This Hypnosis Related Thread Contains Tips, Techniques and Advice

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G_Maddison

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A Different Kind Of Weight Loss Advice - Hypnotherapy

I am opening this thread for those people that would like any advice about losing weight. PLEASE NOTE - That I am a hypnotherapist so my answers will involve tips and techniques that will be related around this subject. There is plenty of information about diet plans, exercise plans on this forum so I will not include this kind of information in my posts. My answers will be more centered on giving you advice about sticking to these plans.

By setting up this thread you can choose whether you want to read it or not. If this kind of approach to weight loss is of interests then you can read this thread but if it does not interest you, then you have the option to ignore it.

I think this approach is the best option and I want to thank Jericho from one of my previous post for this good idea. I am very new to forum posting but I have read the rules for this forum and do not want to do anything to jeapardize this. I just want to give out some knowledge which I know works and if that also means that I increase the awareness of hypnotherapy. Fantastic!!!

Please note that I do run a full time private practice and have a family. So if you post a question I will do my best to post a reply within 24 hours.
 
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I would also like to add that if you do not agree with this type of help, please just "walk away". Negative/harrassing comments will not be tolerated.

Thank you :)
 
I added the word "hypnotherapy" to the title just to give people a bit more idea of what they mind find in the thread.

And I second Korrie's comments. WE don't all have to agree on whether or not hypnotherapy is valid. Discussion and questions are welcome. Attacks are not. Thanks in advace for helping keep this a productive and useful thread.
 
Glad to see this thread and the calming down of atmosphere in previous thread, which I see has been closed. I was asked a question which I can't answer as thread is closed, so let's forget it.
I've not started my own thread as it would be very similar to what GM has already written so clearly. I seem to have managed to upset a lot of people when my only intention was to help, and to give feedback to what I considered were 3 excellent posts from GM. I sincerely hope all members of the forum are able to lose the weight they want safely by whatever method works for them.
Pam
 
Learn Self Hypnosis in Three Easy Steps

In this post I am going to be teaching you the first step of a self hypnosis process. There are many different methods of self hypnosis but this is one that is the most successful for me.

The good thing about this process is that you do not have to follow the steps word for word. I want you to be flexible with this, so if something does not work then ignore it or if something works better for you then use that method.

So during this first step you will be learning how to give yourself positive suggestions of change whilst lying in bed. This process is really easy to do but if you have any problems then please leave a comment on this post and I will be more than happy to help.

Listed below is the process of the technique, follow the steps and you will be surprised at the changes that this creates.

1. When you are lying in bed, just before you go to sleep, with your eyes closed – say the following suggestion to yourself (quietly in your mind).

“Everyday in every way I am getting better and better”.

2. Once you have said the suggestion, make a mental movie inside your mind and imagine yourself in a situation as if you were getting better and better.

You could imagine yourself saying no to unhealthy foods, or stepping on the scales and noticing that you have reduced your weight. Think about the changes that you want to make in your life and create this as a mental image.

3. Once you have created this short mental image, repeat the process from step 1 another 9 times, either using the same mental image or a different one. If you fall asleep whilst doing this then it does not matter, you have still put a positive idea into your mind just before you fell asleep.

The beauty about using this technique is that your mind does not know what is real or imagined. Even though you are only imagining yourself getting better and losing weight, your mind is actually believing that this is happening for you.

I've attached a copy of this full process for you to download here. View attachment 12331
 
The Second Step of The Self Hypnosis Process

In my post last post I taught you the process of giving yourself a positive suggestion whilst lying in bed. That was the first step of the self hypnosis process that I teach my clients at my hypnosis practice.

In today’s post I am going to be teaching you the second step of the three step self hypnosis process. This is the method of teaching yourself how to get into a nice relaxed state, for the process of giving yourself positive suggestions of change. To make this easy for you to follow along with I have attached a pdf file which breaks down this process. View attachment 12332

So in order to do this technique it is best to get into a position where you're going to be comfortable and not disturbed for about ten minutes.

Once you are in that nice comfortable position, pick a spot just above eye level and begin to stare at that spot for a few moments. Then take three deep breaths and on the third breath before you exhale, mentally count backwards from 3 to 1. At the count of one, exhale that breathe, mentally say the word RELAX and allow your eyes to close.

