Have you ever noticed, that when something good happens, we find ways to celebrate? Have you also noticed how that typically involves indulgent goodies like cake, sweets, alcohol and rich foods? And then - when something not so nice happens, we either reach for the comfort foods or someone else wants to feed and comfort us.
Have you also noticed, that when someone brings chocolate cake into the office, you can resist when you put your mind to it and say no thank you. But, as the rest of the office staff delve into the depths of that velvety chocolaty softness, suddenly you want a piece before it's all gone?
And what about guilt? You know, when you fall off the wagon so to speak and eat two Mars Bars in one sitting. Suddenly you are thinking, 'well, I've broken the diet now so another won't matter.' Or, you feel guilty so you end up comfort eating anyway. Why do diets always make us feel like we are depriving ourselves of something instead of making us feel like we are re-energising ourselves and working on something positive?
Keeping busy doesn't help us much, as we tend then to snack and eat all the wrong things, often because they are convenient. So we may decide to just chill out in front of the TV instead. What a mistake that is ! Every second commercial is for McDonalds, widely indulgent rich foods, chocolate or alcohol. Now you're hungry! So the next thing is to switch over and low behold, it's a cooking programme and wow doesn't that dish look nice, and now you're hungry again.
Another thing that makes it so difficult, is you cannot avoid food! Everybody has to eat. But are you eating because you are thirsty? We feel hunger before we feel thirsty - and by the time we feel thirsty we are already starting to dehydrate. And what about eating things you do not like? Do you feel so hungry that instead of the Mars Bar, lump of cheese or whatever else leaps out at you - you would eat something you don't particularly like? If you were truly that hungry - you would! This is why diets feel like deprivation. Easy sugar rich calories laden foods are everywhere shouting at us 'Eat me!".
Dieting is hard but hypnosis can help.
I am not a dietician, but some of the tips I have been given that I found helpful, were to freeze a bar of dark chocolate and take one square and suck it when you fancy a sweet treat. To slice an apple and drizzle the tiniest amount of chocolate sauce on it instead of eating that Mars Bar. To drink a glass of water before every meal and a few ounces every hour. Also, putting a note on the fridge to remind yourself to ask yourself "Eating right now is a choice" you can choose to binge or you can choose not to. Let it be a choice, a choice to binge or a choice to be more sensible. It's not deprivation, it is a choice. It helps put you in control. But also, when you stand at the fridge or cupboard door, ask yourself - "what makes me want to eat right now? How am I feeling?" Are you eating for comfort? Boredom? Are you thirsty? Are you really hungry? If you are really hungry - then surely something less calorific is going to better for you?
So what can hypnotherapists offer you in regards to weight loss? Well, it can help you stay motivated, help you with those cravings and we can even use aversion therapy! Depression often leads to over eating and we can help with that too! Whilst aversion therapy is short lived, it can offer a really good start if one particular thing is an issue. We offer parts therapy and unlocking what the causes of your wanting to eat are centred around. We can also offer hypnotic miracle cures and hypnotic gastric band sessions. We can help you with habits - like snacking - and help you feel more relaxed, less stressed and more focused. Stress raises cortisol and that is known to be a negative factor in losing weight when it is prolonged. Plus when we are stressed, we want to comfort eat (or drink).
When you know what the pitfalls are in your dieting, when you know why it is so difficult for some, you can make changes and use future pacing (within hypnotherapy) to help you cope with difficult environments and temptations. It all seems like doom and gloom doesn't it ! But it really isn't - anything worth doing has some kind of trade off, and having the right mentality can help you not only shift the weight, but keep it off without depriving yourself or having the odd blow out. There have been many positive stories in various magazines and newspapers of people having gastric band hypnosis. Mind and body are intrinsically linked, look after one and the other will follow.
By identifying your triggers to eat, the environment and your mood, you can really help speed up the process of getting on track, getting in the right mind set and reducing sessions with a good hypnotherapist. Having control over your cravings thoughts and intake is a wonderful feeling and it frees you from the chains of continuous eating, guilt and shame that are attached to weight and mindset.
What do you have to lose apart from the weight!
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