Taming My Tiger - 3 Keys to Change Your Habits

3 Keys to Changing Your Habits

I studied to be a Hypnotherapist at Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Norcross, GA. HMI was founded by Dr. John Kappas in 1968.

After training, I completed 1 year Hypnotherapy Internship. I worked with clients on and continued to study Stop Smoking, Weight Loss, Relationship Counseling, Behavior Modification, etc.

Weight Loss Therapies – Hard because there are so many components to a person’s weight.

Many psychological factors can affect a person’s weight. I saw and read several case studies for example of women, who had been sexually abused as a child that had taken that abuse inside and her subconscious mind had developed negative, limiting beliefs that affected her future relationships and her weight.

One example was a severely obese woman, who had been abused by a family member. She had tried diets for years, joined gyms, etc., but never could lose the weight.

Frustrated, she went to a hypnotherapist for to stop smoking, and in conversations with her therapist, it was revealed that she had been abused as a child by a family member and as they got into the therapy learned that she was overeating and her subconscious mind was generating triggers to her when she tried to enter a relationship with someone, it set her up to overeat or eat the wrong foods so that she was protected from men. If men didn’t desire her, she wouldn’t have to be in a relationship or worry about intimacy with men.

Now, this is an extreme case and not the norm. Just because someone is overweight, doesn’t mean they were abused as a child or as an adult, but it does occur.

The Subconscious Mind Creates Bad Habits

There are other factors where the subconscious mind can be programmed with Negative and / or limiting beliefs that can affect a person’s weight.
I was raised as a child at a time when several times on TV (they only had about 3 networks at the time, so you couldn’t get away from it easily) around dinner time, a commercial for United Way or CARE would come talking about the Starving Kids in Biafra, with photos and videos of emaciated, bloated bellies of little kids in Africa. Pleading for money to feed a child for 25 Cents a day.

My parents and grandparents would often tell us kids at the dinner table: “Finish your plate, there are starving kids in Africa.”

Kids don’t understand, and seeing that poor child on TV we didn’t want to end of like that, so we cleaned our plates, even if we weren’t hungry or hated the food (unless you had a dog in the house that you could secretly share your food with).

The other common programming is when parents give their kids food to quiet them down, or get them to behave. Again, bad behavior on the parents part.

As you get older, the subconscious mind is triggered to use food as a comforting release. Why do you think they call Wonderfully Fattening things Comfort Food!

The subconscious mind can control a lot of these things that affect a person’s life, especially their weight.

It’s Just Habits

The problem is often just Habit – bad habits. We start doing something and then continue it because it becomes a habit.

Habits are hard to change.

I’m a Stress Eater. When I get stressed,

Like a Tiger, I go on a Hunt

Tiger Growl is Attributed to Mike Koenig
uploaded: 07.05.10 | License: Attribution 3.0 | Recorded by Mike Koenig

Down the street, around the corner, Nose in the air smelling
Then it picks it up the scent

Ahh! Specialties!
Dark Chocolate Walnut, Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip!

Ahh Chocolate!

Time to feed the Tiger!!

I’ve been Reading

The Power of Habit – Why We Do What We Do in Life & Business
by Charles Duhigg

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Who is Charles Duhigg?

“My name is Charles Duhigg, and I’m a reporter for The New York Times. I’m also the author of the recently published book, The Power of Habit,about the science of habit formation in our lives, companies and societies.”

I will be contacting Mr. Duhigg to try and get an interview with him on a future episode pf our podcast to talk more about habits.

In his book he explains the Habit Loop – How Habits Work

How to Change a Habit.

There are 3 parts of a habit:
Cue
Routine
Reward

In my Feeding My Tiger Habit:

Cue
I get stressed

Routine
Tiger Starts the Hunt

Reward
MMMMMM! Sweet Treat

Changing habits is hard. – Even last night after 3 months in new house, I turned out of BART to go towards my old house.

“Rather, to change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.” - Charles Duhigg Click To Tweet, The Power Of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business

Easiest Way to changing a Habit is changing the Routine.

Cue
I need to work on NOT letting things stress me out – Another episode

Routine
Keep something healthier around that you like – put somewhere you have to go Hunt to get it

I take a trip to the Eagle Cafe in the building next door (company café)

Go Find “Hidden Apple” – or something else that is healthy

Pick out a nice Apple or two

Set up a routine to prepare

Knife & Plate
Slice Apple into thin slices, to eat like chips or cookies….

Reward
MMMMMM – Sweet Treat

This is my key to Taming my Tiger

What about Yours? Do you have bad habits to affect your weight? Do bad habits effect other areas of your life. Let us know some of your habits, good and bad, you have that affect your success at losing weight or other areas of your live in the Comments section below.

1.   Determine what your Cue is! What Triggers you .
2.   Define what your current routine is
3.   What is the Reward? What do you get out of the completion of the Routine?

Change Habits by developing healthier routines.

When you tame your tiger, You’ll be happier and healthier.

“Typically, people who exercise, start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.”
— Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business