Dawn
Austin, Texas
I’ve had a problem with using food as an emotional crutch for the last 25 years. I never focused on the emotional aspects of my problem and instead I tried every diet method known to man, if it was “As Seen on TV”, it was for me. If a celebrity was doing it, I was trying it too. I was always trying to find the next great thing. I did Weight Watchers for years. I started it with a friend and it became a competitive thing for me.
I think that with Weight Watchers, Spark People, and everything else, it turned into such a chore. I put so much of my energy into counting calories, creating charts, and logging my food that all of the logging became very stressful. If I went on vacation, I felt like I needed to have a computer to do all of the logging and charting. I was getting depressed and feeling isolated because my emotional life was tied to the scale. If I gained weight, I felt mad, if I lost weight, I felt happy.
It was a never-ending circle of frustration and it had become an obsession for me. It was overwhelming and I felt like I was doing all of these things and it didn’t even matter. At some point, I would always go to the flip side and just give up. I would go crazy and binge and then I would beat myself up and start the whole process again.
I heard about A New Day Hypnosis on citysearch. I read some reviews and I was very intrigued. I did a lot of research and a lot of reading to find out if it would really help me. After reading about so many successes that people have had, I decided to try. I thought that I would just be hypnotized and all would be magic and changed and because I had never tried any type of therapy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I noticed right away that I was able to focus on chewing my food slowly, I was sitting at the table instead of sitting at my desk to eat, and I was paying more attention to my hunger signals.I feel a lot more aware of everything around me and the actions that I take. I’m more conscious and aware of the portions that I eat. I don’t stand in the cupboard and eat unconsciously anymore. I feel like I am in control of my life instead of having everything based on my accountability and the charts. I’m not charting my weight or my food anymore and that has been a relief.
I started digging deeper and realized that this was a lot bigger than just changing my eating habits. This process has helped me to do things that I’ve never done before. I’ve noticed that I am able to put myself out there and try new things. I joined a pottery class and it’s easier for me to make myself happy. I feel more confident and now I’m doing things and meeting other people. I have more confidence in my ability to say “No” and to set healthy boundaries in my life. The most important benefit for me has been that I am more social; I’m meeting new people, and putting myself out there. My husband and my kids have noticed that I’m taking classes and they were shocked and surprised that I was doing things by myself and having fun.
I would recommend A New Day Hypnosis to anyone who wants to work on a healthier lifestyle because it is a real eye-opener to talk about things out loud and understand why you’re was doing certain things. I was shocked at how easy it was for me to talk about my emotions and it seemed like something that I enjoyed, so that was a real surprise for me.
It’s good to have the reinforcement around what I am trying to change. The portion control and balance have definitely helped me a lot. I just have to continue to be aware. I’m really glad that I did it because I would have never guessed that all of these things would have boiled down to understanding myself and my emotions.