I finally went out and BOUGHT the book …
I have borrowed this book from the library at least a dozen times in the past year and I love it. Cheesecake is actually ALLOWED and ENCOURAGED for breakfast. My kind of eating plan!
I hate breakfast. I LOVE cheesecake. I have discovered it is actually possible to eat breakfast without gagging.
It seems to me that people who are overweight don’t like breakfast. Why is that?
Melanie
Are the tapes working or is this just a coincidence?
I sometimes get frustrated with my hypnosis clients. Are they nuts? Maybe they should be seeing a psychiatrist instead of me. They come to me with a problem. Then after 5 or 6 sessions with me they are not sure the hypnosis is making a difference … “the changes they ARE experiencing might just be a coincidence.”
Go figure. They’ve had the problem for 10 years and now it is a coincidence that their problem is being resolved!
Go figure. After two weeks of listening to the tapes that I am wondering if my desire for more salads is just an accident.
Go figure. After two weeks of listening to my hypnosis tapes I am wondering if my urge to go for a walk is just a coincidence, after all the weather IS nice outside!
That self-sabotage thing? I wonder if it is at work again? Why I am squashing and resisting that urge to go for a walk?
Hmmmm
Any ideas?
Melanie
The unconscious mind is a fascinating thing. I liken it to a BLACK BOX. You know the black box is there, you know that it is “doing stuff.” You may be aware of some of the “stuff” it does … such as running your heart, regulating your breathing, growing hair and skin. You may also be unaware of what the black box is doing … such as sabotaging your efforts to get skinny or keeping you at “just” a comfortable level of income, but never allowing you to “get ahead.”
Hmmmm.
How do you find out what’s in the BLACK BOX?
Wanting to find out is the first step.
I realized that “self-sabotage” was at work when I decided to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) as a tool to stop some of my eating habits. EFT can definitely stop “cravings” for goodies such as chocolate, ice cream, chips, or gooey, slurpy, crunchy, salty … (are you hungry yet?) in their tracks.
So why don’t I use EFT when I get a craving? I find myself forgetting until after I’ve indulged or even binged. That’s self-sabotage at its most creative and elegant. Too funny!
After a month, I finally “GOT” that I am into self-sabotage and I decided to do things differently.
I Become My Own Client
I realized that I was treating myself differently than I would a client who came to me for the same “problem.” When a client first comes to me I chat with them to find out what the problem is, what they want to change about it and the results they want to get from working with me.
Well …no brainer here. I am a BIG BLOB. I want to go from BIG BLOB to Slim, Trim, Strong, Fit and Maybe Even Downright Skinny!
The next step is for me to determine what “course of treatment” would best get the client from where they are to where they want to be.
When a client wants to quite smoking, it is actually quite an easy process. You can just Quit! You can actually go “cold turkey” with very few symptoms. There is VERY clear evidence that the hypnosis is working or that more work needs to be done … the smoker has either cut down or has stopped. Like I said, simple.
Hypnosis is not new. People having been using hypnotic trances for thousands of years. When I was studying Anthropology in University my focus was on how “trances” were used in religious ceremonies, from North American Native religions to the Catholic Church.
Many people don’t realize that they are in and out of mini (or major) “trance” states several times a day. I could write a book on this … so I’ll stop now.
The reason I’m talking about hypnosis, is that I am using hypnosis and other mind/body techniques such as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), to lose weight.
In hypnosis you utilize a “trance” state to communicate with your sub-conscious mind. You replace old messages such as “I am a fat BLOB” with new messages such as “I am Slim, Trim, Strong and Fit.”
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is an energy therapy that utilizes the ancient techniques of acupressure to dissolve negative emotional messages we store within our bodies.
I have used both of these therapies with clients for numerous challenges including weight loss, money-problems, low energy, motivation etc.
At the point when I decided to stop gaining weight and to become Slim, Trim, Strong, Fit and Maybe Even Downright Skinny, I decided to become my own BEST CLIENT.
Turned out I was pretty pathetic client and needed a kick in the butt!
More … tomorrow.
Melanie
When I started my weight-loss quest I was determined not to go on a diet because it is my observation and personal experience that diets simply do not work.
Over the years that I have gained weight I have tried countless weight-loss schemes, from Atkins (low carb) to Susan Powter (high carb) to low fat to food combining to … well you name it!
The one eating plan that had me feeling the best is the 40-30-30 plan. I have tended to go back to that one again and again, not because I lost weight on it, but because I felt GOOD, alert and had energy. The problem was, this eating plan requires discipline and planning. Two things I never could sustain for more than two weeks at a time.
Six years ago when I moved to Vancouver, I decided to walk more and stop obsessing about losing weight. For over four years I managed to maintain my weight without dieting. Walking almost daily took care of the rest. Then, because I got busy with some big freelancing contracts I let that go. I stopped walking and started gaining.
And finally, I reached the point where I decided it was time to STOP. It was time to go from BIG BLOB to Slim, Trim, Strong, Fit and Maybe Even Downright Skinny!
I decided to use only mind/body techniques in order to lose the weight. I already knew that hypnosis and several other mind/body techniques could produce miracles and I was determined to find my own miracle.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the techniques I have used to lose 40 pounds.
Melanie
My name is Melanie Rockett. Though I am a certified hypnotherapist and energy therapy practitioner, I make my living as a freelance writer and Internet Traffic Consultant.
Over the years I have developed my skills in an interest area that started in University … the science of the mind. In the past six years as I started working with small business clients, I noticed that many of them found themselves facing barriers and challenges that were totally imaginary. I started working with a number of them utilizing hypnosis and other mind/body techniques, and am delighted at the successes my clients have had.
Finally … I became prepared to deal with my own BIG BLOCK … my weight. As a freelancer, much of my days are spent on the phone, in meetings and in front of my computer. Slowly over 25 years my weight kept on creeping up until it reached a level that totally grossed me out.
Right now I am too embarrassed to say how heavy I got … over 100 pounds overweight. Some day I may reveal how much over 100 pounds … not yet. (sigh)
For many years, I worked at just accepting my weight. I managed to convince myself that I would always be overweight and as long as I kept reasonably active and fit, it was OK.
Then one day I was trying on clothing (something I hate) and realized I would have to go up yet ANOTHER size. That was it. I FINALLY decided that being overweight was no longer OK with me and I was not only going to stop gaining weight, I was going to lose weight.
I actually started over 8 months ago. First I stopped gaining weight. Then I started ever so slowly losing weight. I had a few hickups along the way … then the weight loss started accelerating. As of today I have lost 40 pounds.
I have lost the weight without going on a “diet” and without “forcing” myself to exercise. I am eating smaller portions and most of the time I eat healthier. I also exercise a few times a week. The biggest changes have come about because I have been using the hypnosis and mind/body techniques that in the past I only used with others … on myself. I use these techniques to keep me eating healthy, to keep me motivated to exercise and to increase my metabolism.
My friends and family have noticed. Some of them have asked for help … and a few of them have asked about what I am doing.
This web log is about my journey, my struggles, my successes on the way from
… BIG BLOB to Slim, Trim, Strong, Fit and Maybe Even Downright Skinny!
In it I will share what I have done up to this point … to stop gaining weight and to shed the 40 pounds. I will share what I am currently doing and how it is working, and I will share the resources that I am using and the results that I, and those who join me, are experiencing.
Melanie
