Diet through meditation: how I lost over 27 kilograms while eating

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26

Leo Babauta shares a very simple and effective method to get rid of extra pounds without stress and tells how concentration on the process of eating food has a positive effect on the human body.

When you walk, walk. When you eat, eat. Zen proverb

Imagine me 7 years ago, 27 kilograms more, with a swollen face, growing intestines and an addiction to junk food. I ate pizza, cookies, grilled meats and cheese, fries, beer and hearty sweet latte. Then I was 32, and I was on a straight road to diabetes and heart disease and could not figure out how to turn off this road.

Nevertheless, a year later I lost about 9-14 kilograms and ran a marathon. Year after year, extra pounds went away. Moreover, I started to eat healthier foods. Now I love fresh fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, beans and whole grains, real unprocessed foods.

How did I achieve this? I used a very simple method that is not difficult to apply in your life. Yet most people will not want to use it even after I tell you how easy it is to use.

Here's the secret: I perceived the process of eating as meditation. This method is thousands of years old (among others, it was used by Buddha). And yet, this is so at odds with our modern society and concepts that most people will not even want to look in its direction. Calming down and slowing down, pausing, concentrating on food and not on the computer screen are the main things to do. And it works, and it's not hard to apply at all.

Let's take a look at what most people do and how it affects their health and overweight.

The "diet" of a modern person

The average modern person consumes too many calories, most of which come from processed sugar, white flour, fried foods, saturated animal fats, and sugary drinks. We're talking sodas, breakfast sweets, burgers and fried chicken, fries, cookies and chips. Lots of calories, sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and it's all flavored with chemicals. The main component of this problem is advertising of fast food and the cultivation of a culture of fast food consumption. Most people eat not because they are hungry, but out of habit, because of stress, or because they need a reward, because of fatigue, depression and loneliness. Eating food has become a kind of substitute for love.

We eat while watching TV, movies, at the computer, when we talk with other people and no longer even notice what we are eating.

And yet, the food we eat determines us to some extent. Food affects our health in the long term, it is one of the most important things in our life.

We ignore this because we are focused on other things. We are missing out on one of the most important elements of our life as we focus on screens, emotional responses, and a socialization pattern that we don't want to change.

Food as meditation

I practice this method of meditation quite often. As opposed to mindlessly eating food, it teaches absolute awareness, concentration, and gratitude for the food you have.

When we meditate while sitting, we let go of all other activities, thoughts and just sit, paying attention only to the body and breath, being with ourselves, without expectations or judgments. Meditation while eating is the same, but instead of just sitting, we are just eating.

This is not a fast food intake in order to get satiated sooner and not even for the purpose of getting pleasure (although it does happen). It's about slowing down, paying attention to the food, really enjoying it, being grateful for where it came from and whoever prepared it. In this case, you should pay attention to the emotions while eating.

The advantages of this method:

• When you pay attention to food, it tastes better.
• You will learn to enjoy healthy food when you slow down and start (leisurely) savoring it.
• You will eat less as the process of eating will become meaningful.
• Naturally, you will begin to gravitate towards simple products.
• You will begin to pay attention to emotions while eating.
• A small oasis of relaxed awareness will appear in your busy day.
• It relieves stress.
• It's fun!

Diet through meditation

So how do you come to this method? It's simple: you can complete some of the points below or all.

1. Create space. Often times, eating is combined with reading, working, driving, and watching. Create a meditation space, remove all unnecessary things and do one thing - eat!

2. Place food in front of you and turn your attention to it. It doesn't matter what food you choose - it can be the usual food or berries, carrots, broccoli, raw almonds or walnuts. Sit down and look at the food in front of you. Pay attention to its color, texture, imperfections. Smell her.

3. Think about the origin of the food. Take a moment to think about how this food came to be. What continent is she from? How did he get to you? Who raised it, brought it and cooked it? Which animal gave its life for your pleasure and health? Be grateful for all this!

4. Try food. Take a bite and enjoy the flavor and texture of the food. Is it crispy, soft, hard, grainy, thick? Is it earthy, sweet, floral, salty, spicy, oaky, citrusy, herbal, spicy? Think also about what was added to the food: chemicals, salts, sugars, fats? How does this food affect your feelings? How are you feeling? Realize what nutrients this meal gives you, how nutritious it is.

5. Pay attention to the heart. How do you feel when you eat? Are you hungry, sad, happy, in pain, anger, fear, confusion, loneliness, boredom, impatience?

6. Take breaks between bites. Don't reach for the next bite until you've eaten the current one. Enjoy it and then swallow it. Breathe. Enjoy the space. Then repeat the same with the next piece.

Practice this method once a day. When this becomes a habit, start practicing the method twice a day. After all, do this every time you eat, eat, or drink.

Expectations

This is not a quick way to lose weight. I lost about 9-14 kilograms in my first year of healthy eating, it's only about 0.2-0.3 kg per week. Don't expect instant progress and don't worry about weight or appearance.

This diet will force you to rethink your food intake and teach your taste buds to enjoy healthy food. You will become more attentive during the day, learn to appreciate what you have and be grateful for it, and understand how what you eat affects who you are.

There is no long-term goal (weight loss, less chance of developing diabetes or heart disease). The process of meditation while eating is an end in itself. If you were focused while eating, you have already achieved success.

To achieve success, you just need to follow this path!