Mind Over Munchies?

Can your beliefs and expectations about what you are about to eat have a tangible effect on your appetite? Or is it just a matter of straightforward math as to calories in and the level of satisfaction?

The placebo effect is where someone's positive belief about a medication or other form of treatment initiates a healing response even though that intervention is not actually proven to be effective on its own.

It is now known placebos are not just a matter of people being tricked into wellness as was once believed. In response to thought processes, the mind and body produces a host of powerful biochemical reactions.  For example, the belief a sugar pill will combat pain will trigger the body to produce endorphins, the self-produced version of morphine.

Yet it seems the inner mechanism that allows placebos to work is not limited to medical treatments. Research suggests your thoughts about what you eat has an important effect as well.

In a study at Yale, a group of volunteers were fed a 380 calorie milkshake on 2 separate occasions. One half of the participants were given a label that read that their shake was "indulgent" and contained 620 calories. The other half received a label stating the shake was "sensible" and had only 140 calories.

Their levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite was measured 3 times. The first was during the time they read the label, the second as they drank the shake and a third reading was done afterward.

The result was that those drinking the indulgent shake had a steep decline in ghrelin (which would mean reduced hunger)  while the "sensible" group had a relatively flat response, meaning they would most likely be just as hungry afterward.

This result led the researchers to conclude that the effect of food consumption on ghrelin levels may have a strong psychological component.

What can you possibly take away from this? One possibility is that cultivating the practice eating mindfully and with a sense of enjoyment may be much more effective in reducing appetite than obsessing on calorie counts.

Please feel free to connect if you would like to learn more. I can be reached at (732) 714-7040.

Reference for this article:

Crum, A.J. et al. (2011) Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients determine ghrelin response. Health Psychology, 30, 4, 424-429.

Brainwashing, Willpower, Hypnosis and Weight Loss?

After smoking cessation, weight loss is one of the primary reasons a person will seek out the services of a professional hypnotist.

Now more than ever people are seeking effective ways of releasing excess weight and with good reason. Public health statistics indicate that overweight and obesity may soon overtake smoking as the leading cause of preventable death and illness in our society.

Now you may be wondering how brainwashing, willpower and hypnosis fit into this situation as the title of this article suggests?

Although the definition of hypnosis varies on who you talk to, I usually go with something along the lines of it being, "a process that utilizes a naturally altered state of consciousness in order to bring about helpful changes in a person's habits and perceptions at a subconscious level of mind."

Using the example of smoking cessation, the shift in perception from cigarettes being a "true friend" that enables a person to manage stress to the more reality-based position that they actually make stress worse will enable a person to let go of that habit much more easily.

(For the record: nicotine raises your heart rate and blood pressure while constricting your blood vessels, that is not relaxation!)

A smoker is literally brainwashed into believing the habit has value. However over time the person begins to experience inner turmoil as they realize the nicotine demon is causing significant harm yet has fear that his or her life will be unmanageable without it.

Many attempts at quitting are based on conscious willpower and these are often short-lived and unpleasant. That's because if the person continues to believe that smoking has some sort of value then not smoking feels like deprivation or a struggle. It doesn't take much to drift back into old patterns in that scenario.

Yet do you "struggle" not to suck on the exhaust pipe of your car? Of course you don't because you perceive any value in doing so. Once you realize smoking never helps and only harms, the fear of not smoking will be replaced with the happy realization that you are free and don't have to smoke anymore.

Now swinging back to weight loss, a huge obstacle is the perception that healthy eating and getting regular activity are too difficult and will make your life less enjoyable. But is this true? What kind of cultural brainwashing may be at work here?

Ask yourself, is carrying around the extra weight making your life easier? Are you happier because you can't wear the clothes you would like to wear? Do the unwanted pounds bring about a feeling of joy in the joints of your knees, hips and back when you try to climb a flight of stairs? I think you get the idea.

Imagine perceiving that eating healthier and getting more regular activity were in fact a gift you give yourself that provides wonderful benefits such as improved appearance, higher energy levels and enhanced self-confidence. Would it take a tremendous amount of willpower to stick with those healthier behaviors if you saw them in that light?

