Foods To Help Stop Smoking

Written by: Debbie

During a session to stop smoking, I review practical tips and ideas to assist my clients in the process, including foods to help stop smoking. The research on this may be limited, but smokers widely report that some foods and drinks can help you. Duke University researchers became interested in claims from smokers that certain foods and drinks made cigarettes taste better, so they decided to investigate it by surveying over 200 smokers about foods and drinks which make cigarettes either taste better or worse.

Here is a sampling of what they found:

Milk and Dairy

Dairy products were identified as one of the types of food and drink that made cigarettes taste worse, most smokers said that it gave their cigarettes a bitter aftertaste.

Vegetables and Fruits

It is reported that these foods make cigarettes taste less desirable. Furthermore, cigarettes block the absorption of important nutrients, such as calcium and vitamins C and D. (For example, smoking just one cigarette drains the body of 25 mg of vitamin C.) Not only will the former smoker now benefit from those nutrients, any possible cravings are diminished by eating these foods.

Ginseng Tea

There is research that suggests ginseng could be therapeutic because it may weaken the effect of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is associated with pleasure (released when smoking tobacco). Studies suggest that ginseng could genuinely reduce the effects of nicotine.

Popcorn

Enjoy popcorn, just leave off the extra butter. Popcorn is high in fiber and low in calories, plus it keeps your hands busy. If the popcorn seems bland, try spraying it with a butter-flavored or olive-oil spray and add a blend of herbal seasoning, garlic, and onion powder, or a little red pepper powder.

Hummus

Hummus is rich in protein, fiber and vitamins and pairs well with many raw veggies. Our body is ready to absorb the nutrients this snack provides now that the smoke has cleared.

Hypnosis In Treating Obesity

Written by: Debbie

It never fails that when I tell people how I make my living—as a hypnotherapist hypnotizing people slim—they inevitably ask: Does it work; does hypnosis really help with weight loss? My answer usually brightens their eyes with something between excitement and incredulity because most people don’t realize that adding trance to your weight loss efforts can help you lose more weight and keep it off longer. Although hypnosis predates carb and calorie counting by a few centuries, I often hear from desperate individuals that this is their last hope. Because of stage and screen portrayals of hypnosis as mind control or at the very least parlor tricks the benefits of hypnosis has long been misunderstood. It isn’t until everything has been exhausted and people are feeling out of control that most people are willing to try hypnosis. Once they realize their goals, I hear “I should have called you first.” If only people understood that hypnosis is a non-invasive tool that can be used for focus and reaching goals. Hypnosis is also helpful in uncovering and discovering underlying, unconscious emotional factors that cause overeating or making poor food choices when stressed, anxious, bored, depressed, and so forth. Once these emotional eating factors are made conscious, hypnosis is then used to assist changing to more positive motivators and better choices. I understand that most people really want to do the right thing. They start diet after diet only to go back to old unhealthy habits when faced with the demands of everyday life. Most of my clients know every calorie or carb count, what exercises burn the most fat, etc. Ask anyone on the street about his eating or exercise habits and chances are, he’ll tell you he knows he should eat better and get more exercise, but … and they follow up with a litany of excuses. I hear excuses every day, yet those excuses aren’t changing the scales. When people call me about hypnosis for weight loss, I explain that I have several protocols I can follow. The Virtual Gastric Band has a huge 95% success rate according to test groups (my success has been similar). There are other methods that can be used as well, depending upon the needs and goals of the individual. There are as many ways to approach hypnosis for weight loss as there are people needing to make the change. My job is to find the proper fit for you, your job is to show up and be honest.

Excuses

There are also as many excuses for not committing to change as there are people. I have heard many of these excuses, repeatedly. It’s always easy to come up with reasons to avoid getting started with a healthy eating or weight-loss plan. But all too often, these reasons are really just excuses. “I don’t have time to cook or exercise, I have too much stress to keep on a diet, it’s in my genes, I travel too much, etc.”

Mindful Eating

Written by: Debbie

“Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

Do you eat too fast and rarely feel satisfied with your food? Are you like so many people, so busy and rushed through out your day that you tend to grab a quick bite? Do you eat at your desk while working? Perhaps you find yourself eating in front of the television or while on your computer? In a world of fast food drive-throughs, we have become accustomed to eating out of bags and cartons, without thought.

