Weight Loss and Behavior Modification

Well, I think it only makes sense to realize that you have to do something different to get different results, pretty much in anything that one does.  My first teacher of hypnosis used to say, "Hypnosis will not quit your smoking, but it will make your decision to quit so much easier!"  Conscious and subconscious awareness work together.  

You can do your own behavior modification program.  Does that sound complicated?   Well, I studied learning psychology and behavioral principles in all the textbooks;  they are pretty simple.  I will outline some basics here for you for weight issues.

The simplest of tricks is to not have "bad stuff" easily available to you.  Before embarking on your weight loss program, and lifestyle change, you may want to empty your cupboards and refrigerator of carohydrates, cake mixes, sugary and starchy packages such as cake or brownie mixes, macaroni and cheese mixes,  pancake mixes, sugary pancake syrups, and all the like.  If you cannot bear to give or throw them away, then consider a week of eating them or having one big carb party to get these out of your house.  If you live with others, they will also benefit from these changes.  Even our nation's children need to have less sweet things as "rewards."   Many of America's teens are already overweight, suffering teasing and bullying and reduced self-esteem because of this;  furthermore, many are already showing signs of pre-diabetes or type two diabetes.  Your children will benefit from these changes.  After all, who pays the food bill anyways?  You do!    Who will benefit from such changes in your life?  They will too!

You might not be able to imagine a change like this in your life.  One thing that would surely help would be to find acceptable substitutes for the "bad stuff" you used to eat.  I have some tasty delicious discoveries on this website.  But you could also start browsing some of the following websites to find healthier versions of what you used to enjoy.  

Here are the websites I have located, using these search words, and there are many more:

• South Beach Phase One or Two Recipes
• Atkins Phase One or Two Recipes
• Kaylyn's Kitchen
• About.Com Low Carb Recipes
• Food Network Low Carb Recipes

Simply use the keywords like, "low carb ice cream" or "sugar free  desserts"   "low carb pancakes"  "low carb bread", etc, and you will find things you never knew existed.

Another behavior trick when you are eating away from home is to load up on salads, vegetables and the like, and just take a bite of and remember the taste of something like a brownie or a piece of cake.  If you work with me with hypnosis, this should become easy for you.  

Another trick is to follow the "phase one" parts of these programs for a full two weeks.  It sounds pretty restrictive to have no bread, sweets, fruit, nuts, alcohol, caffeine at all for two weeks, but you can get through that easier than you think and this strategy will not only help you to use a significant amount of weight as a "jump-start," it will also work biochemically with your system to reduce cravings.  Some body-mind tools that I teach also help to dramatically cut back on cravings, even in those first two weeks.

Many people ask me to help motivate them  to have a regular exercise program.  First, we have to determine what is feasible with the person's work, childcare obligations, and life schedule might work best....maybe to recall a time when she did happily include physical activity in her life..  Then we determine what is possible and logical.  It might be as simple as waking the dog twice the distance, or running the stairs two times each time normally taken.  Or, walking a certain distance around the block, and adding a little more.  

As you go along, you will scan your days to think of what might be able to be easily added to increase activity and thus increase the metabolism.

Best wishes as you set up your own behavior modification plan!   Oh, by the way, when you sset up a reward for yourself, think of something other than food!  Think of this as all being time for taking care of You!

To Lose Weight, Do One Thing Different

A quite well-known author and psychotherapist is named Bill O'Hanlon.  He is the author of about twenty five books.  He gained some recognition some time ago for teaching therapists how to do " brief therapy" , that being to help someone create change in a few sessions.   Another therapist , a psychiatrist, named Milton Erickson, M.D, amazed his colleagues in the sixties with his ability to create great change in one session, using hypnosis.

Bill O' Hanlon wrote one book called, Do One Thing Different.  I like this concept, even as it applies to weight loss.  I think that people who desire to lose significant weight feel overwhelmed by the whole idea of a massive change in their lives, not knowing where to begin, not understanding what eating changes they must undertake, and they feel that there's a long, painful process ahead of them.  So, they put it off, and things get much worse.  There seems to be a little demon on the shoulder telling them to go ahead and eat the bad stuff.

There is a saying,  "How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bite at a time!"