If you would like to learn more, I am here to help. The telephone number here is (732) 714-7040 or fill out the Life Enhancement Strategy Session form and I will get back to you ASAP.

Is it Hunger or Appetite? A Crucial Weight Loss Skill

The ability to tell the difference between hunger and appetite is a crucial skill when it comes to reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight. Yet initially it may be difficult for you to make this important distinction.

Hunger can be defined as the signal your body sends out when it needs food for fuel and repair. If you go too long without food, you may actually begin to feel lightheaded or weak.

Appetite is the desire to eat apart from natural hunger and can be triggered by emotions, thoughts and circumstances such as location, other people and time of day.

You will succeed in weight loss when you eat primarily from hunger rather than appetite. So how do you tell the difference?

One trait of hunger is that it gradually builds.  This is where what may be called the "20 minute rule" can be helpful. If you get the sudden urge to eat,  ask yourself, "did I want to eat 20 minutes ago?" If the answer is no, then most likely appetite is at work.

Another way to figure out the if it is hunger or appetite is whether you are being picky at that moment.

Let's imagine a situation where you have a friend who is not all that fond of apples.

He says, "I am really hungry, do you have anything to eat?" so you offer him an apple and he replies, "nah, I don't want that, do you have anything else?"

At this point we can safely guess that he is mistaking appetite for hunger because someone who has been stuck on a desert island for a week without proper rations would grab that Granny Smith in a heartbeat! That would be real hunger.

With some practice you can learn to appreciate your body's natural hunger signals and learn to avoid the extremes of being ravenous or stuffing yourself to the point of being uncomfortable. This is one of the essential practices in healthy weight loss and something I cover with my clients. Enhanced awareness of hunger vs. appetite can enable you to come with effective strategies for situations where you previously got off track.

If you would like to learn more, please give me a call at (732) 714-7040 for a complimentary Life Enhancement Strategy Session or fill out the form and I will get back to you ASAP

Access Your Free Life Enhancement Strategy Starter Kit

Are you at a place where you are testing the waters when it comes to make a personal transformation whether it be quitting smoking, losing weight or releasing unhealthy stress or fears?

The Life Enhancement Strategy Starter Kit can provide with insights on how hypnosis can help you move forward and whether it is right for you. It includes:

-Is Hypnosis Right for You? A concise e-book that explains the how and why of hypnosis when it comes to personal change.

-The 7 Minute Stress Buster mp3. This audio program allows you to try a brief hypnosis session at home to experience what it feels like. 

-Readiness to Change Quiz. A short series of questions that will give you deeper clarity about your current situation.

This download is free, instantly access your copy through the Add To Cart button below

3 Reasons Why Hypnosis Will Help You Succeed in 2017

New Jersey Hypnosis for Weight Loss and Smoking Cessation

On the surface positive change seems like it should be fairly simple. Just make rational decisions based on logic and reason. Easy right? Yet as the old saying goes, "if it's such a great idea, why aren't I doing it already?"

The primary reason is that most of our behavior is automatic and subconscious. The deeper parts of the mind run habit patterns whether they are good, bad or neutral.

Hypnosis is a process that uses a naturally altered state of consciousness to introduce helpful suggestions to the subconscious mind, to give it a new direction.

Here are three ways hypnosis can support your healthy decisions:

Create positive expectation: there is a psychological phenomena called learned helplessness. Experience enough adversity and frustration and you may come to expect that is how things will continue to be in the future and that there really is no use in trying. But what would you be capable of if you knew you couldn't fail? Your drive and determination would be unstoppable. With hypnosis you get to vividly experience your future success which can be a tremendous motivator-learning to "keep you inner eye on the prize."

Deactivating subconscious cues: you may have heard of Pavlov and his famous experiments where he conditioned dogs to salivate by sound. Initially he would ring a bell and then feed the animals meat powder . Eventually a neurological connection formed where the sound alone triggered the response. These kinds of subconscious mental associations happen with humans too. Unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and overeating are often triggered by cues in our daily lives that we are scarcely aware of. Hypnosis offers some very helpful tools to release these patterns.

