healthy

Hypnosis Helps Create A Desire For Healthy Foods

Written by: Debbie

So you want to improve your eating, start making better choices in the foods you eat. Still you crave junk food and fast food. Well, guess what? Your brain is hardwired against you!

When you eat fatty or sugary foods the pleasure center in your brain lights up. Just the mention of the word crispy lights up the same area of the brain, so actually eating crispy chips is addictive.

This causes you to desire more of the same, lessening your willpower. It started as a way of keeping us alive. Early man needed fatty fuels to burn and crisp meant fresh. Our food storage and preparation has changed and the brain hasn’t yet caught up.

However, there is hope. The answer lies within. You have everything you need to succeed. It isn’t the latest diet or appetite suppressant. It is finding balance and learning to listen to your body’s signals. Hypnosis can help you create a desire for healthy foods.

The subconscious mind wants to keep you safe and healthy. The cravings you experience for junk food is simply a misinterpretation of the mind. It believes you need those foods for survival. In hypnosis we can change that understanding and create a wonderful desire for lean, healthy foods.

A wonderful suggestion was created by a father-son hypnotherapy team, Herbert Spiegel and David Spiegel. It is “For my body, too much food is damaging. I need my body to live. I owe my body respect and protection.” You can create your own mantra. One 50-year-old client who shed 50-plus pounds repeats daily: “Unnecessary food is a burden on my body. I’m going to shed what I don’t need.”

Visualization is a powerful tool used in hypnosis. Like athletes preparing for competition, visualizing victory readies you for a victorious outcome. Imagining a day of healthy eating helps you envision the necessary steps to becoming that healthy eater.

Furthermore, picturing and imagining the foods that cause you to stumble as being sent down the river on a raft or flying off in a hot air balloon may sound silly, but it works. The language of the mind is imagery and it loves symbols and metaphors.

In hypnosis we have a saying, “there is no failure, only feedback”. If you fall off the wagon, it is an opportunity to learn something more about yourself. Looking at what triggered the relapse can give you insight into what is going on in your life that is out of balance and find a way to bring yourself back to balance.

Think long-term. If you stumble along the journey, it’s OK. Healthy eating habits are hard to establish, and change takes time. Stay positive. Keep your focus on healthy eating.

A motivational quote about manifesting dreams.

Your Healthy Holiday Contract

Written by: Debbie

It’s that time of year when the holidays keep us busier than usual with the shopping, crafting, cooking, parties, and a huge array of activities geared to remind us about friends and family. While it may all be good, it is easy for us to forget our goals and intentions for creating good health. I have created and used this Healthy Holiday Contract with my clients as a reminder to stay healthy. Anything signed will become more a part of our commitments. So, please, print this out and sign it. Put it somewhere you will see it often and read it regularly!

June Is Rebuild Your Life Month: How to Reduce Stress and Create a Healthier Future

Written by: Debbie

June is Rebuild Your Life Month, a perfect time to pause and take an honest look at where you are — and where you want to go. Whether life has thrown you an unexpected curveball or you simply feel called to make changes, this month offers a powerful opportunity to recreate your life with intention.

Rebuilding your life doesn’t require drastic moves all at once. Often, meaningful change begins by identifying and removing stressors wherever possible.

Step One: Identify the Source of Your Stress

Recognizing what causes stress in your life is the first and most important step. Job stress often spills over into home life, while a difficult home environment can make work even more stressful. Because stress compounds itself, it’s essential to narrow down where it is coming from so you can address it at the root.

Clear the Clutter to Calm the Mind

Sometimes rebuilding your life starts with something simple — decluttering your home. Numerous studies show that physical clutter contributes to mental clutter, increasing stress and overwhelm.

In The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin dedicated an entire month to clearing clutter. She describes how removing excess belongings helped her appreciate what she chose to keep and experience a greater sense of freedom. A clean, organized space often leads to clearer thinking and reduced stress.

Rebuilding Your Life May Require Letting Go of Toxic Relationships

In other cases, stress stems from conflict or unhealthy relationships. This can lead to the difficult realization that certain people in your life may not have your best interests at heart.

Letting go of toxic relationships is rarely easy, and the initial separation can feel stressful. However, removing a consistently negative influence often creates a profound shift in how you experience life. Emotional well-being improves when you protect your peace.

When Your Job Is the Problem

A toxic workplace can be just as damaging as a toxic relationship. While leaving a job may not happen overnight, taking steps toward change is essential.

You spend a significant portion of your life at work, and chronic dissatisfaction can lead to serious emotional and physical health issues. Even beginning to explore new options — changing workplaces or returning to school one class at a time — can improve your outlook and reduce stress.

Healthy Changes That Support Rebuilding Your Life

Healthy Eating

One of the most impactful ways to rebuild your life is by improving your nutrition. Healthy eating supports energy levels, emotional balance, stress management, and long-term wellness.

There is no single “perfect” way to eat, as nutritional needs vary. However, a diet heavy in fast food and processed snacks does not support health or happiness. Choosing nourishing foods is an act of self-respect.

Regular Exercise

Regular exercise is a powerful tool for managing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, and improving emotional well-being. Exercise benefits both the body and the mind.

Psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen often says that 20 minutes of vigorous exercise can be more effective than medication for improving mood and brain health. Movement truly is medicine.

Get Quality Sleep

Quality sleep is often overlooked, yet it is essential for rebuilding your life. Stress can interfere with sleep, and lack of sleep makes stress harder to manage — a difficult cycle to break.

Practicing stress-reduction techniques and healthy sleep habits can dramatically improve sleep quality. Self-hypnosis and meditation are especially effective tools for calming the nervous system and promoting restorative sleep.

Create a Happiness Ritual

A happiness ritual is a simple, repeatable activity that brings you joy. It might be a daily cup of tea, quiet reflection, journaling, coloring, yoga, or time in nature.

Practicing your ritual regularly reinforces your sense of worth and creates emotional resilience. When stressful moments arise, you can draw on the calm and comfort you’ve cultivated.

Rebuilding Your Life Starts With Small, Intentional Choices

Life was never promised to be easy, but it is responsive to the choices we make. Rebuilding your life can begin with decluttering your space, changing relationships, improving habits, or simply deciding that your well-being matters.

By adjusting your sails and choosing a new direction, you move away from the past and toward a healthier future. Use this month as your starting point. The life you rebuild may surprise you.

A smooth gradient background blending purple and brown hues.

Monday Morning Musing….

Written by: Debbie

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here in Florida. Chamber of Commerce weather, even. So, my husband and I decided to take advantage of that and rode our bikes up to Innisbrook to lay by the pool. The ride was more difficult than I remembered. I wore a one piece swimsuit, poolside, black. I made sure our chairs were right next to the pregnant woman. All the signs were there, I was feeling uncomfortable.

Yes, I eat healthy foods. I eat slowly, placing the fork down between bites. I stop eating when my body signals it is full, not stuffed. I drink lots of water. Most of the time. Lately, not so much and now I was aware of that. It is time to get back to feeling as healthy and lean as possible. I feel better when I am following proper eating and exercise guidelines. I know that. Yet, I let it slide.

One recent morning I was out walking when a neighbor stopped me. He asked,”Why do you walk, aren’t you a hypnotist? I thought you would just imagine the weight away!” He was serious. If only it were that easy. Yes, hypnosis is a weight management tool in my arsenal, however, I follow the same guidelines I give my clients. Lately, I guess I thought I could get away without doing so and it has shown up on the hips!

So, I am listening to my audios again, reinforcing good habits. I am remembering to focus on health and being committed to myself, rather than on fat and loss. I forgive myself for past mistakes, moving forward, towards good health. I can’t change yesterday, I can only start from where I am right now.

Because of this awareness, I have decided to make it easier for anyone else who wants to make changes as the summer is approaching. I am offering my Lean, Healthy You audio at the discounted rate of $17.00. That is a savings of $6.77! This is available at my website for a limited time.

Join me, begin taking steps towards a healthier, happier you. When you begin your quest, drop me a note and let me know how you are progressing. We can share our victories and even our challenges. Let’s make this the summer of a Lean Healthy You!

Woman in classroom with motivational text.

Heal Faster With Hypnosis

Written by: Debbie

Yesterday, I picked up a new copy of Prevention Magazine. (The February 2008 edition.) I love to read through them and then leave them in my office waiting room. They often have an article or two that strikes a chord with a client of mine and at times will walk out of the office as a result. This is a great thing, as I encourage my clients to read healthy lifestyle articles on a daily basis, keeping their mind set on health and happiness.

Perusing through the magazine later in the evening, I was delighted to see page 31. Under the heading of Health, there is a snippet that is titled Heal Faster with Hypnosis. The article explains that just 15 minutes of hypnotherapy can reduce the amount of anesthesia needed during surgery and the pain, nausea and fatigue afterward. It sites a study done at the New York City Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

I have worked with clients in a pre-op situation and given them audios to listen to post-op. The results have been phenomenol. They report feeling less apprehensive going into the surgery and not going through the same “let down” after the surgery.

Secondary Gains

Written by: Debbie

There are times when an individual may seek help for an issue, appear to be trying and yet success alludes them. There are those who reach their desired success quickly, then seem to do a complete 180 degree turn. Why is this?

Perhaps it is due to something called a secondary gain. If your disease allows you to miss days of work or school, illicit sympathy or gain attention, these are some examples of what a secondary gain is. Every behavior we have rewards us in some way or we wouldn’t have that behavior. That’s right, every behavior. Even the negative ones. Therefore, when changes don’t seem to occur, it is time to take a look at what the benefit is.

It is usually said that to suggest you might be taking advantage of others as a result of your suffering is to blame the victim. How can you take any course of action when you are assumed to be unable to help yourself? This allows you to be treated as a victim, removing any responsibility to change your circumstances.

Are you giving yourself permission to act out irresponsibly because you “can’t control yourself”? Going a step further, you can treat others poorly or have power over them if you are the “victim” and they need to conform to your special needs. Perhaps your family all has a similar issue and this allows you to be a part of the clan.

Through hypnosis, we can journey together to discover what the gains are. They are often not something the logical mind would expect. Once discovered, another method of meeting that need can be established. A healthy habit, thought or behavior that will allow you to move beyond the issue towards success. Away from over eating, nail biting, smoking or even the hiccups towards a life of freedom!

A former client with a long term physical ailment came to me hoping for a cure. There had been quite a bit of attention given to her ailment and her attempts at curing it. In my office, she was able to find relief. However, we agreed there needed to be more work done, to allow this to become a permanent change. The siren call of the media attention took hold. The follow up visits were not kept. The relief was sporadic. Perhaps a secondary gain can be seen here.

When you make a commitment to yourself, for change, it is important that you follow through with the entire course of action. You are worth it!