Then begin to count backwards slowly inside your mind from 25 down to 1. This exercise is to help you to relax, so when you are counting backwards, do it slowly, maybe on every out breathe or every other out breath.

When you get to one, you can either remain in that relaxed state for a few moments or bring yourself out of that relaxed state. In order to do that, mentally count from 1 to 3 and just allow your eyes to open.

Also when you are counting from 25 down to 1 you can also if it helps, make a mental image of the number. You could imagine yourself on a beach, with the number written in the sand, then as the wave comes it, it washes away that number and takes with it any feelings of tension.

You could imagine yourself walking down a staircase and imagine that on each stair is the number. Then as you go down this staircase you could just imagine that it is taking you deeper and deeper into relaxation.

It's entirely up to you though whether you want to use a mental image or not when you are using this technique. You will find out what works best for you.

Some points to really consider when you are doing this technique is to remember to count the numbers nice and slowly. Also you will have days in which you feel more relaxed than you did on other days. I’ve been practicing self hypnosis for over 15 years and I’ll even have days in which I find it difficult to relax. Just be happy with whatever level of relaxation you get and by doing that will have a relaxed attitude about it.

When I write my next post I will be teaching you how to give yourself positive suggestions of change when you are in this relaxed state. So commit to learning this valuable technique and if you have any problems just leave a comment and I will be more than happy to assist.

Here are a few of the positive suggestions that you can give yourself when you have learnt this relaxation technique.

"My motivation and determination to reach my ideal weight grows stronger and stronger everyday".

"I am in control of food"

"I prefer the taste of healthy foods"

"I am committed to reaching my weight goal"

"I find it easy to say no to unhealthy foods and yes to healthy foods"

"I exercise at least two times per week and I love it"
 
The Third and Final Step of THe Self Hypnosis Process

In my last post to this site I taught you the second step of a three step self hypnosis process. So today I am going to be teaching you the third step of that process during which you will learn how to give yourself positive suggestions of change. Again to make things easier I have attached a copy of this full process. View attachment 12333

So what you need to do first in order to practice this method of self-hypnosis is to write a positive suggestion on a piece of paper. At the end of this post I will include some information about writing suggestions and also list a few suggestions that you can use.

So if you wanted to work on your motivation you may want to use the suggestion, “My motivation and determination to reach and to maintain my goal weight increases every day”.

Once you have a suggestion a piece of paper you will then get yourself in a nice comfortable position, just like you did when you practiced step two of this process. Then you will stare at a spot just above eye level but before you take your three deep breaths you will hold your suggestion up and read it to yourself three times slowly.

“My motivation and determination to reach and to maintain my goal weight increases every day”

“My motivation and determination to reach and to maintain my goal weight increases every day”

“My motivation and determination to reach and to maintain my goal weight increases every day”

Once you've then read the suggestion three times you'll then drop the piece of paper you are holding and stare at the spot you choose. Then you will take three deep breaths and on the third breath before you exhale you will mentally count backwards from three down to one. At the count of one you will then exhale that breath, mentally sat the word relax and allow your eyes to close.

At this point you'll then begin to mentally count backwards from 25 down to one just like you did during step two of this process. When you get good at getting into a nice relaxed state you can then begin to shorten this 25 down to 1 count. You may want to experiment and see what counting down from 20 to 1 does and then from 15 down to 1. Your aim should be to get so good at getting into a relaxed state that you can get there just by counting down from 10 to 1.

Once you have then counted backwards you will then do a process which is very similar to what you did during step one of this process. During step 1 you said the suggestion, ‘Every day in everyway I am getting better and better’ and you then put a mental movie to that suggestion.

The only difference is that when you use this method the suggestion that you say to yourself will be the suggestion that you had written on your piece of paper. So you would say, ‘My motivation and determination to reach and to maintain my goal weight increases every day’.

Once you have then said the suggestion to yourself you would then make a mental movie based upon whatever that suggestion is that you're working on. So in this example you could imagine yourself preparing a healthy meal or stepping on the scales having reached your weight goal.

Once you've then imagined that mental movie you'll then repeat the suggestion again and then either use the same mental movie or a different one. You'll then repeat this process for roughly about five minutes or longer depending on time. Then you will count from 1 to 3 and allow your eyes to open.

How to Write Suggestions

When you give yourself a positive suggestion there is a certain way that you need to do it in order to get the results that you are after.