So to apply this to the topic of weight loss, one thing to do first is to do a lot of reading, to use the analytical part of the  mind to understand  the science and what a better plan could look like.  There are tons of books on the market.  The newer ones have updated science and information.   Barry Sears Zone books are great, as are those by Atkins and by Arthur Agatson, MD. ( He was responsible for the South Beach Diet). If you have a chronic health condition, such as diabetes or heart disease, you may want to take a look at  the book entitled, Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution: Turn off the Genes that are Killing You and Your Waistline... and Drop Your Weight.  This reading is one thing different to do a little every day.  Knowledge is power, I remind all of my clients.

The next thing to do different is to think about one simple change that you could make...such as substituting a no calorie drink, (aspartame free, to help save your life and your brain) for your cola beverage.  Or, regarding moving more, just make two trips up and down stairs each time you need something.  Or, take half of a usual portion.  Possibilities are endless, and you will be getting back charge of what you do and how you think.!

Say NO To The Whites

A number of years ago, I was conversing with a local health foods store owner.  A former nurse, who had restored her health after a debilitating illness, she started talking to me about how a main stately she had used was to eliminate all white sugar, white flour and cow's milk from her diet. I was intrigued, but could not imagine how I could live that way.  Well, now I have learned the true benefits of this approach...   

I have since learned that cow's milk has little or no benefit to anyone over the age of two.  And furthermore, in the U.S., most milk contains BGH, bovine growth hormone, which is used on cows to increase milk production.  It is outlawed in many other countries, BGH has what is called an estrogenic effect, which is contributory to early sexual maturation in girls and hormone imbalances in older males and females.  Now, there are many tasty subtitles for cow's milk, many of them with less fat, fewer carbs and less calories.  I have happily experimented with almond milk, soy milk and coconut milk.

Now for the other whites common in the American diet:  white sugar and white flour.  Both contribute to inflammation in the body...briefly put, that means a rusting of the body.  They can lend to a more rapid rise in blood sugars, which swoop  downward about an hour or so after consumption.  The "rusting" is a longer term effect.  This is in addition to the short term effects.  Books have been written on this topic.  A physician named Robert Lustig, MD, author of Toxic Sugar, is actually proposing a tax on refined sugar products.  He traces the historical roots of how too much sugar got into our diets.

With persistence and exploration of alternatives, I have learned to eliminate most Whites.  If I slip off the wagon, for instance during traveling, or while eating out, aches, pains and a sense of heaviness return.  If I stay away, nothing hurts and I do have very high energy levels.  I would invite you to read and explore further about eliminating Whites...you may be amazed at the health benefits.

Could Hypnosis Be Related To The Field of Quantum Physics?

I think so. For twenty years, I have been attempting to wrap my mind around how hypnosis works. I wrote in an earlier article what appears to be an excellent framework regarding this topic.

New discoveries based on hard science are now proliferating. Actually, the science of quantum physics has been around for about one hundred years. Brian Greene, Ph.D produced and moderated an excellent three part series on the topic of quantum physics on the TV program called Nova in 2011. I watched this with great interested, as he traced the mathematical models, using computerized models to illustrate the complex underpinnings of quantum physics.

Gregg Braden, an author and trained computer scientist, writes about some of these concepts in his book entitled, The Spontaneous Healing of Belief. What he says draws upon the science of quantum physics.

How can what the hypnotist says create a change in another's beliefs, attitudes, values, and in turn on their behavior? And how do the atoms in our bodies change when we change what we do and what we say? He puts it like this:

1. Electrical and magnetic energy form the atoms of matter.
2. A change in the energy changes the atoms.
3. Our hearts hearts produce the strongest electrical and magnetic energy in our bodies. 
4. Heart-based feelings/beliefs create electrical and magnetic waves that extend into the world beyond our bodies
5. As we change our beliefs, we change the atoms that forms the atoms of our world.

So, I think something like this process is occurring in the gift of hypnosis from one person to another.

Hypnosis offers the possibility to create change deep within, thus allowing change down to the very atoms of our bodies. It is definitely a mutual process between the client and the hypnotherapist, and the trained hypnotherapist will work to take the client where she has asked to go.

