Losing Weight With the Help of Your Mind
I don’t need to tell you that dieting does not generally work in the long run. According to an article in Psychology Today, more and more studies are showing that “ increasing the length or intensity of the psychological components of a weight loss intervention improves patient outcomes.”
If we want to lose weight, we have to use our minds to help us. Of course, it is important to understand how the body makes fat and if necessary, get advice on a sensible diet from a nutritionist. It is also important to know our own cues for eating. Studies have shown that emotional eaters, those who eat when they are sad, mad, upset and so on, are more likely to regain weight after dieting. If this is you, hypnotherapy can help you gain more insight into your personal emotional eating pattern and find the inner resources to resolve it.
The article alludes to several programmes for weight loss that focus on using the mind to help with weight loss and keeping it off. These include cognitive behavioural programmes which focus on planning and preparing, mindfulness-based programmes that encourage being present to the experience of eating and thus tuning into bodily cues of hunger and satiety and peer support.
The article suggests a protocol which includes:
Planning. Plan when you are going to shop for food, what you are going to eat and when, and preparing for “high risk” situations
Getting the support of family or a friend even one who is also wanting to lose weight so you can help each other
Stay in the moment when you are eating so that you actually experience it. For help with this you can download my free mp3
Have healthy snacks around and available
Remind yourself every day of your weight loss goals
Use visualisation to see yourself how you want to be/behaving around food/ as you want to be behaving
Telling yourself “I can do it”.
Some years ago when I was teaching self-hypnosis courses, I came across an article on self-hypnosis where the writer said that seeing a picture flashing across her mind of herself in her favourite jeans was enough for her to resist the chocolate cake. Pictures are powerful when we create our own because they encapsulate emotion, in this case the desire to look a certain way, and our emotions are powerful.
So if you want to lose weight and keep it off it is apparent (unless you just need someone to look at what you are eating) that psychological intervention is the way forward. Not only are there things you can start doing straight away such as planning in the way suggested in the article, getting support and eating mindfully, but also the psychological help a professional can give you to look at factors that might be getting in your way and provide you with tools such as self-hypnosis and visualization to give you a rounded approach to your weight loss.
If you would like to discuss with me how I might be able to help you lose weight, call me on +44 (207) 585 1181 or via my contact form.