So the first thing you want to remember when you are writing a suggestion is that you do not want to use any negative words. Your subconscious mind does not understand negative words and will ignore them. So if you said to yourself, “I do not eat fatty foods”, your subconscious mind will ignore the word not and will only hear I eat fatty foods.

So to replace the negative you'd want to get rid of the word not and maybe say, “Fatty foods disgust me”, or even better “I prefer the taste of healthy foods”.

The next thing to remember when you are writing a suggestion is to keep your suggestions positive. So if you was with me now and you said to me “I do not want to eat fatty foods”, I would ask you, “Well if don't want to eat fatty foods what do you want to eat instead”?

You may then say healthy foods. So that's what you would base your suggestion around. When you do this you are putting your thoughts on what you want and that’s important because your mind will always give you what you focus on. So the key to change is to focus on the things that you want in your life.

The next thing you want to remember when you are writing a suggestion is that you use the present tense. Your mind does not understand time; all your mind understands is what's now. So when you are writing a suggestion, write that suggestion as if that suggestion is true now. Now it may not be true but if you write the suggestions and say the suggestion as if it is true then your subconscious mind has to make change in order to make that a reality now.

So if you said to yourself, “I will eat healthily”, then its not going happen today because you are using the future tense. Your mind would hear the suggestion and think well it’s not happening now so I’ll just keep things as they are. So a much better alternative would be to say, “I am a healthy eater” or "I eat healthily".

Suggestions

I find it extremely easy to say no to unhealthy foods and yes to healthy foods.

I exercise on a regular basis and I love it.

I am in control of food.

I find that I feel full quickly when I am eating.

Three meals per day is more than enough for me.

I always eat slowly and taste my food.

I eat only at mealtimes, sparingly and properly.

I get full quickly.

My belief that I can and will reach my goals weight increases everyday.

Nothing, absolutely nothing is going to stop me from reaching my ideal weight.

I drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.

My body is changing everyday because of the exercise that I do.

If you want any suggestions checking or would like some ideas of suggestions that you can use just post a comment.
 
How to Set Weight Loss Goals

When you set yourself a weight goal it is really important that you know exactly what you want and the reasons why. When you know this you can then take the steps necessary in order to reach that goal.

So just close your eyes now and imagine that you’re waking up, getting out of bed at the weight you want to be. How would you look? How would you feel? What clothes would you be wearing? How would those clothes look on you? How would your relationship with food be? How would things be different?

When you have a goal that you would like to reach it is really important that you expand that goal so it’s not just a number. It needs to be compelling and something that is going to motivate you. The more compelling this goal is the more motivated you will be to achieve this goal and the more likely that you will achieve it.

Listed below you will find some questions that you can ask yourself that will help you to set some weight goals. But rather than just answering the question in your head, download this attachment View attachment 12334 and write your goals down on a sheet of paper.

1. What is your current weight?

2. What would you like to weight?

3. If you weighed this weight how would you feel?

Would you feel happy? Would you feel more confident? Would you feel more assertive? Would you feel more relaxed in your body?

4. Is this outcome just for you?

It is really important that this outcome is just for you because nobody can take it away from you.

5. When do you think realistically you'll be able to achieve this outcome by?

It's important that you are realistic with this outcome. If you are unrealistic then you’re not going to reach your target and you may then feel like it’s too difficult to lose weight. When you are realistic there is then a good likelihood then you are going to reach this target and you will then feel more motivated.

Now think where you need to be one month from now in order to achieve that goal, then two months from now, or weekly. These smaller targets will help to give yourself more of a chance of reaching your goal weight on time and they will allow you to make adjustments.

Breaking your goal down is very similar to what you would do if you were going on a journey. Just imagine you were in a sail boat and you knew that in order to reach your destination you would have to travel east for 60 days. Now if you only checked your compass when you left, what would be the like hood that 60 days later you would be at your destination? The chances are 60 days later you would be miles from your destination, simply because you didn’t make those fine adjustments to the direction you was travelling. However if you checked your compass quite often you could have made those fine adjustments to the direction your were travelling, so 60 days later if you are not at your designation you are not going to be too far away.

6. What do you need to do in order to reach this goal?

Do you need to change some of your eating habits? Do you need to exercise on a regular basis? Do you need to learn how to stop comfort eating? Do you need to learn what foods to avoid?

