by
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
If you are like millions of other individuals,
you are either on a diet, think you need to
be on a diet, or have given up on trying to
lose weight. A large majority of us spend
a great deal of time trying to decide what
to eat, when to eat & how to stop eating.
We cannot seem to manage the illusive weight
control monster.
The hard facts are in & they are certainly
very serious. Even a moderate weight gain
of 22 pounds or more above a person’s
ideal weight at age 18 can result in greater
risk of earlier death. Recent research published
in the New England Journal of Medicine has
found that a surprising 1/3 of cancer deaths,
as well as more than ½ of cardiovascular
deaths were due to excess weight.
Women who were obese were four times as likely
to die of heart disease & twice as likely
to die of cancer, as were women whose weights
were below average for their age. When other
unhealthy lifestyle practices, such as smoking,
sugar & alcohol addiction, high caffeine
intake, poorly managed stress levels, lack
of exercise & poor nutrition are factored
in, the negative findings are drastically
multiplied.
Why is something that should be so easy as
maintaining a normal weight, be so difficult
& elude so many? Despite all the money
spent on diet books, magazines, weight loss
centers & workout programs, people keep
putting on the pounds.
Currently there are more people of all ages
suffering from obesity than ever before. A
major reason for this failure is that two
major keys to the overweight problem have
been missing. These are the keys that open
the door to high level nutrition & long-term
motivation needed o lose weight permanently.
These
keys break through the yo-yo weight gain syndrome,
develop persistence, erode hopelessness &
helplessness while delivering high energy
to the mind & body, allowing perfect focus
on the needed lifestyle change. These vital
keys are carbohydrate management & meal
timings & interactive self-hypnosis, the
latter holding the potential for being the
most valuable golden key on the weight loss
key chain.
High
Level Nutrition:
Despite all our medical advances, it has only
been in the last 10 years that carbohydrate/
fat metabolism has been the focus of intense
medical research. More & more studies
have been centered on how & why the body
stores & burns fat & how dieting defeats
it’s own purpose. Recent research has
opened the door on the vital part insulin
plays in the prob- lem of carbohydrate sensitivity
& yo-yo weight gain.
This
research has also uncovered an underlying
Profactor in the body physiology of a large
percentage of people, that not only interferes
with how the body handles carbohydrates, but
is a causative actor in the major causes of
death in this country, namely heart disease,
adult onset diabetes, certain types of cancer
& other circulatory disturbances.
Only
by giving up dieting, understanding the role
of refined sugar, flour & high fat, as
well as learning how to manage your mind &
body stress management system, can you begin
to achieve the kind of lean healthy body you
have always wanted. When you work with your
body to burn fat, you will lose excess stored
fat effectively & permanently without
hunger, fatigue & without counting calories.
It is actually possible to eat the foods you
truly enjoy every day, reduce cravings &
lose excess stored fat.
Stress – Thought Connection to Weight
Issues
Stress management plays a large part in permanent
weight loss. Under stress, the body produces
hormones or chemicals that actually work to
keep the fat in the cells. The con- tinual
production of these chemicals can prove to
be very dangerous & even deadly. Be- sides
the excess insulin problem, there is another
insidious stress hormone produced by the adrenal
glands called cortisol that plays a major
role in the 60-90 percent of disease states,
as ell as causing an increase in cell fat
storage.
An important part of any fat burning program
is to learn a process called mental biofeed-
back or body scanning. These techniques retrain
the brain to notice stress at low levels &
release it, thereby interfering with stress-toxin
storage. The body, now free of excess insulin,
cortisol, adrenaline & other hormones
is now in a position to play the game of fat
loss.
A large portion of our stress originates in
the thought processes. Thoughts are chemically
charged images that seem to hold free rein
in our minds. Thoughts actually manufacture
hormones that can make us store fat. The good
news is that we have control over this mechanism
& by developing the power to notice &
release our thought patterns, we gain control
over our minds & body.
When
we learn to let go of these thought patterns,
we simultaneously lower the vibration of our
brain waves & thereby lower the production
of our stress hormones. The faster our brain
waves, the more stress hormones we produce.
When looking to manage stress & weight,
it is vital to know how to control this hormone
production. This is accomplished through techniques
called “heightened awareness."
These
are self-hypnotic/meditative tools, but differ
from other types of meditation. This is a
working meditation, one that allows us to
notice & release thoughts, emotions &
body sensations. In other words, we can consciously
control our level of stress hormones &
be in charge of a large part of our own body
physiology.
Interactive
Self-Hypnosis – Key to the Subconscious
Mind
There are other techniques that are very valuable,
not only in weight management, but in controlling
the actual functioning of the mind body connection.
These include interactive self-hypnosis, visualization,
NLP ( neuro-linguistic programming) &
active imagery.
The
subconscious mind, or right brain, perceives
in active images. These images are often visual,
but include all the senses. The brain works
like a large, complex computer. This computer,
unfortunately, comes without an owner’s
manual, but through specialized interactive
self-hypnosis education you can learn to utilize
the workings of this mar- velous machine to
reach your goals & then some.
Learning interactive self-hypnotic technique
is quite simple & can be taught to children
& adults alike. Hypnotic technique works
best when it is client-specific, the reason
being that people are motivated, or de-motivated
in many different ways & certainly respond
differently to specific images & metaphors.
Metaphors form the tool box of the therapist
or individual practicing hypnosis.
A
hypnotic session is divided into the induction,
in- cluding deepening techniques, the delivery
of metaphoric material & the emerging
pro- cess. A session can be as long as an
hour, or as short as a minute. In weight manage-
ment, it is often desirable to increase self-motivation
& persistence. We are a quick fix society
& unfortunately quick weight loss does
not equate with permanent weight loss.
Interactive self-hypnosis is also very useful
in keeping a person focused on a healthy exercise
program, as ell as addressing self-image,
self-esteem & body image issues. If a
persona has never been their ideal weight,
they may not have a conscious or subconscious
stored image of themselves in this state.
It is not uncommon for a very obese person
to be frightened as their new body emerges
& hypnosis is vry useful in helping to
release this fear & anxiety.
Losing
weight can be an exciting journey. With a
multi-faceted approach, a person moves from
a position of powerlessness t one of self-control,
growth, high-energy & achievement, but
most important of all, one receives the gift
of health. The heart is now able to pump oxygen-rich
blood throughout the body & one is now
able to easily digest the nutritional foods
provided to the body & mind.
One
develops an increased resistance to illness,
disease & has taken possession of a new
& healthy self-interest. Once we learn
to mange our own body physiology, reduce stress
chemicals, improve nutrition, develop an ongoing
exercise program & utilize our master
computer through interactive self-hypnotic
techniques, we find ourselves on our way,
not only to a trim healthy body, but to a
richer, fuller life.
Disclaimer:
The information in this article reflects the
author's experiences & is not intended
to replace medical or psychological advice,
nor is it the intent of the author to diagnose
or prescribe. The intent is only to offer
information to help the reader cooperate with
their physician in the mutual quest for desirable
health. Always consult your physician before
embarking on any lifestyle change, nutritional
or otherwise.
Elizabeth
Bohorquez, RN, SRN, CPH is a Clinical Medical
Hypnotist, President & Program Designer
for Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis
Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online
at www.hypnosis-audio.com & www.sugar-addiction.com.
She is the author of Sugar…the Hidden
Eating Disorder & How to Lick It &
The Mindbody Fitness Boot Camp now offered
as a FREE online virtual class.
Check it out at www.hypnosis-audio.com/boot_camp_homepage.htm
