The truth about sugar and addiction.

Posted March 2013

Having spent months watching countless weight loss documentaries for research...I have made note that many of the self proclaimed guru's of weight loss were in fact hugely over weight themselves (obese), they are also very open and proud of their own 200lb's weight loss which is great and one can only RESPECT (A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities) them for that BUT nearly all of them believe that sugar is an addictive substance and make a comparison with drugs and alcohol (associated reinforcement). This leads me to the problem. These Guru's are using there own success stories, not knowingly I hasten to say, to limit the public's beliefs by advocating and advertising the use of addiction as the main problem with weight issues. Addiction to sugar is a false belief!

A limiting belief is a false belief that a person acquires as a result of making an incorrect conclusion about something in life. For example a person could acquire a limiting belief about his ability to succeed as soon as he fails.

I am addicted, I am a failure or I cant succeed are examples of limiting beliefs that people collect throughout their lives.

The medical definition of the word 'addiction' is a physical dependency ie.. "Dependence is at such a point that stopping is very difficult and causes severe physical and mental reactions from withdrawal." (Medterms.com).

The association of sugar with addiction reinforces and distorts the behaviour in a negative way, actually making it harder psychologically to refrain. You may ask why...because if we believe sugar is an addiction it is then outside our own conscious internal control, believing its physiological, hence removing responsibility, fundamentally using these as excuses to project anxiety away from ourselves, ultimately justifying it and in-tern eating more and more.

In fact everyone could stop eating sugar tomorrow, actually our physiology (body) would have a positive reaction to the reduction in sugar not a negative withdrawal..slightly conflicting wouldn't you say.

My point is that these once overweight 'guru's' have to believe that sugar is an addiction to logically justify there own self doubts, there own reasons for being hugely overweight for a large period of their own lives...hence removing responsibility, because let's be honest they have to excuse themselves for all those years of weight issues.

So the moral of this blog is to be critical of your own thinking, don't believe everything you are told, take back the control in your life, if it doesn't feel right, question it and get the facts before you become limited. Weight-loss starts with your cognition, challenge your limiting beliefs, remember you were never taught how to think you were simply told, so why not start learning and making your own decisions!

www.themckeownclinic.co.uk

The 'Medical model of ME/PVFS/CFS'.

In Phil Parkers Lightening Process, he describes 'The Physiological Catch 22':

Posted November 2010

Many sufferers they find themselves stuck in the following downward spiral.

1. You fall ill due to an initial 'bug' or some stress, or external factor that started your M.E. This event caused an extreme stress on your immune system.

2. You felt very unwell. The symptoms were either very strong or lasted so long that you began to wonder if you'd ever get better. You consulted your doctor and specialists in a number of fields, but nobody seemed to have any answers, or provided much useful help, and the illness continued.

3. These concerns, understandably, made you even more stressed than you were when you got ill, which in turn made your body produce adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and cortisol are a good and normal response to short term stress, but long term production of them exhausts us, it affects our blood sugar and thyroid levels, it suppresses (and messes up the proper regulation of) our immune system and makes us prone to illness and tiredness…..this unfortunately makes you loop back to step 2.

Please note: The physiology of this cycle is well documented by other authorities (Selye et al). We've tried to keep the above description brief and simple, but it is of course only a partial glimpse of the complex interactions of the mind, body and hormonal systems, and should not be taken as the entirety of our understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved. More complex events can result from long term stimulation of this cycle, such as adrenal exhaustion and low cortisol levels which in turn create different physiological responses and immune system regulationissues.

Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching St Albans and Hertfordshire.

An Insight into client therapy

This is a real life honest account of a client that has undergone therapy for help with social anxiety and depression.

I stopped seeing Steve in April 2010 as I said before having only dealt with the easy stuff.  The stuff I could admit to myself – and being one for hiding behind every tiny wall and barrier possible even the easy stuff made me uncomfortable!

Each week we’d addressed something but not always through hypnosis, there have been times that I’ve just needed to talk and have a therapy session without the hypnosis bit (Life coaching and training).   I’d really come a long way and I’d dealt with a lot of pent up stuff that no one really knew about because I wasn’t talking openly to anyone.  Steve turned into my confidante and it really was only him that I spoke to.  Knowing that you can say absolutely anything to someone and it really will go no further is a huge relief and so important for this kind of environment.  Steve became one of the only people I absolutely trusted and respected – which I have never really told him.

I had a lot going on when Steve and I decided to end my sessions because at that time I’d reached the point I needed to.

I think in hindsight all the stuff I had going on was actually just a distraction from me and sorting myself out.  I had other things to think about and focus on for a short time and I was probably looking for the easy way out because I so wanted to believe I was all fixed.

I was wrong. Not dramatically, unbelievably, catastrophically wrong, just a bit wrong.  So July this year I returned to Steve for what I now think of as a more intense form of therapy with the added bonus of Steve’s coaching.