7. What strengths and resources can you use which will help you to reach this goal?

Do you have access to a gym? Do you know what foods are good and what foods are bad? Do you have clothes which you can no longer fit into and can use for motivation? Can you apply determination that you may have in part of your life over to this? Write down every resource that you have that will help you to reach your goal but think outside the box. Some things that you may class as a weakness could actually be turned into strength.

Some of the next questions may seem similar but there is a difference. So I suggest that before you answer them that you spend a few moments re-reading the question, so you fully understand what the question is trying to get from you. The questions are designed to stretch your thinking in different ways.

8. What is the main purpose of achieving this outcome?

Do you want to achieve this outcome in order to feel confident? Do you want to achieve this outcome to feel happier? Do you want to achieve this outcome in order to feel healthier?

9. When you achieved this outcome what will happen?

What things will definitely happen to you? Will you be able to get into those size 10 jeans? Will you feel healthier? Will you feel more confident?

10. What things won’t happen if you don’t achieve this outcome?

Would you not be wearing those smaller jeans? Would you not be feeling healthier? Would you not be confident?

11. What will happen if you don't achieve this outcome?

Will you be unhappy? Will you still be wearing the same size jeans? Will you be wishing that you stuck to these goals?
 
I received the following private message from a member of this forum, so I am going to answers the question here so that everybody can see my response.

Hello

Didn't really know if you wanted private messages or just to post on the board so I just chose this, will post on message board if you like.

I am trying to lose weight. I am 5'2 and 197 lbs. I just had a baby 5 months ago, and before, I never had a problem losing the weight. I cannot seem to get my metabolism to kick start itself. i seemed to drop the weight after giving birth, but it quickly climbed back up.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.


Hi njoyabl

One of the first things that you might want to consider is to set yourself some weight loss goals. You can download an attachment of this sheet here View attachment 12335 and you can read one of my previous posts on this thread for help filling in this sheet.

When you fill in question 6 if possible could you post your answers to this question onto this post and I can reply to this. When you fill in this answer really consider what things may have changed for you since the birth of your child. This question will give you some clues to what you need to focus on in order to begin to lose weight.

Another thing that you may want to consider over the next week is to keep yourself a food diary, i've attached one for you here View attachment 12336. When you have filled in this over a full week, weight yourself and then go back to your food diary. If you lose weight then that means that what you have been doing that week as worked for you. If you have put on weight or your weight as stayed the same, you then need to start asking yourself some questions.

1. What can I reduce this week?
2. Have I done enough exercise?
3. What can I eat instead of that?
4. What can I do differently next week?

With this information you then fill out your food diary again for the following week with those changes and then see what happens then. If you keep running through this step you will find out what works for you.

You can also practice the self hypnosis process that I have posted onto this thread and imagine yourself losing weight.

Please get back to me when you have some of this information and I will be more than happy to help you. Also over the next few weeks I am going to be posting many more techniques that will help you to reach your ideal weight.

For now just believe that you can and will lose weight.
 
This may sound like a silly question, but how much do you feel the mind/body connection works. For example a lot of your suggestions are mental. I chew my food slowly and enjoy it. I find it easy to resist temptation. Etc. Do you find you have any success with more material suggestions like "I have a good immune system and rarely get sick" or even "I lose most of my fat from my waist and not from my boobs"?
 
Hi Jeanette

In my opinion I do believe that the mind and body are closely linked. There as been a load of research which clearly shows that if a person is under stress for a long period of time then that persons immune system can become much weaker and they may be more prone to colds and flu's

From my own research which comes from the clients that I see a great deal of these clients actually tell me that they do feel full much quicker and that feeling of fullness does last longer when I have give them some suggestions based around that idea.

I am sorry that the suggestions that I give as an example were only based around the mental side. I should have used more of a mix because you can use suggestions that are just focused on the body. Your suggestion;

"I have a good immune system and rarely get sick".

The first part of that suggestion is correct but I would change the second part to something much more positive. So if I was you I would use the suggestion.

