The Good Carbs - Whole Grains
Originally uploaded by austin-hypnosis

There are some things I say over and over again in my weight loss program:

1. White flour carbs and sugar cause weight gain and a host of other health problems

2. Whole grain carbs are the good guys. They aid digestion, strengthen the heart and do not cause an insulin rush (i.e., weight gain). Look for the word "whole" when buying whole grain breads. "Multi-grain" is not necessarily "whole grain." Neither is "All Natural Wheat." Food companies try to confuse us. Look for the words "whole grain" or "whole wheat."

3. Try some new whole grains. Some of my favorites are whole wheat cous cous and quinoa (in bulk bags in the photo). They are quick to make and delicious. Quinoa especially has a slightly nutty flavor.

See what 200 calories looks like. This is fascinating. When I first started looking I thought, "Wow. That's a lot of veggies to make 200 calories." Then as I scrolled down into the carbs and fat, I noticed that it takes a lot less food to equal 200 calories...just half of a blueberry muffin, fore example.

Studies have shown that VISION really does effect eating behaviors. Using smaller plates and smaller bowls really does help with portion size, because it looks like more food on a small plate.

Here is one of my visual techniques for self-control. When I am at a cafe and noticing the pies, cakes and pastries, I will pause and allow myself to admire their beauty. I will allow my eyes to enjoy how nice they look, and how pleasing they are artistically. And I will allow that vision to satisfy me so there is no need to spend money, eat a lot of sugar and then feel guilty. My husband often hears me say, "Oh, look how pretty those lemon meringue pies are!" But I rarely order one. My indulgence stops at the vision of it. See if you can let your eyes enjoy a treat without passing it to your stomach. You will soon find the only thing getting heavy will be your wallet from the money saved!

My hypnosis weight loss program uses lots of mental tricks, tools and techniques in addition to the hypnosis to help you be more mindful of your choices.

Copyright 2007 Wellspring Hypnosis ® - Austin, Texas

When I was visiting my family in mid-June, my brother-in-law complained of a Pepsi-drinking habit that he has struggled with for many years. That's just the kind of thing I am really good at helping with so I I offered to do a little hypnosis with him.

It was just a quick 15 minute hypnosis session. I have since heard from several family members how impressed they are that he hasn't touched a Pepsi since our work together! I love my family and this makes me very happy.

Drinking sugary sodas contributes to diabetes and other myriad health issues. If you would like help with a similar issue, give me a call.

Copyright 2007 Wellspring Hypnosis ® - Austin, Texas

The December 2006 edition of Oprah Magazine on newstands now has an article featuring hypnosis for weight loss ("Losing Weight: The Mind Game"). I was surprised to read that a widely respected hypnotherapist and M.D. is quoted in this article, saying that he uses hypnotic suggestions for weight loss such as, "For my body, overeating is a poison."

Now there are lots of reasons I would NEVER make a suggestion like that to anyone. The most obvious reason is simply that IT'S NOT TRUE. Overeating may be unhealthy, but it's not poison (unless you are eating poisonous foods but that is another matter). Hypnosis is powerful stuff and it's extremely important to use holistic, healing and ecological suggestions to bolster weak points and emphasize strengths. Saying things like "cigarettes will now make you sick" or "overeating is poison to your body" are:

a) unnecessary for effective work (e.g., don't use a shotgun to kill a mosquito)
b) unethical and
c) potentially harmful

The ancient Hippocratic Oath that all physicans swear by can be summarized as "Above all, do no harm."

I often have people ask me, "will you make me sick if I smoke another cigarette?" And my answer is, "No. I won't do it." I will use very strong and aggressive techniques if requested, but there is a line I won't cross and that is telling someone they will become ill or do themselves harm.

I am healer, afterall.

Copyright 2006 Wellspring Hypnosis ®

The National Weight Control Registry is an ongoing research project tracking more than 3,000 people who’ve lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for five years. The research group found that keeping a food journal is  one strategy used by the majority of successful dieters. In fact, in a study of 685 dieters conducted by a health insurance company, the best predictor of weight loss throughout the first year was the number of food records kept per week.

Here is a list of free internet food diaries.  There are also subscription services that print charts and graphs of your exercise vs. your caloric intake. My Food Diary is an example of this type. Yet other programs like SmartMedium and KiloCalc can be downloaded as software to your computer.

Hypnosis can help you stick with your goals and increase your awareness and enhance your pleasure from making good choices.

Copyright 2006 Wellspring Hypnosis ®

"...65 percent of Americans who are overweight or obese got that way, in part, because they didn’t realize how much they were eating.

“We don’t have any idea what the normal amount to eat is, so we look around for clues or signals,” he said. “When all you see is that big portions of food cost less than small ones, it can be confusing.”

Although people think they make 15 food decisions a day on average, his research shows the number is well over 200. Some are obvious, some are subtle. The bigger the plate, the larger the spoon, the deeper the bag, the more we eat. But sometimes we decide how much to eat based on how much the person next to us is eating, sometimes moderating our intake by more than 20 percent up or down to match our dining companion. "

Read the rest of this NY Times article here.

Copyright 2006 Wellspring Hypnosis ®