When I said I had literally been broken down and built back up this is what I was referring to.  But I knew in order to do that I had to be 100% honest again and I’d gone back to hiding myself away so to say I’ve been uncomfortable and outside of my safe zone is an understatement! Every week Steve was challenging me and MAKING me challenge myself.  There were no ifs or buts, I had to do and I didn’t want to let either of us down.

I started using the technique religiously, I did absolutely everything Steve asked me to and I started to really genuinely feel like I was getting somewhere. FINALLY!

Each week when I go to see Steve his first question is always “how have you been this week” and it’s never really until that point that I reflect back and think of things that have (or haven’t) happened.  It’s odd because after a certain point the changes your brain is going through become second nature and permanent and you just don’t realise the transition.  I’ll be totally honest here, for the first 2 months of going back to Steve it was up and down and I really was waiting to take the ever so familiar downward spiral again.

Steve once asked me the question where do you want to get to? Who do you want to be? When I told him what I wanted, I thought it seemed a bit far-fetched but essentially it was just to feel normal.  Yes I realise I had absolutely no idea what normal felt like in my adult life but I knew I wanted a consistent feeling that wasn’t depression.

I do not know how he does it but he picks up on every little thing and gets me to think about stuff that isn’t necessarily present in my mind when I walk into the room for my session.

He asks the right questions based on my personality and really won’t let me get away with a half answer! I won’t lie here, he has seen more tears than I care to mention but it has all been part of the process.

I’ve learned a lot of things about myself that I just thought were massive defects I couldn’t fix or erase.  I have always suffered from social anxiety, always thinking the shift in a room’s atmosphere was because of me and my weirdness.  I’ve always worried what people think of me and try and adjust my own personality to please them  - I think it’s fair to say that since I have written this for people to actually read I no longer care!

I have created a big wall between me and everything and everyone else so for several years I haven’t let anyone really know who I am.  When Steve got this out of me it was one of the biggest aha! moments in my therapy.  I just thought I was weird and not wired the same as everyone else so fundamentally no one would ever get me.  Through admitting everything to Steve I’ve actually also admitted it to myself which just shows how dishonest I’ve been for the last 7 years!

I have always had difficulty dealing with people and issues because I do not like confrontation.  So I wouldn’t day if I was upset or annoyed or just needed to talk about something.  People used to get away with anything with me! Every time I have a situation now that I need to deal with and I try to avoid it I actually picture Steve telling me to “just get on and deal with it” - my words not his!

I never used to associate with anything and I’d distance myself from people and situations to avoid getting upset, hurt or disappointed but Steve, in his no nonsense way, has made me stop doing that and made me realise I am a good person and others deserve to see this.  Then if they don’t like it at least I’ve been myself and they aren’t worth having in my life. That’s an uncomfortable thought – telling people to do one if they don’t like me.  I’ve never done that before! And as yet haven’t had the opportunity to do because it would seem those who I’ve hidden from care and love me just the same as they did before.  I’m almost waiting for the opportunity to use this new found confidence if anyone doesn’t like me!

Asking questions has always been a big deal for me as well.  I always believed people would think my question was stupid or I sounded stupid mainly because of my lack of confidence and self belief.  This probably made me look fairly antisocial and disinterested in other people but it was all down to fear.  Steve set me a task: I had to ask at least one question every day of someone or something.  First thing I felt was panic! And panic. And a bit more panic. Seriously, who was going to want answer my stupid unimportant questions?! Turns out everyone.  

I realise these probably all sounds like very small issues very but I was so inside my own head and not speaking to everyone so everything built up tremendously and it literally became consuming, I was just one big ball of scared.

I have suffered from controlling family relationships in my life and this is something I am currently working on to achieve what I want and not what others want and to re-assert my own independence over those who think they know best for me.  This is one of the hardest things to do being as it’s been a force of habit for pretty much all my life. But I am absolutely going to do it because I have a new found confidence and backing from Steve. 

I’m also finally talking to other people, letting them in and being honest.  None of that has been easy to do let me tell you! And so many times I’ve gone back behind my ‘wall’ as I’ve come to know and describe it.  But if I’m going to get anywhere I’m going to have to suck it up and do it, there just isn’t a more pleasant way of putting it! I’ve gone through way too much in therapy and depression to just do what feels safest now.  I’m so outside of my comfort zone but one day it will be second nature and I tell you what, when that day comes (without me realising, naturally!) it will be the single biggest achievement in my life.

Now if I didn’t write a little something about Steve McKeown that would be wrong.  He is quite possibly the most influential person I have ever met and I owe an awful lot to him and his skills and patience.  I meant it when I said he would save me because he absolutely did! This isn’t a long winded testimonial or tribute to Steve, this is me being honest about what I have gone through in the last 7 years and he is an enormous part of that having done more for me than any other therapist or medication!

On my 25^th birthday I promised myself I would NOT be that person anymore and when I reached my 26^th although I’m not quite there I am a far cry from who I was so every last little drop of my thanks goes to Steve and his support.

In all honesty, I do not like feeling vulnerable and writing all of this makes me feel exactly that and more!  But ...if you don’t write your experiences down, then no one else can learn and find comfort that there really is someone else out there that has been through a tough time and did actually make it through to the other side.

