A spiritual approach to weight loss
Spirituality expands one’s approach towards life and can change your perspective of the world. While its effects may seem vast and life-changing, embracing spirituality is something you can cultivate through small practices. After all, rather than having specific spiritual practices, it is more about acknowledging the existence of the good and bad in everything and being able to show genuine gratitude nonetheless. You can apply this mindset to any endeavor you undertake–including weight loss.
Often, though, weight loss is measured through the changes that are seen in your body. But a spiritual approach can foster a deeper connection to your body for a more sustainable and healthy weight loss.
Express gratitude for your body
Are you losing weight because you hate seeing fat on your body? While, scientifically speaking, too much fat can be detrimental for your health, know that your body’s fat-storing abilities are essential to keep your body energized. So before anything else, reorient your weight loss perspective with something more loving: gratitude. Rather than criticizing your body for being too fat for modern societal standards, lose weight to keep your fat percentage at a healthy level because you are thankful for the energy it brings.
Accept weight loss won’t be easy
Setbacks are normal in weight loss. By preparing for and knowing how to respond to these setbacks, you can enhance your motivation for weight loss. To do so, you must first ensure that your weight loss goals are realistic. Take on tasks your body can handle and work your way up over time. As we wrote in our post “One Step at a Time,” you should also recognize setbacks as part of the journey. Don't be too hard on yourself. Learn to love your body–complete with all its capacities and limitations–and acknowledge that it did its best despite the setbacks it's encountered. This way, you won't easily lose motivation even if you run into challenges. It will be easier for you to get back on track and regain your momentum toward your spiritual and weight loss goals.
Satiate your spiritual hunger
When losing weight, there are certain foods you have to avoid or limit your consumption of. This includes things like the simple sugars in white bread or fried foods rich in trans fat. Some of these can be your favorite foods, so abstaining from them creates feelings of deprivation that can result in binge eating. To gain more control over your cravings and hunger, you can instead opt to seek spiritual satisfaction through short meditative and spiritual practices like yoga. These exercises are found to help you gain wisdom, compassion, and peace that help you feel more at ease around food and losing weight.
Integrate prayer
Praying can remind you that someone is looking after you in the process of losing weight or that you are strong enough to follow through with your diet plans. These prayers can be as simple as a repeated affirmation. For example, you can say: “I’ve gone a long way, and I’ve tried. I have failed to keep my word to abstain from ___, but I chose to stop and keep taking care of the body given to me.” You can easily customize this affirmation according to what works best for you.
Weight loss can be frustrating when your progress isn’t visible. By taking a spiritual approach to weight loss, you can focus more on being thankful and attentive to your body’s overall health. From here, the physical changes you seek are more likely to follow.
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