'Mindfulness' - A Holistic Approach to Weight Management and Weight Loss Without Dieting

Giving up food and weight control to a holistic natural process, linking mind, body and spirit, after years of playing the dieting game, can be a scary prospect. That is until you consider that the human mind actually knows how to do a jolly good job of taking care of you, if you could only switch off your judgmental and self-critical thoughts.

These are the negative thoughts that get in the way of the natural mind, body processes and produce the stress and emotions that lead to our inappropriate comfort eating. They keep our mind firmly routed in the past or the future, yet it is the present moment that contains all the information we need to instinctively make the right choices with food and life.

In the present moment, 'The Now', we are...

· In touch with our body signals and satiety levels

· Able to make rational and appropriate choices about food, without them being obscured by emotion

· Able to make choices of food that works well with our body

· Able to see and feel the joy of life and therefore do not need to find comfort in food

Training the mind is no different from training the body. It takes daily practice in mindfulness techniques. These are a variety of meditative and body awareness practices, that when used regularly, every day, change the way you view and use food. The wonderful thing is that these changes occur without you even controlling them.

Take the example of last weekend. I had a personally difficult and emotional situation that would have normally sent me on frequent visits to the refrigerator. My comfort eating and even binge eating would have been triggered by the stresses of my emotions. In the past I may sometimes have managed to overcome the temptations of my mind but it would have still been struggle.

Using the Mindfulness techniques I was able to sit and welcome my emotions, not bury them with food. By healing the emotions and letting them go I was again, balanced and at peace. Where peace is present, there is no need for food as there is no longer anything that needs comforting.

Without the constant clutter of negative chatter or emotions, the mind is able to see clearly the loving choices that the moment presents. Instead of withdrawing from the world and eating inappropriately I was able to easily make decisions that enabled me to stay in the moment, connected with the love and beauty that surrounds us every minute of our lives.

This is where reality lies, not in the past or the future. This is where our mind is free to make the choices it needs to keep us happy and healthy. Of course we need to spend some of our time in reflecting on the past and planning for the future. It is all about balance and making sure we spend time every day in mindful pursuits.