Controlling stress- it is well known that ongoing stress has a negative impact on the body. Yet also can have a negative impact on our decision making process. A stressed mind is not creative and will revert to its prior conditioning.  Hypnosis is an incredibly effective way of learning how to relax deeply, something many people seldom if ever do.

If you have any questions, I am here to help. A free, confidential phone consultation is available, call (732)714-7040 to learn more.

The Hourglass

Have you ever watched an old time hourglass when you flipped it and the sand flowed from top to bottom?

Unlike modern timepieces that operate with a very consistent rhythm, the sand in an hourglass moves very slowly at first and then picks up speed near the end.

If you tried to push down on the sand at the beginning in order to speed things up, your pressure would actually cause the sand to jam in the narrow neck and its flow would grind to a halt.

In my travels I have heard how this can be a metaphor for why it is not a good idea to try to rush the things we are trying to accomplish.

Often  our initial progress towards a worthwhile goal or creating a new habit can be slower than we like, but this is all part of the process.

For example, trying to lose weight can be a very frustrating process yet most of the so-called shortcuts I have heard of over the years are ineffective in the long run and there have been certain potions, pills and extreme diet/exercise regimens that turned out to be quite harmful.

Nothing has been proven to work better than consistent healthy eating and regular physical activity.

It can be a slow go at times but with a bit of faith and persistence momentum will eventually kick in.

This holds true with anything worthwhile you intend to accomplish. It's great to be excited about a reaching a goal, but often it is a marathon rather than a sprint towards the finish line, pace yourself.

If you need some help getting in the flow of things, I am here to help. A free, confidential phone consultation is available by calling (732) 714-7040 or you can connect at http://www.njhypno.com.

Belly Full or Mindful? A Thinking Thin Secret Shared!

As a professional hypnotist my stop smoking clients frequently ask me if I ever smoked (short answer: I tried it a few times in my younger years and didn't like it, so the habit never caught on.)

But usually my weight loss clients never ask if I ever had a weight problem-yet I was some 30 pounds heavier a few years back. Since I am above average height I didn't have the classic "obese" look but the extra pounds did have a very negative effect on my healthy, energy and comfort levels. And my pants didn't fit!

It was around then I took some positive steps to drop the unwanted weight including stepping up my activity levels and cutting back on refined foods which allowed me to drop about 20 pounds over the course of a year. 

What I want to share with you is another helpful practice that helped me drop an additional 10 pounds this year with really no extra effort on my part: mindfulness.

I stumbled into this by accident as I took a continuing professional education program to become a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Instructor to supplement my traditional hypnosis training. 

Mindfulness, for those of you who are not familiar with the term, is a state of mind where you are fully engaged in the present moment.

Virtually anxiety and stress occurs when we leave the present moment and either dwell on negative events from the past (which cannot be changed) or imagine dreadful things happening in the future. Yet in the present moment as long as you are breathing, right now you are OK.

Mindfulness meditation uses several techniques to help people become more present oriented rather than following some made up line of thinking. With practice you can learn to let a thought be a thought or a feeling be a feeling without become entangled with it and giving it extra energy.

The benefits of a mindfulness practice can include decreased stress levels, a better ability to cope with pain and discomfort and increased freedom from negative habit patterns.

In the case of weight loss, with mindfulness you learn that you can experience a thought, feeling or temptation to eat without having to respond to it. Its just a thought or feeling, after all. 

Example: you might see a fast food restaurant sign and feel an urge to make a stop. Yet the truth is you can go quite a long time without eating, its highly unlikely you have to eat right now. Almost always you can wait awhile until a healthier option is available.

As I practiced mindfulness I would catch myself going, "that's a temptation to eat, but I don't have to right now, I'm OK." And as I mentioned earlier on, I released an extra 10 pounds without any sense of struggle-no "angel vs. devil" scenario. Just letting a thought be a thought...

Mindfulness training is something I offer to all of my clients in addition to the guided hypnosis processes and other methods of self-hypnosis. If you would like to learn more a free, confidential phone consultation is available, call (732) 714-7040.