Achieving weight loss goals through hypnotherapy
"For me shedding the weight means freeing yourself to tell the truth and be the truth in every spectrum of your life.” – Oprah Winfrey.
Believe in yourself. You've heard that one before. The idea is so corny that you roll up your eyes every time you hear those words. But you are overweight, and your doctor has told you that you need to take action. What else are you going to do but believe in yourself?
Supposing that you have read and taken action on the previous blog post - in which I describe why it's important to start serious weight loss with a medical exam and the many ways hypnosis can help you stick to and achieve weight loss goals - then you're probably ready to start hypnosis and want that to go very well
So what are things I can do to facilitate success with hypnosis?
#1. Bring a notebook to your sessions and write down the affirmations you create with your hypnotherapist. In fact, you can keep copies of your affirmations in useful places, such as a dresser top, wallet or handbag where you can look at them any time you want.
Why does this help? Repetition is one of the six ways that belief systems are accepted or decided. Repetition is most likely one of the ways you got into this mess. For example, every time you eat a chocolate donut, you may mutter to yourself afterwards what an idiot you are. That message of low self-esteem makes you more likely to pick up another chocolate donut in your future because, on some level, you don't think that you are worthy of going without one.
So, if you are repeating over and over suggestions like, "I love myself, and all of life," you will start to believe it. You may even fall in love with the struggle of resisting that donut and pat yourself on the back when you put it down.
Writing affirmations
#2. Keep track of your dreams. Your dreams are the subconscious mind in action. If you look on the model of the mind (see my video for how hypnosis works), you will see all the attributes of the subconscious. These are also the attributes of dreams, which is why they can be so hilarious or terrifying. They don't make any sense, yet they seem so real.
Colorful dreams often go hand-in-hand with any major life change. So, by keeping track of your dreams, you can help your hypnotherapist help you. It’s easier, for example, to do a regression with a client back to a dream rather than to a specific memory. Memories are faulty; we don't remember accurate details of events, let alone the entire context. However, the subconscious guards certain memories rather securely. So, in going back to them, a client may be reluctant to see a memory in a new light. For example, what if a client was physically abused as a child. The client may harbor fears about revisiting such memories. Going back to a dream, on the other hand, feels much more secure. The client knows the dream didn't really happen – that it was just a dream. Yet, dreams provide excellent opportunities for working through subconscious programming.
#3. Weigh yourself just once a week, and first thing in the morning. If you weigh yourself every day, you could easily get frustrated by natural ups and downs. If your goal is a reasonable, 1 to 2 pounds a week, then, at the end of the week – not the very next day – you're likely to see that progress.
#4. Keep a positive journal. A positive journal means you keep track of good things that you are sure have happened as a result of Hypnosis. These may or may not have anything to do with weight loss. For example, I had a client who wrote down that, within several hours of a session, she forgave her housemate for some small transgression. What was remarkable about this, according to her, was that she hadn't forgiven anyone for anything in 20 years. What was even more remarkable was that forgiving her housemate was not the goal of her hypnotherapy. It was a significant side benefit that showed her real goal was connected to all sorts of perceptions and behaviors that she had never recognized before.
A positive journal doesn't have to be a big, long fantasy writing assignment. It can just be a few sentences in a cheap notebook. Over time, through the course of your healing, it will serve as proof to how much you really have grown. You can also use this to keep track of your weight, exercise or other health habits.
#5. Keep a food diary. There are loads of apps today that can help you count calories and keep track of the food you eat. Especially in the early stages, doing this will help you look at what you are currently eating, when you eat, and portion size, and identify any habits and better food choices.
#6. Sticking to your plan means planning your meals. This means you might have to pack your lunch when you go to work, or it may mean doing batch cooking. Batch cooking meals to cook a lot of a certain type of food at once - that way, you know exactly how much you have, and it's prepared in advance.
#7. Set a reasonable goal, then decide when you are going to start. Having a start date allows you to prepare in advance - to buy the right food for your cupboard, throw out or gift any foods you should avoid, and plan your meals appropriately.
#8. Have a talk with your loved ones and have a plan for your friends. It's extremely helpful when the loved ones are on board with the diet. They can help buck you up when you're down and remind you to steer away from foods you should avoid. However, not everyone lives in a supportive environment. In time, hypnotherapy will help the client find self-support. And, for people who are not on board with your success, you need to have a plan for handling them. You need to recognize that you are on an important journey of self-transformation. It's helpful to have compassion for people who, due to their own limitations, can’t understand the value of what you're trying to do.
Have your loved ones on board with your journey
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