Well, I'm trying something different this time....

[indigo]

Being that I've tried the whole "healthy lifestyle" thing, oh, about a million times, and I never stick to it... It's been clear to me for a long time that my problem is all in my head, in that no matter how much I want to lose weight and be healthier, I have a remarkable ability to temporarily suppress that desire long enough for me ot eat what I want to eat.

So I'm seeing a hypnotherapist. We met for the first time today. It went really well. (I am VERY hypnotizable, which I already knew.) We meet three times.

The first session was pretty general, on goals and body image, and a little on food and exercise.

The second will be next Monday and will be all about eating, and the third will be next Wednesday and will be about exercise.

Of course it's too early to say, but even today I felt much more neutral about food than I normally do (which was one of the goals.) When I had a helping of food at dinner I definitely would have liked a second, but it wasn't a frantic "gimme the plate now!" feeling like I usually have. And when dh and the kids had ice cream, it was not appealing to me.

The next session really focuses on this, so it should get better still.

I just wanted to pass this on, since it's something I haven't seen other people talk about here, and might be of help. I'll keep you all posted occasionally, but I don't think I'll be hanging out in this forum, because, honestly, one of the goals is for me to think less about food, and have it not be such a big presence in my life, and this forum tends to make me think more about food! But I'll be back....

Oh yeah, I get CDs of the sessions to listen on my own for reinforcement. And OMG it was so relaxing. It was almost worth it just for that.

[sarahs]

Oh wow, since that is me to a T, I am interested in hearing how it goes. (nt)

[indigo]

Oh wow, since that is me to a T, I am interested in hearing how it goes. (nt)

I'll definitely let you know. The real test will be how well the change lasts, but as of this morning it's absolutely remarkable how neutral I feel about food. I made the kids and their cousins chocolate chip pancakes this morning. I have NEVER made them for the kids without eating (a lot of) them. But this time I ate something reasonable first and I had absolutely no desire to eat the pancakes (or the chocolate chips as I was making them.) That has never happened before. It's not that they seemed gross or anything. It's more that there was absolutely no urgency or craving.

I'm very excited and hopeful.

My knee is still hurt (although not as bad as it was) so i can't do a lot of exercise. But I can swim. And here's another thing: I was going to swim laps around 4PM yesterday but a thunderstorm came. It lasted several hours. We watched a movie around 7. Then I said, "OK, I'm going to swim laps now." For me, this is unusual, because it normally doesn't take much to deter me. But I did it, and the only thing that eventually ended my exercise was the sheer hazard of the kids being in the pool with me in the dark and them not watching where the hell they were swimming!

A few days after my final session next week we're going to Pittsburgh for several days and will be mainly eating in restaurants. That will be a real test for me. If I can do well on that trip, I'll know I can handle a lot!

[Sarah]

YAY J! I'm really looking forward to following you through this. Thus far, it sounds very encouraging!

[Nirinjan]

That sounds encouraging J! I once tried to be hypnotized (by my therapist) and it didn't work I got super dizzy and light headed and just felt so strange. I hope it works for you!

[jump4joy]

That sounds interesting. I did "hypnobirthing" with my doula and found it to be really effective about mentally rewriting the tapes in my head. I too do not hang out in this forum much because I find that it makes me focus on weight and food, and I have many of the same issues you do WRT food. There are times when I cannot stop or turn it off, and that's very disturbing. Strangely, having my best friend be very naturally thin has made things even worse in that department in the last few years (just in my head, not in my dealings with her).


Oh yeah, I get CDs of the sessions to listen on my own for reinforcement. And OMG it was so relaxing. It was almost worth it just for that.

My mom used to have a weight-loss hypnosis CD that I borrowed solely for the purpose of putting me to sleep every night. I am a terrible insomniac, and I could never remember anything past the point where the guy counted backwards from 20 to 1. Very relaxing indeed!