If you have asked yourself this question, you are in very good company. Rich or poor, old or young, male or female, you are not alone.{{more}} As a certified hypnotist, I get this question a lot. I am often the last resort for people who are frustrated that they can’t “stay on a diet.” Of course hypnosis works, but the fact of the matter is that your self talk is as powerful as my hypnosis. We now know more than ever before about how the mind and body work and therefore weight loss is less of a mystery. If you have a lot of weight to lose, it is less about what you are eating and more about what’s eating you! Until you deal with the emotions you are trying to avoid by eating, you cannot lose weight. Food is a drug that we use to try to comfort ourselves. However, we forget that we feel very uncomfortable when we are finished eating!
One of the major causes of weight problems is stress. Many report that they eat because of stress and are stressed because they are over weight. You can imagine the vicious emotional cycle. The amount of stress you have is not actually the problem; it is the way you choose to deal with, or not deal with stress that is the problem. (That will be a different article.) Stress is a weight related problem for several reasons. Stress elevates our cortisol levels and chronically elevated cortisol levels contribute to the storage of abdominal fat. It is not the cause of the fat, it is only one small part of the problem. Excess sugar and insulin resistance also promotes excess body fat, which elevates cortisol. This is a lot of science and is often misinterpreted for the purpose of promoting weight loss products. The simple truth is that we are eating and drinking far too much sugar. It should also be noted that sugar is a major source of nourishment for all the yeast, fungus, viruses and cancer cells that live in your body. Unused sugar turns to fat and the cycle continues.
Are you guilty of giving children junk for snacks and telling them it’s a “treat?” That is very powerful programming and then, as adults we “treat” ourselves with junk and hate ourselves for it! We have done a tremendous disservice to our children by programming them early, to drink sweetened beverages. Soda, lemonade, Kool Aid, Gatorade, PowerAde, Snapple, Smart Water, Crystal Lite and the list goes on, are all different ways to put unnecessary sugar into our bodies. The connection between “sports” drinks and sugar is really insidious. The only thing that is worse than calling sugary drinks “sports” drinks, is the addition of the excessive level of caffeine that has been put into some of those drinks. The best sports drink is water. I wonder who started the lie that athletes need extra sugar? Electrolytes are promoted in “sports” drinks but they are only needed by marathon runners. No one else needs electrolytes!
The other major contributor to excess body fat is processed foods. Our bodies know how to digest and metabolize processed food but, although they are edible, they are not really food. Our body stores them as fat because they have no other value. Did you ever wonder why you would put something into your body that is not real food? The answer goes back to early childhood programming and lots of media marketing. Junk food, appropriately named, is usually made in a chemistry lab, not someone’s kitchen.
Diets don’t work! Everyone knows that but it does not stop us from going on every new diet that shows up in a magazine, or is talked about on Dr. OZ. One of the reasons that diets don’t work is because your unconscious mind is so literal that when you are “on a diet” you may find it easy to stick to it for a while but, when you can’t stand it anymore, your unconscious mind returns back to old habits and feelings and the weight returns. Usually, you put on more pounds than you lost, as your body tries to recover from the starvation diet you experienced. Weight loss programs are a billion dollar business and there is always a new one to try. Although the solution is simple, many believe it is not easy. What if they are wrong? What if it really can be easy?
The most effective way to lose weight is to change your relationship with food and change your relationship with your body. Food is for nourishment and fuel. Your body needs food, real food. Emotional eating is at the root of most weight loss problems. Hypnosis is the fastest, most effective way to deal with those emotions. Until you face your emotional issues, you cannot be successful at losing weight.
When you eat for emotional reasons, that unneeded stuff turns to fat. While emotionally eating junk, or “pleasure foods”, you stimulate the pleasure center of your brain. This is the same part of your brain that is stimulated by sex. When you are finished eating the junk, your pleasure subsides and you begin to feel bad, guilty, disgusting and the cycle continues. When you learn to see your body differently, you will treat it differently. See your body as something that has been very good to you even though you have not been very good to it! Most of us who have pets are very careful to only give them the food that is suitable and healthy for them. We are also careful to be sure our pet gets proper exercise. Not because they are on a diet, but because exercise is important for their health and wellness. How many of us take as good care of our bodies as we do our pets? When you love and respect your body as much as you love and care for your pet, you will take care of it properly. When you know better, you do better! Change your relationship with your body beginning with no longer saying negative unkind things to it. Begin with, “I’m so sorry, look what I did to you!” When you begin there, you will begin to make changes that will allow your body to begin to let go of the unwanted weight.
You don’t have to be a scientist to understand how to lose weight. You only need to eat real food, drink real water and get enough sleep. Only eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied, not full. Your body will do the rest! Your body will let go of the fat as easily as it created it when it is properly cared for. Create a plan for finding emotional relief away from food, or find a hypnotist who can help you to make it easy!
Fern Tausig is a master consulting hypnotist, trainer and motivational speaker, certified by the National Guild of Hypnotists and the International Association of Counselours and Therapists.
She can be reached via email at myhealinghypnosis@gmail.com or 203-283-4567.