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Hypnosis helping to shed bad habits
WITH four sessions of hypnosis under my ever-loosening belt, and just two more to go, my six-week programme with Luke Martin at Irish Hypnosis Ltd in Kilkenny, is nearing its end.
I once read that it takes a minimum of 45 days to create new habits and condition your body to change, but I now know hypnosis makes it that much easier.
In a little over three weeks, I've easily managed to kick 90% of the bad habits I had and am already feeling the effects.
Junk food? Gone completely. The thought of it doesn't quite make me sick, but it's definitely not something that appeals to me. Skipping breakfast? Not a once. I now enjoy a small bowl of wholegrain porridge with local honey every morning - something I never thought I'd achieve. Red meat? I honestly can't remember the last time a piece of red meat passed my lips and while I once thought juicy fillet steaks were the stuff dreams were made of, I'm not interested in going near one at all right now.
The one area I've had some trouble with is exercise - and I have to say, I sort of expected that, which is probably why it hasn't been as easy for me as everything else.
So this is an area Luke has been really concentrating on in our past few sessions and, dare I say it, it appears to be working.
My motivation and desire to exercise is higher than ever and, while I'm still working on regularly fitting it into my weekly routine, I find myself getting annoyed and stressed when I don't manage to do it. So, for this early in the game - I think that's progress for me.
In the first two weeks, I really started to feel good about myself. Making the right choices about what I did and didn't put into my body made me feel great and gave me a huge sense of achievement. But during that time, I noticed very little change in my weight, which left me a little despondent, but really - when is two weeks ever going to make that much difference, unless you're starving yourself completely?
The turning point came just before the three-week mark when, getting ready for a night out, I discovered I needed a belt with my well-worn, much-loved jeans - and I don't wear belts. Ever.
I managed to procure an old silver one from the back of my wardrobe and while, style-wise, it left a little to be desired, I went out feeling great anyway.
That feeling only intensified when, a few days ago, and just prior to my fourth session with Luke, I discovered I had lost three kilos since starting out (6.6lbs).
I make a point of not weighing myself too frequently, particularly this early into a new routine, but when that smaller number jumped out at me, I was so glad I'd stepped on the scales, as it gave me even more motivation to keep going.
I had been feeling great up to that point, but I hadn't ever dared to believe that I might really be losing weight, as no weight-loss routine had ever really worked for me in the past.
The thing that really surprised me was how easy it had been.
Making the changes Luke suggested while I was under hypnosis came easily and naturally and I'm not missing anything.
An added bonus, which I credit partly to my improved diet and more-frequent exercise, but mostly to Luke's hypnosis and the relaxation CD he gave me, is that I'm now finding it much easier to relax and am far less stressed than normal. I'm sleeping much better and throughout the day, find it useful to take just a minute or two to go through a few relaxation exercises and re-centre myself - particularly handy when faced with a horror day and busy night.
It hasn't all been plain sailing, and there's still plenty of work to do, but if it's always this simple, I've no doubt I'm going to achieve my goal through hypnosis.
Luke recommends two sessions of hypnosis for people wanting to lose up to one stone and six sessions for those wanting to lose more than a stone.
To contact Irish Hypnosis Ltd, contact 1890 252 567 .
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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