Mindfulness and Losing Weight

BradUnited11

Like many of you on here, there are times when I lose a lot of weight and put it back on. Over and over again. This past year, I’ve had more success by taking care of what I think my main issue is - control. And more specific, the control of my mind and body. I have embraced Mindfulness, living in the moment and synchronizing my mind and body in order to gain more control.

All too often, we are ‘questioning’ our bodies’ sickness, our pain, and I’ve found through mindfulness that when I feel pain now, I know why, what’s causing it and how to go about fixing it. That control has made its way over to eating. I seem to be able to ‘tune out’ my mind’s desire to eat because my body only asked for food when I needed it. Listen to your bodies and gain the control necessary to take your life back.

I’ll be posting on here regularly with Mindfulness tips and how to get our minds and bodies working together to get to where we want to be.

If you have anything to share, please feel free or add me and message me. The great thing about Mindfulness is that you have to work at it every day. Some days are good, some days bad, but every day is a new chance to get it right. And no one can fault you for living in the moment. You’ll be amazed how things become clear and how life slows down a little bit.

Brad

seska422

Yeah, no. If I eat "intuitively" or "mindfully" or whatever buzz word is popular now, my weight either gradually drifts upward or trends upward not so gradually.

Tracking my food intake closely is the only way that I can reliably keep my calories in check. Today's tools (such as MFP) make that so much easier and more convenient than in the past.

If mindfulness works for you and some others, that's great. I would love to be one of those people but I'm not. It's not a moral failing if mindfulness isn't successful for someone.

Unknown

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Need2Exerc1se

moosmum1972 wrote: »

seska422 wrote: »

Yeah, no. If I eat "intuitively" or "mindfully" or whatever buzz word is popular now, my weight either gradually drifts upward or trends upward not so gradually.

Tracking my food intake closely is the only way that I can reliably keep my calories in check. Today's tools (such as MFP) make that so much easier and more convenient than in the past.

If mindfulness works for you and some others, that's great. I would love to be one of those people but I'm not. It's not a moral failing if mindfulness isn't successful for someone.

If mindfulness worked then surely it would be prescribed instead of pills and surgery??

It sometimes is. But there are various reason why it wouldn't be prescribed, even though it may be a better plan. The 2 biggest reason are probably

1. There is no money in it. As much as I'd like to think this is never a driving factor in medicine, it is.
2. Compliance. This is likely the bigger factor. People simply won't do it. They want the pill. They want the quick fix. They don't want to think about it.

BradUnited11

Well, perhaps you misunderstood. I still have to count calories in order to lose and maintain weight but mindfulness has helped me control urges to eat more. And as far as prescribing mindfulness, why would any doctor/hospital/government prescribe something they can’t get paid for. It certainly does work. But if you think pills and surgery are the answers, I’m not going to question your beliefs.

SolotoCEO

I agree that mindfulness is a great piece to have in your tool box. Also agree that it is only one tool and counting calories, exercising, nutrition, etc. are other tools that work well with it. Great post!

Iwantahealthierme30

Thank you for this post. Mindfulness for me is picking up a 50 cal apple instead of 50 cal of candy or something.
Good post.

amusedmonkey

I think mindfulness is a very useful tool, even in some unconventional and indirect ways, which in a way may be the exact opposite of "tuning out desires". For example, sometimes I mindfully and consciously think "I'm going to have this bag of chips now. It's going to put me over my calories. I'm consciously making this decision and I'm aware of what I'm doing to my calorie. I'm having it because I want to have it and it's perfectly normal to do things that make me happy, so I'm going to enjoy it. Now I need to decide what to do about these extra calories."

This kind of mindset has been very helpful to my diet because it puts me completely in control and puts a stop to vicious guilt cycles that used to hinder my progress. I basically just have that bag of chips, enjoy it, and then continue dieting as if nothing happened. The feeling of control beats spiralling and having "I blew it might as well eat everything" kind of days. When I'm aware my needs and wants and mindfully move the pieces of my diet around to fit both my needs and my wants in a way that still allows me to lose weight, I do better.

I like it because it's self-correcting. When I mindfully decide to have that bag of chips, I'm basically weighing the hedonic benefits I'm going to get from it vs the consequences to my plan (like having to go on an extra walk, eat less later, or accept a slower rate of weight loss). If I go over my calories too often it would be too unpleasant for some other aspects of my diet plan, so I tend to self correct and only go over my calories when I feel it's worth it.

If I don't mindfully make my food decisions like this, I'm very prone to eating without thinking and with little regard to my wants and needs which leads to either over restricting then spiraling out of control for a long time after a short "honeymoon phase" or being too lenient and disregarding consequences.

Kakakidd

I Totally agree with being mindful. Being mindful of what & how much I'm eating. Also holding myself accountable with logging meals, snacks, exercise. It's a new process I am trying for.

Lennonluv2

I started meditating a year ago and I sit and connect to the present moment every morning for an hour.

It's helped with anxiety and depression. I don't use the word mindful as to me that implies mind full of thoughts.
As far as being present when making choices about what to eat I would say that more often than not I eat when my body wants too instead of when my thoughts dictate.

BradUnited11

These are fantastic insights! I love the different ways people have used it to help achieve their goals. There have been several times I’ve cursed myself for putting the weight back on I had lost, but now I’ve got that extra ‘tool’ as was suggested above that has turned the corner for me. I am a big fan of MFP and still count, so this is just additional support! And who couldn’t use that???

BradUnited11

Start with 5 minutes a day, and shut your phones/laptops/devices off and listen to what’s going on around you. Look at others’ faces, truly feel how it feels to smile. Slow your life down just a bit and you will start to get control back. Control over your emotions, thoughts, and most importantly, connection with your body.

Best advice I got when I started my journey a year ago. It was 5 minutes but it felt like forever in a good way.

kommodevaran

I'm in maintenenance, but I have to do and think much the same way as when I was losing weight.

For me, mindfulness is awareness - awareness about how I feel, and about what I put into my body. Eating just for fuel is not healthy, it's no more healthy than following every impulse to eat. I am currently working on "truly alllowing myself" instead of feeling that I'm "giving in" to cravings, and being better at keeping my promises to myself - if I have planned a treat, I eat it, if I want it, I don't question myself "do I need it? if I brush my teeth now, then I can't eat it". I have had some remarkable experiences lately - spitting out and throwing away a cookie that didn't taste good, ditching the planned chocolate bar because I had an extra sandwich, and cake later, and I was satisfied.