Timeless secrets for lasting weight loss

Vegetarian Times, April, 1997 by Ronna Kabatznick

Let's put the matter on the table. It seems odd to be talking about weight loss and Buddhism. After all, the aim of Buddhism is to end suffering, to free oneself from the pain and sorrow of this world. If you've ever tried to lose or maintain weight or have known people in this situation, you know that the experience often brings profound suffering.

Overweight people are often made to feel like second-class citizens because of their body size. In the presence of appealing food, it's easy to feel powerless and anxious about your ability to limit what you eat. If you've experienced the vicious cycle of overeating, losing and regaining weight, you know that "misery" is another word to describe it. It's true, changing deeply rooted eating habits may not be on par with a life-threatening illness, but it is its own form of grief, suffering and anxiety.

The Buddha sought and found a path to peace and freedom in the midst of everyday life. He found that the solution to life's persistent problems, including weight-related ones, is available right now and can be summed up in two simple words: look within. The solution is always with you, available day and night. Needless to say, the Buddha didn't deal directly with the challenge of losing weight because 2,500 years ago in rural India, getting food was the problem -- not limiting it. Nevertheless, his teachings are timeless and are accessible to everyone. And don't worry, you don't need to become a monk or a nun to start making these changes. Millions of people from athletes to physicians are currently using skills and techniques developed by the Buddha.

The Buddha taught the transformative powers of mindfulness -- a simple practice that means paying attention to the here and now in a gentle, nonjudgmental way. He taught people how to become their own authorities. No one can be mindful for you. That's why the Buddha told his followers, "Don't believe me. Look and see for yourself. Peace and freedom are just as available to you as it is to me. But you must discover the truth for yourself."

The Buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment was called, "The Four Noble Truths." He summed up his discoveries in these basic principles:

1. There is suffering. 2. The cause of suffering is attachment

to desire. 3. Suffering ends by letting go

of attachments. 4. Letting go happens by developing the

Noble Eight-Fold Path.

1

THE FIRST NOBLE TRUTH:

THERE IS

SUFFERING

What Does Suffering, a term usually associated with disease, war or unrequited love, have to do with losing weight? The Buddha said that all experiences from the most delightful to the most painful, are transient, unreliable and unsatisfactory. They come and go. Nothing lasts and change is inevitable. This in itself can be painful.

The Buddha made a crucial distinction between the suffering you experience because of the inevitability of change and the suffering we create for ourselves because we want things to be different than they are. When you forget that everything changes, you set up a struggle that creates suffering. You're not accepting what's really going on -- you're struggling against. You want things to be different than they actually are. When there is a struggle, there's suffering.

Let's say you hate to go grocery shopping. The checkout lines are long, the items you want are rarely available and the aisles are narrow and crowded. All in all, it's a frustrating and maddening experience. Where is the suffering? It comes from your response to shopping, not from the experience of it. Shopping is just a series of actions involving pushing a shopping cart, pulling items from shelves, lifting things from bins, moving in certain directions, etc. You may not be able to choose whether or not to shop, but you can choose your reaction to it. The hate and frustration you feel are optional, not required.

This is a valuable lesson for weight loss. We tend to forget that things change, that we are not eternally overweight or eternally craving a cookie. These realities, however compelling, are fleeting. Moreover, while we cannot wish away or change these fleeting moments, we have complete and absolute control over how we respond to them. You can decide to respond to the craving by eating a cookie, or you can observe the urge as if it were on a movie screen. You can despair over the number on a scale or recognize that your body changes minute to minute over the course of your life. In this very profound sense, you create and shape your reality moment by moment.

2

THE SECOND NOBLE TRUTH:

ATTACHMENT TO

DESIRE CAUSES

SUFFERING

The Buddha didn't just say "there is suffering" and leave it at that. He said suffering is caused by attachment to desire. See for yourself. When you like something, you want more- when you don't, you want less or none at all. The problem is not about the desire. Wanting things such as healthy food and a slender body are normal. Suffering comes from grasping and clinging to desires. If you believe you must be 130 pounds to be happy or if you're in love with coffee frozen yogurt and all that's available is strawberry, you suffer when these desires are not satisfied. The Buddha said grasping to desire creates a vicious cycle of wanting more and more (cookies, ice cream, vitamins, energy bars or whatever) or less and less (pounds, inches, cellulite, food additives, etc.). However, we fool ourselves. Fulfilling desires over and over again will never -- and can never -- provide the feelings of emotional fullness and satisfaction you long for. As long as you cling to desire as the solution to life's challenges, you'll always be frustrated and dissatisfied.