7 Keys for Highly Effective Weight Loss

7 KEYS FOR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WEIGHT LOSSnby Addie Kania, Board Certified Hypnotherapist. n 1. COMMITMENT: Keep your promise as you would to someone you respect… Yourself!! Make Health and Well-Being: Mind, Body & Spirit, your priority. n 2. GET REAL: Set up a realistic goal that is specific, do-able and achievable. This goal should be broken down into measurable steps. (For instance, “I want to lose __ lbs in 6 months… How many pounds in a week?) Lifestyle changes happen one day at a time, one choice and “one mouthful” at a time.” Set your course: Make a daily food Plan & Exercise Plan.n 3. PAY ATTENTION: You need to “Retrain” your brain and stomach to become aware: When you are Hungry, What to Eat, How Much to Eat and When to Stop! Stop halfway through your meal…Pause… and take a deep breath and ask: “How satisfied am I?” Learn & practice: Portion Control & Purchase control !n 4. LEARN to recognize Emotional Hunger—the #1 saboteur of all weight loss efforts! When you feel compelled to eat when you are Not hungry, and just cannot stop eating…First, STOP…Take a deep breath…and ask yourself the following questions: What am I thinking? What am I feeling? What do I really “need”? …then DO something about the issues that are really “Eating at You!” Learn to identify your real needs, and the underlying emotions that compel you to eat. Realize it is not about food—it’s about needs. Food won’t “fix” it! Are you: bored, lonely, angry stressed or tired? Chart the events and emotions that trigger an Eat-athon then develop strategies for coping. For instance: if you are stressed, “work it out” through exercise. If you are lonely, reach out and call a friend—or volunteer—and will also meet like-minded people in your efforts!n 5. POSITIVE SELF-TALK: You are not only what you eat--you are what you think! So “feed” your mind with positive self-suggestion, and repeat it several times a day to re-program your thinking and behavior in the direction of your goals. Identify negative and self-defeating self-talk, then immediately rephrase it to positive self-talk. For instance, the thought: “I’m fat!” Rephrase it to: “I am a good person and I am learning to make better healthier food choices.” Or, “I hate to exercise” rephrase it to: “Exercise makes me feel and look great…and I feel proud that I am doing it!” *Remember: Your body is your vehicle that carries you through life and it was meant to move and stretch and “live-in!” Exercise also builds self-esteem and boosts mood as well. “Inactivity is hazardous to your health!”n 6. RENEW YOUR MIND AND SPIRIT: “Feed” yourself on all levels: Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, Socially and Spiritually. If you “feed” yourself on all these levels, you will balance your life and false hunger will diminish. Make time in your life for self-reflection, self-renewal, laughter and fun…..Smile! Adopt an “Attitude of Gratitude.”n 7. VISUALIZE THIS: “Think Yourself Thin!” Use self-hypnosis to create an image of yourself at your healthy, ideal weight and size. Notice how great you look and “feel” in your healthy, active and trimmer body. Make a commitment to VISUALIZING your “Conscious Body Image…and how good you look and feel… several times every day, especially before bed. Use an affirmation: “I am creating a healthy, happy body!n(*I have created “The Alternative Weigh” Weight Loss Hypnosis CD for this purpose!)nn Take care, and be well as there is only One of You….. Blessings! n