There's no one right path to weight loss. Some people respond well to a completely different diet, while others do better with a new fitness routine. Adopting a meditative practice might be a supplemental weight-loss tool that works for you, and you'll never know until you've tried it yourself. Mindfulness may not sound like something that promotes weight loss, but it's the very thing that will give you a clear mind and the strength you need to make healthy choices, day in and day out.
Kimberly Snyder, nutritionist and multitime New York Times bestselling author, has worked with countless people to help them reach their weight-loss goals. She has found that meditation can play a very significant role in this process of losing weight. She told POPSUGAR that meditation can help you "ground down and feel connected back to yourself, via your breath, so that you are less susceptible to the ups and downs of the distractions and fads of the outside world, and more in tune with what your body needs and how you can best nurture yourself."
The many emotions you experience when you overeat can be managed more efficiently when your mind is in a good place, and meditating on a regular basis can help you get there. Here are three different meditations you can do anytime, anywhere.
Meditation to Prevent Yo-Yo Dieting
"We live in a noisy world with a lot of comparison on social media and pretty much everywhere that infiltrates your world every day and can make you feel like you are caught in a whirlwind of looking this way then that way," Kimberly told POPSUGAR. Rather than getting caught up in the madness and being pulled from one diet to the next, this grounding meditation will bring you back to yourself and help you focus on your own goals, regardless of what people around you are doing.
- Sit with your feet flat on the floor or in a comfortable cross-legged position. Make sure your spine is straight. Keep your chin parallel to the floor, and close your eyes.
- Place your left hand on your belly and your right hand on your heart.
- Take a few slow deep breaths in and out. "Tune in and imagine you are inhaling from your heart down to your belly, then your belly up to your heart, connecting the two points," Kimberly instructed.
- After 10 cycles of breath, release your hands down to your thighs, but continue to breathe in the same way, slowly and deeply.
- "Finish by once again taking your left hand to your belly and your right hand to your heart, feeling connected to yourself and your own needs," Kimberly said.
Meditation to Reduce Stress Eating
When your life is going a million miles a minute, it's easy to reach for fatty foods that give you temporary comfort. "It's the fat component in the food that makes you feel heavy, grounded, and gives you a false sense of stability when dealing with all the pressures of day-to-day life," Kimberly explained. "This meditation can help you release stress and feel nourished on levels that cannot be fulfilled by food."
- Sit with your feet flat on the floor or in a comfortable cross-legged position. Make sure your spine is straight. Keep your chin parallel to the floor, and close your eyes.
- Take a few deep breaths in and out through your nose. Feel your belly rise and fall with each breath. "As you exhale, imagine stress releasing with each breath, exiting your entire body," Kimberly said.
- "Begin to slowly take a mental scan of your body, starting with the crown of your head going all the way through to your feet." Actively decide to release tension with each body part you think of.
- Bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows, and take a few more deep, slow breaths. "Feel a sensation of peace and relaxation spreading through your being. Know that you can return to this space anytime you'd like."
Meditation to Combat Emotional Eating
"Your emotions affect your nervous system, and your body can respond by holding onto fatty elements to help protect your nervous system," Kimberly said. "Emotions have a profound impact on your physical body." This particular meditative practice helps you calm your nervous system and adrenal glands, helping you lower anxiety and giving you more control over your emotions.
- Sit with your feet flat on the floor or in a comfortable cross-legged position. Make sure your spine is straight. Keep your chin parallel to the floor, and close your eyes.
- Put your hands on your thighs with your palms facing upward.
- Take some deep breaths. As you inhale, curl your fingers inward and open your hands slowly with each exhale. "After a few moments, keep taking deep breaths but let your hands be still, and focus on the feeling of 'aliveness' flowing through your whole body," Kimberly said.
- Imagine there is a lively energy (also known as chi) flowing from the top of your head to the rest of your organs, "consciously healing and rejuvenating each cell in your body."
- After a few moments of slow breaths, bring your hands together in front of your heart and send out some gratitude.
For more tools to help you reach your weight loss goals, you can sign up for Kimberly's 30-Day Roadmap for Healthy Weight Loss, available for a limited time on Sep. 21.
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