Today I want to share my mind body wellness journey and my newfound love of meditation. I aim to inspire you to start and stay motivated on your journey. It all began seven years ago—tackling my body and leading to self-discovery, physical transformation and living mindfully.
It was New Year’s 2015, and I decided I needed to do something about my mind body and wellness. I would find myself coming home from work and mindlessly devouring food. Later I could not remember eating it. Afterwards, I would be fixed on the sofa until it was time to sleep. It was then I realised I had fallen into a dark hole of anxiety and was now ready to start the long climb out. Classically, I started hiding my body in baggy dark clothing. I didn’t want to wear T-shirts on hot summer days and barely looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was becoming a ghost of myself. The turning point was the cliche New years resolution. However, I kept this one, and here’s how I did it.
Here’s what I will cover on my mind, body and soul transformation:
- Weight Loss – Starting out
- Weight Loss – Results
- A New Healthy Perspective
- The Power of Meditation
- What’s Next?
Weight Loss – Starting out
The first step was taking control of my mind, body and wellness and transforming into a new healthy me, but where to start?! There were so many diet options available online. All were claiming fat loss miracles, disagreeing with each other over what was wrong or suitable for you. For a dieting newbie, this is incredibly daunting and confusing. So I took the most popular ‘traditional’ route and signed up for a famous, well-known point-based weight loss company. They had an online membership for three months, with a handy app to track and record all food and exercise.
The famous weight loss company provided me with a structure that was easy to follow and a points-based system. The system worked well and came with a handy app for my phone. Ultimately I have a lot to thank for this company. It provided me with a slow and stable-paced weight loss solution. Also, it taught me about calorie counting, routine and collecting data about my body.
Weight Loss – Results
The results were excellent. Over the space of 3 months, I lost 30lbs (13kg) and down 20cm from my waist. However, it was not without its problems. Although I lost weight, I didn’t feel very healthy doing so. This company promotes calorie restriction over eating healthy, nutritious whole foods. So, for example, you can eat as many cookies every day as long as you stick to your allocated points. Also, the famous company’s range of food products was heavily processed and artificial. I constantly felt dehydrated from higher sodium foods, still falling within the points allowed. However, when I looked at my body, I looked much slimmer. But I didn’t feel fully confident in my mind, body wellness goals, and I started looking for more.
A New Healthy Perspective
It was not until my 29th birthday I flew to Istanbul. I was surrounded by fresh, nutritious foods and people enjoying the sunshine and the outdoors. As a result, I realised that only correcting my body fat would not be enough. At that moment, I started looking for more health-optimal options to continue my body fitness journey. I started looking into more mindful methods to nurture my mind and soul. This is where I discovered the power of meditation and my eventual love for meditation. I was looking in a local bookstore one day and found this book, ‘Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world’ by Professor Mark Williams and Dr Dan Penman. It was the first time I had heard about mindfulness. It was eye-opening to learn about living in the present and the benefits of meditation for health.
The Power of Meditation
Meditation dramatically impacts how I see myself, consume food and live my life and helps me achieve my goal of optimal mind body wellness. My love of meditation was so strong that the power of meditation inspired me to start to Catch a Sleep and help inspire others. Additionally, I have created a relaxing guided meditation for Weight Loss on our Catch a Sleep Youtube channel. This will help you take hold of your cravings for food and allow you to eat mindfully and with initiative. Find a comfortable place, relax and join me in meditation:
What’s Next?
Finally, after finding the power of meditation and practising regularly, my diet started to evolve, and how I looked at my body started to change. Meditation honestly had a significant impact on my mind, body and wellness. I found that I had a new lease of energy and ambition. Afterwards, I started looking for more in life. At that point, I decided to quit my job of five years, working in healthcare management, and travel the world. Stay tuned for Part 2!
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