The neuropsychology of losing weight
The Neuro-Psychology of Weight Control -
Winning the Brain Game
If you are like millions of other individuals, you are
either on a diet, think you need to be on a diet, or have
given up on trying to lose weight.
A large majority of us
spend a great deal of time trying to decide what to eat,
when to eat & how to stop eating. We cannot seem to manage
the illusive weight control monster.
The hard facts are in & they are certainly very serious.
Even a moderate weight gain of 22 pounds or more above a
person’s ideal weight at age 18 can result in greater risk
of earlier death. Recent research published in the New
England Journal of Medicine has found that a surprising 1/3
of cancer deaths, as well as more than ˝ of cardiovascular
deaths were due to excess weight.
Women who were obese were four times as likely to die of
heart disease & twice as likely to die of cancer, as were
women whose weights were below average for their age. When
other unhealthy lifestyle practices, such as smoking, sugar
& alcohol addiction, high caffeine intake, poorly managed
stress levels, lack of exercise & poor nutrition are
factored in, the negative findings are drastically
multiplied.
Why is something that should be so easy as maintaining a
normal weight, be so difficult & elude so many? Despite all
the money spent on diet books, magazines, weight loss
centers & workout programs, people keep putting on the
pounds.
Currently there are more people of all ages suffering from
obesity than ever before. A major reason for this failure is
that two major keys to the overweight problem have been
missing. These are the keys that open the door to high level
nutrition & long-term motivation needed o lose weight
permanently.
These keys break through the yo-yo weight gain syndrome,
develop persistence, erode hopelessness & helplessness while
delivering high energy to the mind & body, allowing perfect
focus on the needed lifestyle change. These vital keys are
carbohydrate management & meal timings & interactive
self-hypnosis, the latter holding the potential for being
the most valuable golden key on the weight loss key chain.
High Level Nutrition:
Despite all our medical advances, it has only been in the
last 10 years that carbohydrate/fat metabolism has been the
focus of intense medical research. More & more studies have
been centered on how & why the body stores & burns fat & how
dieting defeats it’s own purpose. Recent research has opened
the door on the vital part insulin plays in the problem of
carbohydrate sensitivity & yo-yo weight gain. This research
has also uncovered an underlying Profactor in the body
physiology of a large percentage of people, that not only
interferes with how the body handles carbohydrates, but is a
causative
actor in the major causes of death in this country, namely
heart disease, adult onset diabetes, certain types of cancer
& other circulatory disturbances.
Only by giving up dieting, understanding the role of refined
sugar, flour & high fat, as well as learning how to manage
your mind & body stress management system, can you begin to
achieve the kind of lean healthy body you have always
wanted. When you work with your body to burn fat, you will
lose excess stored fat effectively & permanently without
hunger, fatigue & without counting calories. It is actually
possible to eat the
foods you truly enjoy every day, reduce cravings & lose
excess stored fat.
Stress – Thought Connection to Weight Issues
Stress management plays a large part in permanent weight
loss. Under stress,the body produces hormones or chemicals
that actually work to keep the fat in the cells. The
continual production of these chemicals can prove to be very
dangerous & even deadly. Besides the excess insulin problem,
there is another insidious stress hormone produced by the
adrenal glands called cortisol that plays a major role in
the 60-90
percent of disease states, as ell as causing an increase in
cell fat storage.
An important part of any fat burning program is to learn a
process called mental biofeedback or body scanning. These
techniques retrain the brain to notice stress at low levels
&
release it, thereby interfering with stress-toxin storage.
The body, now free of excess insulin, cortisol, adrenaline &
other hormones is now in a position to play the game of fat
loss.
A large portion of our stress originates in the thought
processes. Thoughts are chemically charged images that seem
to hold free rein in our minds. Thoughts actually
manufacture
hormones that can make us store fat. The good news is that
we have control over this mechanism & by developing the
power to notice & release our thought patterns, we gain
control over our minds & body. When we learn to let go of
these thought
patterns, we simultaneously lower the vibration of our brain
waves & thereby lower the production of our stress hormones.
The faster our brain waves, the more stress hormones we
produce. When looking to manage stress & weight, it is vital
to know how to control this hormone production. This is
accomplished through techniques called “heightened
awareness."
These are self-hypnotic/meditative tools, but differ from
other types of meditation. This is a working meditation, one
that allows us to notice & release thoughts, emotions & body
sensations. In other words, we can consciously control our
level of stress hormones & be in charge of a large part of
our own body physiology.
Interactive Self-Hypnosis – Key to the Subconscious Mind
There are other techniques that are very valuable, not only
in weight management, but in controlling the actual
functioning of the mind body connection. These include
interactive
self-hypnosis, visualization, NLP ( neuro-linguistic
programming) & active imagery.
The subconscious mind, or right brain, perceives in active
images. These images are often visual, but include all the
senses. The brain works like a large, complex computer.
This computer, unfortunately, comes without an owner’s
manual, but through specialized interactive self-hypnosis
education you can learn to utilize the workings of
this marvelous machine to reach your goals & then some.
Learning interactive self-hypnotic technique is quite simple
& can be taught to children & adults alike. Hypnotic
technique works best when it is client-specific, the reason
being
that people are motivated, or de-motivated in many different
ways & certainly respond differently to specific images &
metaphors. Metaphors form the tool box of the therapist
or individual practicing hypnosis. A hypnotic session is
divided into the induction, including deepening techniques,
the delivery of metaphoric material & the emerging process.
A session can be as long as an hour, or as short as a
minute. In weight management, it is often desirable to
increase self-motivation & persistence. We are a quick fix
society & unfortunately quick weight loss does not equate
with permanent weight loss.
Interactive self-hypnosis is also very useful in keeping a
person focused on a healthy exercise program, as ell as
addressing self-image, self-esteem & body image issues. If a
person has never been their ideal weight, they may not have
a conscious or subconscious stored image of themselves in
this state. It is not uncommon for a very obese person to be
frightened as their new body emerges & hypnosis is very
useful in helping to release this fear & anxiety.
Losing weight can be an exciting journey. With a
multi-faceted approach, a person moves from a position of
powerlessness t one of self-control, growth, high-energy &
achievement, but most important of all, one receives the
gift of health. The
heart is now able to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the
body & one is now able to easily digest the nutritional
foods provided to the body & mind. One develops an increased
resistance to illness, disease & has taken possession of a
new & healthy self-interest.
Once we learn to mange our own body physiology, reduce
stress chemicals, improve nutrition, develop an ongoing
exercise program & utilize our master computer through
interactive
self-hypnotic techniques, we find ourselves on our way, not
only to a trim healthy body, but to a richer, fuller life.
Disclaimer:
The information in this article reflects the author's
experiences & is not intended to replace medical or
psychological advice, nor is it the intent of the author to
diagnose or prescribe. The intent is only to offer
information to help the reader cooperate with their
physician in the mutual quest for desirable health. Always
consult your physician before embarking on any lifestyle
change, nutritional or otherwise.
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, SRN, CPH is a Workplace Health
Educator, President & Program Designer, Sarasota Medical &
Sports Hypnosis Institute located in Sarasota, FL & online
at
www.hypnosis-audio.com
&
www.sugar-addiction.com.
She specializes in stress management, high level health &
achievement for adults, children, executives & athletes. Her
sites are inter-active & offer more that 350 CD programs to
enhance self-development. She is the author of "Sugar the
Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It."
