Mindfulness, Minimalism, and the Journey to a Healthier Me

We live in a fast-paced world, and naturally this keeps our mind busy roaming from one thought, body sensation, and feeling to another. It's not like we intentionally do this, but it comes naturally, and it's good to know one can bring this to check by practicing mindfulness. I'm the type who tends to take my time before delving into things, but then that's not necessarily mindfulness, but after a few revelations a few weeks ago, I began seeing things in another light, especially regarding my ambition to lose weight, and mindfulness plays a huge role in helping me walk that path diligently in the recent week till date.

You see, I've always had the mindset that I want to lose weight for over 5 years now but never really take any steps towards that, and it's quite disheartening because I continue to not take the necessary steps in that line. I continue to add more weight, which ultimately makes me uncomfortable with my own body stature, and something happened about two years ago that I felt played a huge role in discouraging me from walking in that path and helps me appreciate my body and weight.

So it happens that sometimes in December or year 2021, I was en route traveling to spend the holiday seasons with my family, and luckily for me, when I arrived at the car park there was just a space for one passenger to get onboard and the bus will begin its journey, but something unpleasant plays out when I was about boarding the vehicle. The lady I was meant to sit beside in the seat that was vacant took a giant at me and was like, Mr. Man, you're too fat, and seating here beside me will inconvenience me throughout the journey.

Hearing her say that I was very sad within, it was the first time someone addressed me as being fat, and I there and then made up my mind to start indulging in exercise routine to lose some weight, but regarding the lady in question, I didn't even say a word to her; I just stepped back and asked where the next vehicle is, so I had to go wait for the next bus to start looking for 18 new passengers, while the one I ought to have boarded is looking for just one passenger.

Ultimately they got the passenger and began their journey, leaving us at the park, but fortunately not long after that our bus also got filled up and we also started the journey, and about an hour to getting to our destination, we saw a bus that recently had an accident. Our driver stopped because it said the vehicle was one of their company vehicles at the park, so we highlighted, and that's when I realized that the vehicle involved in the accident was the same one I was body shamed earlier by a lady.

To cut a long story short, we helped everyone onboard the vehicle involved in the accident, helping them get a vehicle to be taken to the hospital. That particular scenario left me in the middle of what to do and not do. I mean, I became mindful, and in one aspect, a few hours ago I was worried and wanted to lose weight because someone body shamed me, and now I'm being mindful and grateful that I'm fat, because assuming I wasn't fat, the lady wouldn't have talked to me in that manner, which means I would have boarded the vehicle and be among those terribly injured due to the accident.

That event shaped my mind in a way where I paused to for once appreciate myself and not feel bad about my body. I mean, had I not had such a body, who knows what my story would have been in that vehicle? Well, that's lingers for years, helping me to appreciate my body and not feel bad about it. While that's good for self-confidence, I must say it adds to my body weight, until recently when I decided I wanted a change.

After taking a pause from all the drama of my thoughts and mind, I come to the conclusion that I just work on my weight, and I must say that mindfulness is a great tool in that direction, helping me sail through each phrase and challenge, and one of the key aspects of mindfulness I practice in this new journey is mindful eating—minding what I eat and how.

In the past I tend to eat whenever I'm stressed or bored, and this kind of led to consistent food consumption at hourly intervals that prevent digestion and the like, but since practicing mindful eating, I now savor eat bite, talk note of the flavor, and be mindful of the amount of calories in each meal as I indulge in a calorie deficit journey. These have helped me in portion and quantity control, knowing when I'm truly hungry and not eating out of emotions, and ultimately it has inspired healthier eating habits in me.

I coupled that with mindfulness in my exercise routine, because one of the reasons why I've been staying far from exercising prior to now was because I see it as a difficult chore, but since taking a pause and critically examining it is important, I now engage in each routine fully, appreciating how my body feels as it improves and strengthens me the more. This has helped make my workout routine enjoyable and motivate me to be consistent.

It also helps me to take out time to listen to my body during workout sessions, knowing when I've had enough and when I can still go further. Overall mindfulness in exercising and mindful eating has greatly helped me psychologically as a minimalist because it fosters a deeper awareness in me to take note of what my body really needs, dealing with cravings and setbacks, and now I no longer react impulsively, but now mindfulness has given me new strength to go for a walk rather than eating snacks, although I'm not there yet perfect, but I'm on the right path.

All photos are mine.