Excerpts from...

Sugar...

The Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It

THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK

Preparing to lick sugar addiction and make healthy lifestyle changes involves a very special kind of planning.  This planning means that you will be needing information about yourself that may not be in your current memory bank, but waiting for you in your subconscious mind library.  Some of these things will pertain to your family of origin, as well as from your own health history starting from the time you were a child and up through today.  You will also be reclaiming memory files about your beliefs, how you got them and whether or not they are blocking your recovery from addiction.

 In this chapter you will learn how to access this information and utilize for healing as well as for heightened creativity and goal achievement.  This special work is called Your Personal Assessment and as you continue working through the book you will be referring back to this area.

 You will be needing power tools for this work and will receive instructions for utilizing them as you work through your assessment.  They include Interactive Awareness, Mental Biofeedback and, Interactive Self-Hypnosis.   As with any other skill building, the more you practice the better you get and the better you get, the more information will be made available to you by your subconscious librarian.

As you turn the pages you will notice that this area appears rather lengthy.  The reason for this is that your life has so many subconscious files, all of them holding important information and keys to your success.   When one has an addiction there is a tendency towards compulsion and often a backing away from what is perceived "time consuming" work.   Perhaps you recognize this in yourself.   So do know that while it's just fine to scan through the material and become familiar, don't fall into the trap of procrastination.  You will simply be cheating yourself and actually take away from the quality of your final outcomes.  In fact, you might want to review this area more than once so as to build on the already presented memories.  Reading this book is like sitting in one of my classes. You are invited to ask questions.  You will find some questions here from other students, but you can do so as well on my website. 

And so let's begin your Personal Assessment.    Throughout this work you will be activating the different areas with a light application of Interactive Self-Hypnosis. Managing addictions or getting to the heart of any problem involves the act of beginning, or as I like to call it, getting on the life merry-go-round.  You probably know plenty of people who want to change something, but simply can’t figure out how or when to get started.  Somehow it never seems to be the right time, or any other time but now steps forward in the mind, pushing you into a disguised kind of procrastination.   Perhaps you have had this personal experience and are wondering right in this moment if you can do this.  Do know that this time it will be different than before, because I’m going to help you get started and find your balance.  In fact, you are already begun because you are in the process of reading this book.  It’s said that when a rubber band is stretched, it never returns to it’s original position, and so with reading material such as this.  The actual process of reading engages your right brain, or subconscious mind and so inner motivators are already etched.

MIND EXERCISE     Take a moment to deeply relax and just as if you were looking in a big filing cabinet, find the folder that contains your current lifestyle patterns.  As your mind scans the material, notice that some appears familiar, but others may not be quite so clear.  While you think you know yourself and how you spend your time, you are about to find out that you know less about yourself than you thought.   That is because a good part of your day is spent in a very limited conscious state known as low-level awareness, or automatic pilot   I call this is day-sleep walking,  a form of automatic self-hypnosis. 

 While automatic pilot has some benefits, it also has drawbacks.  When you are not fully awake you give up your rights to observe, assess and manage your choices.  Instead, you are automatic programming in relationship to the goal in your mind, for whatever is in your mind is indeed a goal.   You are currently in the process of managing sugar addiction and eating disorders and while you may choose to keep some of your automatic programs, others may be blocking these goals,  keeping you locked in failure.  In fact each time you reinforce any failure program, your subconscious mind sees this failure as your goal and the next time you will find it even easier to fail.   

Planning is important, as is attention to detail.  Success is found in self-observation that is heightened by  Interactive Awareness and then deciding what needs to change.  It’s usually a matter of many small changes that are just like pennies.  They add up!

 It’s not uncommon for people to balk at committing to change.  This is known as resistance, but the work you are doing here with Interactive Awareness and Self-Hypnosis is helping you to bypass the old roadblocks and to actually learn from them.

Designing a new eating plan is relatively simple. This is usually a surprise to many, especially those who followed different diet regimes throughout their life.  Your new eating plan  is not about dieting, but learning to think about what you body needs, translating this into planning with "food groups."  In the previous chapter you learned about these.   Although all information in this book is based on healthy eating and behavior building, it is always best to check with your physician about any lifestyle changes especially dietary change and exercise.    

