By Erika Flint, BA, MCPHI, BCH, OB

Initially revealed within the Journal of Hypnotism

“I’m hooked on sugar,” Emily reported. “If I might simply get off sugar, I do know I’d be capable of lose the load.” 

Sugar cravings are a typical situation within the hypnosis workplace, the place I’ve helped a whole bunch of purchasers sustainably reduce weight. Emily’s story is typical – she eats wholesome meals, however within the late afternoon and earlier than mattress, she finds herself reaching for sugar. 

Why is Sugar Such a Drawback? 

Sugar, in its pure type, just isn’t an issue. For instance, I’ve by no means had nor heard of a consumer ask for assist with consuming too many apples or too many grapes. Mom nature packages sugar with fiber and water – substances that assist to stability how a lot we want to eat in anybody sitting as a result of they’re satiating and filling. What number of apples would you eat at one time? Evaluate that with what number of cookies or sweets you may eat in a single sitting, and also you’ll perceive the start of the issue with processed sweets. 

Processed Meals is Engineered to be Irresistible 

Meals scientists have created the idea of a “bliss level.” The bliss level is the proper stability of sugar, fats, and crunch in several mixtures in order that processed sugary meals turn into irresistible. 

Meals firms are actively working to create merchandise that we crave and have a tough time resisting. They don’t have shopper’s greatest pursuits at coronary heart – they’re within the enterprise to earn cash. 

Share these insights with purchasers! It helps them to appreciate it’s not their fault, and there’s nothing fallacious with them. These meals are engineered to be irresistible. 

The Signature of Habit

You could have heard concerning the analysis indicating that sugar is “addictive,” just like different medication corresponding to cocaine and alcohol. It’s attention-grabbing science, and there’s an ongoing debate on the deserves of every facet. 

Nevertheless, that’s not what I’m referring to right here – I’m not speaking concerning the potential chemically addictive elements of sugar. As a substitute, I’m utilizing my very own definition of what makes one thing addictive that I name The Signature of Habit. One thing is “addictive” whether it is: 

• Instantaneously gratifying: outcomes are fast. The mind loves fast outcomes. Have you ever heard of delayed discounting? It’s the alternative of instantaneous gratification. Delayed discounting means the mind reductions perceived advantages of something that exists sooner or later – that means something that’s not instantly gratifying.

• Brief-lived: the outcomes fade rapidly, resulting in the mind wanting or craving, the outcome once more. 

Any habits that falls into that class has the potential for being addictive – together with sugar, video video games, and medicines. 

Why Three Days?

The Three Day Rule comes from expertise with purchasers. In three days purchasers report: 

These two constructive suggestions components inspire purchasers to remain on observe.

The Answer

The answer contains understanding The Signature of Habit and presents instantaneously gratifying options that meet the wants of the mind with out the damaging penalties of short-lived outcomes. 

Assist your purchasers kick the sugar behavior in three days with this components. 

Step 1: Consideration Shifting: Empowering Purchasers for Success

Cravings final for 15 Seconds

One of many jobs of our nervous system job is to launch neurochemicals that we expertise as emotions, to assist us turn into conscious of what’s occurring in our surroundings, making a suggestions loop.

The excellent news is that analysis signifies these emotions, usually, final for as little as 15 seconds and as much as 90 seconds. 15 seconds. Assist your purchasers turn into conscious of their craving, then distract themselves for 15 seconds, and the sugar craving will disappear. They’ll regain management! 

How is that this potential, when it seems like cravings final a lot longer? That’s often a matter of our consideration; as we concentrate on not eager to have the sugar, the need will increase. As a substitute, once we shift our consideration to one thing else, it dissipates. 

Listed below are the overall steps for consideration shifting:

1. Know after they’re craving sugar. How do they know they’re craving sugar, what’s the first signal? Have your consumer shift consideration when the momentum is at its lowest level. This may be completed with quite a lot of hypnotic methods, my favourite being stepping by way of a revivification of the final time they felt intense cravings. 

2. Redirect their consideration to one thing else. What ought to the consumer do as an alternative? The 2 best-performing strategies are described beneath. 

Step 2: Substitution Methodology

One well-liked technique of getting off of sugar contains quitting sugar cold-turkey. Though this method can work, I’ve not discovered it helpful for almost all of purchasers I’ve labored with.

In distinction, the substitution technique assists purchasers in reducing sugar cravings by assembly the wants of the mind and physique, not resisting or denying them, by having your consumer use pure sweeteners as a substitution.  

Have your consumer replenish on naturally candy meals – very best candidates embrace fruit that’s decrease on the glycemic index, for instance, berries, apples, and grapes. 

As a substitute of sugar, when purchasers get a longing for one thing candy, they eat one thing naturally candy. One thing that’s instantaneously gratifying due to its sweetness, however it additionally has the water and fiber content material to be fulfilling and long-lasting as nicely. They’ll have a half of an apple or a handful of grapes or berries. Embrace hypnotic solutions in your work with purchasers that the sweetness from the fruit is deeply fulfilling for the physique and that it harmonizes all bodily features and satisfies the physique’s pure longing for sweets. 

Step 3: Generate Good Emotions within the Physique Methodology

Eachphysique must really feel good. That is on a organic degree. Our pleasure facilities – that which controls want and the constructive suggestions loop, are important components of our nervous system. If the one means our purchasers really feel “good” through the day is after they’re consuming, then there’s an issue, and it’s essential to assist reconnect them with different methods to really feel good.

As a substitute of getting good emotions come from a bundle on the retailer within the type of sweet or ice cream, we wish to encourage our purchasers to generate these good emotions themselves. 

Do work together with your consumer in hypnosis to remind them of what really makes them completely satisfied – singing, dancing, portray, creating music, and artwork. Then have them do this stuff extra incessantly. 

Use hypnosis to assist uncover and reinforce your consumer’s capability to generate good emotions within the physique naturally. Doing so will scale back the mind’s longing for the easy-win, sugar. 

Over time, when purchasers often generate good emotions of their our bodies, they discover their cravings for sweets dissipate and, in lots of instances, are eradicated.  

The Mind Needs to Really feel GOOD

The mind doesn’t need that sugar – it simply needs to really feel good! Sugar turned an easy-win over time that had important damaging penalties. 

For Emily, she realized she typically craved sugary meals when she felt bodily drained. So as an alternative of getting sugar, she redirected her consideration to practising self-hypnosis, which helped her meet the wants of her mind and relaxation and get better. 

She additionally realized to like apples and grapes and realized if she has a sugar craving, and he or she’s hungry – a half an apple will fulfill her craving. She makes use of each methods, relying on the scenario. She asses and meets the wants of her mind and physique.

Assist your purchasers get off of sugar and really feel good in a sustainable means with consideration shifting, the substitution technique, and producing good emotions within the physique. They’ll probably really feel higher in three days, and off to an amazing begin reducing weight in a sustainable and fulfilling means.