Do You Suffer Misery and Frustration with your Weight?

I wanted to share with you a recent conversation I had with a relatively young woman who approached me after one of my seminars. She was just plain frustrated and fed-up with her weight and in ability to drop any pounds.

I hope this will be of benefit to many of you. If so, drop me a line, leave a comment below...do let me know! I am here for you.

Here's how our conversation went:

A conversation I had with a lady who introduced herself to me, explaining she’s experiencing frustration with her weight. For her privacy, in this email share, we'll name her "Karen."

Karen: “I’ve been listening to a couple of different hypnosis cd’s and I don’t think they’re working.”

Matthew: “I’m sure they’re great cd’s. Tell me about them, what are their titles?”

Karen: “Think Yourself Thin”, I think and “A Thinner You”, I believe.” The thing is, I fall asleep every time I listen to them, like 5 minutes into them, so I don’t think they’re working.”

Matthew: “Well, first, the titles sound great, very specific. Of course, I am not familiar with the content on the cd’s or with the hypnotist who is presenting the audio. Now, rest-assured, you are still benefitting from the audios even if you fall asleep while listening to them. You know when you’re dreaming of, say, a dog barking? And, in your dream, you’re interacting with the dog, it’s cute, but just keeps barking? Finally, you awaken and the dog is actually still barking and is outside? Your mind incorporated the outside sound into your dream even though you were sound asleep! See, your subconscious mind is always awake, unlike the chatty conscious mind, and records and remembers everything. Cool, right? So, your mind is still hearing the programs even though you’re asleep.

Now, of course, the hypnosis cd’s can’t incorporate the change you want all by themselves. Tell me, what else, in addition to the hypnosis cd’s are you doing to help lose weight? Do you have an exercise routine you’re doing? Are you eating well?”

Karen: I am eating well. I don’t have the time for exercise. My work takes up all my time and at the end of my shift, I’m exhausted, so I just eat dinner and go to bed. I guess I’m not eating too well, because if there’s a cake there (at the dinner cafeteria provided at her work), I’ll take that too.”

Matthew: “Ok. Now, regardless of any weight loss program, hypnosis cd’s or what not, the one given key to weight loss is less calories in and more movement out, burning more calories. Plus Consistency. Tell me, how bad do you want to lose weight? How bad do you want that change?”

Karen: “Very badly.”

Matthew: “On a scale of 1 to 10.”

Karen: “10!”

Matthew: "You answered that emphatically, that’s awesome. But, there’s some incongruity. You said if there was a piece of cake, you’d take that too. Does that happen often?”

Karen: “Yes.”

Matthew: “You desperately want the change, but you desperately want that cake, too!”

Karen: “Yeah… I do.”

Matthew: “See, if you, indeed, desired that change bad enough, you would pass the cake right on by. That’s step #1, become absolutely certain of your desired change. You must want that change so bad, it’s a must, so that you emphatically pass that cake right on by, every time. So, your hypnosis cd’s may be absolutely awesome programs. But, you’re desire to change, at the subconscious level, is not quite there yet. This is the perpetual fight between the conscious and the subconscious mind: ‘oh, ok, I’ll have it just this once. I KNOW better, though. But oh, ok.’ In every fight between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind, the subconscious mind will always win. It’s the housing, the residence, of all habits and conditioning, the hard drive to your neck-top computer. It needs reprogramming. Your hypnosis cd’s can provide that to you but will only be accepted and acted upon by the subconscious mind WHEN your desire for your change is at a passionate level, consciously.”

Karen: “Ok, I get that. That makes sense.”

Matthew: “And as for exercise, there’s amazing value in even a 30-minute brisk walk a few times per week. In fact, Dr. Tabata, a trainer from Japan, tested and discovered that we can get the same, or better, results from even 8 minutes of aerobic exercise versus the old paradigm of the trainer-paid-by-the-hour, one-hour class or session. Interval training is very effective and doesn’t require a lot of time nor a gym.”

Karen: “I have this all or nothing idea, though. That I need to go to the gym and spend an hour or more and do a full-on workout. To see results quicker. This is a struggle for me, I’ll go to the gym like this for about 2 weeks then fall off and not go.”

Matthew: “And we all wonder why we fail at so-called New Year's Resolutions! It’s an outdated model of an effective workout, spending an hour or more at the gym, going hard. You certainly don’t NEED to do that. Doing so, you’re finding as well that it kills your motivation, your confidence in yourself and your esteem. You peak when you’re there, and while you’re going for 2 weeks. That buzz wears off, you fall off the work-out wagon and then we get so hard on ourselves.”

Karen: “So true!”

Matthew: “Bite-sized pieces. It’s like eating a wonderful meal: bite-sized pieces versus scarfing it all down in one or two swallows! Consistency. You’ll see and feel results. And remember, love for yourself. Give yourself permission to earn the results, they’ll come. Be good to yourself. Love yourself, first and foremost.”

Karen: “Thank you, Matthew! Thank you!”

Matthew: “My pleasure. You’re most welcome.”