Health & Weight-loss

How to Rewire Your Brain for Weight loss. 

Losing weight can be frustrating because the human body is not designed to lose pounds. 

Weight loss is anti-survival, it’s against nature, and the brain has not evolved to make losing weight easy. 

In fact, the human brain is designed to stop you from fat loss because 10,000 years ago, losing weight meant starvation and eventual death. 

But before you get discouraged, there is hope! You can rewire your brain to help you make better and healthier food choices. 

Diet is the most important factor for weight loss, and eating healthy foods will result in you shedding pounds in no time. 

To rewire your brain for weight loss, you must become conscious of your eating habits, and mindfulness is the key to making your brain conscious. Mindfulness practice helps train your brain to modify your eating behavior, which leads to you making healthy food choices and losing weight.

In this blog post, we have listed all the tips and tricks for becoming mindful and rewiring your brain for effective weight loss.

So continue reading to find out more!

How do you train your brain to become Mindful? 

Mindfulness means living consciously and in the moment. Being mindful means being aware of your choices and the reason for making them. 

Steps to becoming mindful:

1. Make the choice.

Accept that you need to make a change and decide that you will commit to becoming mindful.

Changing can be difficult, but it is necessary if you want to live a healthy lifestyle and lose those pesky extra pounds. 

You are the only person who can choose to change. So if you want it enough, you have to decide and commit. 

2. Meditate.

Practicing mindfulness meditation consistently and daily is key to becoming mindful. 

If you are a beginner, start with just 5 minutes a day. 

  • Sit in a quiet place. 
  • Close your eyes.
  • Take a deep breath and focus on your breath. 
  • Keep your breath in for 3 seconds. 
  • Exhale.
  • Repeat for 5 minutes. 

Studies have shown that just 5 minutes of daily mindfulness meditation can result in reduced stress and increased mindfulness. 

Click here to find out more about the benefits of 5-minutes mindfulness meditation. 

3. Practice Breathwork.

Focusing on your breath for a few minutes throughout the day, even if you are not in a quiet place, can help bring your attention to the now. 

Before making a decision, take a few seconds, take a deep belly breath, and exhale with purpose. 

Breathwork helps calm your nervous system and make you aware of the moment you are in. 

4. Develop a Morning Routine.

Waking up early and having a healthy morning routine can be very beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety and becoming more mindful.

The more relaxed your brain is, the easier it is to modify it. 

Also, early morning is an excellent time for meditation, breathwork, and journaling.

Click here to learn how you can create an excellent Morning Routine. 

5. Create a Nightly Routine For Better sleep.

Lack of sleep has been linked to overeating and junk food cravings. 

Getting a good night’s sleep is extremely important when trying to become mindful and make healthy choices. 

A nightly routine that helps you get a better night’s sleep is essential to mindfulness.

Click here to learn how you can create a healthy nightly routine.

6. Journal.

Journaling can help bring out your inner thoughts and your subconscious beliefs. It is a very effective tool for becoming more aware of your feelings. 

Being aware of your thoughts is essential to becoming mindful. 

Practice journaling every day. 

The best times to journal are in the early morning after your meditation or at night before sleep. 

So many people live their lives subconsciously; their lives have become routines that they re-play every day without thought.

They do not live consciously, which could lead to unhealthy habits like picking up fast food after work and binge-watching Netflix as they eat their hamburger and fries, day after day, week after week. 

Fast food and junk food are part of so many people’s daily lives and, over time, it starts affecting their weight. That’s why the obesity rate is on the rise. 

By becoming mindful, you can modify your eating habits. 

Rewiring your brain and modifying your behavior help you make healthier choices regarding eating and even exercising.

Mindfulness helps you live consciously and in the moment. 

Mindfulness rewires your brain for weight loss.

Becoming mindful takes time, but it’s worth the effort. 

If you stay consistent with your mindfulness practice, over time, you will become more conscious of your eating and exercise choices. You will be able to modify them for weight loss. 

You will begin to make healthier decisions when it comes to your weight, and you will notice the pounds shedding off.

Your genetics and lifestyle determine your body weight and size.

However, even if you are genetically prone to weight gain, you can modify your behavior by reprogramming your brain. 

The moments you are faced with the decision of eating a healthy meal or fast food, you need to gain control over your brain and make the healthy choice. 

This comes down to mindfulness; the more mindful your brain is, the better food choices you will make. 

In addition, when you contemplate going to the gym, your level of mindfulness will be the decision-maker. A mindful brain is more likely to go to the gym because it knows it is the right choice. 

Takeaway

Losing weight is not natural based on human evolution, and the brain is not designed to let you lose weight. However, if you practice mindfulness, you can rewire your brain, modify your eating behavior and start making better choices. With time, you will develop a healthier lifestyle, resulting in easier and faster weight loss. The key is to make a choice, start meditating, and not give up. Stay consistent, and you will see results. Thank you for reading!

To learn about different ways of meditating click here.

References

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Sumithran P, Prendergast LA, Delbridge E, Purcell K, Shulkes A, Kriketos A, Proietto J. Ketosis and appetite-mediating nutrients and hormones after weight loss. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2013 Jul;67(7):759-64. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2013.90. Epub 2013 May 1. PMID: 23632752.

Wielgosz J, Goldberg SB, Kral TRA, Dunne JD, Davidson RJ. Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2019 May 7;15:285-316. doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093423. Epub 2018 Dec 10. PMID: 30525995; PMCID: PMC6597263.

Larrivee D, Echarte L. Contemplative Meditation and Neuroscience: Prospects for Mental Health. J Relig Health. 2018 Jun;57(3):960-978. doi: 10.1007/s10943-017-0475-0. PMID: 28819790.