Week Five of Mindful Eating – Worries about the Future
Last week I mentioned that it would be nice to lose another kilogram and in fact I lost 1.2kg. My weight is now exactly 77 kg (170 pounds). A couple of people who visited the blog noticed that my weight loss was obvious in my recent videos (they were kind enough not to mention that my bald spots were particularly prominent in yesterday’s video – my makeup artist has been fired). I do seem to be losing a lot of weight from my face; which is a pity because I’m only really interested in losing it off my stomach. I am getting close to my target weight now and expect to reach a normal Body Mass Index score over the next couple of weeks. I did original state 73 kg as my goal but I’ll be happy with just being less than 75kg (165 pounds).
Worries about the Future
Mindful eating has been working out really well for me and I’m delighted with my progress. I suspect though that the real work lies ahead of me. Losing this weigh has been fairly effortless because I’m just mindful of my body. If the thought of eating arises then I just examine my body to find out if this is really due to hunger; a lot of time it isn’t. As I’m eating I’m assessing if my hunger is sated and if it is I stop.
I’m now not too far from my goal. I don’t want to keep losing weight forever so I will have to start eating more. I want to be sure of doing this in such a way as to remain mindful – this is my worry. I’m hoping that I’ll get better at assessing my hunger levels and at making choices about how much food my body wants. It might take a bit of experimenting but hopefully my weight will then stabilise.
A Mindful Life
Although this series has focused on my attempts to lose weight using mindfulness this is not really my real goal. It is my intention to use this type of meditation in every aspect of my life. Meditating is like building muscles in the gym, and we don’t leave the muscles behind once we live the gym; they are there to help us throughout the day. As I’ve mentioned previously, just using mindfulness to lose weight would be akin to just using an iPad as a paperweight. For me mindfulness is a spiritual practice that can also bring benefits to other areas of my life. I’ve successfully used it to deal with an alcohol addiction and now I’m having similar results with managing food. I have no doubts about the effectiveness of this technique.
The Story So Far
Why I Decided to Lose Weight by Mindful Eating
Mindful Eating is Easy – Day 3
The Embarrassing Photo – Day 4
The Ups and Downs of Mindful Eating – One Week In
2 Weeks of Mindful Eating
Three Weeks of Eating Mindfully- Back Below 80kg
One Month of Mindful Eating
Paul, rest assured…your head is NOT diminishing faster than your body! So, nobody will be calling you pin head 😉 It’s a fact for women that the first place we accumalate the pounds, is the last place we get rid of it, if we’re lucky. I still haven’t jumped back on the carnival scales outside the local 7/11…hopefully I’m down a kilo or two.
I ssoooo wish I could meditate, but lately, I’m flat out getting to sleep.
When I was younger I’d drink nutritional supplements to put on weight – it never worked. I’m hoping to reach a balance in my life in regards to weight.
I think many people find making time for meditation difficult. I’ve found that by meditating I have much more productive time.
beware of that BMI thing
it seems designed for motionless people who never pick up anything heavier than a spoon
good luck
Thanks Tom, I think you are right – it is a flawed tool but I suppose it can be a guide.
Totally agree w “For me mindfulness is a spiritual practice that can also bring benefits to other areas of my life.”
Sawadee (greeting in Thai language).
a Buddhist
Thank you for visiting K.Komalittipong. I really do believe that mindfulness can benefit every area of my life; improving things for me and those who have to live with me.