Ted in Your Head Interview Series: Liz Stoltz, Licensed Acupuncturist Episode 414

In this next installment of the Ted in Your Head Interview Series, Ted interviews  Liz Stoltz, Licensed Acupuncturist in Pasadena, CA. Liz has practiced intuitive massage, yoga therapy, and has worked with women struggling with addiction, mental health and homelessness. In this episode, Liz discusses her views on the energy of the body, working with woman with pregnancy and fertility issues, as well as her work in cranial sacral therapy. If you are looking to learn more about the value of acupuncture and how it works, listen to this enlightening interview with Liz Stoltz.

 

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click here >

 

If you are having pain and no one can tell you why, request a complimentary consultation with Ted to explore if hypnotherapy can transform your challenges into possibility! Click here to request a consultation: https://tedmoreno.com/ready-to-get-started/

Weight Loss is Seldom About Weight

Weight Loss

“Truth is Beauty” photo by Jennifer Morrow

Of all the things I help people with in my hypnotherapy practice, it seems that weight loss is the most difficult. 

I don’t really advertise it. When someone calls me for weight loss, I tell them that it is going to be a minimum of eight sessions.  I want to make sure they are serious.

Because weight loss is rarely about food and weight.

I was recently asked by the amazing Lauren Herrera of Pilates Barbell Club in Pasadena to be a contributor to her Triple Fat Loss Formula Program. (Click here to see outtakes of a video we made.)

She posted a blog post with words that carry uncommon wisdom and leave no doubt in my mind that she “gets it” when it comes to weight loss and fitness. Here’s a little of what she wrote:

“Food issues” and losing weight are rarely about the food or the weight.

Our interaction with food and our reliance on self-acceptence through a number on the scale or tag on our clothing perpetuates a never ending battle of self-hate, deprivation of food, insane exercise regimens (over-doing cardio, or actually doing an ‘insane’ workout) encompass the never-ending cycle of diet, binge, repeat. Or worse, diet, workout like a nut, get injured, then binge out of depression and defeat and then repeat.

If it’s not about the food, than what is it about?
Well, YOU. And everything that makes you UNIQUE, WONDERFUL, TALENTED and LOVABLE. Even if you don’t see it.

Weight loss is about being ok with and accepting yourself.

 

Lauren’s ideas about weight loss reflect an enlightened approach because they speak to the reasons why weight loss can be so hard.

The reason weight loss can be so difficult is because very often food is used to soothe negative emotions such as stress, low self worth, worry, anger, and  emotional pain such as loneliness and depression . It’s hard to see these emotions as part of the cause of being overweight when so much attention is on comparing one’s body to the body on the latest cover of  Whatever Magazine. Or, focusing on the latest diet or work out fad.

Furthermore, weight loss can be sabotaged by what is known as “secondary gain”. This is a situation where subconsciously, there is more advantage to keeping the weight than losing it.

For instance, after the loss of a relationship and the resulting heartbreak,  a woman may desire to lose weight, but be unable to do so no matter how hard she tries. This can be a fear based protective mechanism to avoid attracting another relationship and the emotional pain that may result. This is almost impossible to see in one’s self without some help. But if you can see it, then you can deal with it through compassion and love for yourself to heal and move forward.

This blog post is not about how to achieve weight loss, it’s simply food for thought (no pun intended) if weight loss is one of your goals.

A very helpful question to ask yourself in your quest for weight loss is “What am I hungry for?” We are all hungry for love, attention, happiness, acknowledgement, and acceptance. Once we can identify our deep seated human needs, then we can begin to work on getting those needs met. If we can’t identify our needs, we will find a way to ease the pain of the lack of them, be it through, food, alcohol, drugs, sex or work.

The intention behind weight loss should be to honor the gift of our bodies through physical fitness and health. Start with that in mind and everything else will follow. Like Lauren says:

Truth is our attractiveness will fade with age. But, our ability to be independent, self-reliant and MOBILE when we are pushing 75 is the bigger picture. Enjoying the 100 year lifespan we are projected to have is what it’s about for me.

Me too. Hope to see you in 2060.

