3 Ways You’ll Lose Weight By Getting Naked

July 13, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

I once heard an interesting fitness tip:

“If you want to lose weight, do your morning yoga routine nude.”

It was great advice. (Like many things, yoga’s so much better in the buff.) But the only problems were that A.) not everyone does yoga (making it less helpful advice for them) and B.) for those who do, their sequence may not last long enough to have an all day impact on their lifestyle choices. Not as much as if they were more consistently clothes-less. But you know what does help? Extending that thread shedding time; going naked (or at least nearly so) for all of your time spent at your residence. See, if you’re like me, you probably like lounging in loose duds. You might even have a stash of “eating pants” for pizza evenings that could easily stow both Tweedle Dee and Dum. And that’s fine. Sometimes. But something happened to me recently. See, my A/C broke in the dead of summer (and my awful maintenance failed to fix it). Thus, I started rocking a reduced level of clothing. And, before I knew it, I’d lost a few pounds and found out a few reasons why wearing less made me ultimately weigh less.

And what were those reasons?

Well, the first was bodily appreciation. See, when you’re all covered up in sweats, there’s a sort of disconnection that’s happens. You can’t see anything. Proprioception (your somatic spatial awareness) gets thrown off. By being able to witness your limbs consistently, you’re reminded of the fact that – this is you. You’re actually connected to this thing you’re riding around in that’s more than just an ambulatory grub graveyard for your feels. And you begin acting in kind.

And that visibility does another thing. Seeing enough of your bod to acknowledge that it’s yours also lets you see what maybe you appreciate about it less… Like the extra flesh you’ve put on after too many Panera bread bowls or drunken brunch dates. This doesn’t mean we hafta hate ourselves into weight loss. Quite the opposite. By gaining a loving outlook, we can treat our bodies with love again – versus abusing them with food. That’s where the no-clothes thing comes in. How many problems have you ever solved by failing to look at them? By keeping the issue in clear view, we’re more likely to actually fix it. Don’t look at it as a constant auto-flogging but motivation to keep progressing.

(The reaction looks like horror shock, but she’s actually overjoyed at her reflection in this movie…)

Then, finally, comes movement.

We all know movement burns calories. And you wanna know when I’m least likely to move? When I’m swaddled in cloth that’s basically just two shapeless blankets. Is it because I’m too comfortable to move? Or because they’re so heavy and cumbersome that I’m not willing to? Probably a bit of both. Either way, it makes me unwilling to do any productive movement like dishes, laundry, answering my phone, or anything else that might just kickstart my brain’s domino cascade toward other healthy lifestyle choices. (Yet somehow it doesn’t deter a trip to the fridge for a second popsicle.) It’s Newton’s law. (Note how I didn’t clarify which, ’cause I forget and I’m not willing to look it up ATM. Must be the sweats…) The thing is, moving objects wanna keep moving, while objects at rest wanna keep binge watching “Disjointed” from the supine position while issuing intermittent Seth Rogenian chuckles. Give yourself more freedom to move and you will move more. And an awesome weight loss domino effect of motivation awaits us on the other side of that.

In the end, my A/C broke at the perfect time. I’d just sprained my ankle and was debating how to cut calories while I was laid up. (Blog here on what I cut to lose over five pounds in less than a week.) But, suddenly being free of Buddha belly blocking clothing definitely helped motivate both that decision and follow through. (Everything happens for a reason, ya know?) That said, I know what you’re thinking. Maybe you don’t live alone. Or you hafta take the prude people you’re related to (or rooming with) into consideration. Or mayhaps you’re just a bit modest yourself. No bigs. This’ll still work for just wearing a little less than your yooj. Try a crop top that won’t block your belly. A tank that won’t cover your guns. Shorts that show you’ve added some adductor blubber this winter. It’s still your body. You still should love it – not shove it under some fuzzy tent to be hidden.

Just be proud of your body as you rock your b-day suit, and your dietary behaviors are bound to follow suit.