Have you been yo-yo dieting for years? Have you been trying to meet ridiculous and unrealistic standards of appearance set by the media and the advertising industries?  It's exhausting, and what's more, it's designed to set you up to fail.

Diet's don't work; that's a simple fact.  Diets set you up to feel deprived, obsessed with food and generally miserable.  Diets may help you achieve short term success; however,  the sense of deprivation will lead to relapse.   The diet industry business model relies upon getting you back on their lucrative merry-go-around as frequently as possible.  The body shape represented as standard in the media is far from it.
For too long, we've tried to meet unreasonable expectations, not just of others, but the unrealistic physical aspirations we've been conditioned to have for ourselves.

What if you remove the concept of dieting from your mindset, and instead focused on living a healthy, active life? If you improve your relationship with food, you will learn to appreciate and enjoy it for just what it is, i.e. fuel for your body.  Improving your relationship with food may require some retraining for your brain.  
Currently,  your brain may perceive food as:

• a reward
• a stress breaker
• a cure for boredom and loneliness
• a means of procrastination
• a suppressant or distraction from any uncomfortable feeling or   emotion

That is not what food is meant to be.  It may provide a temporary sense of relief; however, the relief is short-lived.   What follows is often feelings of guilt, disgust, disappointment, and so the cycle continues as you eat again to make yourself feel better.

Hypnotherapy allows you to Fast-track this brain retraining process. During hypnotherapy, you'll learn a more effective way of processing and managing all the experiences you currently use food to avoid. A healthy mindset for a healthy body.

You will learn to be satisfied with smaller amounts of food.  The foods that are appropriate to help you thrive.    You will learn to accept food for what it is rather than obsessing over it. You'll be clear about your actual requirements.  You'll enjoy eating in a healthy balanced way.  Most importantly you'll achieve a healthy weight and enjoy so much more headspace!

There are many reasons for maintaining a weight that is healthy for you.  Excess weight  can lead to a multitude of health problems e.g. 

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Sleep Apnoea 
• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Damaged joints
• And many more
• Lack of energy
• High blood pressure
• Gallbladder disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Gout

The most important reason, in my opinion, is to enable you to have the power to live a happy, healthy life on your terms! Enjoying every aspect of your life (including food).

If you'd like to know more about hypnotherapy can help you please give me a call at Hypfocus Therapies Hypnotherapy Melbourne on 0435 923 817 or use the contact form at this link.  We're located in Mentone, South East Melbourne.

The silly season is upon us, Grand Final, Spring Carnival and then Christmas and New Years.  So many social catch ups, so many work parties and family gatherings and so much food temptation.  
Staying on track with weight loss goals can be challenging all year but at this time of year it's particularly hard.  We are constantly offered food and even given it as Christmas hampers/gifts.   The food on offer tends to be calorie laden and moreish.
Our willpower can begin to fade as everyone around us conspires to tempt us to eat more calories than we know is wise.
So what to do to avoid a blow out?
1. Never go out hungry, always eat something healthy before you go to a social function, this makes it much easier to moderate and manage your consumption of fatty sugary foods when there.
2. Keep a healthy snack with you, that way you can still be seen to participate if people are sharing e.g. a morning tea.
3. The weather is on the improve, factor in a lunch time walk and see if you can manage a couple of 5 minute walks throughout the day. Park further from work, get of the bus or train a stop earlier and increase your incidental exercise to work off additional calories.
4. Keep your bottle of water filled and with you, staying hydrated not only helps reduce your appetite it also improves your metabolism.
5. Switch your drinks instead of wine opt for spritzer (half wine half soda water)  or vodka lime and soda, or gin and diet tonic.  This will more than half the calories per drink (yes always remember alcohol is a big source of empty calories).
6. Reduce stress - stress leads to weight gain!
7. Aim to sleep 8 hours a night - lack of sleep leads to weight gain!
8. Practice mindfulness daily, 10 minutes daily will help increase your willpower and keep you more aware of the choices your making.

