You’ve tried every natural remedy in the book to boost your metabolism: matcha, black coffee, apple cider vinegar. But there’s one thing so many of us tend to overlook: meditation. It turns out meditation isn’t just good for clearing your mind or calming your anxiety—it could be the metabolism boost your body has been looking for. We spoke to a top doctor about everything you need to know about meditation for weight loss and easy tricks to try if meditation hasn’t ever quite been “your thing.”
What is a healthy metabolism?
“Metabolism is the collection of chemical processes that allows the body to convert food and stored nutrients into energy,” explains Daniel Bishop, MD, a board-certified emergency medicine physician with 15 years of experience and co-founder and owner of ReGen Advanced Infusion & Wellness Center. “It powers everything from breathing and circulation to brain function, digestion, temperature regulation, movement and cellular repair.”
Despite how we often discuss it, a healthy metabolism is not just eating whatever you want without gaining weight. “A healthy metabolism means the body can efficiently produce, use and store energy, maintain stable blood sugar levels, respond appropriately to insulin, maintain muscle mass and adapt to changes in food intake, exercise, sleep and stress,” explains Dr. Bishop. “This adaptability is referred to as metabolic flexibility.”
Does meditation for weight loss work?
So if you drop everything you’re doing and enter a meditative state, will you suddenly supercharge a slow metabolism? Not quite, but the practice can support sustainable weight loss, especially when combined with a healthy diet and exercise routine. Dr. Bishop says that meditation helps our body go from the “fight or flight” state to the “rest and digest” state, allowing our metabolism to run more effectively.
“[Meditation] may help regulate the stress response, improve sleep and support healthier eating decisions,” explains Dr. Bishop. “Those changes can create a more favorable environment for blood-sugar regulation, appetite control and weight management.”
The value of meditation for weight loss comes from the ways in which it helps improve our overall metabolic health over time by helping to regulate sleep, stress, appetite and even supporting mindful eating, adds Dr. Bishop.
In fact, a small study on a seven-day meditation retreat in Communications Biology suggests that regular meditation may be linked to increased glycolytic activity. Translation: Blood tests showed participants’ cells may have been using glucose more efficiently. They also showed changes in brain connectivity, suggesting that meditation’s shift from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” may begin in the brain.
How to practice meditation for weight loss
Practicing meditation can seem daunting at first. That’s why Dr. Bishop is offering three techniques that help take your body out of fight or flight mode and bring your stress levels down:
Mindfulness meditation: To practice mindfulness meditation, close your eyes and try bringing your attention to different parts of your body and noticing each part through a method called body scanning. This involves paying attention to the physical sensations of each body part—warmth, tension, etc—and simply accepting them for what they are in this moment without trying to change them. Work on incorporating slow-paced breathing from the diaphragm during this practice, says Dr. Bishop.
Box breathing: “Slow breathing at a rate of five to six breaths per minute can affect autonomic regulation and heart-rate variability relatively quickly,” explains Dr. Bishop. To try box breathing for yourself, inhale slowly through your nose for a count of four, hold for four, exhale for four, then pause for four before repeating the cycle.
Senobi breathing: This form of meditation for weight loss can help with both nervous system regulation and support your body’s release of metabolism-supporting hormones,explains Dr. Bishop. “Senobi breathing involves engaging your core and stretching the abdominal muscles while forcefully exhaling,” he adds. To do: Stand tall, shoulder-width apart. Reach your arms overhead, interlace your fingers, then slightly arch your back while inhaling deeply through your nose. Tighten your glutes and core, then exhale through your mouth as if blowing through a straw; repeat. (Learn more about the power of Senobi breathing for weight loss.)
How often should you meditate?
“A great starting goal is to practice meditation or mindfulness for five to 10 minutes per day, at least five days per week,” Dr. Bishop suggests. “If that becomes comfortable, it can be increased to 15 or 20 minutes. Ultimately, there is no universal ‘metabolic dose’ of meditation. Your timeline for results will be unique to you.”
Dr. Bishop says that if you experience dizziness, shortness of breath or have pain, you should stick to normal breathing. “People with significant heart, lung, balance or spinal conditions should discuss more intensive breathing or stretching exercises with a clinician,” he adds.
3 doctor-approved tips if you struggle to meditate
If giving this meditation for weight loss routine a try sounds good in theory, but not in practice with your busy life, Dr. Bishop has tips to help you get started.
Start small: Dr. Bishop recommends building up your consistency first rather than your duration. “Two or three minutes every day is more useful and more attainable than attempting 30 minutes once and then quitting,” he says.
Add meditation to your normal routine: “Practice after brushing your teeth, before morning coffee, during a lunch break or immediately before bed,” says Dr. Bishop. Simply adding meditation to a behavior that’s already consistent in your routine will help you stick with it.
Know every session doesn’t have to be perfect: “A busy mind does not mean meditation was unsuccessful,” he says. “Meditation isn’t about completely emptying the mind. It is about noticing when you are distracted and returning your focus to the breath.” If you struggle to stay present in your meditation, a class or audio recording could be helpful, adds Dr. Bishop.
The bottom line on meditation for weight loss
When it comes to boosting your metabolism or improving any area of your health, what matters is finding what works for you. So if other natural remedies for boosting your metabolism haven’t been working, tit may just mean you need to try something different, like meditation.
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