How to stop judging your body

Day 3 of the New Year’s Meditation Challenge

I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who’s not at least a little neurotic and self-critical about their body. Body dysmorphia used to be thought of as mostly impacting women, but it’s on the rise among men as well. We just mask it as biohacking, i.e. obsessively working out, fasting, and striving for ketosis.

The good news is that it’s possible to reduce the toxicity of your inner dialogue around your body.

I speak from personal experience. I used to be that dude who counted his calories and avoided entire categories of food as “sinful.” While I haven’t completely conquered my neuroticism in this regard (I fear that may be too much to ask), I am way better than before.

I still love being healthy, but I am much more balanced about it. Meaning, I work out hard—and I also eat cookies.

Much of my progress is the result of a consistent practice of loving-kindness meditation, which science suggests can confer all sorts of tantalizing, psychological and physiological benefits.

And so today, on the third day of my free 7-day New Year’s meditation challenge, I’m serving up a guided meditation from the legendary Sharon Salzberg. She will teach you how to do what is supremely uncomfortable for any of us: send warm regards, even gratitude, to your own body. As a result, you might approach diet and exercise with less self-loathing.

The practice might feel forced at first, but trust me—this shit works.

It was great to see almost 1,500 of you for the live check-in last night. If you wanted to join and weren’t able, you can watch the whole thing here.

I’ll be doing two more live check-ins, for paid subscribers only, this Thursday and Sunday at 7:00PM EST, via the Substack App. I’ve also opened up a paid subscriber chat to submit questions ahead of time.

Meanwhile, over on the 10% Happier podcast, today we’ve got Buddhist monk Brother Pháp Lưu talking about mindful eating. Click to listen or watch the full episode. Paid subscribers get a cheatsheet below, which includes: key takeaways, time-stamped highlights, and a transcript.

Episode Cheatsheet

The big takeaway

In this episode, Brother Pháp Lưu discusses mindful eating as a practice that goes beyond just what we eat to how we eat. He explains how bringing awareness and gratitude to our meals can improve our health, bring more joy, and even contribute to spiritual growth and environmental sustainability. Mindful eating is presented as part of a broader practice of mindful consumption that includes what we take in through all our senses.

Savor every bite: the art and science of mindful eating