KNOWLEDGE HOOK. 

The body and mind offer clues through hunger signals  and energy levels.  Ferocious appetite, low energy and poor concentration are often related to periods of low blood sugar, or reactive hypoglycemia.  When you eat what your body needs regularly and in the correct amounts, your body will deliver a manageable hunger level at meal time.  The hunger should be sufficient, allowing you to consume enough food to take you through to your next meal or disciplined snack. 

You should be eating every three and a half to four hours.  As you begin your recovery plan from sugar addiction, you may experience some breakthrough hunger, but this usually subsides in a day or so.  In those moments you can certainly eat a bit more protein, but also take the opportunity to look back at your last two meals, noticing if they were well balanced, containing sufficient amounts.

 Sugar addicted individuals tend to graze, usually on high glycemic or refined  carbohydrates.  The more one grazes, the more the blood sugars go up and down.  Even sipping on diet soda or coffee can cause fluctuating blood sugars, as both beverages trigger insulin production.  While some grazing is caused by true hunger resulting from low blood sugars, much of it is simply a bad habit or poor self-care discipline.  Once you come to know which is which, you can correct it, either with a better food plan or with   Interactive Self-Hypnosis mind programs, emotional management and inner motivation.

As you eat in balance and in a timely discipline, you will also find that your energy levels will balance throughout the day.   Don’t be surprised if your sleep improves including falling asleep and staying at deep levels throughout the night, waking up refreshed.  Few people understand the food connection to quality of sleep.  To help your understanding of this simply think about babies and night time feedings.  If a baby misses a daily feeding, the entire schedule can go awry.  It’s the same with adults.  If you graze during the day and entertain fluctuating blood sugars, your body will expect the same during the night.  

 BUILDING YOUR PLAN

If you plan to succeed, you must plan.  This book contains several planning tools for you that students use in my office, as well as on the internet.  The most important things to know are what food groups are needed and how to design your day.  Forget about being perfect, instead aim for about 95%.  As you become more skilled in the tools of Interactive Self-Hypnosis, you will find yourself living effortlessly at this percentage, and maybe even higher.  Moving from perfectionism allows your subconscious mind to relax and to help you in new ways.  This is how you move through compulsive and emotional eating.  Later on you will be working specifically with those areas of your life.

Take some time to review this small chart and go back to the chapter on the specific foods that are in these groups.  Then open the book to your planning tools.  You are on your way to long term success.  The tools will help you to organize your eating including noticing your body and mind communications in relation to food choices.  You can opt for things you no longer want to eat and set goals for change.  The Inner Coach section of this book will give you many options for small changes and the self-help tools will give you a way to organize and commit to them.  This is how big changes come about. Do not attempt to do everything at once.  This is a lifestyle change and you do have the time to do this without panicking.   

KNOWLEDGE HOOK – Working with Moments

The practice of Interactive Self-Hypnosis helps us to work where the action is, right in the middle of the moment.  It’s important to have a working image tool representative of an actual moment, as they are so difficult to catch, especially in the beginning of our work when all we seem to know is how to auto-pilot through life.  As you learn to catch moments, you can practice the tools of letting go and also subconscious mind re-programming.,

 In my practice students and patients work with dry lentils, keeping a jar of them on their desk.  I suggest you do the same.  Some patients have two jars, one symbolizing moments that are left in life and the other representing those that were missed because of inattentiveness.  Now in all honesty, we cannot catch all moments and it is ridiculous to think that we should even want to, but we certainly do want to catch the key moments.  Those are different for everyone, but as you learn to work with the tools of Interactive Self-Hypnosis, you will become aware of the areas where you need to wake up and your subconscious mind librarian will assist you.  

Lynn:  I’ve noticed that when I am eating lots of sugar foods my body is filled with tension.  I’m a runner and areas of old injury hurt more on these days.  Perhaps the most frightening part is that I have an underlying anxiety that doesn’t seem to be connected to anything that is going on in my life.  I just feel awful.  I would like to understand what is happening and why.  Knowledge is definitely motivational for me.