If you want help in creating a long term mind-shift in your attitude towards food and exercise and how you want to live your life generally, give me a call to find out about how I can help you with Hypnosis for Weight Loss ( and the Virtual Gastric Band Program).   Hypnotherapy produces long lasting results in weight management because not only does it change your habits around eating and exercise, it also provides you with the tools to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia which all contribute to weight problems.  What's more you will get so much out of the sessions which are tailored specifically to you and your needs, clear unresolved emotions that have been weighing you down and gain insight and self-acceptance!

Call me today on 0435 923 817 to find out more.  I'm located in Mentone South East Melbourne.

This questions ranks high in frequently asked questions for me.  Weight loss hypnosis is highly effective when you're working with the right therapist and you understand the process.  Weight loss is one of the most complex issues to deal with for even the best hypnotherapist for a number of reasons.

1. Because often people come along feeling very nervous because part of them wants a magic wand solution, which (if such a thing existed) would mean giving over control of their mind to someone else so that they can reprogram you to behave differently; of course when someone comes with that belief there is also a part of them that will be terrified at giving over such control to someone else, because if they can 'make' me stop eating what else can they make me do?  This is not how hypnosis works.  Hypnotherapy is not mind control.

2.  Weight gain doesn't just occur for no reason, there are numerous potential contributing factors which need to be addressed and resolved so that long term success will be achieved.  If you are eating and drinking more than you need to or eating the types of foods and drinks that you know are going to result in you being unhappy with the way you feel and/or look, there is a reason that's happening.  

3.  You may not consciously know what the reason is, but at your subconscious level your brain has been programmed to believe that food or alcohol is an antidote to something.  To put this in perspective according to Dr Bruce Lipton's book "The Biology of Belief" Our subconscious mind is processing 400 billion bits of information per second and it's impulses travel at 100,000 mph compared to your conscious mind which processes 2,000 bits of information per second with impulses travelling at only 100-150mph.  This is why even though you consciously may make a decision to loose weight, as long as the subconscious programming that says you need to eat to solve something is still in place you will usually find you can't often 'catch' the behaviour on time to stop it.  Here are just a few of the problems that your brain may have been organically programmed by experience to believe that food is the default solution for: 

• Emotional disturbance of any kind (anything that takes you out of your standard operating emotional band-with e.g. excitement, sadness, anger, boredom, agitation, joy, frustration, celebration, painful memories, regrets, relationship issues etc.)
• Guilt/shame - including guilt about wasting food.
• Fatigue/Insomnia - your brain is trying to give you a 'pick me up'
• Stress - the stress hormone cortisol increases cravings for sugar and carbs and also directs the body to store fat supplies.
• Depression - the brain will be looking for easy ways to kick start it's reward systems, also depression can result in a marked decrease in physical activity.
• Peri-menopause/menopause - the brain is trying to re-balance your bodys operating system which is adjusting to your drop in hormone levels hence hot flashes/food cravings/wakefulness
• Unwanted attention - if you are on any level fearful/uncomfortable with unwanted attention, your brain will provide a layer of protection in the form of body fat for you to become 'invisible' behind.

4.  As long as the issue is unresolved in your subconscious, the unwanted behaviour will recur or at best you'll default to one of your brains back up resolutions e.g. quit smoking only to eat more, cut down on eating only to drink more wine etc.

This is where good therapy comes to the fore.  A properly trained hypnotherapist will guide you through the process of getting to a place of deep introspection, where your critical factor has relaxed and stood aside to permit access to the subconscious. This is done so that you can, through an imaginative process reprogram yourself.  The subconscious mind accepts vividly imaginative experiences as being real and will respond to the instructions you include in them.  The therapist helps by setting the scene so that you can do so, but ultimately you do the change work yourself and it is most readily accepted when you propose an acceptable alternative.  Therapy is a collaboration between therapist and client with the understanding that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis and that the client is the expert on their unique self.

