Is Stress Literally WEIGHING You Down?


By Calypso Portugaels, CCH


you live in constant stress, you probably simply don’t have the energy to do what’s right. January, a couple of years ago, a new client came to me because she wanted to release some excess weight. At some point during the conversation she said, “I just need to lose the baby weight.” I replied, “Congratulations! When did you have the baby?” Turns out, her little bundle of joy is now 7 years old.


D


This happens so often. We want to lose the weight, but we fail at making it a priority. We are so engrossed in, well, life itself, that we forget that in order to be a caring, loving person, we first need to care for and love our- selves and our bodies. This January, instead of once again making never fulfilled resolutions, we actually get to create real sustainable change in our lives and the lives of the people around us.


How long have you been wanting to get


rid of your excess weight? How long has the idea of losing the weight been on the back burner of your mind? How stress inducing is the fact that you have, time and time again, failed to make that goal a priority? Because that’s the problem with important goals that


ieting can only take you so far if your mental state can’t create or sustain good habits. Moreover, if


haven’t yet made it to the top of the list, they keep nagging at our mind. They always oc- cupy and drain a little bit of our awareness. That’s how you end up in a catch 22; the idea of (being incapable of) releasing the weight becomes a source of constant stress. And you know what stress does to your waistline? Hint: it’s not helping it. Do you want more hints, or would you prefer cold hard facts?


1. Stress increases cortisol levels, which then increases your appetite.


Some people when faced with stress


can’t eat anything. And frankly, I’m sure that has its down side but sometimes, I still do envy those people. When faced with stress, I used to eat until my body was so full that it’s all I could feel. I ate to numb my fears which is exactly what stress is. My practice of hypnosis and mindfulness have allowed me to truly reconnect to my body. They have taught me tools to drop in and really explore (sometimes even re-create) the mind-body connection.


These days before eating I’m able to


ask myself whether what I’m feeling is real hunger or if I’m trying to fill a void created by feelings: fear, anxiety, boredom. If a specific feeling is the recurring trigger, hypnosis can then potentially heal the root cause of the


issue and help implement better eating habits. Some people, for example, might have gained weight for the illusion of safety the weight might bring, or as punishment for something. A client was recently able to trace back her weight gain to the feeling of powerlessness she had felt when her mother got diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After identifying the root cause and the feeling, she was then able to make better lifestyle decisions and main- tain them.


2. Stress causes you to lose sight of your priorities.


This one is a two for one. By learning to


manage your stress you will learn how to set and attain priorities. You’ll also realize that the way you feel in your own skin has to be at the top of the list. Moreover, learning to get your priorities straight is a sure solution to reduce stress and to feel less overwhelmed. Because you know what overwhelmed people do? They eat that extra cookie/bag of chips/sugary drink/insert your poison here.


Remember the mom at the beginning of this story ? She spent 7+ years not listen- ing to her body; that amazing body who had created a baby. When she finally decided to make a change she had to re-learn and re-listen to her own inner voice. That’s what hypnosis can do for you, by accessing your subconscious mind, you get to a place that’s highly suggestible and where true, life-long change can take place.


3. Stress makes you more susceptible to the ravage of sugar.


Is Your Skin Aging Too Fast?


Discover A Skin Cream Of Immense Anti-Aging Power!


Wrinkles Are Not An Option. Free Offer Included!


www.ImmortalOpulence.com 32 Natural Nutmeg - January/February 2020


Celebrity Quality SKINCARE


without dangerous chemicals or preservatives


Sugar is poison. Most of us know that.


What we don’t always realize is all the places where sugar hides and how to get rid of a sugar addiction once and for all. Because, make no mistake about it, sugar is an addic- tion. Some research even shows that it’s more addictive than hard drugs like cocaine. It’s been a conscious daily effort but I’ve been off sugar for 3 years now. Some people can do things in moderation, I’m not one of those


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44