"I have a good immune system and I feel healthy everyday"

You can then back this suggestion up with a strong mental image. You could image your immune system being strong and image yourself almost as if there was a protective bubble around you protecting you from disease. Another good mental image you could have is to image yourself having a conversation with somebody and you’re telling that person that you have a strong immune system and you never get ill. The next suggestion you put was;

I lose most of my fat from my waist and not from my boobs

For this I would just use the suggestion;

"I have the body that I desire"

Then when you make your mental image just image yourself looking into a mirror admiring how your body looks. So you could image yourself with a slimmer waist but still having a bust. Another mental image you could use could be to image yourself clothes shopping trying on an outfit and it fitting exactly how you want it to fit.

I hope this as answered your question but please feel free to reply if you want any more information from me.
 
I have one slight correction to make. You can't spot lose weight. People are geneticly designed to put weight on one order and lose it in the reverse. That's why people tend to say 'I always had large hips' or the like cause it was the first place the fat formed. Now, you might be talking more on body image in your mind but I didn't want false information out there :)
 
Spot on jericho. Its about creating a strong self image of how you want to look from the inside. If you feel confident about your body from the inside then this is something that is going to be projected to the ouside.

Something which I often use during my sessions because of the inspiration and the message it gives is the story of Morris Goodman, dubbed "The Miracle man". This is a true story and it really highlights the fact that when a person is determined and believes change can happen then the mind can change the body and nothing is impossible.
 
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Just a question, I have a couple hynotherapy CDs and well i don't know really know if its working or not yet. I usually fall asleep as I listen to them. So do they work when you are asleep?
 
When you listen to a hypnosis CD it is best to listen to them away from your bed. The reason for this is because when you listen to them on your bed with your eyes closed you are more likely to fall asleep. Normally when you lie on your bed with your eyes closed you are going to sleep, so this can happen when you listen to a self hypnosis CD.

If you are not listening to them whilst lying on your bed, try to change your position, so rather than lying down, sit up. You also may be going to sleep because you have listened to the session too many times and you know what is coming, so it’s not fresh.

Generally when I am doing a hypnosis session I do not want my clients to go to sleep because I want them to listen to the suggestions that I am giving them. But on the odd occasion that this as happened the client as still got the change that they wanted. What you have to remember is that even though the conscious mind sleeps, the subconscious never sleeps, so that part of the mind is still listening to the suggestions.

If you keep tuned to this thread I am going to be recording some self hypnosis sessions that people can actually download and listen to.
 
The Thirty Second Exercise Plan

One of the main problems that many people have when it comes to weight loss is finding the motivation to exercise on a regular basis. The thought of actually going out and exercising fills many with dread and so they become experts at coming up with excuses as to why they cannot exercise.

“It’s too cold”
“It’s too hot”
“I don’t have the time”
“I’m not feeling well”

Now would you still come up with the same excuses if you knew that you would only have to exercise for thirty seconds?

PROBABLY NOT

When people are thinking about starting an exercise program of any description they very often start out with too big of a goal. They may say to themselves that they are going to exercise for thirty minutes, three days a week.

On the first day they feel quite motivated but depending on the exercise there doing they start to tire and they do not get that endorphin (feel good) rush that many talk about. Then a few days later when they are suppose to exercise again they start to think how difficult it was the last time, maybe their body still aches and they then come up with an excuse. Does this sound familiar?

“I’m too tired”
“I’ll start again on Monday”
“I have a sore leg”

And being creatures of habit a pattern forms which can last for a lifetime. That is why this thirty second exercise plan is so effective.

Rather than having a big goal which may at times be difficult to stick to, you have a small goal which is easy to follow. This in turn then builds your confidence and breaks down many of the old habits of the past. You then become somebody who exercises on a regular basis as apposed to somebody who exercises and quits when the going gets tough.

At this point you are probably thinking that exercising for thirty seconds sounds fantastic but it’s not going to help me lose weight.

You have a point there but what would be the likelihood that after thirty seconds that you just continue? And even if you didn’t you still stuck to your goal of exercising how ever many times per week you said you would.

One thing which is important is that you treat this plan just like you would if you were going to exercise for thirty minutes. Get changed, put your running shoes on and go and do it. So why not make it your goal to exercise this week and see how much easier it is when the goal is so much smaller.
 
Top 3 Weight Problems

If you give me your top three weight loss problems over the next few weeks I will then pick out the top one and record a self hypnosis CD for you to listen to. To make the list easier to count just list them just like the example shows below.

1. I want to feel motivated to exercise.
2. I would rather choose healthy foods rather than fatty foods.
3. I would like to believe that I can reach my goal weight.
 
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