Hypnosis for weight loss can work for anyone that understands that they are an active part of the process and trusts in their therapists ability to safely guide them to achieve their desired results.  

Click here for more information on the best Hypnotherapy Melbourne has to offer.  If you'd like to call me to discuss how Hypnosis for Weight Loss can work for you please call 0435 923 817 today or alternatively you can  use this Hypfocus Hypnotherapy Melbourne contact form.  I offer a free 30 minute assessment for all weight loss clients.

You may also find this article from the iNLP centre in the US of interest

How do you handle the ever present Saboteurs that seem to go into overdrive around holiday time? 

You know the kind I mean, the people that know you're trying to lose weight, abstain from alcohol, save money by not going out, catch up on Uni Assignments or work an extra shift for some much needed income and yet they still decide to pressure you to try to break  your resolve.

They wave hot cross buns and Easter eggs under your nose when they know you're working hard to avoid them, or ignore your protests and refuse to leave until you comply with their wish to go out with them.  They often embarrass  you in front of others or use emotional blackmail like telling you they'll be hurt if you don't accept or that  you'd be rude not to.  The fact is that whether they realise it or not, they are not respecting your choices and boundaries so in fact  they are the ones being rude.

This is generally not malicious, in fact it's probably true to say we are all guilty of it at one time or another.  It's a throwback to a more austere time when people were taught to politely refuse things offered the first time in case the person offering could not really afford to share and then the ritual of insisting came into play.   A lot of cultures still play this ritual of offering  food or drinks over and over again in spite of refusals and hence boundaries begin to blur.  We need to recognise that it's an outdated social style because we in the west have largely been living in a world excess for decades now.  The result is that while in the past being offered a treat was a novelty, these days avoiding them has become the challenge, delaying gratification has never been so challenging.  We need to update what we find socially acceptable and politely back off when people around us are trying to eat healthily or achieve any personal goal that's contrary to what's on offer.

So how can you handle these awkward encounters?

1. If you accept an invitation to celebrate let the host know in advance if you are restricting your diet or alcohol consumption so that they don't over cater or prepare "your favourite".  Frame your requirements in positive language, explain that you really appreciate their support and are looking forward  to enjoying their company.
2. Let them know politely and firmly that you have seat a goal for yourself and you want to see it through.
3. For the particularly persistent, ask them why is it so important to them that you break your resolve?  Understand that it is more about how they're feeling about themselves than about you.  Remember that you are allowed to maintain  your boundaries, there is no rule that says you have to comply with this kind of  social pressure.  
4. In some instances where food is on offer you may find the best tactic is to  accept and then discreetly return it or dispose of it.  You may be thinking but that's wasteful, but isn't eating to excess thereby generating body fat and blowing your hard work far more wasteful?  Sometimes this is the only way with people who are blissfully or determinedly unaware of other peoples boundaries.  Some people are completely tone deaf when it comes to hearing others so your protests will be a waste of energy.
5. Be aware that the biggest saboteur usually resides inside your own mind!  This part of you may have many reasons for believing sabotage is your best self-defence mechanism.    it's most likely trying to protect you from disappointment, failure, unwanted attention  or criticism and it's unwittingly being counter productive in its methods and applying an old fear to a current situation (the subconscious is designed to generalise).  Recognising that we are all prone to having this aspect to our personality due to our life experiences and that it is just one aspect i.e. it doesn't have to be given authority over all other aspects of your personality is important to helping you break through to achieve your goals successfully. Acknowledge your inner saboteur when it comes to the forefront of your mind and greet it with curiosity. Ask it what it's trying to do for you?  If you hear the "you might as well give up you'll never succeed" voice, recognise that this part of you is afraid and needs reassurance not criticism or for that matter indulgence.   

Focus on what you want to achieve, what action you need to take to achieve it  and what you will gain from achieving it.    Remember it's easier to maintain a consistent habit than it is to resume one.  Keep your eye on the prize, visualise  how it will feel, how it will look, how it will sound, what you will see in your eyes when you look in the mirror when you've reached your target!  