Meal time can be a time of communion and appreciation. Appreciation for the bounty of foods we have available to us as well as to the hands that prepare it are only a part of being a mindful eater. By eating consciously, we take time to savor flavors, colors, textures and smells. In other words, we are able to enjoy meals by actually taking the time. This will actually help the release of excess weight.

Mindful eating may seem easy, you think about what you want to eat, make it, and then enjoy it. However, if you take the time to be aware of your thoughts while you eat food, you might be surprised at how little of your consciousness is actually present during the act of eating. Research has shown that if you eat while experiencing stress, the digestive system will be disrupted. The short term effect is a lack of assimilation of nutrients; the long term effect if you continually eat while stressed is the potential for irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, weight gain and eating disorders. By becoming mindful eaters we can find a new joy in eating as well as a new relationship with our reality. Furthermore, when we are more aware of what we are putting into our body, we are more aware of the messages our body is sending us.

Here is an exercise that can help you experience a mindful moment with food. Take a grape, only one and place it into your mouth. As you do, shut your eyes and get a sense for the size, shape and feeling of the grape in your mouth. Roll your tongue around it to feel the texture of the grape. With eyes still closed imagine you can actually see it in your mouth, making the color very rich and vivid. Next, bite into it slowly and feel the juice, be sure to get all the juice out of that one grape that you can. Notice the texture of the grape’s interior and how different it is when it is whole. Chew it slowly and make the experience continue for as long as possible, say, perhaps five minutes. That grape will most likely be the best grape you will ever eat.

Here are 5 quick tips for becoming a mindful eater.

1. Never eat distracted. Turn off the television, computer and phones when you eat.

2. Be aware of your senses. Eating is a multisensory experience; enjoy the appearance of your food, the taste of it, the textures and the aromas.

3. Declare mealtime a time for pleasant conversations only. Eating with family and friends is a communion of the souls. Stress free conversations only!

4. Notice your reactions to foods without judgment. There will be foods you like, those you dislike and those that are neutral. Notice your reactions without deciding if they are right or wrong.

5. Listen to your body. It will send signals of feeling nourished. A simple little affirmation is, “I eat to nourish my body, not feed my emotions”.

Practice mindful eating and it will become a part of who you are.

Lean Healthy You

Written by: Debbie

It has been understood for some time that cardiovascular health is at risk with excess belly fat. Now there is more bad news. Recent studies have revealed that a large gut in midlife will increase the chance of dementia in old age. The research suggests that abdominal fat is a bigger risk factor even that family history is. To read more about the study that was posted in the Journal of Neurology go here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23800703/

Right before summer time, we are already feeling snug in our clothes after a winter of covering up with layers of clothing. Now more guilt is heaped upon us! There is good news, however. Belly fat will go away with a proper diet and exercise. I am a big believer in committing to a lifestyle change, for good health. Diets don’t work. I have said that forever, now even one of the big diet programs is using that as their advertising. A real commitment to living healthy is what will make the difference. Weight management through hypnosis is an amazing way to create success.

Yesterday, I had a marvelous woman in my office, named Kellie. (She has given me permission to use her name.) Kellie had purchased my Lean Healthy You audio online and listened to it for a few weeks. She laughed as she told me the story of how her husband commented on her dress. Kellie was dressed and ready for church. This was a dress that she had always felt pretty good in. Her husband told her it no longer looked good on her. Her thoughts, unfortunately went straight to the negative. She thought she must be too fat. Then she looked in the mirror and realized her dress was too big. It hung on her!

So, Kellie was ready for more changes and was going to be traveling through my neck of the woods. She called on her way in to Florida and set up an appointment for a hypnosis session. We created a personalized audio in the office. I can’t wait to hear her results on this one.

Kellie called me later in the day with more good news. She had purchased an audio for test stress. She was about to take an exam in order to get her license for her profession. Her previous experience testing was not so good. The call was to tell me she had not only passed, but had gotten 91% correct! She called me before she called her husband. I laughed, then told her she needed to call him. I had a gentleman who used the test stress audio for his exam and did the same thing. When he received the results, he called me right away. Before he called his wife. I encouraged him to call her immediately, after all, those who live with us deal with the pre-test experience and deserve to be in on the celebration!