Breathing Mindfully to Lose Weight

How can something as simple as breathing help us lose weight?

I know what I need to do to lose weight. So why aren't I doing it? The real secret for losing weight successfully is not some specific diet and exercise plan but in the mental and emotional hangups that I have to battle with in order to get to that point where I am no longer sabotaging my body and want to take good care of it.

I came across a very interesting podcast by Gil Fronsdal, a Buddhist monk. He discusses how breathing properly can bring about physical and mental healing.

The breath connects us to our inner world, our body, our minds and our emotions. The mechanical process of breathing is intimately tied to our intentions, reactions, feelings and thoughts. We breathe shallowly when we are not at ease. Many people are chronically contracted around their breathing. They have a band of tightness in their chests at most times.

His 43-minute free podcast discusses how important the breath is and how we can become much less anxious in our daily lives if we practise some daily meditation. The lecture doesn't mention weight loss as a goal but he is addressing the deeper underlying problems of anxiety and unhealthy coping mechanisms. I found the first seven minutes a bit boring but it got much more interesting after that. You can listen to it here. It's the lecture called "Healing Breath" dated March 2003.

A True Story of Binge Eating

Jane Brody used to be a binge eater. Her binging started when she was 23 years old. She could eat 3,000 calories in one sitting and often did. She's written a helpful article in NYT about her experience.

About one in every 35 people is estimated to be a binge eater. That's almost three percent of the population. Yet unlike anorexia or bulimia, binge eating is not considered a formal diagnosis.

A Daylight Savings Time Health Boost

Daylight Savings Time normally begins the first Sunday in April but this year it will start three weeks early, on March 11th. It will also go one week further in the fall, instead of ending the last Sunday in October it will now be the first Sunday in November.

This is great news for all people who enjoy outdoor fitness activities. We can now get in an extra hour of tennis, golf, soccer or any other sport or outdoor activity we enjoy. It's also very good news for the many people who suffer from mood disorders and depression due to a deficiency of sunlight or daylight.

The main reason for the change is to reduce global warming as people will need less lighting for one hour and the change is estimated to reduce greenhouse gases by one percent.

Belly Fat Liposuctions Will Not Improve Our Health

Belly fat is the most dangerous kind of fat in terms of serious health effects. On the photo here you see what just five pounds of fat would look like on your belly. The excess fat surrounds the organs and forces them to work harder.

Dr. Gonzalez-Campoy says "It is not the fat under the skin that really matters. It is the fat inside the abdominal cavity that matters. If you put this (5 pounds of fat) inside of your abdomen around your intestines, that's the fat that we really want to get after."

He says liposuction is not the answer. Liposuction only removes the fat just under the skin. It doesn't get rid of the fat deeper inside the abdomen. And this is the fat that leads to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

See the interesting video and interview of Dr. Gonzalez-Campoy by Angela Davis here.

A Size Twelve Hits the Catwalk

Everybody in the fashion industry is taking notice that one of the biggest department stores in London, John Lewis, has chosen a size 12 model to show off their summer swimwear collections on the catwalk.

The model is Lauren Moller. She is 5'8" and her measurements don't seem like size 12 at a 26 inch waist and 37.5 inch hips, but Lewis claims she is a size 12. She has a body mass index (BMI) of 19.8. Although they don't state her weight this BMI and height calculation would mean she weighs 130 pounds.

Apparently the typical catwalk model is 5'9" and weighs 110 pounds. That's a dangerously unhealthy BMI of 16.

This is the first time I've heard of a 130 pound 5'8" woman wearing size 12. I don't know much about British sizes but I am 5'9" (with big bones at that) and am quite sure that if I weighed 130 pounds like Lauren Moller I would be easily slinking into size 8 or lower.

 

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