If you find that your internal Saboteur is particularly insistent Hypnotherapy can be very helpful in providing the tools and insight to resolve the inner conflict.  

If you would like to know more about how Hypnotherapy can help you please give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use this Contact form.  Click these links for more information on  Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss, Hypnotherapy for Anxiety or Hypnotherapy for Addiction.   For the information on the Best Hypnotherapy Melbourne has to offer for a wide variety of issues click here.

If you have any comments on holiday saboteurs please feel fee to comment below.

If you're interested in learning about Gastric Band Hypnosis click here

Trying to keep our weight under control is challenging at the best of times.  We’re inundated with advertisements and cooking shows and increasingly our social interaction centres on food.  It used to be that we’d go out for dinner or have a dinner party maybe once or twice a week, these days it’s breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner too with a café late or 3 thrown in for good measure.  At the same time we’re more sedentary with even housework requiring less physical effort as appliances and products become more sophisticated.  In the 21st century balancing our calorie intake verses our energy output requires conscious effort. The holiday season compounds this challenge with even more rich food and calorie laden drinks being offered at every turn.
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts if you feel you’ve been losing the battle against weight gain and you want that to change it’s important to find a strategy that works for you.  In this blog I’m giving my personal opinon on 5:2 intermittent fasting as a possible antidote to holiday excess.

 
As any anxious person can tell you, anxiety leads to stress.  Not all anxious people have weight issues, it can go either way.  However for those experiencing prolonged stress the chances of weight gain increase significantly. 

​Choice Magazine’s September 2016 issue has an interesting Article on Hypnosis and Weight Loss.  The article confirms what I have repeatedly emphasised in my Blogs i.e. the importance of checking the credentials of your chosen Hypnotherapist. It’s disappointing however that having outlined the importance of checking your Therapists qualifications, that Choice used as a  “case study”  in the article an example of a woman who went to a therapist in Queensland without checking if he was qualified; not surprisingly she didn’t have the best experience.  The Article does  acknowledge the effectiveness of Hypnotherapy when delivered by a skilled therapist and the role it can play in assisting people in achieving their weight loss goals. 

Here in Melbourne, Australia Spring is in the air, flowers are already starting to bloom and the evenings are getting brighter (Yay!!).  In the next few weeks we’ll be peeling off some of the layers of clothing we’ve been hiding under and if we’ve been a little indulgent over winter (and before) a few new layers of flesh may be revealed!

So now is the time to do something about it!
We’ll be inundated with marketing for Weight Loss Smoothies, Weight Loss Shakes , Garcinia Cambogia and Protein Powders.  We’ll be advised to start our days with warm water and lemon juice (good tip!) and add Apple Cider Vinegar to everything imaginable (not a bad idea!). We may even find ourselves doing Google searches on obscure Reality TV stars like Snooki ( new low!), to figure out how her sudden and dramatic miracle weight loss occurred.  Show’s like the Biggest Loser will show us people being put through the mill 24/7  as we sit guiltily on the couch hiding that chocolate or chips wrapper under our TV guide.  Maybe if we switch over Dr Oz will tell us about another miracle supplement, maybe something combining Garcinia Cambogia with magic beans?
There’s no doubt that some of the above will help a little (I strongly suspect Snooki  is not the answer…).  A healthier lifestyle is of course the key, and Apple Cider Vinegar is pretty awesome stuff with a multitude benefits from shiny hair to improved digestion.  However, if you want long term, sustainable weight loss tackling your diet and your exercise regimes are only part of the equation. 