In this chapter you will begin to understand more about listening to your body communications.  Lynn is ahead of the game.  She has already noticed that her body speaks a different language when her diet is inferior.  More than likely the underling general anxiety is the reactive hypoglycemia.  In Chapter One you learned how food stress changes your biochemistry.  Now you will begin to see those Knowledge Hooks as they appear in your own body and mind.  Remember that it is not enough just to know something.  You must go the next step and join in the action.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK – Working with Mental Biofeedback and Body Scanning  

Most of us are familiar with the term "biofeedback".  Individuals are hooked up to a special machine and taught relaxation techniques that help the body to maintain a healthy blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, etc.   The person can see the special screen that shows their progress.  This type of training can be very empowering as the mind and body connection is personally experienced. This is especially important for individuals caught up in stress reaction that can be dangerous to health outcomes.

Body scanning is mental biofeedback.  There is no need to be hooked up to  a machine to change the  way your body functions.  Obviously this holds a big advantage because in any moment in time, the person practicing mental biofeedback can change a mind or body outcome.  There are also other advantages.  As one learns to observe the momentary body sensations over a period of time, the body sensation patterns become clear. One can see how they are attached to particular emotional states, or perhaps other triggers such as situations or even relationships.  Another advantage is the feeling of self-confidence in being able to change an unpleasant or frightening sensation right there in the moment whether it be peaking or just beginning to build.  As one becomes more practiced in the skills of mental biofeedback, it becomes easier to catch the body sensations at earlier moments, when it is much easier to diminish or release them.  This is extremely empowering and later on you will learn many applications for doing this.

CONTAINMENTS.

Containment is invaluable because it allows us to work in big areas of our lives without feeling overwhelmed.  Body sensations can be overwhelming and if not contained the body and mind will produce even more sensations to deal with.  A good example of this is anxiety and panic disorder.  Anyone experiencing this problem can certainly attest to this.  It’s simple to set up a container.  Take a moment to relax and on your mind screen label a special container for body sensations.  Later on you may decide to have several containers for different kinds of sensations, but for now we will work with one container. 

We all have tons of body sensations, but sense very few of them.  They continue to build through the day through mental and physical stress, even low level stress.  If you are addicted to sugar you will tend to have even higher levels.  Through body scanning you will have a glimpse at more of them and just this small peak will act like the lens of your camera.  The sensation will be caught and now you can change it through the mind and body communication system provided by Interactive Self-Hypnosis tools.

SELF-EXPLORATION – Training Your Subconscious Mind

 The results you get will equal the amount of work you are willing to do.  Mind training is no different from any other training.  As you train with the tool of mental biofeedback, you can either become excellent or mediocre.  The choice is yours. 

You already know that it is unfeasible to catch and examine each moment. Your work is to engage your subconscious mind  in assisting you to release stress throughout the day. It is rather like hiring a highly skilled personal assistant whose job it is to check the body continuously and releases much stored stress as possible. The personal assistant will also bring to your attention any body sensations that are too big for it to handle without your expertise.  As your assistant becomes highly trained, you will find yourself spending more time at the alpha level where the brain waves are decreased, and therefore the free-flowing stress chemicals are in lower concentrations.  Remember, when you are at the alpha level, you are also at the door of the subconscious mind.  In this position you have all the freedom to practice many different Interactive Self-Hypnosis applications.  You will be learning more about this later in this book.

Chapter 20 - Developing the Inner Coach -
A 40 Day Program for Change

Day 11

"We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.".......John Dryden

 You are developing a very special discipline through this work.  Many changes that are already occurring are permanent changes.  When you program change from the alpha state, you place new material into your subconscious mind.  This is very different than struggling with trying to change on the conscious level.  You have been clever by engaging your body through improved nutrition to join in your quest for high level functioning.  Your entire mindbody unit is working together towards your own Olympic Gold.

Perhaps you don't like the word "discipline."  For many this is a "dirty word" and certainly does not impart fun!  Actually discipline can be  lots of fun and can  make you feel terrific. Self-discipline is a skill that can be learned and converted into a habit. With self-discipline you can accomplish anything you desire. When you are self-disciplined the world is your oyster. The choices are limitless. Close your eyes for a moment, envisioning yourself shopping in the market of life, free to choose whatever you want. This is what self-discipline and the tools you are learning offer you. 

