Mind-Body Approach to Weight Loss – Know Your Feelings – EPISODE 12
It isn’t easy to develop a healthy mindset around food and exercise without restricting what you eat or sticking to a diet, but it is definitely possible. One key component of this is honing in on how you feel. How foods make you feel. What exercises you love to do. What gives you the most energy.
Take a look at these tips for paying more attention to your body and letting that guide your natural weight loss process.
We’ve talked about breathwork and journaling. We’ve talked about nourishment. And now, today, we’re introducing this concept of becoming aware of how our thoughts and feelings affect our body’s ability to heal and release excess weight.
Weight Loss Without the Scale?
Yes, you can lose weight without ever weighing yourself! The number on the scale is just a number, that’s it. It is an obligatory number that only gives your weight, and has nothing to do with your health, your happiness, or whether or not you are a worthy person.
If you want to track your weight loss, focus on how you feel. If you have more energy, if you feel good after eating a nutritious meal, if your mental health is better after a workout. Plus, you will still know if you are losing weight just by seeing how your clothes fit!
Give it a Try! Log Your Thoughts & Feelings, Not Your Food
If you are looking for a more natural approach to weight loss, you do want to focus on what you eat, but not how much. Another way to track your progress is to record your feelings after meals.
Write down what you ate (without exact numbers or amounts), and how you feel afterward. Was the avocado toast the perfect amount or did you feel like you forced yourself to eat the second piece? Did you discover a new favorite food? Are you not happy with the fruit you chose? This is all important when you are working on developing healthy habits that you will actually stick with.
Pay Attention to Your Mind AND Body
Really practice mindfulness throughout the day, both in how your body feels, and what your mindset is. Whenever you sit down with your meal, look closely at what you are eating, notice the texture and flavors, the feeling on your tongue, how your stomach and head feel. It might seem silly, but this is how you gauge your satisfaction factor during meals, plus it can stop you from overeating since you are more in tuned to your body and when you are starting to feel full.
Emotional Freedom Technique (aka EFT or “tapping”) for Mind Body release
EFT, or also known as tapping, is an incredibly effective way of engaging with the stressful areas of life while also releasing the emotional charge around them. Stress is a huge contributor for weight gain. In fact cortisol (a stress hormone) is known to stimulate your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, slowing down your metabolism, shutting down your digestive system, a decrease in muscle mass, and even cause you to crave sweet and salty foods.
For more information on tapping, please click here. If you’d like to sign up for a session, we can start with a free Discovery Call here to find out how we can best support your journey.
Affirmations
- When I listen to my body, I am happier and healthier.
- My body also informs me when I am thirsty. I drink a healthy beverage when my body lets me know that it is time to drink.
- My body tells me I need to rest. When I feel fatigue, I respect my body and rest or sleep.
- Today, I respect the signals my body provides to me. I trust the wisdom of my body. I work with my body instead of against it.
Self-Reflection Questions:
- When do I ignore my body signals? What are the consequences when I do this?
- What are the ways my body communicates with me?
- If I listened to my body more, what would happen?
Want a chance to go deeper?? Jump on in to my 7-Day Reset Your Habits challenge from January 24-30! CoachKirsten.com/Reset