If you want long term success you’ve got to change your mindset
If you have habits that steer you towards the confectionery and chip aisle at the supermarket, habits that make you chose the biscuit over the berries, the cola over the water, you need to work on your mindset.  If you use food as a response to stress, fatigue, excitement, celebration, socialising, in fact if you use food as a response to anything other than hunger and nutrition, it’s your mindset that’s keeping you stuck on the diet conveyor belt loop.
That is why Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss is so effective.  Hypnotherapy for weight loss creates permanent change in your attitude towards food and its role in  your life.  Hypnotherapy is also super effective for boosting motivation to get you moving again, burning off calories as well as releasing endorphin's  - win/win!!
​
*How I Help
As a Hypnotherapist I help you master your habits, understand how they’re triggered and overcome the associated beliefs that are keeping you stuck.  Sometimes there are underlying emotional reasons; sometimes it’s a fear of emotions themselves.  This can mean that any variation in emotion (happy or sad)  is stifled with food. 

I will teach you healthy manageable ways to process your emotions so that you don’t require any food, alcohol or medication to numb them.

What's holding you back?
Whether you have only a few kilo’s or a more substantial amount of weight to lose I will design a program that works for you. 
If you’d like help in successful weight loss give me a call on 0435 923 817 or contact me using this form, nothing makes me happier than seeing my clients transform!

Call and arrange a complimentary 30 minute weight loss program consultation.

I’m looking forward to working with you!

Georgina Mitchell is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Professional Counsellor located in Mentone, South East Melbourne.

Melbourne Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss
 
 *results may vary from person to person
 

*I’ve had many clients come to me for the Virtual Gastric Band Program, and the success rates have been wonderful.  It’s not a crash diet program so the results are not so dramatic as to be unsustainable; however I’ve seen clients make lifestyle changes that they previously thought were not possible for them and what’s more they’ve made the changes without that inner struggle that we’ve all come to associate with the dreaded diet merry-go-round.

This program is not about shedding kilo’s and then slipping back into old ways because the ‘Fear of Missing Out’ and the feeling of being deprived become too much; this program is designed to change your relationship with food and often your relationship with yourself for good.   It's about moderation, balance, eating mindfully and making good choices.   You can still enjoy the occasional indulgence, especially given all the wonderful cafes and restaurants that Melbourne has to offer, but you learn to make better choices as your default.
​
Some clients come to me for the 4 sessions which are spread out over approximately 6 weeks and find that they are comfortably settled into their new mindset by week 6.   Some clients opt to return for top up sessions thereafter; these would typically be clients with a bit more weight to lose and people that have found that they are getting so much out of the sessions in terms of personal growth, confidence and self –discovery that they want to continue the journey, sometimes tackling other issues like Fear of Flying, Fear of Public Speaking and Assertiveness at work (to name a few) as they find their confidence is growing and they're ready to face old fears and take on new challenges.

For some people being overweight is associated with very complex emotional issues and for these people I do recommend that they continue seeing me to receive the support and feedback that I as a trained Professional Counsellor as well as a Clinical Hypnotherapist trained in Advanced Virtual Gastric Band techniques can offer.  Weight issues can go hand in hand with Depression, Anxiety and or Traumatic experience so it’s important that the underlying issues be addressed to ensure the best possible outcome and long term success.  Band-aid solutions don't last the distance.

As a skilled Hypnotherapist I offer you not only a cognitive experience but help you create the emotional experience that is required to create a compelling sense of commitment and motivation that will enable you to stay on track to achieve your weight loss goals.  This is how Hypnotherapy differs from other approaches.  Hypnotherapy can create an incredibly tangible future in the mind and emotional experience of the client, a future where you have achieved your goal of losing weight you enjoy the benefits, you know in all of your senses how great it will feel to feel lighter both physically and emotionally, and once those feelings are experienced through the power of your imagination,  the changes that are required to get there in reality seem much less overwhelming to you.   

This is an incredibly rewarding journey for me to accompany my clients on, knowing what people that follow my weight loss programs incorporating the Virtual Gastric band achieve for themselves and how it improves their life continues to inspire and gratify me.   I have no hesitation in recommending the programs to anyone wishing to lose weight and /or adopt healthier lifestyle habits or to tackle the deeper issues that may be keeping them stuck.

For a more detailed description of the Virtual Gastric Band Program please visit the page linked to here.  If you'd like to call me my number is 0435 923 817, or you can contact me using the contact form at the bottom of the page linked to.

I look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the near future.

Georgina Mitchell is a Clinical Hypnotherapist,  Trained Professional Counsellor and Founder of Hypfocus Therapies and Training in Mentone, South East Melbourne.
 
Hypnotherapy Melbourne, Weight Loss, Virtual Gastric Band, Hypnosis for Weight Loss

  
So often we say I don’t have time to eat healthily and exercise or I can’t afford to.  I guess the question is, how much is it costing us to be unhealthy?  What is it costing us in energy, confidence, self-esteem, mental health and life span?

Before we take on any major life investment it’s always wise to do a cost benefit analysis.  If you’re buying a car it’s prudent to weigh up how much the car will benefit you verses how life will be without the car.  Maybe the car will be more reliable than your existing car, or maybe it will open more work opportunities by making it possible for you to go somewhere that public transport makes impractical;  maybe it will enable you to drop your kids off to school before returning to work or maybe it’s a dream car that you’ve saved for and can now afford so the sheer joy of owning it will make it feel like a worthwhile investment. 

Similarly if buying a house we’d be wise to consider the cost of buying verses renting, the location, the potential for its value to increase, the proximity to work, shops and schools, whether it’s layout suits our lifestyle requirements.  We might ask “where will we be in a few years if we don’t get onto the property ladder now? Will we be cut out of the market? or If we wait will we be forced to make bigger compromises down the line?” The smart investors put a lot of thought into the process and the desired outcome and they plan accordingly.

Whenever something really matters to us it comes down to what do we want verses what we don’t want.  It makes sense then to take action to work towards what we do desire right?
​
So if you’ve been neglecting your health take a few minutes to consider the choices about what you desire verses the choices that you’re actually making.  In the Healthy vs Unhealthy cost/benefit analysis of your life let’s not forget that how you spend your life is the most important investment you’ll ever make. 

So here are some simple choices as outlined above, what you desire verses what you don’t want, pick a or b:

     a.   I want to continue waking up every day feeling sluggish
     b.   I want to wake up feeling refreshed and energized 

      a.    I want to cringe when I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror or see a                      photograph of  myself
      b.   I want to feel comfortable in my own skin 

      a.  I want my moods to be  depressed, affected negatively by poor diet choices
      b  .I want to feel happier and more at ease 

      a.  I want to live a low energy existence where I avoid doing activities because I’m                    afraid that I physically can’t
      b.  I want to live life to the full.

       a.  I want to have a preventable chronic illness by the time I reach middle age
       b.  I want to be healthy and free to enjoy life

       a.  I want to feel insecure
       b. I want to feel confident 

These questions are no-brainers right?  They’re just a small example of the choices that we  make via our lifestyle every day.  Yet what actions do we take to make 'b' (our desired outcome)  the outcome that we end up with? 

If we want to be healthier, happier and more confident we have to be mindful about what we choose, because none of the “option b’s” happen by accident, they all happen by choice and through the development of life habits and skills.   

If you answered ‘b’, but your lifestyle is defaulting you back to ‘a’, you know it’s time for change.  It’s time to reassess your values and re-prioritise life.   This may seem a little overwhelming, but it’s not as difficult as you might think and of course the return on your investment will be the best of your life.

Changing your mindset and the beliefs you have about yourself, the role food and exercise plays in your life and what it is that is limiting you is key to success. Understanding your underlying beliefs and changing the unhelpful ones will set you off on a new life path towards your full potential, that will be far more rewarding than any junk food or chocolate could ever hope to be.

If you’d like help in overcoming unhealthy eating addiction and lifestyle habits give me a call on 0435 923 817, I work with people every day to help them get on track to live the fulfilling life they deserve.
 
Georgina Mitchell is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Professional Counsellor based in Mentone, Melbourne. 

Specialising in: Addiction, Weight Loss Virtual Gastric Band and Anxiety/Stress Management
Hypnotherapy Melbourne - Contact us here