Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to help you change your eating habits. The following eleven habits are dealt with by the hypnotherapy weight loss program. You should be able to take care of these anyway, without any help from hypnosis.
Step 1 Shopping - Avoid the bad food aisles. Stick to your list.
Controlling what you eat and how much starts at the shop where you buy it. You will be buying a lot less. At least at home, if you haven't got it, you can't eat it.
For fresh food you should be able to purchase exactly what you need and no more. Unfortunately with packaged foods this decision is taken away by the fixed size of the packets.
Make a menu in advance and buy only what you need for each meal. Get control over your shopping. Diet planning is essential to break bad buying habits.
Don't wander aimlessly in the supermarket, make a plan where you are going and stick to it. Avoid the unhealthy food aisles, stick to the fresh food counters. Don't just stock the fridge with random impulse buys.
When you go through the door of any food shop think about your health and be prepared to stick to your plan.
Step 2 Food Preparation
Reduce the quantity you prepare or cook. People always tend to use the same measures and dishes to prepare food. Be more disciplined about the quantities of food you use. Prepare the right amount for a meal and no more.
Start each meal with fresh raw vegetables cut into strips (crudités). This will cut down your appetite later as you will derive a lot of your important nutrients from that part of the meal.
If you cook then learn some new recipes. I found hard to stick to a diet that was boring. Until I realized it was boring because all the tasty recipes I knew where for the old ingredients I could no longer eat. You have to learn how to prepare meals, especially uncooked ones, with all your new fresh produce. Scan a few cook books.
Step 3 Eating Places
Establish rules for meals. Don't eat while working, in your car, or walking around. Try and eat at a table with proper cutlery. Turn it into the special time it is meant to be. Make it a social occasion if you can, with family or friends. Even if you are on the road, find a cafe or a place where you can sit and eat properly.
Make a commitment to this. Write out a contract for yourself, sign it and put it where you will always see it and need it. This is all about defining new habits for yourself. Though this may seem unusual at first, as time goes on you will get into a pattern and it will become more and more natural for you.
Step 4 Regular Meal Times
Establish regular meal times and snack times and stick to them. Just at the start, it is worth spending a week watching exactly how much you eat. For most people this isn't significant but your unconscious mind can be tricky. Some people wildly underestimate how much they actually eat. Don't be one of them.
Step 5 Eating Pace
Some people eat too fast and don't digest the food properly in their mouths to recognize when they are full. Eat slowly and chew every mouthful. Take breaks to sit back and enjoy the environment while you let your body adjust to the food it has taken in.
Step 6 Cravings
A craving lasts less than a minute, so ride it out. The best way is to distract yourself. Have a list of short tasks at hand that you can pick and do. This is often a good moment to have a glass of water.
Step 7 Serving Sizes
An interesting study found that people ate and drank less if they used small plates and long tall glasses. Use smaller plates, tall thinner glasses and fewer serving dishes. Also if you have a lot of different serving dishes set out, especially of the same thing, it gives the impression that there is a great variety of food. Human nature being as it is, most people have to try them all.
Step 8 Drinking With Meals
Drink a lot before meals if you are having trouble with portion control. Normally it is best not to drink in the half hour before meals as it interferes with digestion. It dilutes the enzymes in your stomach making them less effective. If you're dieting you need the nutrients in the food you are eating to stay healthy.
Step 9 Lifestyle
You may have to change your lifestyle a little to fit in with your new eating habits. If, for example, you always met your friends at an ice cream parlor, patisserie or a burger bar, you might consider moving to a new venue.
You might have to make a few sacrifices for this weight loss program, so be prepared to make them, especially if it involves social aspects of your life. Obviously, don't do anything that is upsetting for you, this is meant to be a fun process. Weight loss is far easier and more consistent if you are happy.
Step 10 Well Meaning Saboteurs
You may encounter people in your life that will press you into over indulging or eating, against your will. You have to learn to say no. These people are used to you behaving a particular way and you have to break their expectation habit.
They are often very well meaning, but their motives will be personal ones. It may be the kindly aunt or grandfather pressing an extra slice of cake upon you. Or your friends at the bar buying another round of drinks and a few snacks with phrases like 'just one more won't hurt you'. But it will, eventually.
Their intention is simply an expression of friendship or love. So, be kind, be firm but stick to your new lifestyle. They will get used to it, in time.
Step 11 Sleep
Have a good night's sleep. Researchers from Laval University in Quebec, found that sleep may influence levels of leptin which is a hormone produced by fat cells. Leptin affects body weight regulation by suppressing appetite and burning fat stored in tissue. There may also be an "ideal sleep zone" that helps the body to regulate weight. It is probably not a very significant weight loss strategy as more time in bed means less exercise, just make sure that when you do sleep it is quality sleep. Deal with any sleep problems that you might have.