Weight

Being overweight is a consequence of over-eating and to a lesser extent insufficient exercise.  But you knew that already!

Just being told this doesn’t help much. In fact it is enough to send some people careering towards the nearest fridge. The fact is when we overeat or slump lifelessly on our sofas it is generally because we want something that life just isn’t providing right now. There are many reasons why we overeat. Here are just a few patterns.

Emotional eaters

Emotional eaters are people who eat food in an attempt to separate themselves from uncomfortable feelings like depression, anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger or frustration. Some of us eat to promote feelings of companionship and reward. Food can be used like a drug to ease our pain. Life can be hard and food is appealing, socially acceptable, and easily available.

Conditioned eaters

As children, some of us were made to feel guilty if we left anything on our plate because other people are ‘starving in other countries’. Others were motivated to eat everything in order to get dessert.  In some cultures the acceptance and consumption of food is an essential aspect of demonstrating hospitality, care and acceptance. To refuse food is even considered to be a sign of disrespect in some cultures.

Subconscious eaters

A subconscious eater is a person who is unaware of all the food that they are putting into their mouths. Over-eating has become just another of our unconscious habits. Watching a movie and eating a whole bag of crisps or a tub of ice cream is typical. Many people are continuously snacking at the biscuit tin at work. A subconscious eater eats on automatic pilot and may even deny they have a problem because they simply don’t realise what they are doing.

In all of the above cases hypnotherapy can provide part of the solution by identifying other ways of feeling good, and by breaking up the patterns and unconscious habits.

Diets

Weight control through dieting rarely works in the long term. In fact dieting is usually part of the problem, not the solution. People who lose weight through dieting almost invariably put the weight back on again, and often more.

Focusing on what you ‘should not eat’ feeds obsessive behaviour as well as fat cells. Effective weight management requires permanent and healthy changes to a person’s lifestyle. ‘Diets’ do not educate people in healthy eating patterns.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the human mind is the way in which our beliefs affect our health and well being. It even seems likely that our beliefs can actually reduce our weight. You can read more about thinking yourself thin on Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science Website. We also strongly recommend Paul McKenna’s ‘I Can Make You Thin’ regime.

Here’s my friend and colleague, health coach, Lee Vallely, explaining in one minute what is perhaps the simplest and most useful tip for anyone who wants to maintain a healthy weight…

Hypnotherapy trains you to be ‘mindful’ of what you are doing and over time this can have amazingly positive and far more sustainable benefits than any expensive diet programme. You will even be able to eat whatever you want whilst losing weight steadily and permanently.

If you are serious about wanting to lose weight and acquiring a healthier lifestyle follow this link for more information and to BOOK a FREE initial consultation in our Bournemouth office with Harvey Taylor.