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Holistic Weight Management

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HOLISTIC WEIGHT MANAGMENT

Elizabeth Bohorquez, R.N., SRN, CPH

President & Program Developer

Sarasota Hypnosis Institute

The evidence is in once again......there is no short-cut to weight loss, and certainly there is no quick route to weight management. With the much touted miracle weight loss drugs, Phen-Fen being pulled off the market, one has to wonder how often we are going to walk up this blind path, only to be told that it is a risky route, one causing unnecessary illness, and even death to innocent people. Women are especially susceptible to these pressures because of the continual pounding of erroneous societal messages which keep telling us that thinner is more attractive, and when we achieve this perceived level of beauty, we will be accepted, loved, admired and success will be ours in all facets of our life.

This scenario reminds me of a friend I once had in high school. She never wanted to put in the work necessary for a successful conclusion, and always seemed to be courting disaster. I used to wonder if she would ever learn, and she never did. Unfortunately her life was shortened by some rather bad choices. I remember her often, especially when I see that part of myself who would prefer an easy answer, rather than to persist and persevere. Sometimes people are surprised when they hear about that part of me. After all, I'm a therapist and why don't I have all of this under control. This observation brings me back to my original point, the game is won in the management of the problem. As we learn to wake up to what is, and know what can be, we have the basis for a good management program. Now, all we need is to get our tool box, choose the best ones for the job, and proceed. So, off to the war room.....

The World of Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat....

It is of paramount importance that we have an excellent understanding of the current research in how carbohydrates, proteins and fats work in our body. We don't need to become a scientist, or spend hours in the library, but make certain that you r education in these matters doens not come from the food manufacturers for obvious reasons. If you would like to see some good examples of outcomes from people who do listen to the manufacturers, just stand in the middle of the supermarket and have a look at the percentage of overweight persons, and especially children. Take a stroll down the aisles and see if you can spot the super-abundance of unhealthy choices which line the shelves. If there wasn't a market for these concoctions, they would not prevail in the amount of space they take up on the shelves. Here's another experiment. Stay aware of how many fast food restaurants line the streets of your city. Now try to spot others which serve healthy fresh foods. This can be a real wake-up call to what is going on in our society, and it is truly frightening, but perhaps not for the reasons you think.

Being overweight is only an outward sign of danger lurking out of sight. The body is indicating that something is not as it should be. It is our responsibility to find out what we are doing incorrectly which is causing us to store excess fat. It can be something quite simple, as over-indulging in diet drinks, thinking because they are calorie free they will not cause weight loss. Or perhaps, it is a grazing problem, or insufficient intake of nutrition. Maybe you are over-exercising for the amount of nutrition you are eating. These are just a few of the many reasons why someone stores fat easily, and finds it difficult to lose.

It is fairly common knowledge that excess weight is connected to the big killers; heart disease, adult onset diabetes, circulatory disturbances, high blood pressure, certain cancers and other disease states. You may not be familiar with the fact that it can also be connected to various addictions, including smoking, alcohol, drugs (prescription and recreations), food, sugar, caffeine and others. I've also found connections to cerebral functions, including concentration, memory storage and retrieval, a lack of desire to set goals, emotional instability, and a rather sluggish learning process.

One needs to establish a working plan for nutrition, and this must be based on the individual's lean body mass, aerobic exercise level, taking into consideration the family and personal medical history. This will help to indicate the amounts of protein, carbs, and fat needed in order to burn fat. Many people are sensitive to higher glycemic foods, and tend to crave them out of proportion to other foods. The term glycemic means how quickly that particular food turns into sugar, and in some individuals that process can be even faster than in others. Some of those foods which can be problematic include bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, and other refined carbohydrates. When there is a sensitivity, not only is the nutritional balance thrown off, but the craving cycle may kick in. It is possible to eat these foods without difficulty, but one has to learn how to place them in their meals.

As far as I'm concerned there is nothing worse than being on a diet, and I've been on many. The good news is that current research shows us that one can burn fat without hunger and cravings, feel energetic and focused all day long. As we balance our intake, and understand the triggers for past problems, we start to make progress right away. The mind and body feel in sync, and work together towards the goal of optimum functioning.

The Food/Stress Chemical Connection....

When we are not eating correctly for our individual needs, food stress occurs. Whenever there is any imbalance in the body, other changes take place. Many of these include the over-production of stress hormones, which link to other hormonal changes. All of this can leave us feeling emotionally unstable, unfocused, fatigued, and certainly not in top form for optimal functioning.

The next step in the holistic approach to weight management is learning how to work with the thought processes, emotional states, and the signals from the body/mind. There are referred to as body sensations, or physical signals. Thoughts are chemically coded, emotionally charged tapes we play in our mind. They are extremely powerful, and that power can either be positive or negative, depending on the chosen tape. Yes, we can choose the tapes, and have the power to release those which are not beneficial or goal orientated. Most of us are not familiar with the techniques involved in removing and placing new tapes in the thought process. Several good techniques to consider are insight meditation, mindfulness, and awareness training. All of the aforementioned give a working system to alter the thought processes. As we learn to also monitor our emotional states, and adjust them accordingly, we are on the road to a much higher level of functioning.

When there is an overabundance of stress hormones in the body, their is a higher tendency to store fat. The body perceives the danger, and goes into energy preservation. Most of us live with quite a high level of stress chemicals in the body, and unfortunately we have become used to this level. This helps us to understand why addictions have become almost the norm. Everyone seems to be hooked on something; sugar, food, nicotine, alcohol, diet drinks, gum, breath mints, caffeine, and you name it. Unfortunately all of these substances can lead to trouble down the pike, and it is a good idea to develop some alternative practices to release stress chemicals. We know that 60-90% of diseases are stress related, and this percentage also holds for the number of visits to heath practitioners. The opposite side of the coin is much brighter; you have control over 60-90% of disease processes, and you can cut back on 60-90% of medical costs when you take responsibility for your own mind/body management.

Changing Course Holistically.....

Whatever we play in our thought processes becomes the goal. If we play "I can't " or "I can" messages, the outcomes will be different. It is as simple as that. Most of the day we are guilty of programming ourselves for negative outcomes. Have a look at your casual talk. Listen to that of others. You will hear it all around you, sometimes as a joke, but negative just the same. The subconscious mind does not have a sense of humor, and takes the casual talk at face value.

In self-hypnosis we can learn to alert ourselves, not only to casual talk, but to any thought process which is not in keeping with our goal. We can also program ourselves to change behaviors and emotions related to behaviors. Self-hypnosis is a natural function of the mind/body and is health-producing. During the actual process we stop producing stress chemicals, and instead produce healing chemicals. We can easily examine our problems or issues through disassociation, and program the successful outcomes clearly. Once this is achieved, the subconscious mind can assist in the working plans, as the mind works backwards. Once the goal is clear, the action begins in a step wise fashion. As you work on weight management issues, you will frequently find other positive changes occurring in you life. The techniques lend to improved goal setting, time management, clarity of thought, and an ease in decision making across the board. When you are placing affirmations in self-hypnosis, you can easily add others for different goals.

Change through self-hypnosis is very different than making changes consciously. With self-hypnosis one is often surprised at their level of creativity in face of adversity, and how ideas seem to flow quite effortlessly, and how easy it seems to be compared to the way it used to be. As we practice these new tools and techniques, just as in any other activity of life, we get better and better. It is possible to utilize self-hypnosis at any time the need arises, be it in the middle of a meeting, during a test, during a confrontation, when writing a report, or when experiencing writer's block, to name a few. I call this interactive self-hypnosis, and it is an extremely valuable asset for anyone to have available.

So now you are ready to move forward holistically....

Everything you need is right within yourself, waiting for you to command it. Your responsibility is to make certain you are giving your mind and body the type of nutrition it needs, the stress management it requires, and the correct input of data concerning what you would like to achieve. As we look at this concept, it is now easy for us to understand what was wrong previously, and it becomes abundantly clear how much power we have if we choose to live at optimum levels of mind/body functioning.

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