If you would like to gain more in-depth knowledge about this complex topic, presented in a readable format, I would highly recommend Mr. Braden's book, and also that you read The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D. Both have further long reference lists at the end of their books.

Lose Weight With Hypnosis

I have decided to try to help more people with weight loss issues.  This is not a new subject to me; I have been using some of these strategies, un-advertised, for nearly twenty years.

We have all heard the statistics about Americans and obesity;   about sixty per cent of Americans are now considered to be obese by specific operationalized guidelines about what  constitutes the concept of being overweight.  There are thousands upon thousands of programs, books, diets, articles,  supplements, medications, remedies, and even schemes that are out there to help with weight loss.  Most people diet, lose, then put the pounds back on.  Some research also demonstrates that we are genetically pre-programmed to hold onto weight, something that goes along with survival instincts  from the caveman days of our ancestors.

I would heartily encourage any person who desires to lose weight and to keep it off to read extensively on this topic.   There are many outstanding, highly educated persons who have taken existing and extensive data about diet and nutrition, and have written comprehensive books and articles about this issue.  I personally have reviewed, and continue to review many  of the books and information about these things.

I have personal reasons for my passion about this topic.  There is obesity on both sides of my family, and also on both sides of my husband's family.  I have watched my own and my family's eating strategies for decades.  I love to eat, and over time, have become a pretty good cook.  I have extensively researched how to eat well and to control weight.  There was  a time when I was not so educated about these things, and at  that time, I could not even imagine what changes would need to be made, and how to cook and eat  a different  way.  Now, even with a hectic, busy lifestyle, I have figured out how to incorporate right choices into our family life and into my schedule.

I never tell anyone which program that they should follow, because I think it is important for a person to research to find what works for them.  I have met people from many walks of life who have found a program that they like.  I personally tend to favor the low carb programs.  There are now so many amazing recipes and specialty products available on the market, eating well can be fun and delicious.

The bottom line about weight loss is that  one has to change input and outgo.  To ultimately change this, one must change how one thinks.  People often disclose to me that they feel out of control...that is, outside influences control them.  Of course, the only way you can change what you do is  to first change how you think....since, as addressed in other articles, everything we do is preceded with a thought. And so it is with the topic of weight control.

I recently scanned some research on the efficacy of hypnosis for weight control.  Doing research on hypnosis, for any topic, is not a simple thing to do. The researcher has to get a controlled set of variables, then do a double blind study.  What I cannot find in all of the research I scanned, is that which is said to the hypnotized subject.  And I think that is one very important aspect.  There are hundreds and hundreds of models for doing weight loss for hypnosis.  I think that the standard model that I use is a good one.   It evolves from a detailed history that I have taken about a person's life and weight problem.  Thus, each session is individually designed.  I do not do a "one size fits all" approach in a hotel room filled with hundreds of people.  Also,this approach combines cognitive behavioral therapy together with hypnotherapy.  The research I have read indicates good results from "CBT" as a comparison to hypnotherapy.  It includes an age regression, but it is set up such that an individual will not view a negative life event.  It also includes the letting go of basic psychological baggage which often accompanies weight issues.  Finally,it includes two crucial elements: one, teaching becoming satisfied with a fractional portion of what was previously consumed.  (My mentor and teacher once hypnotized a woman who had to lose weight quickly in order to undergo surgery to be able to consume just one Ritz cracker per day!  He did do this with a medical clearance, of course.)  The second primary element is to shut down cravings, especially for sugars and refined carbohydrates.  My model also provides for followup after the main session.  After the main session, most people dramatically change their eating habits.  In the followup, I teach self-hypnosis, following an encapsulated version of that which was handled in the main change session.  This is placed on a cd, so that the individual can use this on a several times daily basis.  Any problems which did occur in  the interim are addressed in this session as well.  

This is a very comprehensive model, a directive approach, and I have had good success with this for many years.  I had a personal story about this model, and it worked for me, tool

Some few people have some outlying factors, such as mental health issues, or family circumstances which interfere with the process.  In those cases, as a trained, licensed mental health professional, I also  have skills that can help to address these issues if needed on a more comprehensive basis.  

As a therapist, I say my greatest joy and passion is to see people create change in their lives. I would love to welcome more to participate in my process to change how they think, and change their life by gaining control over their weight issues.