cultural, evolutionary, hormonal, physical, and personal. We are out of balance. The world constantly activates and stimulates our right prefrontal cortex, which houses our stress response. Science has shown us that any attempts to reduce the activity level in our sympathetic (fight/flight) nervous system will be ineffective. The only thing that can mitigate the effects is building up the activity in the left prefrontal cortex, which houses our parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system.
Meditation is one way to do that. It worked for me. It can work for you too.- one mindful breath at a time. Are you ready to begin?
The Koru Meditation Classes that I offer includes Meditation for weight loss and will support your journey toward mindful well-being. If you’re ready to embrace mindful change, let’s take that first step together. Join us today and unlock the tools for a healthier, more compassionate relationship with yourself.