Ted

Hypnosis and Fitness

Today’s post features a video, “Hypnosis 101” with me and Lauren Herrera, owner and head trainer of  Pilates Barbell Club in Pasadena. Lauren and I have teamed up and made a series of videos about the mental aspect of physical fitness and training. Each video is based on a chapter in my book “The Ultimate Guide to Letting Go of Negativity and Fear and Loving Life.”

It today’s video, we discuss how we are under the influence of hypnosis by the media and advertising, which present unrealistic standards of what bodies should look like. Many of us are still be under the hypnosis of the negative words of others going back to childhood, in which we were called names or branded with negative descriptions relating to our bodies. Most of all, we are often under the hypnosis of our own negative self talk. In time, we come to believe these things are true, and they get in the way of our ability to accept and honor ourselves for who we are now.

If physical or mental transformation is to take place, it starts with healthy self acceptance and the belief that “I am ok just the way I am, and I can be better.” Much of my work with fitness and weight clients is helping them break free of the hypnosis of their own negative self image.

Lauren says “Do you know what hypnosis is? It’s a mind thing and as you know mindset has everything to do with everything. Achieving your health and fitness goals permanently takes a whole lotta programing in your mind to actually say: “Mission Accomplished.”

True that, Lauren! Click here to check out her excellent blog as well as get her free report “5 Free and Easy Tips to Supercharge Your Fat Loss.”

Of course, if you are ready to start de-hypnotizing yourself from negative self image and negative self talk, give me a call or contact me here.

Ted

Mindless Fat: Packing it On

 

food1

Credit: www.bodysynergypt.com

 

 

Todays post is by guest author Veronica Dascalu. This is excellent advice and in line with what I teach my weight clients.

“The best diet is the one you don’t know you’re on,” writes Brian Wansink in his book Mindless Eating. We follow nutrition guidelines, read trendy diet books, and take up the craziest diets to reach one common goal — weight loss. If you ask me, it can be very exhausting, not to mention futile. As much as we try to “watch what we eat,” we eat mindlessly. Read more

Extolling the Virtues of Walking

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Last week I decided to do something that I have been wanting to do since I moved to where I now live. I’ve been wanting to take a walk in a nearby park that has a large reservoir. It’s within walking distance from my house, but I usually don’t have enough time to both walk to the park and explore the many trails. So last week I drove the three minute drive to the entrance and started walking. Read more

Are You A DIY? Attend my Self Hypnosis Class Starting 10/23 at PCC

 

If you are a DIY (Do It Yourselfer) then you might be interested in taking my Self Hypnosis for Success Class at PCC starting October 23rd and continuing for the next three Saturdays: October 30th and November 6th from 9 am to 10:30 am. Click here to register!

All hypnosis is self hypnosis, so in this class you’ll learn to use this valuable tool to address a variety of concerns including: overcoming bad habits such as procrastination, gaining confidence, increasing motivation, releasing limiting beliefs and business success. We’ll cover what hypnosis is and isn’t, how to do a hypnotic induction on yourself, crafting suggestions and how to put it all together to reprogram your subconsious mind for success in just a few minutes a day.

You’ll receive a course syllabus as well as my Guide to Self Hypnosis and my Self Hypnosis Conditioning CD, which also includes my studio produced “Peaceful Place” relaxation track as an added bonus.

This will be the third time I’m offering this class, and so far I’ve recieved great response. Here are some comments from the course evaluations I received from the  class held in January 2010:

  • Ted is very knowledgable and enthusiastic about his field. It really helped me a lot.”
  • “It actually works!”
  • “Professional, organized and informative. The instructor was engaging and knew his subject well. I’m glad I took the course!”
  • “Clear and easy guidelines to follow. Instructor is knowledgable and well experienced.”
  • “Ted is dynamic and makes an effort to engage the students. The content was well delivered.”

Remember, you’re being hypnotized daily, through advertising, the media, and the people you spend time with. In addition, you’ve been hypnotized throughout your life to believe things about yourself and the world that may or may not work for you anymore. The good news is, you can take control of your own positive programming. If you have habits of thinking and behaving that are holding you back from the success and happiness that you want, then you can learn to use the power of your own mind to change. Click here to register!

