How to Drop a Dress Size with Hypnosis

No, we are not talking about a quick fix or fad diet or big weight loss program here. We are talking about completely changing your health and lifestyle in a safe, positive way.

Many of us have tried over and over to lose weight via diet programs, pills, teas, exercise fads, and more. These can be more harmful than helpful in the long-term. 

Have we really looked at the real reason we want to lose the weight? Squeezing into that cute summer dress may be the superficial reason. Perhaps it’s our health that’s the one underlying reason? 

Why Do You Want or Need to Lose Weight?

We are all born with the perfect relationship to food. What happened? Life. It constantly decides to get messy. Our habits change and as we rush, we choose what is quick and easy and maybe not healthy. Often, we fuel ourselves out of emotion. 

Do you find yourself eating because others do? Are you listening to your body? 

Your body has a way of telling you what it wants and needs, giving you signals which will sometimes be aches and pains. 

Aside from keeping your body healthy from the physical risk factors, which weight can put stress on such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, cancers, and heart disease, there are mental factors at play. 

The Mind Mentality of Weight Loss: Emotional Eating

The biggest mental factor in terms of mental health and weight loss is emotional eating. Feelings such as anxiety, stress, loneliness, guilt, shame, regret, or sadness are often “numbed” by ‘comfort’ foods like junk food, chocolate, ice cream, candy, fast food, chips. This most often happens when no one else is around and during the evening. Ironically, our comfort foods lead our bodies more to discomfort as they struggle to process and digest them. 

When you establish a habit of emotional eating, it is difficult to break out of it. Even when your emotional challenges are over, you may still find yourself eating out of other emotions, eating during the evenings, etc. It makes it harder to lose weight and it puts pressure on your physical health, and then your destructive mental health cycle begins again. 

You may not even realize you are emotionally eating, as it tends to be a mindless activity done while watching TV or scrolling through social media on your phone. Your mind can be in an almost “trance-like” state as your well-intended “only a few” mentality turns into consumption of the whole container or bag. Alcohol can also be a factor, which can decrease the resistance or will-power that helps you eat more reasonably.

There are many research studies that show trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are risk factors for eating disorders and other pathological eating behaviours. The relationship between abuse and eating is complex and varies from person to person. Emotional eaters use food to relieve feelings of shame or as punishment for falsely held beliefs about their trauma. 

Researchers theorized abuse survivors may purposely gain or lose weight for protection (believing make them less attractive, less likely to be taken advantage of), or as a manifestation of their broken self-image. 

We seemed to be programmed to avoid pain and seek pleasure, hence the main reason many of us reach for comfort food to deal with negative emotions. We see it all the time as we watch in our favourite TV dramas that a giant tub of ice cream comes out after the big breakup.

Signs of emotional eating:

• Eating when you’re not hungry
• Eating when you’re bored, upset, angry, etc. 
• Craving ONLY sugary, fatty foods or carbohydrates 
• Eating after you are full
• Eating things you don’t like
• Rarely feeling full
• Mindless or unconscious eating (i.e you’re unaware of the fact you’re eating)

Tips to Curb Emotional Eating

1. Mindfulness and/or Meditation

Regular mindfulness and/or meditation practice helps you get to know how your mind works, so when your emotions urge you toward that comfort food, you are more likely to pause and refocus yourself. It makes it easier to dismiss it as a craving instead of being pulled in and going for the food. Being fully present while eating allows awareness of when you have had enough to eat.

2. Drink Water

We all know that we are probably not getting enough water anyway, so here is a hydration opportunity. Having water gives us moments of calm, which might be enough to stop our cravings. 

3. Have a Good Chat

Talking about our feelings is one of the best releases we have, putting things in perspective and helping to problem solve makes you less likely to reach for the ice cream. Someone you trust like a good friend, family member, or professional will help bring you into the positive and out of the negative. 

4. Deep Breaths 

Some simple deep breaths down in your abdominal area will bring you calm and back to the present moment. You can also find some other simple breathing exercises and pair them with your mindfulness and meditation that will help as well.  

5. Music

Music can be an immensely powerful tool in uplifting your mood, changing your perspective, and realigning your mind in a way nothing else can. 

Making a playlist of uplifting music (uplifting to you, something with energy) can get you moving either jumping around your house while you clean your living room, or out for a walk of the neighbourhood, or just dancing around with a silly grin on your face. 

Either way, you get some movement and some energy. It’s a win-win situation. 

6. Chew, Chew, Chew

Got any gum? Something strong and minty will do, make sure it is low in sugar. It’s something to try and sabotage those pesky cravings.

Chewing can be a comfort and the best part is you aren’t digesting it (unless you accidently swallow your gum). 

7. Journaling

Keeping a food diary or journal can help you track your behaviours around food. By writing down what you are reaching for and when, you can help identify your triggers which will help you change your patterns. You create an internal environment of self-awareness when you track things.

8. Extra Help

We all know that this is not an easy thing to do alone. Seeking help is nothing to be ashamed of. As a hypnotherapist I’m here for your needs and often offer hypnotherapy sessions to help with your goals. I can help you update habits, lower cravings, curb appetite, and help you with your emotional eating. 

Here Comes the Hypnosis

My focus is not necessarily going to be on your weight loss itself. Rather, it’s for any possible underlying issues or causes that may be keeping you from obtaining your weight loss goals such as stress or depression. 

Hypnotherapy delves into your subconscious as we know, and we can have a look at what might be going on behind your emotional curtain. 

Once we figure out what roadblocks you might have, we can address them accordingly as to your comfort, for your health and safety. 

Hypnosis aiding in dropping your dress size. This does require you wanting to do the work, in wanting the change, in agreeing with the suggestions we put into your subconscious. 

It is not a quick fix or as magic as saying “Abracadabra!” It comes with work. Are you exercising? Food prepping? Drinking your water? Eating because you are bored? These are things I will address and help you with. 

Nothing in life is that simple, unfortunately. But with trust and hard work, hypnotherapy can help you drop that dress size like you’ve wanted. 

Contact me today if you have any questions or concerns regarding this subject. 

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