An Insight into client therapy

This is a real life honest account of a client that has undergone therapy for help with social anxiety and depression.

Part One (Part Two to follow).

The Last 7 Years..

Hypnotherapy.  When you say that word what do you honestly think of? I personally did NOT think it would be my saving grace.

When the suggestion was put to me to write this blog I agreed because I get great satisfaction from helping people – thanks for bringing that to my attention Steve!  I thought I was just a pushover.

The last 7 years has been one tremendous journey of depression and therapy and even medication.  Whether it is considered a good one or a bad one it has been MY journey and it’s made me who I am today.

If you have ever experienced depression you’ll know what I mean when I say you never really think about what the cause is in that much detail, just the feeling.  That black hole, the no one can help me, I’m terrible/awful/disgusting/my life is horrific feeling.

It’s very easy to blame whatever is happening to you or in your life because let’s face it, that is the most plausible, if not the only option for it to all make sense.

Winston Churchill referred to his dark days as the Black Dog and I don’t think anyone has created an analogy quite so effective since.

Let me begin:

When I looked for my own reason for my depression I looked straight at being badly bullied at school that was all it could be because my life was nowhere near terrible. That is when my therapy journey really begun.

I tried a very basic type of therapy where I would go and talk about how I was feeling and what was happening to me but with very little interaction from the other side.

Needless to say that didn’t work for me and my first experience of ‘counselling’ wasn’t a good one. How could I sort out my problems with no advice or guidance?

The bullying made me grow up quickly and it was then that I started hiding behind a facade and not letting people know what I was really thinking or feeling because on a daily basis I HAD to pretend I didn’t care so I could survive and get through.  I guess that’s what I’d call a 16 survival instinct!

Fast forward a bit to 19 years old, it was July 2005 that I started on a new therapy track and was referred by a doctor to see a private therapist that would hopefully help me.  There was more interaction and less of just me talking at her.  She asked me questions but never really challenged me.  It lasted on and off for about 3 years but I found over time I didn’t really get as much from it as I had hoped and whilst it had initially worked it wasn’t going to cure me of my black dog days.

I think I learned at that point there isn’t one solution that fits all symptoms.  

I was 22 when I went through a really bad time and after an intervention from my parents I went onto antidepressants prescribed by our family doctor.  They weren’t particularly strong and were meant to boost my serotonin levels .  They did exactly that and miracle of miracles they worked! They cured me and I was over the moon and I felt normal and I could handle life. I stayed on them for 15 months and then took myself off of them.  I figured that was long enough for them to sort my brain and hormone levels out.

So this brings me to early 2010 and I am now 24.  I spent a few months enjoying the fuzzy after affects of the medicines.....and then I absolutely crashed. With a capital C

I had no idea what was going on if I was coming or going and I was scared.  I’d tried counselling, Psychotherapy and anti–depressants.  Nothing had worked and I started to think maybe this was it for me.  I had no idea what to do for myself and I’ll be honest and tell you suicide did cross my mind on more than one occasion but I had no idea how to really do it properly and I was petrified of the after math if it didn’t work. 

November 2010 was when I came across Steve McKeown Hypnotherapist and, as he already knows, I really felt like this was my last try at fixing myself. I’d spent almost every evening crying at my own reflection finding myself hideous and disgusting, my life was a sham and most importantly I truly believed I was an awful person that no one loved or cared about.  I didn’t even love me.

When I sat in front of him at our initial consultation he knew more about me than I did without me really saying anything! That both shocked and amazed me and gave me the confidence that Steve would, in effect, save me.  I realise just how dramatic that sounds but unless you’ve gone through depression and tried everything you can you don’t know what it feels like and I make no apologies.

Being that low made me realise I could only go up and I had to try at least for myself and my family and who had supported me and put up with absolutely everything.  I was a shadow of my former bubbly, outgoing self and they hadn’t turned their back, they could see I was in crisis.

The first time Steve hypnotised me it felt like 10 minutes, 15 at the most and when he said it had been nearly 35 minutes I was absolutely shocked! I was absolutely knackered after that first session.

It has been almost a year since I started going to see Steve though I did have break of almost  4 months from April – July.  Up until April my sessions addressed some of what I’d call were the top level issues that I had – the easy to reach stuff.  These last few months have dealt with a whole lot more that I did not know existed and I have been broken down and built back up.

Every week has been different with Steve but always exactly what I need and unbelievably effective. No idea how he does it but he can judge how the session needs to go in the first 5 minutes!

After the first couple of sessions I made some changes to my life as it was at that time.  He put this confidence back in me that I hadn’t felt in a really long time and I really felt like me again for a few weeks. 

The thing I had yet to realise with any therapy, especially Hypnotherapy is that it isn’t instantaneous and you do have to do some of the work yourself.  When I cracked that I noticed a lot changing in me.

One of the most important tools Steve has given is The Technique as we call it.  It’s all about stopping your negative thinking in its tracks and re-programming your brain to think positively.  I have to say my negative thinking was like second nature and I didn’t stick to using the technique at first because I thought if it didn’t work first time it just wouldn’t work at all. Perseverance and being told off by Steve more than once has made me use it a lot more and as he promised, it really does work!