As you become more self-disciplined your confidence will increase.  This will empower you with determination and inner strength.  You will begin to feel a new passion for life and any depression or anxiety will appear to lift, floating away like a dark cloud.  Your thinking will sharpen and your  abilities to analyze will greatly improve.  Your creativity will  enhance and fill you  with great ideas!

MIND EXERCISE.

Take a moment now to ride your breath to the alpha state. Utilize some deepening exercises from the earlier areas of this book.  Notice that your Inner Coach has already requested that  your inner librarian  bring you the book called "Things I am looking forward to through my development of self-discipline"  Open this book noting some of the earlier entries.  With your mind pen in hand, continue to author this book.  Make notes of areas you would like to improve and explore.  Remember, self-discipline offers you anything and everything  in the market of the world.  

NUTRITIONAL INSIGHTS.....

To snack or not to snack......that is the question.  A CEO asked me the other day, "Well, if I'm not going to snack on cookies, what should I snack on?"  This question sheds light on a false belief, one that states "you all need to snack."  I went on to explain  the necessity of three balanced meals per day, having a look at his aerobic activity pattern (he did grin at this), as well as his hunger patterns, and whether the hunger is mind or body.  I also wanted to know if his schedule required a small fourth meal or snack.

I am a recovered "grazer." It was not until I became involved in nutritional research about twelve years ago, that I even considered the possibility of eating three balanced meals.  I also had no idea that I could manage my hunger and cravings in this way.  To be honest, I didn't believe it.  It only took me one week to realize how wrong I was.  In the way my day is organized, I do not need to snack when I follow my eating self-disciplined program.  I never miss breakfast and plan my intake around my schedule.  If I am to have a late lunch, I make certain that I eat a bit more in the a.m.  I do the same if I plan to have a late dinner.  Sometimes I will bring a snack to work if I know I will not be eating until really late.  This is a good example of organized planning for good sound nutrition.

MIND EXERCISE.

How about looking for another small change to do for yourself today? Which one feels right for now? Remember to state it as if it already occurred. ____________________
 _______________________________________________________________________

Take time to plant some affirmations.  Notice your emotions are sitting and reading all about your successes.

• I'm waking up nutritionally. 
• My nutrition forms the basis for my mindbody functioning. 
• New ideas for changes find me and plant themselves.

 MINDBODY WORK.....

Today's work is  with interactive self-hypnotic.  You learned about this tool earlier in this book.  Here you will be working with additional applications.   You already know that self-hypnosis is the process of  slowing of the brain waves and  placing suggestions in the subconscious mind with special imagery called metaphors.  You have lots of choices when working with self-hypnosis.  You can choose your induction technique, as well as  how deeply you will go into trance. You might like to go back and review some of these in the earlier sections of the book.  A great image to utilize for deepening is counting backwards. You can also add an image of a spiral staircase to this counting and focus on the toe of your shoe going deeper down. Sometimes when deepening, the  body sends up a communication such as a  part jumping or twitching.  Remember that this is only the release of stored stress and  nothing to be concerned about. Actually, as it releases you will go even deeper down.

MIND EXERCISE.

It is not necessary to go to go very deep in order to practice hypnosis. The most powerful work for change is accomplished right below the alpha level in an area called theta.  After you finish reading your work for today, plan a time to practice going deeper down.  If you find yourself deeper than you like, simply climb back up the same way you went down!  When you arrive at a level you like, look up and see how far down you are. This cements this level in your mind and body. Take some time to walk around the area where you stopped, noticing how beautiful it is. Perhaps you might like to use the image of the Goal-den path and your goal gardens. Notice the colors, stop and smell the flowers. Feel how soft are the pedals. Notice how far the gardens go to the right and left and how they are divided into sections including mindbody health, work, play, relationships, prosperity, spiritual to name a few.

Deepening practice is a good time to sneak in some affirmation planting.

•  I am learning new tools and they benefit my self-development.
•  I go deeper and open my stress areas with ease.
•  I'm in control of my mind and body.
•  I strengthen myself with self-hypnotic trance work.
•  I manage my addictions and eating disorders with self-hypnotic trance work.
•  Uncovering stress areas are beneficial to my self-growth
•  Every moment is filled with value, waiting for me to claim it.
•  I move past fear and other emotions easily.       Secure Ordering

  ---