If you’re not interested in learning self-hypnosis but believe that hypnosis can be of help to you, give me a call and I’ll give you a free half hour consultation to discuss how you can benefit from working with me as your hypnotherapist or personal/small business coach. Call (626) 826-0612, email [email protected] or click here.

A subconscious mind is a terrible thing to waste! Put it to work for you with self hypnosis. Click here to register.

The Ups and Downs of Weight Loss

Next to smoking, the most popular reason people consider hypnotherapy is for weight loss. There are a lot of fantastic claims out there as to how effective hypnosis is for weight loss. I suggest you do not belive them all as few will give you the complete story. Suffice to say that you probably won’t lose 50 lbs after one hypnosis session. So how can hypnotherapy help?

Wel, there are basically two things you need to do to lose weight: eat less and exercise more. Of course we all know that. The biggest problem with trying to lose weight, as those who have tried will attest, is not gaining knowledge regarding how to do it, but to actually engage in those behaviors which contribute to wieght loss such as proper food choices and an appropriate  level of physical activity. That’s  the hard part: ” I know what to do, but I just can’t seem to do it” is a common complaint.

The fact is, there are so many factors involved in losing/maintaining weight, that it’s no wonder that so many folks get discouraged and eventually give up. In addition,  it  seems every week there is a  diet/diet book/supplement that promises miracle results. Of course, losing the weight is only half the battle. The other half is keeping it off. In short, for many people, losing weight and keeping it off is not easy.

So is hypnotherapy effective for losing/controlling weight? Research has shown that it is if  coupled with a comprehensive program that includes diet and exercise. This statement presumes a few things:

  • That you really want to lose weight and keep it off and see this as a goal, with good, solid reasons as to why you have this goal and are willing to work for it. In other words, there is a commitment.
  • That you are willing to engage in regular exercise, and realize that if you are to be successful in losing weight, that this is soley your responsibility.
  • That you are willing to be ok with 2-3 lbs loss per week.
  • That you are willing to be truthful with yourself about patterns  and habits that keep you from your goals.

Hypnotherapy is not a magic bullet, but it can aid in creating and increasing motivation and commitment while helping to establish new habits such as exercise and smart food choices. Perhaps more importantly, hypnotherapy can help to establish a new relationship with food, where food is seen as fuel for the body as opposed to a balm for the emotions.

As strange as it may sound, consider there may be many reasons why people who claim to want to lose wieght actually sabotage their efforts due to what is called “secondary gain”. Secondary gain is an underlying, often subconscious motivation for keeping the wieght on. Some underlying causes for wanting to keep the weight on:

  • I don’t really deserve to look good.
  • My parents  always told me that to be too thin is unhealthy.
  • My parents always told me that I was destined to be fat so why try?
  • If I lose a lot of weight I may become attractive to people who want to date me and I’d rather not deal with that.
  • It’s my cushion between me and the cold cruel world.
  • Being overweight is  how I  punish my (parents, husband, wife, etc.)
  • Losing weight means  not enjoying food and in my culture food is very important.

In my hypnotherapy practice, my goal for my clients is to help them develop the habits and patterns of thinking that lead to reasonable weight loss and the ability to maintain a goal or desired weight. I help them to become very clear about what the benefits of weight loss are for them personally, as well as to clearly see where the stumbling blocks lie. Self image is always an important component, that is, I help my clients feel that they are worth investing  the time and effort  to look and feel healthy, energetic and attractive. After each session, I make a tape or digital recording for my clients to take home and listen to for reinforcement of hypnotic suggestions.

There are many other aspects of weight loss that can be discussed, such as metabolism, blood sugar stabilization, carbohydrate vs protein intake, type of exercise and frequency,among others. 

If you are ready to make a commitment to your health by losing weight with the help of hypnotherapy , call and mention Ted’s Hypnotherapy Newsletter and I will give you $50 off your first session should you choose to get started. Not sure? Call and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. What have you got to lose except pounds and inches?

This week, try to lighten up!

If you liked this post, please leave a comment and/or share it with your social networks.  

Tman

 Ted A. Moreno
Personal/Small Business Coach
Certified Hypnotherapist
Specializing in Your Success
www.TedMoreno.com                                                                       
 (626) 826-0612