Initially, during my actual Hypnosis, Steve had me looking back at past events and experiences and I seemed to gravitate towards the bullying each time or feeling alone or sad or left out and secluded.  I think there was something in me at first that couldn’t connect with anything else because that was my source of blame.  As far as I was concerned that was all it was! I had never given it much more thought to figure out where my insecurities came from which is odd because I was absolutely riddled with them!

It is not easy to fool Steve I have to say and during one of my sessions Steve dragged something up that I ignored for 10 years, something that a female should never have to go through at the hands of a friend especially at 15 years old.  God knows how he had picked up on any of it but he did and for the first time in my life I dealt with it.  When I got home I looked in the mirror and realised I wasn’t disgusting or hideous.  I had never connected the two things and I’d suffered from a dysmorphic disorder for a really really long time.

I’d buried everything under the umbrella of bullying and didn’t see there was anything else but gradually Steve made me realise there are lots of parts to a personality and lots of experiences that make us who we are.

Part Two to Follow.

Self Talk - Learn how to retrain your brain.

Therapy for high blood pressure (hypertension).

If you have high blood pressure issues then you may need to take control of your anxiety to help with your hypertension. Nearly 16 million people in the UK suffer from high blood pressure and that equates to 20% of all deaths in the whole world.

When hypertension is left untreated it can lead to many complications. You need to get the support it will take to get your blood pressure under control quickly. The good news is that there is more than one thing that helps lower blood pressure and bring your pressure under control. If you want to do something that will help control blood pressure then it would be a great ideas to reduce the amount of stress and anxiety in your daily routine life. This can be helped by a technique I use within my clinic (see, control your inner voice). There are two primary culprits for high blood pressure (hypertension) and the various associated problems, stress and anxiety. Anxiety and stress is due to badly managed thinking which in turn creates anxiety, stress, then produces physical responses. (i will try demonstrate how your bad thoughts are slowly ruining your health).

The key to managing your stress and anxiety is to begin to understand your 'thinking', or cognition. Understanding your thinking will ultimately allow you identify when your thinking negatively, once this is mastered you will begin to feel much happier and healthier. When you begin to understand how your brain and body coerce together you will be able to make changes accordingly, this will then allow you to deal with experiences and events in life with far more perspective.

When we do not have self understanding and do not manage our thinking appropriately we allow our negative experience's which are limiting beliefs to constantly distort our perspective on life so that we start to feel affected in several ways. These limiting beliefs can cause us to suffer from relationship breakdown's inhibition's anxieties, compulsion's obsession's mental and physical issues.

Physical symptoms such as high blood pressure, are just one of many in a list of physical ailments that can be made far worse by the way we think.

You might be thinking, 'I can see that the way I think can cause psychological symptoms such as anxiety and stress but it cannot create physical ailments such as high blood pressure'.

Well it sure can! This is not such a stupid and strange concept as you may have thought as there has been much research over the years showing that the way we think has a massive impact on our physical body, such as your immune system etc (ref: Cohen and Doyle 2003, Lengacher and Bennett 2008,)

The most basic way of looking at an example would be, when would you most likely be ill with the common cold or you get a migraine, or your eczema flares up or you feel faint (high blood pressure) etc.. Think about it, its when your stressed and not thinking straight, your emotionally drained.

Have you ever heard of white coat syndrome? (Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_coat_hypertension is a phenomenon in which patients exhibit elevated blood pressure in a clinical setting but not in other settings. It is believed that this is due to the anxiety some people experience during a clinic visit).

So I believe you are beggining to understand that the way you think produces anxieties and the anxiety and stress cause a physical reaction. By not managing your thinking you raise your inner stress. This not only produces psychological issues but can result in a continued problem with your high blood pressure and even with your immune system.

During sessions with my clients I demonstrate how the mind effects your body, how you 'think' controls you physically and this can be performed by explaining the ideomotor response. (Please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideomotor_effectThe ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. For instance, tears are produced by the body unconsciously in reaction to powerful emotions).

So if you are serious about changing your life and reducing your blood pressure then why not get in touch and start taking back the control.

Please also read my next blog that will help reduce you blood pressure. Self Talk - Learn how to retrain your brain.

How your belief system and what you see can prevent you from being a non-smoker.

Most of what I am about to disclose is about what you believe to be true and what you don’t see that keeps you smoking.

Reversed Psychology (the law of reversed effort or effect – Coined by Emile Coue’)

‘There is a Law of Reversed Effort. The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed’.

Language such as ‘I don’t want to smoke’, ‘I won’t smoke’, ‘I can’t smoke’’ will all produce the unwanted reversed effect making you want to smoke even more and increasing your supposed craving and anxiety.

Read the below as an example:

DON’T THINK ABOUT ELEPHANTS!

OOOP’s you just did (a simple example law of reversed effect).

Embedded persuasive commands.

‘An embedded command іѕ a technique used tο communicate with thе conscious mind, whіƖе аƖѕο sending a message tο thе subconscious mind’.

The іԁеа іѕ to actually bypass the conscious mind аnԁ communicate directly to the subconscious mind. Embedded commands or commonly used in marketing аnԁ advertising. Embedded commands or hidden suggestions within written or spoken language.

The power of suggestion.

A brief definition of suggestion is a psychological process by which one person guides the thoughts, feelings, or behavior of another.

The type of suggestion I am discussing is what we call ‘waking suggestion’.

‘Suggestions, however, can also have an effect in the absence of hypnosis. These so-called "waking suggestions" are given in precisely the same way as "hypnotic suggestions" (i.e., suggestions given within hypnosis) and can produce strong changes in perceptual experience’.

Limiting belief system

Limiting beliefs serve as filters of your reality. You see the reality in a different way than others because you have different beliefs than other people. The same situation is viewed differently by different people. That’s why the situation that you find funny might be completely depressing to others.

We form beliefs because they simplify our lives. If you, for example, got burnt by a hot stove, next time when the stove is hot you won’t touch it because you believe that you will get burnt. This is the example of a positive belief that simplifies your life and protects you.

However, when you get a limiting belief, your life loses its richness because you are not able to perceive it correctly. For example, if you got hurt in a relationship and you start believing that all men/women are the same; this belief will not allow you to see men/women that do not fit into your belief system.

Many people mistakenly look at the world and think that what they see is the real world. However limiting beliefs colour their lives in the way that is only true to them. It’s very hard for such people to understand that the life that they perceive is only so because of their limiting beliefs.

A great example which I have heard so many times in my clinic is those people that are overweight.

‘I have a sugar addiction’.

‘My metabolism is slow’.

‘I am addicted to chocolate’.

‘My being overweight is genetic’.

All of the above ‘JUSTIFY’, logically in their minds, the reason for why they are overweight, hence the feeling of NOT being in control of the outcome.

So ask yourself this question.

Is smoking addictive? You have been lead to believe it is, by media, by the NHS, by advertising gurus, etc. All this to keep you smoking and make them loads of money.

The medical definition of the addiction is, ‘a substance that your body requires more of as time goes on’, of which creates a physical dependency’.

Now think of a REAL addiction, Drugs, alcohol, they are both likely to create a physical dependency unlike Nicotine.

An alcoholic cannot just stop drinking alcohol due to the physical dependency, as the body has become dependent. If they did stop immediately, go cold turkey, they could die, due to blood pressure and many other physical factors. The goes with the Drug abuser.

Think about this.

Nobody has even died of stopping smoking immediately, WHY? Because there is no physical dependency. Hence no addiction.

YOU SMOKE BECAUSE YOU WANT TO, NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO.

It’s just a reoccurring compulsion.

FACT: NICOTINE REPLACE THERAPY (NRT), Nicotine Patches, chewing gum and many others only have a 6-13% success rate.  Surely if it was the Nicotine you were addicted to, then NRT would be very successful, you would be able to stop because you were receiving the Nicotine you have been told you were supposedly addiction to. Again most smokers I have seen have said they still smoke whilst on NRT, Confusing, don’t you think? Also they say on the packet that if you use too many patches you may overdose! Have you ever heard of anyone overdosing on nicotine, NO, it’s all a smoke screen, to get you to believe and to keep you buying their products. Which are also highly taxed by our government, which is a whole other argument.

I could go on and on and on and on and on with great examples to prove otherwise but I will not bore you.

In short if you believe that smoking is an addiction, then you have justified your reason for not giving up, because of your belief powerful belief is justifying your outcome logically.

Think about it, you are an intelligent person, and you know smoking is likely to kill you at some point in your life so you have to create a powerful belief behind your reasons for smoking to make it feasible and logical, so you would say I am definitely addicted to smoking, IT JUSTIFIES IT.

Now for the fun part, look at what they put on the packet to keep you smoking and filling their pocket with your well-earned cash.

Examples:

Remember the information above and what you have read, the word ‘addiction’, the power behind it, reversed psychology, embedded persuasive command, which can also be perception without awareness over time.

1.       Look at how they have used the white bold writing.

It reads ‘the risk of coronary heart disease is smoking abstinence’ basically saying that your risk of heart disease is increased by stopping smoking.  Absolutely unbelievable.

2.      

2.    Look at the use of the language in this one.

It reads ‘Smoking is highly addictive, don’t start’, basically this confirms and justifies your reasons to smoke, and also uses the law of reversed effort by saying ‘don’t start’, a very powerful use of language. Also the photo of the syringe is implying that ‘smoking is’ like injecting yourself like an addiction. Starting to get my drift?

HypnoMotiFit.

Motivation to exercise and burn fat.

Losing weight has always been issue for generations. Over the last few months I have devised and perfected a program that allows my clients to see weight loss in a healthy and sustainable way through exercise and psychology. I have used a well-known training and exercise program which many people may know as being ‘interval training (Inc. fat burn heart rate)’ and I have also included my ‘Slimmer Mind Program’ and several motivation techniques as well as motivation hypnotherapy, now known as ‘HypnoMotiFit.  All these programs and techniques combined see very fast results in a matter of 8 weeks seeing a huge inch losses and weight loss.

I am now running this program on a one to one basis or if you have a few friends of similar fitness that would like to join, group discounts will apply.

For more information with regards to this program please contact me.

Over the last few weeks I have been asked by many clients and people via social networking (Twitter: @Stevie_McKeown) to tell them what their personal fat burn heart rate (FBHR) would be, so I have put together some information for your perusal and how to work out your own FBHR.

What is the fat burning zone?

Although the origin of the (FBHR) concept is unknown, the fitness industry probably seized on the following key facts:

1. Low- to moderate-intensity exercise is fuelled predominantly by fat;
2. An optimum fat burning rate has been identified at 65% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) - the body's ability to take on board and use oxygen during exhaustive exercise.

Because fitness centres do not usually own gas analysers that measure VO2 max directly, the (FBHR)  is instead located indirectly, with a heart rate monitor, at 60-70% of age-predicted maximum heart rate. Age-predicted maximum heart rate is derived from the formula 220 - age, giving a 25-year-old, for example, a FBZ of 117-136 beats/min. The use of this formula involves two considerable assumptions:

* that exercise heart rate can be used to predict oxygen consumption and
* that maximum heart rate is the same for everyone of a given age.

An easy example to work out you own (FBHR) is:

Person aged 25.

Start with Formula 220

220 – (age 25) = (195) -60% = 117 start range beats per/min

220 – (age 25) =(195) -70% = 136 end range beats per/min.

If you keep your heart rate (beat per/min) with the start and end range of your calculated (FBHR)  your body will be in the burning ranging. At first you may think keeping your heart rate with these points very easy but trust me, stick with it and remember, An optimum fat burning rate has been identified at 65% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) - the body's ability to take on board and use oxygen during exhaustive exercise.

Many people OVER DO exercise and tire themselves out to the point where their heart rate is just too high and hence do not see any weight loss and overtime start to feel despondent so therefore stop exercising, is that you? Well if is, try the above method for a couple of weeks and you will notice weight loss. If you would like help, why not contact me at steve@stevemckeownofficial.co.uk.

Please note: you will need a heart rate monitor whilst exercising to gauge.

Therapies and their differences.

by Steve McKeown, Trainer, Hypnotherpist, Life Coach, NLP Master.

1. Pure Hypnoanalysis (Psychoanalysis - Using Hypnosis).

Including: Explanation of Pure Hypnoanalysis, Hypnoanalysis opposed to Suggestion therapy.

2. Life Coaching (Humanistic Psychology).

Including: Explanation of Life Coaching, Practical elements of coaching.

Pure Hypnoanalysis (Psychoanalysis - Using Hypnosis).

Pure Hypnoanalysis is the single most effective form of therapy available in the world today, for the resolution of anxiety, depression, phobias, fears, eating disorders and other psychological and emotional problems/symptoms.

Pure Hypnoanalysis is a highly developed form of hypnoanalysis (sometimes called hypno-analysis or analytical hypnotherapy) Hypnoanalysis, in its various forms, is practised all over the world, though only IAPH Members are trained to practice the amazing 'Pure' version. To understand why Pure Hypnoanalysis is SO effective, please read the transcript below.

This form of hypnotherapy can TOTALLY RESOLVE the CAUSE of unconscious anxieties - leaving the sufferer free of their symptoms for life!

Hypnoanalysis opposed to Suggestion Therapy.

Suggestion Therapy is 'normal' hypnotherapy. When you hear the term 'hypnotherapy' used in the media, they are (most often) referring to this type of therapy. Basically, you will be relaxed into a lovely, calm light hypnotic state (where you will be wide awake and fully in control - but nice and relaxed) and you will be given suggestions that will affect your behaviour/feelings once you are out of the hypnotic state - hence the term 'post-hypnotic suggestion'.

The type of suggestion given will depend on the symptom you want help with. If you are stopping smoking, a typical suggestion would be 'you will feel a huge sense of pride and pleasure now you are a non-smoker' or 'you will find it easy to live your life as a non-smoker'. Note that ALL suggestions given will be completely positive, and worded very careful in order to get the very best results. This type of therapy session is ideal for: smokers wishing to quit, a person suffering from pre-test nerves, someone wanting help with their driving test, or help with pain control - particularly for childbirth.

Suggestion therapy can be very effective, but the results are only temporary - hence it is particularly useful when short-term benefits are needed.

Suggestion therapy only requires one, or maybe two sessions.

Hypnoanalysis and Psychotherapy.

Let’s take a fairly simple case of ‘social phobia’ (sometimes known as social anxiety. Social phobia is caused by bottled-up/repressed feelings of shame and guilt. The sufferer feels ‘judged’ by other people, and avoids places and situations where they might feel ‘on the spot’ or embarrassed – particularly in public.

If the social phobia sufferer went for traditional counselling, the two of them would probably discuss the situations and experiences that were ‘triggering off’ the phobia (relationship/stress/work/confidence etc.) The sufferer might feel a bit better, and feel a bit more in control, BUT they would still have their phobia and it would still be having a profound effect upon their life.

If the sufferer went for psychotherapy, they would probably receive a more in-depth version of the counselling above. Without getting to the bottled-up CAUSE of the phobia though, the sufferer can only obtain a limited resolution.

If the sufferer went for some CBT, they would probably feel more control of their life, and find life easier… but the phobia would still be there, affecting their life

If the sufferer went for normal hypnotherapy (sometimes called ‘clinical’ or ‘suggestion’) they would have one or two sessions and feel quite a lot better, BUT the emotion would find another way out, and the symptoms would soon likely return with a vengeance!

If the sufferer went for normal ‘hypnoanalysis’ (not the IAPH ‘Pure Hypnoanalysis’ version) they would probably get a lot better, but probably wouldn’t get to the CAUSE of the problem, and hence wouldn’t get the full, amazing resolution.

If, however, the sufferer went for a course of ‘Pure Hypnoanalysis’, they would very likely bring to the surface ALL the repressed/bottled-up emotions that were causing the phobia, freeing them from the symptoms completely and permanently.

Please don’t think I am saying that these other forms of therapy aren’t successful, because they are. They are all able to help people to change their lives – when they are used in the correct setting, for the right sort of problem. You wouldn’t go to a ‘grief counsellor’ for help with a phobia… you wouldn’t go to an NLP practitioner if you were contemplating suicide… you wouldn’t go for four years of psychotherapy if you were simply frightened of flying!

If your problems or symptoms in life are caused by bottled-up/repressed emotions, then there is no better therapy to help resolve them, than ‘Pure’ Hypnoanalysis.

Life Coaching.

Life Coaching is a very practical way of helping and identifying areas within one’s life that could be in need of transformation through practical coaching.

The Correlation between your blood type and

Positive Visualisation using NLP.

Posted November 2010

This technique is great for dealing with anticipated anxiety, so if you're worrying about something ie. Exams, driving test, interview, or even a performance related anxiety (could be sexual intercourse associated to under performance) and you have perfected this technique then this will help remove the negative feelings. Remember practice makes perfect. This particular technique has helped so many of my clients over the years.

The 'Medical model of ME/PVFS/CFS'.

In Phil Parkers Lightening Process, he describes 'The Physiological Catch 22':

Posted November 2010

Many sufferers they find themselves stuck in the following downward spiral.

1. You fall ill due to an initial 'bug' or some stress, or external factor that started your M.E. This event caused an extreme stress on your immune system.

2. You felt very unwell. The symptoms were either very strong or lasted so long that you began to wonder if you'd ever get better. You consulted your doctor and specialists in a number of fields, but nobody seemed to have any answers, or provided much useful help, and the illness continued.

3. These concerns, understandably, made you even more stressed than you were when you got ill, which in turn made your body produce adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and cortisol are a good and normal response to short term stress, but long term production of them exhausts us, it affects our blood sugar and thyroid levels, it suppresses (and messes up the proper regulation of) our immune system and makes us prone to illness and tiredness…..this unfortunately makes you loop back to step 2.

Please note: The physiology of this cycle is well documented by other authorities (Selye et al). We've tried to keep the above description brief and simple, but it is of course only a partial glimpse of the complex interactions of the mind, body and hormonal systems, and should not be taken as the entirety of our understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved. More complex events can result from long term stimulation of this cycle, such as adrenal exhaustion and low cortisol levels which in turn create different physiological responses and immune system regulation issues.

Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching St Albans and Hertfordshire.

Panic Attacks.

Understanding panic attacks and panic disorder.

Posted February 2010

There are various contributors that certainly appear to exacerbate the onset of panic attacks, but these reasons will be dependent on the person and by their circumstances.

Causes for a panic disorder differ from one person to another and cannot be known with a 100% accuracy or certainty. The effects of panic attacks can be connected to the actions of chemicals within the brain which are called neurotransmitters. If the neurotransmitter is mis-firing in anyway, they can cause a reaction which is known as "fight or flight" syndrome. This reaction is normally the precursor to panic attacks. Some specific medical problems, and the taking of medications, may elevate the factors in panic attacks. Should you start to suffer from panic attacks all of a sudden, especially if you have never had them before, these potential medical causes need to be investigated prior to any ongoing psychological treatment. If your panic attacks do not have any medical origins. It is very possible to control and potentially eliminate panic attacks completely via the usage of a psychological treatment and this can vary from psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, counselling. When undertaking a psychological treatment or therapy, the originating trigger for your panics attacks will be highlighted and removed. Even if you are not certain of what your triggers are, most therapies will be able to help you to come to terms with your fears and give you control over any unwanted behaviours, hence reducing the symptom.

Understanding panic attacks.

Panic attacks come in several forms, and many sufferers are not often aware that they are experiencing one. Panic attacks can last from only a few seconds at a time to more extreme cases that last several days or even weeks.

