Why am I still fat? Will mental makeover help?
Reflecting on my life, I realized that I am still fat for a reason. Being fat has become my default setting. And I have a tendency to sabotage myself so I can maintain the default. I can justify my position because I am self deluded. I tell myself I want to change. But in reality, it takes too damn much energy to lose weight. So I'm still fat.
But, despite myself, I continue to search for ways to overcome myself. One such way is meditation. Simple meditation exercises can get me off of autopilot and thinking about my self deceptive habits in new ways. For example, if I inhale and notice my breath before I reach for the chocolate, I can break the cycle of associating chocolate with stress. At least that's what Martine Batchelor, author of Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits
, says.
"The two main elements of meditation—concentration and inquiry—are key to getting control of your actions," she says. "Concentration helps because every time you come back to your breath, your body, a mantra or whatever your meditation is, you dissolve the habit's power." Next, she explains, you need to begin inquiry.
"It's like a beam of light," Batchelor says. "Normally, you find yourself [eating chocolate or whatever you want to insert here] before you think about it. With inquiry, you notice the details of the experience, you take the time to observe when and how the habit arises, and you become a little more aware that you don't want to do it."
Have I tried this yet? Meditation, like many other things in my life, I'm still working on. I do, however, know that when I take the time to think through whether buying some chocolate is good idea, I recognize that it's a less than beneficial choice. Does it always stop me? No. But it helps about 75 percent of the time. Will I continue to use it? Absolutely. I think it's a very good tool for weight loss—as well as other health-related habits such as quitting smoking.
Let me know if you use meditation, and what works for you. I'd love to hear from you.
 |
| Photo by Dedda71 |
, says."The two main elements of meditation—concentration and inquiry—are key to getting control of your actions," she says. "Concentration helps because every time you come back to your breath, your body, a mantra or whatever your meditation is, you dissolve the habit's power." Next, she explains, you need to begin inquiry.
"It's like a beam of light," Batchelor says. "Normally, you find yourself [eating chocolate or whatever you want to insert here] before you think about it. With inquiry, you notice the details of the experience, you take the time to observe when and how the habit arises, and you become a little more aware that you don't want to do it."
Have I tried this yet? Meditation, like many other things in my life, I'm still working on. I do, however, know that when I take the time to think through whether buying some chocolate is good idea, I recognize that it's a less than beneficial choice. Does it always stop me? No. But it helps about 75 percent of the time. Will I continue to use it? Absolutely. I think it's a very good tool for weight loss—as well as other health-related habits such as quitting smoking.
Let me know if you use meditation, and what works for you. I'd love to hear from you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment