Well I think I am new to this thread - not to 3 fat chicks. I am not a buddhist but many of the principles of being *enlightened* have helped me diet. And lose this time. I am getting geared up to lose the last 30 lbs so I am trying to get back in touch with those principles. I find a lot of resistance to these thoughts on most diet boards. I am not sure why, other than you stick to what you know, but I think mindfulness might be the real key. If I had the time I would write a book, but I thought I would share what I have learned.
One book that really got my head turned was, "the power of now" by Eckhart Tolle. Basically it was the idea that our mind may not be working for us. That we may need to tell it to shut it. That we are too closely identified with our mind. I had never ever thought of that before in my 37 years. My emotions controlled me. I wasn't an emotional eater per se... I mean I didn't have a bad day and come home and have cake... but whatever my thought was it could make me do things. I might have a bad day and come home and eat more than I would otherwise. Or I might have a bad day and not exercise.
It rather reminds me of the movie "the matrix". I am sure that is what that movie was all about. But I didn't have any clue I was stuck in the matrix until someone gave me the red pill. Once that happened I was able to stand up like Neo at the end and say "no" because I finally understood that there is no spoon. I didn't have to listen to my head, I could disassociate myself from my thoughts. Or, *my pain, is not me.* I can have pain, hunger or sadness, and recognize it, and let it go. "ME" had been asleep for years or longer.
Further, I have been reading a lot of books lately on the emerging science of neuroplacicity. The idea that you can change the actual physical make up of your brain via your thoughts, or directed will (meditation). A scientist did a study with OCD patients and did pet scans of their brains prior, and after weeks of meditating to resolve OCD. Well sure as shoot the brains were different after weeks of directed will -- directed at changing the OCD behavior. No drugs. Just meditation. And I think that is true for me. I have been doing this for 2 years. Even if I haven't lost weight (during the entire 2 years) I have been *training* my brain. And I feel like it has been changed. I can't binge like I used to. And should I binge it always seems to be less intensity and go on for much less time. What if the reason people who diet slow and steady keep it off is because the slow process is actually training and changing their brain... like if you were training for a marathon. While crash diets and pills don't do anything to change your brain so you will gain it back.
I agree about pleasure. I think that too much current dieting is focused on finding pleasure in it. I hear people talking about how great they feel eating healthy and how their motivation goes up when losing weight. That may be true and great, but you will never truly lose the weight until you stop looking for the pleasure in it or looking to satisfy the chattering / emotional / egocentric mind. Because that great feeling will fade. And you won't be able to get it back. You are going to do the things every day because you want to do them every day. Not for weight loss or reward or a treat.
Mindfulness and all the rest I have learned is so important to me because it has expanded the range of what was possible for me. In dieting I had hit the wall, I had done everything, and still couldn't lose or stay motivated for long. But in learning about mindfulness it was like a new wing opened in my head, the "me" who had been sleeping for years, woke up and man did "I" have power.
Anyway I look forward to talking about this area and how it relates to dieting.
It looks like you've been putting a lot of thought into the patterns of your living... Or at least, I should say, a lot of awareness!
I have read Eckhardt Tolle, and he does say things that are very similar to what other teachers (such as the Buddha) have said. Our minds become conditioned, and then we look for confirmation of our beliefs and conditioning in the world around us. And, of course, we find it.
I think that meditating with a purpose--that is, for example, "meditate to resolve OCD"--is different from the meditation most Buddhists engage in. As I understand it, meditation is without purpose, except to allow the mind to relax and be still in the present moment. I suppose meditation with a purpose could be called something like focused attention.
Eating mindfully is very helpful to me--as contrasted with the mindless eating that goes on in our culture, and that is promoted by the media. Sometime just count the number of pizza and fast food ads on television one evening. This constant stimulation is very hard to counter!
I look forward to more discussion on these topics. If there's one thing Buddhists seem to like (some sects, anyway) it's lots of discussion.
Hi there! I trust you don't mind me contributing - I'm not actually Buddhist myself - more of an agnostic/atheist with an active interest in comparative religion and a healthy respect for the teachings of Buddhism. (Also, presently living in a Buddhist country - although there's rather a palimpsest thing going on, as is so often the case, with Animism and Buddhism overlapping rather.)
What a fascinating post, AnnRue! Thanks for that - definitely food for thought, as 'twere.
Harking back to the previous thread:
Quote:
the chemical in the chocolate that release dopemine the e numbers and preserveatives in foods. and you quickly get a false sense of happiness from this. its like you see little kids at the supermarket screaming for sweets and chocolate and when they get it they're happy again. like its a daily heroin fix or something
I've been low-carbing since early January, and last week I had some sugarfree chocolate. It was nice enough and all that, but as slimmingsi mentioned, the chocolate-of-memory was infinitely sweeter. BUT! I was given a gift of some chocolate last week too - real chocolate. This has happened a few times, and I've just given away the chocolate/cake/whatever. But on this occasion I'd not had the opportunity to give it away and wasn't about to throw it out (wasteful!)...and, long story short, I was at home and rather unwell last week, and I cracked.
And it was very good chocolate, I must admit - but what really struck me was that, yes, I could FEEL the sugar making my blood sugar spike - I could feel the way that my whole body responded differently all of a sudden - just like taking a drug. It was distinctly shocking. (I haven't been pining for chocolate since then, incidentally - it was a one-off affair. There's always the sugarfree stuff available in town, if need be, but I'm not going to buy it in ahead of time.)
I've been losing weight, but I also intend to become more disciplined spiritually. I've traveled to Buddhist countries and I've collected some books through the years, lately I'm studying Mindfulness, how to slow down and live in the present moment. I've gone through some rough periods in life and I'm healing, in need of many quiet moments, in need of peace. I grew up in a conservative Christian home, and I don't fit in, in the types of churches I grew up in. So my quest has been to combine Buddhist and far eastern thought with Christianity, there's some good books written on the subject. I feel Buddhism is more of a philosophy or way of life. Once when I was sitting on a beach in Thailand, I wrote in my journal about the Buddhist culture there, the entire village would stop, every evening, and watch the sun set as a community. So quiet, so peaceful. So in touch with nature. I was 20 when I first traveled to third world countries, it changed my mind set to see so much at a young age. My latest goal is to travel again - older and wiser - I'm not only on a physical diet, I'm on a money diet. I spent too much on clothes and things that I thought would gratify me when I was at a sad point in my life. Now I'm going back to simplicity, weeding out everything at home, feng shui to a certain extent. Clutter, clutters our minds. I NEED to learn to meditate, relax, be mindful and enjoy life more. A trip overseas will be my reward for hard work, for dieting and getting my "act" together, spiritually and mentally as well. I'm finding that mindfulness takes discipline, it's hard in our society, we move so quickly, have such cluttered lives, have so much stress - but it can be done. Any ideas of some books to read? I have a very good dvd on Buddhist meditation, but I'd like to learn more, or find some classes on meditation - I live about 45 min from a city but it might be worth the drive.
I think that meditating with a purpose--that is, for example, "meditate to resolve OCD"--is different from the meditation most Buddhists engage in.
Yes I am not sure the purpose was to resolve OCD as much as learn how to be mindful of the thoughts and not act on them. A matter of training your brain via meditation. Even if your goal is not to have any result. OCD is characterized my close association with the mind making people perform activity that, on some level, they know they don't want to do.
I also have trouble keeping up with the "practice" of meditation. Life is too busy. But what I try to do is put little bits of books on Note cards and when I have a moment study those note cards. I find my mind has real trouble accepting this stuff. I mean when I read it, it makes a ton of sense and I feel my brain opening up and expanding. But when I put the book away, and move on, I am right back to my fearful -- associated with my mind - way. I think it is because enlightenment is so *totally* radically different from your life for the last 30 years or so, that it cannot be accepted by your brain without radical retraining. It is like it falls out of my brain. I think sometimes that can't be just brain fog... my brain doesn't want to accept it.
The first way mindfulness has really helped in dieting for me is not looking for the results... or the fruit of my labors. Of course I look at the scale, of course I feel good when I drop a lb. But drop a lb or not I am going to eat and exercise the same every day period. Result or not. It is actually astounding to me the way that food is the one area in this highly disciplined world that is not allowed to be disciplined. I had never considered the idea before this *diet* that I should be mindful and disciplined about eating / exercise before -- all the time. I have discipline about finances, discipline about my job, the job search, friends, family but food was always -- whatever. To whatever extent I did feel like being mindful and elevating my eating / exercise to an important point in my life, I always felt bad about it... but reading books on this have really helped me to let go and embrace being mindful of eating / exercise like it is important.
Previously I saw dieting as a means to an end. And if I didn't see that end (change on the scale) I would feel upset and like what was I dieting for. This is what IMHO is the number ONE problem with 99% of the losing weight mindset... the idea of losing weight has to be a long term one. One that is looked at like training for a marathon. Meditating is for me, the way to get though this period. To calm the mind while it screams at me "what does the scale say!" I can say "no, who cares what the scale says" I am doing this plan for me and whatever happens with the scale is not something I can control... the goal here is not the result.
My favorite books are
The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force (Paperback)
by Jeffrey M. Schwartz (Author), Sharon Begley
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
If you have trouble learning through books you might try cd's and dvd's. Jon Kabat-Zinn that you mention has a few good ones that I'm listening to, watching. One is for depression and the other for parenting. It seems that I learn more with visual/audio then just books. This is starting to MAKE SENSE to me. Tonight I ate MINDFULLY. I cooked a nice meal for my boy and I and I started savoring every bite, I actually enjoyed cleaning the kitchen. Are we so busy and stressed that we are missing so many moments? I too am dieting not just for pounds but for health. I need to reread the Power of Now, and some other books. Actually I want to spend at least 20 minutes per day with my spiritual life. I've found myself for disciplined lately with my home business, eating, exercise, cleaning, decluttering, BUT I'm missing discipline in mental health. I find relaxation and mindfulness particularly helpful. I have some very good Gaiam relaxation and meditation dvds, but I need to make sure I do this on a daily basis. My upbringing is Christianity so somehow I mix the two, read some of the more "open" Christian books like Joel Osteen and the new age type of "stuff." I'm going to watch my Buddhist meditation dvd again tomorrow night I think.
How about also doing your cards, and memorizing various things from books you are reading? I'm reading a book Younger by the Day and it suggests just that. Write down some sayings that mean the most, then repeat them over and over all month long, pick one very important one each month and smaller ones that you write in your journal? About mindfulness, relaxation, mediation, life etc.?
How about also doing your cards, and memorizing various things from books you are reading?
Yes that is what I am doing. Like I was studying it in school. It isn't so much that I want to memorize those dribs and drabs on the card, but I find, that in this busy life, some of that sticks in my brain and I can pull it out when necessary. So when I want to dive into a McDonalds after a hard day, I am better able to remember some saying like "your pain is not you" and say to myself, I don't have to eat. My mind is not me.
Well I am thrilled to report I went for a cholesterol test. When I started my numbers were 259 (overall); HDL: 55; LDL: 171. So after losing about 30 lbs they all dropped about 30 pts across the board. I was excited. That I was on my way. Then last year, after losing about 15 more, I had another test. To my shock everything went right up. Back to where I was before? Despite two tests. So I stepped back and said, don't go nuts.
Had another test (8 months later) and my numbers dropped to where I thought they would be. 196 (overall); HDL 67; LDL: 130.
I have no idea what happened with that last test but I am thrilled. And I do have to wonder, last year I was very focused on the numbers and they came out bad, then I relaxed, and boom my numbers were normal.
Hello, everyone! It's nice to see all the new discussion on this thread.
AnnRue, congratulations on your cholesterol numbers! I think those numbers are related to stress as much as anything else, unless someone has a genetic condition.
horsey, I see you've dropped in as well! And broadabroad, I've seen you on another thread.
Buddhism is a philosophy, a way of living, a religion... it doesn't fit only one category. There are different sects of Buddhism--I'm a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner in the Nyingma school, for example. And this is different from the Theravada Buddhists that you might encounter in Thailand, broadabroad. But I think one of the fundamental practices of all Buddhism is meditation and letting the mind become quiet.
It's hard to make time for meditation in our culture because the culture doesn't take time to "do nothing." Doing something is always seen as more important, and there is always something more to do. So one of the obstacles for me is to make the time by setting aside those "important" activities.
why hello all i'm back. i've had 3 months er sabbatical, i'm back on the dieting and exercise i got up early and did a 2km swim today. which was good but reather tiring, also i'm starting up with my tai chi again on monday i'm going back to classes
New
Namaste!
