If you’ve ever watched the television show The Biggest Loser then you know how much effort losing weight can take. Contestants on The Biggest Loser spend hours exercising and controlling the amount of food they eat. Tears are shed on treadmills and in front of temptations they can no longer eat. You can also see and hear the pain that these people experience as a result of their weight gain. But what started them on that path? What pain brought them to act in such an unhealthy way in the first place?
While the TV show may touch on an individual’s problems in passing, they don’t focus on it as part of the weight loss process. The story lines are there to make good television and there’s certainly no shortage of contestants with touching life stories on The Biggest Loser. But when it comes to confronting the issues, diet and exercise take centre stage and emotional issues are sidelined. Essentially, the focus is shifted from one activity to another, but the cause remains unresolved.
Conscious or not, when it comes to obesity there is always a cause – some loss, guilt or trauma that began them seeking comfort in food. Food acts as a form of self-medication, as a cushion between daily life and the pain of unresolved issues. Ignoring these issues doesn’t make them go away. Even if a person does lose weight, they may not feel the joy they expected it to bring. This can and often does result in the person regaining weight or finding another activity or substance for substitution. The extra weight they carry is a symptom of a deeper issue and dumping the weight doesn’t necessarily get rid of the baggage.
I’m not a regular viewer of The Biggest Loser. In fact, I’ve only seen one full episode – which was enough for me, although I can fully understand why it’s a very popular TV show. I read an interesting article today about the pros and cons of the show and despite only seeing one episode, I agree with many of the criticisms. My main issue with The Biggest Loser is that it ignores the mind/body connection. It is my belief that a holistic approach, one that treats the entire body and includes the mind, leads to the path of happiness and long lasting success.
Each of the contestants on The Biggest Loser could benefit from using self hypnosis to improve their motivation, stop automatic behaviours and unlock the potential of their unconscious mind. Hypnotherapy can rewire our brains to accept a new way of thinking and behaving. These are large parts of the weight loss battle, but they are not the only things standing in our way to healthy living. A true healthy body includes a healthy mind. A healthy mind knows what brought it to seek out comfort in the first place, and that comes from facing our issues straight on.
Ask yourself honest questions about your motivation to eat or avoid exercise. Is there some hurt in your past you don’t want to acknowledge? What pain are you left with if you take away all the distractions? These are not always obvious and may require a bit of self-discovery. Hypnosis is an excellent way to increase the awareness of your mind/body connection and may help you unlock doors you never knew existed. But again, peace only comes to those that seek answers.
If you desire to be fit and healthy, don’t leave out the emotional piece of the puzzle. Your body needs more than just a proper caloric intake and physical activity to be in balance. It needs emotional stability to ensure success. The mind/body connection is stronger than most of us realize. Let hypnosis help you on your weight loss path and be sure to seek the truth behind your lifestyle choices. The combination of all these things will give you the results you desire.
