You’ve probably heard of a lot of “fads” that promise easy weight loss, but breathing deeply has got to be one of the biggest shams, right? Not necessarily!
You see, the act of breathing correctly can actually help your body function more efficiently, which can absolutely help in the process of weight loss. Before you grab a paper bag and start hyperventilating, let’s take a closer look at breathing, how to do it correctly, and why it can help with weight loss.
- Blood oxygen
Low blood oxygen can cause all kinds of unpleasant symptoms, like shortness of breath, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and more. Your body’s cells, muscles, organs and tissues just don’t function as well if your blood isn’t fully oxygenated.
Breathing deeply regularly helps all of your body’s functions to operate properly, which means you feel better – more energy, clearer thinking, better muscle strength, and so on.
- Higher intensity exercise
Of course, when you feel strong and healthy, it’s much easier to exercise at a higher intensity, which means you boost your metabolism and burn more fat. Have you ever tried to work out at a high intensity while you were very tired or sick? Did it seem like your muscles were too weak, or you couldn’t seem to breathe well enough to keep your body moving for very long?
Regular deep breathing can help ensure that all of your muscles are flooded with oxygen-rich blood, which protects and “fuels” them in a sense. The main benefit being that you can more easily work out at a higher intensity and burn more calories and fat.
- Relaxation and grounding
Finally, deep breathing helps you feel more relaxed and grounded, alleviating stress and tension, and clearing away mental confusion and fatigue. When you feel clear-headed and balanced from within, it’s much easier to make wiser choices for your body, and you’ll probably find that you are much more productive in all areas of your life too!
While all of these benefits can contribute to a healthier body, it’s best to adopt a balanced approach to breathing for weight loss. Learn the proper way to breathe (belly breathing as opposed to shallow, upper chest breathing), and then gradually build up to breathing this way all the time. Go slowly so you don’t get lightheaded, and before long you’ll be flooding your body with life-giving oxygen on a regular basis and
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
