The Zen Diet Revolution by Martin Faulks Read Free Book Online Page B

awareness. More often than not there is a deep-seated reason for overeating. We have simply developed habits that are not useful and are not really engaging with what we do. Our whole vision of how many calories we eat and how much we eat is out of focus, and we are on autopilot. When this is the main cause, meditation can make an amazing change.
    One other study into the weight of adolescents inAmerica recently demonstrated that meditation could be a more effective weight-control solution than dietary education; evidence has shown that education on diet does not work. To put that into layman’s terms, it demonstrated that you are better off meditating twice a day than trying to stick to a diet!
But why does meditation help in weight loss?
Stress reduction
    It has been conclusively proven in countless studies that meditation is the most effective solution in existence for stress management. So it is logical to think that meditation would help in weight control due to reduced stress levels.
Improvement of brain chemistry and function
    Unlike other slimming strategies like diet and exercise that cause weight loss by focusing on the physical body, meditation may help weight loss by improving brain function and correcting mental imbalances.
    Some people believe that when the brain is not functioning correctly, it could cause food cravings. These incorrect signals to the body of course result in overeating and weight gain!
    We don’t know a specific mental imbalance that causes obesity, but there have been several different independentscientific studies that show how a particular disturbance in the brain chemistry leads to weight gain. Often this can be low serotonin levels (the brain chemical associated with a feeling of wellbeing), or sometimes the hypothalamus may not be functioning optimally.
    The important thing to note is that many studies, including one by brain researcher Dr Alarik Arenander (
India Science Journal
, 1999), have demonstrated that during meditation the various areas of the brain tend to work together in a coherent fashion. If you would like to see for yourself, I myself have clearly demonstrated on my YouTube channel (martinjfaulks) how meditation leads to brain-wave coherence.
    Most excitingly, some research has even suggested that the increased coherence through meditation becomes a habit in daily life and is present even during day-to-day activity. This means that if you practise meditation, you gain permanently improved brain functioning. This may be one of the main reasons that meditation helps you lose weight. Your brain is no longer giving you confused signals, and your self-control and self-awareness are permanently increased.
Increased food awareness
    As mentioned previously, one of the factors that keeps on coming up with meditation training is mindfulness. Meditation helps you learn to be in the moment. Studies show that meditation prevents emotional eating by increasingawareness. By practising being aware in meditation, you create a habit of awareness that carries on into your daily life. This means that you become aware of when, what and why you are eating, and how you are eating, too.
    Still confused? Have you ever forgotten you are on a diet? I have and I bet you have, too. You decide you are going to make a change like cutting wheat out of your diet or that you are never going to a pizza restaurant again, and only remember halfway through the pepperoni! Or worse, on the way out afterwards and it feels terrible. But why didn’t your brain warn you? Why didn’t the alarm bells go off saying, ‘Hey, you decided not to eat this or do this anymore?’ Lack of awareness is the cause and meditation is the cure!
    But worse than the pizza dream experience is the ‘Jedi mind trick of hunger’. Have you ever been tucking into a giant meal only to realize that you’re not really that hungry? Or that you are not enjoying it that much? Yes, it’s another one that most of us have done. Being aware