Meditation for Weight Loss?

Okay, so losing weight requires lots of energy and movement and sweat.  Grueling exercise and more sweat.

Right?

Maybe not.  A lot of losing weight is in the mind.

So, the question then becomes, how do we use our minds to lose weight?  Because, believe me, I want to use every tool I can to fight my way through this journey.

As you remember from my Tools post, I've used some of the weight loss hypnosis type apps on my ipad.  I've kind of petered out on those (and I've become stuck at this weight ... any correlation??) but maybe it's time to dust them off and get them out again.

What got me thinking about this is that I've been having a hard time sleeping (averaging about 2.5 hours per night).  Lack of sleep often leads to weight gain (for whatever reason - that's a blog for another day) and I was thinking that maybe it's because of all the chaos in my life and it keeps me up thinking about it all.  So, I decided it would be good to try and center myself.  So I listened to a podcast of a chakra meditation this morning.  I rode my bike and then did the meditation.  And I feel wonderful.  I'm energized and focused in a way I have not been in a long time.

So, maybe I need to go back to listening to the weight loss hypnosis cd.  I was losing weight when I listened to it and now I'm struggling (while not listening to it).  Maybe there is nothing magic about that cd itself, but rather the mental discipline that comes from the act of meditating. I believe that just focusing on yourself for even a brief period of time can make you stronger.  It can help you focus on what you need to do (because we all KNOW what we are SUPPOSED to do - it's just finding the mental strength to DO IT that's hard).

For me, just this morning's chakra meditation made me feel more motivated and clear.  I feel elevated somehow.  And that's just after one session!

I'm going to keep this up and I will report back on any success.  I'm really hoping I can start getting some better sleep.

Maybe this "thinking outside the box" and bringing in the meditation is what it will take to get me going again.

Maybe meditation will be where my magic happens.  Who knows?  I will keep you posted!

Positive Self Talk

We all know how important it is to keep from going down the negative self talk road.  And how hard it is to NOT go down that road and berate ourselves, chastise ourselves, express our disappointment in ourselves.  But I think we sometimes forget how important it is to remind ourselves how GOOD we are being when we are good!

I feel amazing today and I think a big part of it is because I had a talk with myself last night (well, I always talk to myself, but this was a serious "get your crap together" talk).  I reminded myself how far I've come.  I reminded myself how I got through the hard times and kept on track.  And I reminded myself that I CAN DO THIS.

And you know what?  I believed myself.

I think we all need to find the time to give ourselves pep talks.  It makes a world of difference, yet we forget to tell ourselves how strong we are, to pat ourselves on the back.  Positive self talk can whip the butt of those negative thoughts and re-energize us for staying on track and getting it done.

So, what if you feel there isn't anything good talk say to ourselves?  Like those times when we totally fall off the wagon and binge?  Well, there is a silver lining in everything.  Good things go hand in hand sometimes with the bad.

For whatever reason, I feel good today, so I'm going to take it and run with it!  And I think I will take a moment each night to remind myself of what I accomplished and what I CAN accomplish.  We'll see if that helps me move past this point where I've become mired.

So, I leave you today with this:

I feel the need for MOTIVATION

For some reason I'm having a really hard time getting back into the swing of things.  I expected it to be easy - the rush from the New Year - a new Beginning, and all that.  But I am not doing so well!

Okay, part of it was still having the college kids here - there is a "must feed the children" mind set that my husband and I have.  Part of being a parent, I guess!  So we ate out a lot and had things in the house that weren't the best of choices, and my beast appeared to the point that he was (is!) a constant house guest.

The good news:  most of the chocolate and candy are GONE! (The bad news?  I ate most of it!).  More good news:  my mini trampoline is here and I'm excited about a new phase of exercising! (The bad news?  I found that just 2 minuscule minutes about KILLED me!).  More good news:  all things are back to normal - the kids are all in school and I have planned a healthy menu for the week and hubby already went shopping for it all, so I think our healthy selves will be appearing any time now! (The bad news?  I miss my kids!  :( )

At any rate, I'm finding the need for some motivation, and so I'm doing another page of pictures!  Hopefully it will help some of you find some inspiration and motivation too!