I have to admit that I have, at times, been somewhat dismissive of the issue, thinking that overeating was a simply due to the lack of a strong will; in my own life, I have very much used “mind over manner” to accomplish so many goals that I didn’t always understand why others also couldn’t do the same. This changed, however, when I began to think deeper and to observe people around me soon realising that it was not only overeating that was an issue but also unhealthy eating habits developed partially due to lack of education of what the right foods to eat are, and partially due to a lack of willpower to stick to regimes that initially are difficult and showcase little value. I began to explore the reasoning behind the various attitudes towards the food we eat.
The truth is, I consider myself rather a “foodie” and I too find great pleasure in food that tastes great. Often food habits are created because of the seeking of great flavours (as was in my case) and an uneducated palate may find those flavours in foods that are more manufactured than true. Hey I too once loved McDonald’s. And even now when I write, the thought of a McDonald’s Big Mac still makes me salivate a bit. But I also now know exactly what I’m ingesting when I allow myself to eat it and how harmful that one Big Mac is to my skin, my waistline, my energy level, etc. But I may still choose to eat that Big Mac that one time I’m on a highway and McDonald’s is that one place at the rest area; and I will probably even enjoy it. The idea is to know what is in the food we eat and how it will affect us and our bodies and to make choices based on being informed about that food. The idea is also to let ourselves savour our food and enjoy how it tastes, smells and feels afterwards and to use food as nourishment and even pleasure; not as a way to stuff ourselves or to drown our woes.
Food and eating is not a substitute for internal happiness. It is a source of pleasure, of course; but there are other sources of pleasure too: reading, watching a film, making love, hanging out with friends, taking long walks, exercise and so many more interesting ways to occupy our time. The issue with food today is that often we don’t actually know what we’re eating, even if we think we do, so what we seem to like as flavours to make our food tasty is sometimes (especially with highly-processed food) actually causing our body short and long-term harm. It is no surprise, therefore, that so many modern-day diseases actually have their roots in poor diet or lifestyle choices.
The deeper I searched the more I realised that the junk food addiction and over-eating issue has deeper roots than simply trying to fill an enlarged stomach. After all, gluttony is one the seven deadliest sins, and not because it makes you fat but because it kills your livelihood. Gluttony is not about eating bad food but is rather about getting addicted to it to such an extent that it dulls your senses and mind and stops you from focusing on more important areas of life. The overeating not only has immediate physical effects (we have all experienced a dinner party after which even breathing seems hard because we just ate way too much), but that intake of excess substances (which nowadays we don’t always know what they contain) dulls our mind and saps our energy as well. The internal hole that we are trying to fill with food will never be able to be filled with this food. But the added chemicals and our own depleted sense of happiness keeps us going back to it, as it is more accessible and easier to get than the actual sense of happiness that we crave. It is the easy solution. Therefore I deiced to to really work on it, understand the issue, having seen how overeating and also being unhappy with one’s physical appearance affects one’s love life, I now offer, as one of my services for those who need it, hypnotherapy for weight management (which of course includes looking into eating better and finding other sources of happiness).
If you want to schedule a hypnotherapy for weight management session book a call to discuss the particulars below. |