Learn How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good: Step 3 of a 5 Step Program

Step 3 of this weight loss program is to work toward Releasing Emotional Weight.  I can't say enough how important this step is- often,
above all others.  Many of us hold extra weight because we are holding onto certain emotions.  We often gain weight as a suit of armor- to protect us from a person, a memory, an emotion...

Louise Hay, an incredible pioneer in the mind/body wellness field is famous for discovering/popularizing the notion that our thoughts and mental well being are directly tied to our physical well being.  Hay says that excess weight is only an, "outer effect of a deep inner problem.  It is always fear and a need for protection.  When we feel frightened or insecure or "not good enough", many of us will put on extra weight for protection."  Her belief is that many people are overweight because they don't love themselves enough...they have tried for years and years to release weight with no avail and when they finally begin to love themselves and get to the heart of the true issue, the weight falls off with almost no effort.  Now, this might be a concept that is somewhat difficult to believe but I have to say that I have seen the results over and over again with my clients.  Once the emotional weight is released, the physical weight naturally drops.

The first thing I am going to ask you to do is to journal about this idea.

Consider these questions:
Do you feel as though there is a deeply rooted issue/s that plays a role in your excess weight?
Is there perhaps something you are trying to protect yourself from?
Can you remember the point in your life when you began gaining excess weight?
What was happening in your life?
What kinds of emotions does food feed for you?
What are these emotions related to?
Do you believe you are not good enough?  How so?
Do you love yourself?  Perhaps try looking in the mirror and saying, "I love you." to yourself.  How does this feel?
Do you take care of yourself?  In what ways is your care lacking?
What are your negative beliefs surrounding your perception of yourself?
What have you not forgiven yourself for?
What have you not forgiven someone else for?

Your job this week is to explore these questions fully and get a wholistic sense of your emotions and feelings about yourself.  Trying to answer them all at once might be a bit overwhelming.  I recommend focusing on one or two questions/day and really going into depth.  Journaling works great because you can let your thoughts flow and often times the subconscious mind will bring something to the surface.

A meditation: You feel your excess weight as a suite of armor.  Imagine you are encased in this suit of armor and begin to focus on each part of the armor.  Focus on the legs/feet, the hips, the stomach, the arms, the chest, and the head- one piece of armor at a time.  Sit with each piece of armor and feel the heaviness fully.  How does it feel?  What emotions come up as you focus on this piece of armor?  What thoughts arise as you focus on this piece of armor?  This will help bring important information to the surface of your mind.  Write it all down.

This week is to merely recognize and become familiar with our underlying thoughts, emotions, feelings, and perceptions of ourselves.  Next week we will work on releasing this armor.  Releasing the fears, thoughts, feelings and perceptions that no longer serve us in our lives.

If you need some assistance with this process, please feel free to contact me: Melissa McNulty, hypnotherapytaos.com - 575-921-8234 .  This is something that may be a bit overwhelming to do yourself and a whole lot easier to do with assistance.  Mentioning this blog will give you 50% off of regularly priced sessions.  Here's to your health!!!