When discussing weight loss, the first thing clients mention is a sense of struggle. A struggle with perseverance and willpower, with dietary knowledge and with restrictions, with workout discipline, with time management, and with self-image. There is a strong sense of commitment, yet it seems to fail repeatedly.
Do you ever wonder why you do things you don’t want to do, and why you don’t do things you want to? Your subconscious mind is responsible!
Why is reaching and maintaining our target weight easier to some than others?
Some people “seem” to have a stronger “backbone” than others. Their drive might be stronger, their state of mind might be different. They might have a stronger support system. They might be younger.
But don’t waste time on assumptions and negative self-talk, as those are just a bunch of undermining beliefs and projections, and a subjective excuse to give up.
There are many physical, mental, and medical factors that might or might not be off influence, furthermore there are habits, upbringing, circumstances, and more issues to take into consideration.
Last but not least, our conscious and unconscious beliefs hold the key to our personal success, because they influence our drive.
First, what is Hypnotherapy?
Let’s start with what it is NOT. You must have seen videos where a stage hypnotist makes people do the funniest things. That has nothing to do with Hypnotherapy. You can’t be forced to do something you don’t want to do.
It is also not a miracle cure that solves your problem for you without you having to do something yourself. That would be like hiring a personal trainer for physical fitness and expecting your trainer to do the workout for you while you get the results.
Hypnosis is a deep state of relaxation. Our brainwaves reach the Theta Frequency, a relaxed state we also reach right before we fall asleep, where we begin to let go and relax, both physically and mentally. At that moment we are very receptive to promptings and insights. Our subconscious mind is more accessible. We are deeply relaxed and have a greater ability to harness the tremendous power of the subconscious mind to our advantage.
Why is Hypnotherapy so effictive for weight loss?
During our lifetime we learn from positive and negative experiences, and we create associations, which in return create motivations. This is what happens with food as well. You might have learned one day that certain food was a reward for good behavior or a compensation for pain or a negative experience. It made you feel good and sometimes it replaced a negative feeling as well. Eating something special created a peaceful moment, now motivating you to want to eat whenever you are stressed, giving you “break time”, or during unwinding evenings where you don’t have to meet any more expectations. Or your best childhood memories were birthday celebrations with fast food, or the times you would get together for festive meals, or snacks during happy vacation trips, now motivating you to recreate these feelings with similar food. Or you might have fond, loving memories of a wonderful grandparent, who happened to share certain food with you. Your brain connects the two.
But you were not born to those associations. Once your mind creates these you don’t think anymore.
Your logic tells you that you want a healthy lifestyle. Logic, intentions, reasoning, decision making, analyzing abilities and willpower are stored in our conscious mind, which occupies close to 12% of our total mind power. Those typical traits don’t always work when and how we want to.
The subconscious mind occupies the other approximate 88% of your total brain. That’s the real Captain of your ship, where we hold the trained behavior that we are not even aware of, like software that never gets updated. Your subconscious beliefs cause your conscious process to be subjective because it is entwined with subconscious responses. It can take our willpower and intentions off track.
When you were younger, this food was given to you. When you consciously decided to change your eating habits, the unconscious part didn’t change with it. Hypnotherapy can help you to unlearn and replace this learned behavior. Hypnosis opens a pathway of direct access to the subconscious mind. This allows us to replace subconscious undermining emotions and beliefs. It reframes our feelings and thoughts, creates new neural connections in our brain, and makes it easier to integrate these into our lives.
Can everybody be hypnotized?
With their consent and participation, anybody can be hypnotized. Dr. John Kappas (1925–2002) identified three different types of suggestibility and the way we receive information that have improved hypnosis. We determine if you have a higher degree of responsiveness to inferred (right brain dominant) or literal (left brain dominant) suggestions, or if you tend to analyze and rationalize highly intellectually. A simple test will outline the best way to hypnotize you successfully.
How can a Hypnotherapist make a difference with weight loss?
Hypnotherapy can help you make some amazing changes with weight loss. You need to look at the full picture:
- Have a specific goal and a realistic plan. When you are obese, make sure you are supervised by a doctor during your weight loss journey.
- Create a program of healthier eating patterns. A nutritionist can be very helpful and is often indispensable. I can provide some great recommendations.
- Increase physical activity. Have a realistic and beneficial schedule. A personal trainer or physiotherapist might be very helpful and is sometimes indispensable.
- Focus on the reasons for eating. As your hypnotherapist, I help you deal with your stumbling blocks. They come up for a reason and need to be explored and resolved.
Although a hypnotherapist can help you make impressive changes in a single session, and depending on your history and goal, expect a program with an average of 4-8 sessions for the best results.
We address your thoughts and feelings during your weight loss process, and:
- detach emotional connections from food,
- lower food cravings,
- reset hunger and fullness cues,
- create new neural connections in your brain that supports your new eating plan and your exercise habits,
- improve self-esteem and confidence.
You receive tools and a personalized MP3 recording for self-hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy makes it easier to reach your goals, maintain a healthy lifestyle and feel good about yourself.
Contact me to answer any specific questions you might have during a free 20-minute consultation.
Esther van Rein C.Ht.
© Esther van Rein