A panic attack can occur suddenly, or may develop in intensity over many hours. The most significant signs of an impending panic attack are an unexplainable feeling of anxiety or tightness in the body and head. Panic attacks can sometimes just occur without any apparent trigger. A build up of Work-related stress, interpersonal relationship problems, and problems at home are some of the more common causes that attribute to this externalized anxiety.

While the underline causes are obviously psychological, the results that they bring are very real. You will find that some of the most common physical symptoms that may be experienced as a result of a panic attack can be: headaches, hot flushes, nausea, and dizziness. More extreme cases of panic attacks can even cause strokes, heart attacks, and unconsciousness.

There can also be behavioural symptoms such as panic attack sufferers can often resort to hiding the condition from other people and becoming socially inhibited.

Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching St Albans and Hertfordshire.

Eating disorder Hell!

Understanding the vital signs of an eating disorder.

Posted January 2010

An eating disorder is much more than just being on a diet. An eating Disorder is an illness that afflicts all aspects of each sufferer's life, is caused by many emotional factors and influences, and has a profound effect on the sufferer emotionally and the people who live around them.

Dieting (Restriction of calorific intake)

The person that diets is someone that is not entirely happy with the way they look, they will restrict the certain foods (low calorie diet) they eat, thus ultimately lose weight. The person that is constantly dieting is very compulsive and is quite dissatisfied with their physical appearance. The term dieting is generally mis-conceived, the word diet, in short means, healthy eating, but this in current terms means low restrictive calorific intake and can lead dietary problems. Dietary problems can include depression and can lead to the following problems.

Bulimia (Binging, followed by the compulsion of purging)

People that live their lives with bulimia will binge excessively and purge their foods after eating hence, they will eat a large amount of food in a very short period of time and can us laxatives or self-induced purging (such as vomiting).Their coping mechanisms are normally overwhelmed by their internal emotions, or in order to punish (masochistic in tendency) ones self for something they feel they should blame themselves for. This can be in direct relation to how they feel about themselves, or how they feel over a particular event in their lives. People that suffer with from bulimia find reasons of binging and purging to ultimately avoid and project feelings of depression or anxiety.

Anorexia (an obsessive fear of gaining weight).

People that suffer with this illness have very low self-esteems and often have a need to control their surroundings and emotions that create an over obsessiveness. Anorexia, is a very unique reaction to many external and internal conflicts that create much stress, anxiety, unhappiness,whereby the person may feel not in control of their lives. Anorexia is an externalised conscious controlled way to cope with these emotions.

The person with anorexia may be overly sensitive about being observed as being fat and can have a fear of becoming over weight. Anorexics can be afraid of losing control over the amount of food they consume and this can be accompanied by the desire to control their emotions. Anorexics characteristics normally have low self-esteem and have a need for acceptance. They will have an obsessive diet that consists of very low calorific intake which can be described as starvation. Some anorexics also feel that they do not deserve pleasure out of life.

Some  signs of anorexia can be: obsessive exercise, overly obsessive calorie and fat gram counting, extreme starvation and deprivation of food, the use of diet pills, and a persistent un-satisfaction with body image.

If you know someone with the above signs, why not help them and put them in touch with someone that can help.

Hypnotherapy St Albans and Hertfordshire.

How Inventions are making you Fat!

Progression Is Natural Suppression! Slimmer Mind could help you.

Posted September 2009

My program in a nutshell, is about getting my clients to re-identify a natural response that has either never been learnt or simply has been lost over time due to society and conformity to it. I do this by getting them to understand or to realize that it's not the food that is the main problem but its the way you eat it.

I believe that the reason for rising obesity and heart disease is due to fast paced lifestyles, not knowing when to slow down. There is a great need for society to start to acknowledge their physical bodies and its natural responses, this way we can start regain some of what we have lost, knowing when to stop eating before we are over full.

I attribute most of these problems to over progression in society such as inventions, like the remote control for the TV, Cars (no one walks anymore), simply put, inventions are making us lazy and suppressing us physically and mentally. People are not being able to identify natural responses like when we are thirsty or hungry and reaching for the dough nut instead of re hydrating and confusing the two.

A great example of how society is suppressing us is, in the big scheme of things, I was listening to the radio not so long ago and they were talking about how infant school teachers are now having to change children nappies for them during the school day (ridiculous) because the parents are not potty training their children. First of all, the parent is not having the time because they are always on the run, secondly the invention of the nappies has advanced so much (their so porous) the child can probably go most of the day with one on!

I believe that all adults will probably be incontinent by 2050!! This is one of a hundred things, and I now know the film WALL-E, is the future to come! So why not start to look at some of the conveniences in your life and see whether or not you can start regain your natural responses.

You would only need to make small changes to get big results. Ditch the car! and walk to the shops.

Hypnotherapy St Albans and Hertfordshire.

Beat the credit crunch - Interview Tips - Winning the fight.

Beat the Credit Crunch with the use of 'do it yourself' Hypnosis and visualisation techniques By Steve Mckeown - The Therapist and Author of 'