Meditation to Lose Weight

Meditation often is looked at as a practice that is relaxing and only exercises the mind, not the body. When people think of losing weight, they almost always think of exercising more and changing their dietary habits. However, the first step to all these foundational methods of losing weight is within the mind.

How Does Meditation Help One Lose Weight?

• People know that exercising and eating balanced meals will help them lose weight. However, they "fall off the wagon" or lose their determination at a mental level. While we may know the ways to drop pounds, we don't always act in the ways that our intellectual senses tell us we should. Meditation, done properly, can help anyone apply his or her knowledge to his or her actions.

Why "Exercise and Diet" Often Fail

• Diets often fail in the end because they do not help individuals commit to a lifestyle change. Long-term weight loss requires lifestyle changes that are often hard to keep up with. People give in to temptation by "rewarding" themselves for exercising (or even for dieting) with counterproductive measures. Meditation can help to enable you to stay determined in your weight-loss mentality.

Meditation Practice

• Meditation often is easier than we make it out to be. There are many different types of meditation; however all of them have a few basic foundations. You should be in a dimly lit room with little if any noise. If you must mask out the noise of the outside world, use sounds of nature or other calming sounds.

  A common practice of meditation is to breathe through the nose and slowly exhale through the mouth. Once you begin meditating, it is important not to be tense. Relax and disengage from thinking about the stresses in your life. Try not to focus on any one particular thing. Meditation can last as long or a short as a person needs it to be; however, try to aim for at least 20 minutes each day.

  Use positive affirmations. Say to yourself in a calm voice out loud, "I will lose weight. I will exercise more. I will eat less. I will eat more of the right foods."

  If you have a busy schedule and have to block out a particular time for meditation, you may wish to set an alarm perhaps both to start and finish. Don't set an alarm with a sound that will shock or make you jump into action. If you jump into action right after meditation, you can undo all the work you've just done. Always get up from meditation slowly, as if you have all the time in the world.

Results of Meditation

• After meditation you should find that you feel more balanced and calm. This enables you to be in the right mood to exercise and helps you avoid nervous overeating. You also will find that you will not have as many food cravings in between meals and you will have a revitalized "can do it" attitude. Meditation can help you stay calm and balanced throughout the challenges of your day and assist you in your determination to lose weight.

A Helpful Tool

• While meditation might seem like an odd way to lose weight, it is a particularly helpful tool in keeping you in the right mindset. Diets and other weight-loss plans often fail because people do not stick with them. Meditation can help you stay determined and balanced so that you can reach your weight-loss goals. If you wish to learn a particular meditation practice, seek guidance.