Is this a familiar scenario?
Scene 1: You are flooded with emotion. For example: Your feelings get hurt over a minor altercation with someone you really care about or you are so excited about a possible job promotion, or you are sitting around the house at the end of a long day, feeling bored and slightly agitated.
Scene II – You begin to fantasize about that bag of chips and dip in the cabinet or the cold, refreshing, comforting mint chocolate chip ice-cream in the fridge. You imagine how good that glass (or bottle) of wine would taste and how soothing it would feel going down.
Scene III – Your inner chatter starts picking up speed about the pros and cons of acting on your thoughts. One inner voice argues that you deserve something sweet and delicious – that you’ve been working so hard, or you’ve been so under appreciated, or haven’t socialized in so long.
Countering that is the voice within that insists that you had promised yourself that you were going to stop that self-destructive behavior – that your eating is out of control, your body is in terrible shape, and that you need to pull your life together.
Scene IV – You see the inner image of yourself looking out of control, out of shape and feeling deflated and your image of how comforting the “forbidden” food or drink would taste/feel grows bigger, brighter and more real for you.
Scene V – You decide that change is hopeless and that you might as well “enjoy” your life as you reach for the “bad” chips, wine or ice-cream.
You may assume that the problem with this chain of events is that you have no willpower or that you really are out of control and destined to fail. This is absolutely not the problem. The challenge is actually an inner challenge and that is that you are ending your mental movie too soon.
It is the above sequence of images that is setting you up to perpetuate an internal battle with your weight, that has you ending up feeling like a loser. By ending your mental movie with the sweet, tempting taste and the perceived comfort of the items that are ultimately going to keep you spinning in a cycle of failure when it comes to living your life healthy, at your ideal weight and in control of your life and eating habits, you are keeping yourself from achieving your goal.
Your mind responds to images and internal voices. We may think that we are moved by the outer world, but it is only the concepts that we accept to be true and valid for ourselves that instigate our actions.
Therefore the only way to have success if your ultimate goal is to be happy, healthy and live your life at your ideal weight is to create a new ending to the perpetual mental movie that’s on auto-pilot in your brain.
As long as you continue to end your unconscious imagery with scenes of pigging out and the familiar feeling of failure, or with the feeling of being satisfied and comforted with foods that are causing you harm physically and/or mentally/emotionally, or with the pleasurable taste of these foods, you are going to continue to act on these images whether you want to or not.
Remember the subconscious mind is not rational. It responds to the images that have been planted there, particularly those images that are so strongly
imbedded over time due to repetition and strong emotion. When your mind sees that picture of you enjoying that bowl of ice-cream, it just says, “Wow, that looks good. Let’s do it!”
It doesn’t think about the fact that you’ve just starved yourself all day long and that you really want to fit into that adorable blue suit, or that you vowed to yourself just yesterday that you were going to lose 30 pounds by next summer. All it sees is you eating the ice-cream, deriving pleasure and it takes going to the fridge to fulfill this desire, as a direct order.
In the aftermath, after the joy of the moment wanes, you sit in disbelief over what happened, frustrated with yourself, and filled with remorse. You either resolve that it won’t happen again and start exercising furiously or throw your hands up in despair and decide to give up. “At my age,” you tell yourself, “What’s the difference? I might as well enjoy my life.” A feeling of sadness sinks in . . .
How can you truly avoid this scene playing out again in the future? It’s actually simple. Observe your mind and realize that it’s the mental movies that are running your life-both in a positive and a negative way. If you imagine yourself getting up, getting dressed, brushing your teeth and going to work, then work is going to be where you end up. But if you create a strong image of feeling too tired to get out of bed, chances are you’ll call in sick that day.
Unless of course you counter that image with a brighter vision of the luncheon you’ve been looking forward to that day or a letter of reprimand from your boss that you want to avoid at all costs–in which case you’ll probably find yourself getting up and getting off to work.
It’s the images we play in our mind that lead us to take action. Our brain always wants us to move towards pleasure and away from pain. If we create an image of pleasure-whether it leads to ultimate pleasure or not-we will find ourselves seeking that activity. If we create an image of pain–whether it leads to ultimate pain or not–we will find ourselves taking an action to avoid that discomfort.
Therefore to have ultimate success with our weight loss goals we have to be vigilant about creating internal mental movies that support that goal. That
means ONLY running movies that depict the true, ultimate pain of eating harmful foods or living a sedentary lifestyle and bringing to your consciousness the result they cause in your life. By not focusing on the moment’s pleasure of an undeniably enjoyable taste, but instead concentrating on the unwanted result, your mind will naturally move you to take actions away from those foods.
This will only be effective if it happens at a subconscious level. Consciously, of course, you tell yourself, “I should eat the healthy food.” Or “I shouldn’t eat the ‘bad’ foods.” You can tell yourself these things all day, but if your inner mental movies don’t support the new, desired action of actually selecting healthy food and staying away from junk, you won’t do it.
Remember to make the final scene of your mental movies strong and powerful and make sure that scene leads you to take the action you want to take! End
your movie by going further out in time and seeing what outcome you are likely to attract. Beyond the sweet taste, what lies in store for you if you eat that food? Addiction? Guilt? An overweight condition? Tight clothes? Social Embarrassment? Isolation?
Illness? Disease? Discomfort? Frustration? A need for excessive exercise? Make movies of these unwanted outcomes. Make them bright and close and clear.
As you run the movie, make it clear to yourself that this is not your ultimate destiny by any means, but simply the direct result of what’s likely to occur, if you indulge in that food. Make sure that the movie runs in the present tense. This means that you don’t give yourself the luxury of thinking that this possible fate is unlikely or will happen in the very distant, intangible future. Instead make sure that your mind gets the picture that this is the result of going down a road where you eat certain foods.
Let it know that any action you take today is much more likely to be repeated tomorrow than if you had not taken that action today. This way when a voice pops in that tries to convince you that you can eat this “just this one time,” you will clearly know deep within yourself that there’s no such thing as doing something “just one time.” We are always heading in one direction or another, and every action you take just reinforces that pathway.
Choose the pathway to health, happiness, looking and feeling your best, and living in control of your life and your eating habits. Peer into your mind and see the movie that’s running there. That is the vision that is literally running the show of your life.
If you don’t like where you’re going, change the channel. Eject that DVD and insert a new one that depicts you as the heroine-moving your body with grace and ease, looking beautiful and glowing from the inside, choosing the foods from the earth that nourish and sustain you, and saying “Yes!” to life!
Please comment below and let me know about your own experiences and your thoughts about what I’ve shared. I love connecting with you!!
To your Health & Happiness,
Weight Loss Hypnosis Articles
Read some of our articles about how hypnosis can help you reach your ideal weight without going hungry. Rena Greenberg Health, Wellness and Weight loss expert, rated the best hypnotherapist for gastric band hypnosis, has helped over 200,000 people lose thousands of pounds, without dieting. Hypnotherapy benefits are recognized by the world of medicine, and renowned hypnotherapist Rena Greenberg has developed advanced self-hypnosis programs that deliver outstanding results. Her clients’ testimonials speak for themselves. If you are interested in starting your weight loss journey and need some help, contact Rena today to learn more.