Meditation to Avoid Overeating

Like so many fat people, I am an emotional eater. Stress is my #1 excuse. I may eat sensibly throughout the early part of my day, but once I leave work, all bets are off. My evening can turn into one big binge. My last binge was on Wednesday. I ate half a cheese pizza, a pile of breaded mushrooms with ranch dressing, and 1/3 of an Italian cream cake. It was disgusting and embarrassing.

I’ve tried so many ways to stop binges -- brushing my teeth, reasoning with myself, exercise, working on a hobby -- anything to distract myself, but they don’t work very well. All I can think about is whatever food I’m craving. The one thing I have found that does work is meditation. For me it has to be guided meditation. I can’t be trusted to do it on my own. My mind wanders too much and after I’ve sat there for what seemed like forever, I’ll open my eyes to find a minute and a half went by.

Guided meditation takes my focus off of food for long enough that the craving passes, my stress is relieved, and I feel centered. It’s amazing the difference just five minutes can make. I need to make it a daily practice. I can’t seem to find the willingness to chill out for a few minutes everyday. But if I can manage to make it more of a routine, I know that it could really help me where my overeating is concerned.

I’ve recently been using Audio Dharma for my guided meditation. I particularly like Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia. She has such a soothing voice. I sit on the couch with my eyes closed and focus on what she tells me to. It’s like a mini vacation.