I got an email this morning from a perspective weight loss hypnosis client here in Albany NY. She asked a number of excellent questions that I lot of people ask well beyond Albany so I felt it appropriate to share my answer.
One of her challenges was in firing up her will power in order to exercise, but after 2 weeks not seeing results, just giving up.
Can you relate to that? She feels like she eats healthfully, and in moderate proportions most of the time but sits for her job 8 hours a day. Weight related illnesses also run in her family. So in her late 40’s she is getting the message that it is time to do something significant to address the weight/lack of movement in her life. One question is would hypnosis work for her. And would it be able to give her tangible results and the kind of support needed to move through and past the plateaus and other things that tend to stop people’s progress towards a fit and lean body.
Here’s my reply to her.
I really get the “not seeing results” challenge. That’s why we focus on a lot of different areas besides “the scale”.
For example in my own life I had been through a lot of intense stress and life challenges. at age 50, I had packed on about 15 or 20 pounds of belly fat. Because I’d moved three times in the past 3 years and newly relocated, I wasn’t working actively with many weight loss clients. (one benefit of practicing hypnosis is I also get hypnotized to eat right and stay moving!) I knew I had to remain congruent.
So one day on a telephone coaching session with a client who was struggling to get to the gym my suggestion to him was to hire a personal trainer because it would commit him to showing up. Even though I had given that suggestion to HIM. Later that day I signed up with a personal trainer! (my hypnosis client also followed my suggestions but that’s a story for another day)
I worked with my personal trainer twice a week for 6 months.
NO change in weight.Which was a bit frustrating. Okay it was more than a bit frustrating.
BUT I could tell I was getting stronger. I could feel my metabolism cranking for hours after the workouts.
I got real quiet one day and just did a self hypnosis session. I asked my unconscious mind, “What am I not getting that if I got it would allow me to let go of the extra inches and pounds?”
Then I “got” some information. It just bubbled up: I was eating grains…. I tend to not do well on those foods but they had been “slipping” back in to my food choices. I was eating really good, healthy organic grains. All the “health experts” say they are wonderful for you. But my body just doesn’t do well on them. That’s the message I got.
So I cut out all grains (6 days a week – always allow free day) and I lost 4 inches around my middle in a couple of weeks. My weight continued to stay the same. Now we all know that muscle weighs more than fat. It’s denser and it uses more energy. So it’s the inches are a better determinant. I continued to crave exercise. so that was success.
One day My personal trainer disappeared! He just never showed up again. The gym had no clue where he went!
But I’d learned some good work out skills and how to use the equipment in the gym safely… so I kept working out on my own. In those six months a new habit had formed…
Then I hit another plateau… I did another self hypnosis session and got the realization that I was eating quite a lot of fruit…. I don’t do well with fruit. Even though the “experts” tell us that fruit is sooooo good for us.
So I cut the fruit out (6 days a week) and almost instantly dropped the 10 pounds I had been working for a year to lose.
Now I could have gotten frustrated because I was eating healthfully and working out but still not getting fast results.
Because I’m a highly trained hypnotherapist, with 10 years of experience with all of this stuff, I was able to be persistent in my own self hypnosis. And by listening to my unconscious mind, I was able to make the changes necessary to get LONG TERM results. I wasn’t interested in short term fluctuations. I kept in mind an image of myself at age 90, slim and trim and full of energy.
Most people don’t have the tools to keep persisting on their own. And even I do much better when I am actively working with weight loss clients! So the support piece is HUGE.
We get results in hypnosis because we understand how your unconscious mind works. that is where your metabolism is regulated. your appetite is regulated, your cravings are regulated, your craving to move, to stretch, to snack on super-foods instead of “comfort” foods… etc.
Ironically we often have cravings for foods that we have sensitivities to or even out right allergies. With hypnosis we can get straight answers from your unconscious mind about what works well for you as fuel. We are all different. What works for my body doesn’t necessarily work for yours and vice versa.
She also wanted to know the cost. That is always one of the first questions and justifiably so. We are ok spending money if we get results but it’s hard to justify an expense if it doesn’t deliver. This is a bit tricky because unless you are willing to value yourself enough to invest in a program for a long enough time to clear the blocks and address the underlying issues behind over eating or weight loss and exercise issues, then you aren’t considering the cost of continuing on without changing.
For many people if they don’t stop doing what they are doing to their bodies they may quite literally die. If you don’t take care of your body where will you live? Seriously consider the consequences of not making the changes now that you know in your heart you need to make.
As far as cost, when I do a single stand alone session I charge an hourly rate. If you join my 6 month unlimited program it’s a flat fee per month for as many sessions as you want or need. (I’m in the process of moving my office to a larger space on South Lake Ave, near Albany Medical Center where I will be able to offer weekly weight loss groups at an affordable rate.)
For example if you do well for 2 weeks and start to lose momentum, then you just come back in to a session and get some reinforcement and some support. It also includes phone support and email support. So you are always covered.
Now, I have had a number of clients who came in for a single session and 6 months later were 60 pounds lighter…
That’s what we ALL want! Right! Magical, instant results… with very little effort…. without having to change anything…
The truth is those clients were so ready, so motivated, so determined to transform their lives that all they really needed was a little nudge. I little bit of support and alignment and they were off to the races.
But more typically, weight loss success requires some ongoing support.We have years and years of failure and frustration to deal with. While hypnosis is an amazing tool and can seem to work miracles, a single hypnosis session vs. 40 years of bad eating habits and self defeating thought habits doesn’t have a chance. But several weeks or months of hypnosis can begin to significantly re-route your neurology so the years and years of negative patterns are gently extinguished and new pathways are formed that lead you to the results you want.
I’m currently working with a client in my 6 month program who works a high stress job, and who’s the primary caretaker of an elderly mom who is battling an illness. Talk about stress!
In our last hypnosis session she said, “I’m making better food choices, Stopped eating fast food. I am craving greens and fresh vegetables. I’m walking and taking the stairs and working in the yard more and it’s not a struggle to motivate myself. BUT even if I had none of those results, I would find it to be worth the money just to spend the hour or so in peace and feeling the support every week or so. It has enabled me to set down the chronic stress that was grinding me down…”
Most of us need the steady support to be ongoing because we have to eat every day, we deal with life stresses and relationship stresses and family “stuff” every day that impacts how we feel and we tend to use food to soothe ourselves.
And most importantly no one teaches us how to communicate with our unconscious minds. That takes some practice. But once you learn how to do it in any area of your life, say food and exercise, it makes anything possible in any other area.
Also the food advertisers know how your unconscious mind works and they are actively using hypnotic techniques to get you to eat more of their super sized junk. Learning how to push your own buttons instead of being vulnerable to them doing it to you is a huge step in empowerment.
Hypnosis for weight loss is not about a “diet” or “fitness regimen” it’s a about a positive and long term lifestyle change. A change of heart and Mind.
Wow, I got a bit carried away with this post. I hope you’ve stuck with me so far.
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