THE BODY BELIEVES
By Ken Steenhoek, CH
2/20/05

In every newspaper or magazine we find at least one new program on how to lose weight. Some of them make sense and some don't. I had one client who had been on a coconut and banana diet, and it helped her. She did not lose any weight, but you should see her climb a tree!

The average program is unnatural (you can't eat what you enjoy), unpleasant (you can't enjoy what you have to eat), or, expensive, which are three reasons for not staying with it. However, just about every program has a built in failure mechanism. It is called 'WILLPOWER.' The message from the mind to the body is, "It will be TOUGH." The body responds by,setting up a feeling of resistance.

My program is natural because you can eat anything you enjoy, including snacking on cookies, candy, cake or ice cream. It is pleasant because you learn to enjoy food more than you ever did before. It is inexpensive because you do not need pills, special foods or equipment. Best of all you use the opposite of WILLPOWER. You use RELAXATION.

My one hour weight and smoking cessation sessions are similar in that the data sheet takes three minutes to fill out, the pre-talk includes the program, an explanation of what hypnosis is and isn't, how we used it to become the way we are, and how to use it to cha..J.ge into what we would like to become. That takes triliTj-five :minutes. During the last fifteen minutes I help the client go into a deep state of hypnosis, during which I go ovt;r the program and show them how to go into a deep relaxed state while at home. At this time, I teach the client self-hypnosis. By using self-hypno~is, the client can always take themselves as deep or deeper than we have been to this point.

During the pre-talk, to prove that, "WHAT THE MIND PERCEIVES, THE BODY BELIEVES," I have clients take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, and as they slowly exhale, I have them imagine a wave of relaxation starting at the top of head and slowly passing down through the body. After doing this several times, at the end of my pre-talk, when I ask them to close their eyes and do it, they are as deep as it takes for me to go over the fine points of the program.

Every weight control program mentions diet and exercise. The diet part is difficult to maintain, because of the mentioned reasons. The exercise part is a misconception. You
can't lose weight by exercising. You have to burn 3500 calories to lose one (1) pound. If
you walk a mile, you burn 100 calories. That means you will have to walk 35 miles without eating or drinking anything to lose one pound. If you use a treadmill at 3 mph, you will have to stay on it for 11 hour and 40 minutes, without eating or drinking, to lose

one (1) pound. If you do a strenuous exercise, burning as much as 500 calories an hour, you will have to do it for seven (7) hours to lose one pound!

Exercise has it's benefits, it tones the body, is good for blood circulation, and gives you a healthy feeling, but you will not lose any weight by doing it. Going to the gym is like shooting buckshot. To lose volume you have to pick a target and hit the bullseye every time, or you are wasting you time and energy.

The main benefit in exercising is that you lose volume by converting fatty tissue into muscle. There is a four-to-one ratio regarding fat and muscle. Four cubic inches of fatty tissue weighs the same as one cubic inch of muscle. In other words, you can convert four
inches of fatty tissue to one inch of muscle without going on a weight control program. If you lose weight at the same time, it is a double whammy

Most people don't realize they already own every piece of exercise equipment they can find in a gym or see on TV. They are all free and don't take up any room. I feel that going to a gym to exercise is the same as having a car and calling a taxi when you want to get somewhere.

I know many people that donate to the White Elephant sales in their local communities. The biggest category is exercise equipment. They see something advertised on TV that they think will help them shed pounds. They start with WilLPOWER and use the piece of equipment about twenty times the first month, about ten times the second month and by the third month, it is under the bed or in the garage. Two years later it is donated to the local garage sale.

I show my clients simple exercises that they can do using their imagination while relaxing or watching TV. If you use the weight program and do the mental exercises, you can reach your goal. But beware, if you don't really intend to reach your goal, the conscious mind will find scapegoat reasons to go off the program. The choice is yours. No one can do it for you.

Begin by saying, "it is easy."

"WHAT THE MIND PERCEIVES, THE BODY BELIEVES"