Feeling unhappy with the contours of your body is not something that’s all in your mind. We all have a certain ideal. Many of the people we meet work hard to attain that ideal, but experience frustration right before they hit the finish line. This is reflected in a large number of body contouring procedures that are performed annually. Liposuction and abdominoplasty are performed to put the finishing touches on a man or woman’s body. But what happens after?
Most people do know that body contouring lasts only as long as their healthy habits. It is easy to “fall off the wagon,” so to speak, when those pesky fat cells have been eliminated. Here, we want to point out the real name of the game after body contouring: mindfulness.
Mindfulness is more than a hippie term used by teachers of meditation and yoga. Paying close attention to the moments of each day is a practice that goes back centuries. Today, we can use mindfulness in some ways, even to manage weight.
Eating
Here’s the thing about eating. We can know what to eat to keep the pounds from stacking on. Some people go to great lengths to allow only certain foods into their environment. But what happens with most people is that such habits become difficult to keep. Mindfulness about what the body is craving – and why – can support lifelong healthy habits. A large percentage of us eat without thinking. If you can relate, consider asking what you are hungry for, and even if you are hungry at all.
What can happen when we slow down before eating is that we can recognize if food is really what we want. Too often, food is an easy substitute for something to do, for comfort, and for other emotional needs.
Moving
Exercise. Oh, how we love this subject! As we get older, the amount of exercise we need far outweighs what most of us feel capable of. The trick with exercise and a task for mindfulness is to observe what you enjoy doing. Exercise shouldn’t be a chore, but it becomes just that in far too many cases. Do you love to dance? Take classes! Do you love the outdoors? Go hiking or biking or just for a nice, long walk every day.
Who would think to link mindful living to maintaining results of body contouring? Such an idea may seem out of the ordinary, but it may be just what you need for extraordinary results.
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