If you are new to the blog/workshop, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/ Here we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series is actually a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes.
Your Unbalanced Self has introduced us to the playground, where the emotional children can be found. You now realize that you are not your emotions, but that they play out in your mind & body with the beliefs & DVD programs that they carry in their backpacks. Some are helpful, but others are not. Your Therapeutic or Balanced Self suggests that the children go to the school house where they can be disciplined with love & compassion, teaching them to carry DVD's of what you do want, so they can participate in a healthy manner. But, before heading to that area on your Goal-den Path, it's been decided to go back to the MindBody Health Garden & to eat.
As we approach the garden, you can image, imagine or think the huge buffet. There are three main picnic tables set up, as well as two snack tables. You already know that the biggest inner stressor for the mind & body is food stress. Few people consume what the body systems need & unfortunately, the body systems can't go out & get their own. This is your responsibility. Many people who are over-weight, or addicted to substances, including sugar, junk food, tobacco & alcohol think of food as the enemy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here's what's true. If you are to have a healthy mind & body you must consume high level nutrition, in the sufficient amounts that your body requires. If there is a secret to weight loss & maintenance, it's written in that last sentence.
Why is this so difficult for many people? I think you already know, especially if you've been following the blog/workshop based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" Yes, you've met up with the Unbalanced Self, the emotional children & have been able to look deeper into the issues of Disorderly Eating, for these are not just surface issues. They are like an octupus; many tentacles reaching out underneath the water. Now we'll reach under the water & pull up the octupus, so we can examine more of the tentacles. Awareness & knowledge are key to rehabilitating lifestyle behaviors.
The Unbalanced Self has re-entered, showing a willingness to provide more information. This happens when there is no threat to the self-image or self-esteem. Notice this part of the Self unzipping what appears to be a coat & now stepping out of it. This is the fat coat. Underneath is the lean body mass, consisting of muscles & bones. The majority of Unbalanced Selves have fat coats that are too big & lean body mass index that is too small. This doesn't always depend on the scale weight. There are individuals who have what appears to be a healthy scale weight, but the body fat percentage may still be too big. Sometimes in people who have yo-yo'd, the lean body mass has shrunk because of the malnutrition caused by excessive, unhealthy & imbalanced dieting. What's especially interesting is how small the lean body mass can be in someone who is obese. This is important to understand because the lean body mass is the "fat burning machine" & if it is too small, then the body cannot burn fat until this is corrected. This is accomplished by practicing high level nutrition & eating in a timely fashion. We'll be visiting the picnic tables in a moment & will find out more about this. Just one other comment here about people who are truly under-weight, with small body fat percentage. This is seen in those with chronic dieting or anorexia. Once again, balance needs to be returned to the body. If not, the body systems, including the mind are at risk.
Since the fat coat has been removed from the Unbalanced Self, this is a good opportunity to have a look at some of the body systems, as they are easily visible with the right glasses. Here's a pair for you to put on. Go closer & have a look at what poor nutrition has done to the various systems of this particular Unbalanced Self. Look to the circulatory & heart systems. Notice the changes. And now, scan through the body& look closely. Remember, no one gets away without paying the Piper. Perhaps you can see the beginning of chronic diseases, maybe killer diseases. Even children are developing high cholesterol, blood pressure & adult onset diabetes....all because of poor nutrition, lack of exercise & stress.
You are being asked to have a look at the picnic tables. You noticed earlier that there are three meal tables & two or three snack tables. They are beautifully appointed with linens, stemware, china & silver. This is no ordinary picnic, but one that honors the body systems. In the middle of each picnic table is a clock that gives the appointed hour for the appropriate meal; breakfast, lunch & dinner. The smaller snack tables have a similar look, but are a bit more informal. The Therapeutic Self is setting the clocks at 3.5 hour intervals. No clock goes more than 4 hours.
This Self knows the importance of making systematic deliveries to the body systems who are busy waiting for their needed nutrition. This is easy to understand because you know that you expect your systems to go about their business. Your heart is expected to keep beating, the blood to keep flowing, the liver to keep filtering, the endocrine systems to keep the hormones balanced, the immune system to keep the body safe, the muscles & bones to support & move the body, the neurological system to keep all of it's systems up & running. Imagine being one of these systems & having nutrition time roll around & then "no deliveries", or a delivery of junk food, sugar, coffee, or empty carbohydrates. What would you think?? No suppose that the deliveries never stop OR they are so gigantic that the systems cannot manage them & have to involve the fat-storing departments? Imagine that your body & mind were a corporation & you were the CEO. What kind of outcomes would you expect to find here & what would happen to the bottom line? Case in point.
Look to the path & notice that some of the child-emotions are coming towards the buffet & picnic area. Some are helpful, but others are not. More than likely, you are familiar with some of these & may even balk at their presence because they are so very negative. But, not so fast. Some of these emotions have gotten a bad rap because you have not eaten regularly at the picnic tables, nor as the food been sufficient for the needs of the body systems. When this happens, the body & mind enter food stress & this super-excites the negative emotional states who are always willing to push in the unhealthy direction. But you are here now & that is in the past. You are already in rehabilitation & understand much more than before.
In the next mini-chapter your Therapeutic Self will bring the emotions forward & present a balanced & sufficient way of eating that will make it easier for appetite control, as well as emotional management.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.
http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com
