The Secret to effortless weight loss: part 2

The subject of weight loss often involves moans and groans from those who have tried it and, either lost weight but couldn’t keep it off, or couldn’t lose weight to begin with.
You may be able to relate.  I know I certainly could at one point in my life.  You may feel how I did, that losing weight and keeping it off is a big secret.
Maybe you beat yourself up about it, thinking that you don’t have the willpower or the motivation to work out as hard as you need to burn off all those calories.

None of this helps.

But I can tell you something that does.

Stop trying so hard.

Last week, I posted part 1 of this series (click here to read the first secret)

This week, I’m giving you something that doesn’t require any extra effort or willpower.  All it requires is that you remember to do it – and you you almost do it all day long…

The secret is to breathe like a baby for a few breaths.  Have you ever watched a baby breathe?  Their bellies rise and fall with their breath.

Try it now. Notice the level of tension in your body right now.  Then, inhale slowly through your nose and feel your belly expand with your breath-

Pause.

Exhale slowly and fully, drawing your belly toward your spine at the end to gently  ‘squeeze’ all the air out.

Repeat two more times.

Notice any sensations in your body now.

You don’t have to be sitting cross-legged, your eyes can be open or closed, no special music required.

Simply breath, and then repeat.  If you want a soundtrack to remind you, go here (I promise it’s worth the listen)

At first it can be helpful to have reminders to do this:

• Program your phone to alert you a few times a day
• Post some reminder notes around the house, maybe on the computer screen, or in the mirror of your bathroom
• Connect your breath with a certain activity, like washing dishes or starting the car, so that you build this ‘exercise’ into a habit.
• Whenever you feel your body tensing, practice your breathing as a reaction- you’ll notice an immediate difference.

Deep breathing gives us an immediate way to lower the stress hormone cortisol in our bodies- remember, while cortisol can be helpful, if left unchecked, it can seriously damage our health- plus it makes our bodies store fat around  our bellies.

Less Cortisol = less fat stored (especially around your belly)

I’m curious to know where you’ll practice your breath- post in the comments below the first place you think it makes sense to start practicing this.