We all know it, don’t we?
Even the most health conscious among us…
Even the most highly evolved among us fall foul of it….
Sometimes we just don't eat as healthily as we should in order to have the health and fitness that goes hand in hand with a vigorous and energetic life.
Do we have a good strategy for healthy eating? Some of us may not.
You know what though? Everything you need to know is there being carried around with you. Your body has all the wisdom and knowledge it needs to have an incredibly healthy and energetic life.
Eating in a
healthy way involves listening to the "wisdom of the body" so that we can recognise when we feel "full" and "empty."
In so doing, we learn to eat for nutrition, not for some psychological value: comfort, nurture, relaxation, etc.
When we were born, this instrument was used very overtly…
We screamed and cried when we were hungry and our parents responded to the call of our bodies and we used that very special sense of appetite accordingly.
Then as we got told to have 3 meals a day… And then it
changed into skipping breakfast and having a big late meal … Or whatever habits we got into as life progressed… With different values being placed upon food at different times…
The sense of true appetite and listening to our bodies got lost along the way…
Eating in a healthy way
also involves us making good (or bad) decisions, doesn’t it?
You see, we need to make good choices on a regular basis that take into account long-term pleasures and certain criteria such as our well-being, energy levels, health, etc., rather than short-term pleasures that in turn become long-term problems if we are not careful.
Healthy eating also involves the shifting of beliefs—transforming limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs, getting over the old eating "programming" of childhood, and building supportive beliefs about self, body imagery and so on…
Those are the kinds of things we deal with in therapy, coaching and in my revised ‘Mind Your Weight’ audio programme - we actually have a wide range of very affordable hypnosis audio tracks to help you with curbing food cravings, taking control of your appetite, eating artfully and more besides, all for just a few pounds, go have a
look here: http://www.hypnosisfordownload.com/weight-reduction/
Let me talk you through this lovely healthy eating pattern in simple steps today then…
Step One: Firstly, you want to become aware of your eating time
representations.
“Whoa there Adam… What on earth does that mean?”
Let me explain this further for you…
Answer these questions to yourself:
How do you know the time has come to "eat?"
Do you see, hear, or feel something?
Imagine that you have worked all day:
how do you know the time has come for lunch or dinner?
What are your personal set of signals at certain times that result in you choosing to “eat”?
Jot these down on paper or in your mind so that you can come back to them later.
Step Two: When you have a good idea of that, proceed to become aware of your tummy… Check the feelings of and in your tummy. What do you
feel?
What finer qualities do you experience within those feelings? Check whether your stomach feels full, empty, or some degree in between. Also check for the overall feelings, is there any tension, relaxation, calmness, or even some turbulence, for example?
Have a good
period of time here and explore the sensation within your tummy and tune in to your tummy.
Step Three: Having explored the sensations within your tummy as much as you can, now explore your thoughts about those
sensations.
Here is a key question to ask yourself; what would feel good in my tummy right now?
Ask this of your body and mind and trust in it’s wisdom…. Then notice what response you get.
Think of an available and healthy food item (e.g., turkey sandwich - loads of them coming up soon - vegetable soup, salad, etc.) and imagine eating it. Go through this with as many items as necessary to find the most appropriate one. The one that really sits well with your tummy’s sense and your minds thoughts in relation to your entire being.
Recall the sensations
that this item creates. So, become aware of all the sensations in your body that you feel when you think of that food in your tummy.
Step Four: Compare the feeling from this healthier, favoured food item with the feeling you had in your tummy before
you imaged eating anything. Which feels better?
Imagine what your body will feel like over the next few hours. If you get a "No" that it won't feel better, decline that food. If you get a "Yes," then accept it. Notice that you decide now based on which will give you the best feeling over time.
What you are doing here is allowing your body and mind to work together for your higher good.
Step Five: Explore and compare using a non-healthy item. There are going to be plenty of temptations coming your way over your life
time…
In your mind just imagine an unhealthy food item, like any of those I just naughtily mentioned and feel that in your tummy…. Experience what it feels like now. Experience what it feels like in a few hours. Experience and imagine what it feels like tomorrow. Imagine what you think and feel about it over
time.
Now go ahead and compare these feelings with the feelings you got from the earlier steps (three and four). Notice which feeling you find more pleasurable. Which choices make you feel better? Which choices contribute to a bigger, better and longer term healthy sensation of well-being?
The information you are overtly giving to yourself here is helping to programme your mind for the longer term just by running through this.
Step Six:
When you have considered
enough possibilities, notice the food items that make you feel the best and imagine yourself taking these choices into your future. In your mind, imagine a variety of future moments, where you are making the healthier and better decisions and choices… Where you are having long-term health and well-being.
Get it lodged into your brain that this is how things are going to be as far as your
healthy eating habits are concerned… Get yourself and your habits in order even before the festive season starts this year, I think you'll be pleased you did come January!
