Eating and weight concerns
Lots of people want to be more in control of their eating and achieve a healthy weight. The tricky part is maintaining the change without it taking over your life.
Why is this so challenging? Actually, it's complex.....
We live in a society which over-values thinness. And we have evolved to cope with famine. This has been necessary for our survival as a species. We didn't need to evolve to cope with the high energy foods so readily available now.
So it it is not surprising that we have problems with weight when we live in sedentary society. The dieting industry knows this and makes megabucks selling us products (diets, pills and low-calorie foods) that actually serve to activate the famine response. Try holding your breath for a minute! You will think of nothing but the next breath and eventually when you do take a breathe you will be gasping! It's similar with eating. Diets provide a means of “weight loss” that promises a miracle and is eventually succeeded by another product when it is shown not to work. All of this undermines our ability to form healthy eating patterns and a healthy weight.
There are four factors that can lead to overeating:
Food restriction: If you starve your body, you will trigger the body's famine response. At some point this will override your determination – you will eat outside of the "rules" of your diet – leading to a sense of loss of control and failure.
Food restraint: As soon as we even think we can't have something, we want it. Try going without chocolate over Lent and you will see what I mean! You can meet all of your dietary needs without chocolate. However, soon you will be dreaming of chocolate! So if we give our minds the idea that we are going to restrict our food intake in order to lose weight – our subconsious will be on the look out for what it knows we will be denied. Just by the power of thought, we can trigger the urge to overeat.
Mood altering substances: Drugs and alcohol both give you the “munchies” and dis-inhibit you.
Emotions and anxiety: We are programmed to find food comforting. It was our earliest and most primeval of instincts. Especially the high energy foods. Especially the forbidden ones! Food is often the first port of call when we are upset. Conversely, we may not eat at all – setting us up for the next binge!
We need to be in a place where we can think clearly to be able to plan healthy eating.
How hypnotherapy can help
Alongside a healthy eating plan hypnotherapy can work to allow you to calm your mind and enable you to access the amazing resources of your intellectual mind. Negative thinking - especially when you are unhappy with yourself - creates chronic unhappiness and low mood
That's when our subconscious demands an instant solution. It wants an "opt out" – something to make us feel better now. Indeed it is not uncommon to “binge” in response to worrying about weight!
Self image is greatly influenced by mood, self esteem and comparisons to others and an ideal of how you feel you should be. Hypnotherapy increases your ability to form a positive and realistic view of yourself, allows you to develop your inner resources and self confidence and to develop an accepting and calming way of dealing with emotions.
By learning how to better meet your needs, both physically and emotionally, you are more likely to be able to obtain a healthy weight, and to become more accepting of yourself and your body.