Weight Loss
You've heard it all before. Friends, family members, co-workers and even that guy at your local gym who loves giving you unsolicited advice all say the same thing. "All you have to do is eat less and exercise more." As you politely engage in yet another conversation about your struggles with weight loss, you slowly become more and more agitated. "Well gee thanks, Einstein," you think to yourself, "why didn't I think of that?" Although the advice is reliable, it is an oversimplification of the weight loss process.
You know that you're SUPPOSED to eat more vegetables and walk 10,000 steps every day, but you just can't seem to remain consistent. You buy those fancy running shoes, join a gym and set your alarm clock for 6 a.m. This time it's going to be different. As the days and weeks go by, your mind and body begin to fatigue. Your willpower is gone, your muscles are sore, you always feel hungry, and your fitness goals no longer appear realistic. Frustrated and defeated, you stop working out and begin to find comfort in those sugary snacks. You quickly gain the weight you just lost, and that familiar feeling of shame starts to creep up again.
Misery Loves Company
If the above scenario sounds familiar, you're not alone. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults are obese. Adults who are overweight account for another one-third of the U.S. adult population. That means two-thirds of all U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. These numbers are staggering and living such an unhealthy lifestyle has dire consequences. Some effects of obesity include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, joint problems, sleep apnea, an increase in risk of various cancers, depression, and the development of eating disorders. Feeling unattractive and unworthy are shared experiences as well.
At this point, you may be at your wit's end. You already know how unhealthy it is to carry all that extra weight so why isn't willpower enough to make lasting change? Simple. Your conscious mind is not in control, your subconscious mind is. Your conscious mind may have decided to pull into that fast food drive-thru, but it was your subconscious mind that laid the groundwork. Perhaps you had a stressful day. Maybe you were bored or lonely. The emotional needs for love, security and comfort may be temporarily satisfied by eating that number 4 combo with a large chocolate shake. Your subconscious mind had a need to fulfill, and your conscious mind was merely a pawn. In fact, positive self-talk and willpower can only get you so far.
If the psychological theory of ego depletion is correct, it means that willpower is a finite resource. In other words, every time you use willpower it mentally drains you until self-control becomes impaired. Think back on your most recent attempts at weight loss and how much mental bandwidth it took to resist daily temptations. With the fast food industry spending billions of dollars on advertising, it makes it impossible to avoid those all too familiar "cheat days."
A Solution is Available
Since the subconscious mind is in control, it only makes sense that to create lasting change you must first communicate with the subconscious. Hence, this is where the awesome power of hypnosis can change your life. Using hypnosis as a tool to reach the subconscious mind is one of the most effective ways to lose the fat and keep it off. Hypnosis not only helps with food cravings and motivation to exercise, but it also helps with stress reduction. When levels of the stress hormone cortisol increases, it causes your blood sugar to drop which in turn increases the urge for sugary and fatty foods. Reducing stress levels alone has positive effects.
Not only can hypnosis help create positive habits, but it also can find the cause of weight gain and change negative beliefs. There may be emotional reasons that have caused your weight gain. Maybe you received unwanted attention from men growing up, and the extra weight protects you from perceived harm (this may not be a conscious decision of course but a survival instinct of the subconscious mind). Perhaps deep down you feel that you don’t deserve to be healthy or maybe you're afraid that getting fit will turn you into a narcissistic jerk. There is no shortage of irrational beliefs that can prevent you from achieving your fitness goals. Trying to lose weight with negative beliefs is like driving while in park. No matter how hard you hit the gas, you're not going anywhere.
Communicating with the subconscious mind using hypnosis helps remove the negative beliefs that cause self-sabotage. Instead of feeling stuck in park, it'll feel more like driving on cruise control. You'll automatically begin to make healthier choices. The changes may seem subtle at first. Maybe you drive past the golden arches on your way home from work. Then you start taking the stairs instead of the elevator. All of a sudden, you're drinking more water and craving salads. Before long, those pants begin to feel a little loose and exercise becomes enjoyable. In fact, it's not uncommon for those around you to notice the changes before you do. This is what healthy feels like, and it feels incredible.
One Size Does Not Fit All
At Focal Point Hypnosis, I use various techniques that methodically go after the emotions, habits, and beliefs that cause weight gain. The number of sessions varies depending on several factors.
If you are severely overweight or have had issues with weight gain your entire life, then six to eight sessions may be necessary. To create lasting change, we'll work on one topic at a time. One session may be for food cravings, another for stress reduction and maybe a few appointments will be required to deal with any emotional causes for weight gain. Perhaps an hour on motivation for exercise will be in order.
The techniques and number of sessions required also depend on your fitness level and how much weight you want to lose. If you only want to drop 10 to 20 pounds and you already enjoy exercise, maybe only a few sessions are required to improve your eating habits. You must understand that it took a long time to gain the weight and it's not going to disappear overnight. If you wanted a quick fix, you would have tried the latest diet fad (again).
Hypnosis creates lasting change, but change takes time. Remember, the goal is to change your beliefs and habits so that you maintain your ideal body long after you shed those pounds. In the end, it's not about losing weight it's about gaining health. Becoming the healthy, fit and confident you is more than just a number on a scale, it's that feeling you get when you've achieved success. Make an appointment today and begin to live the life you deserve.
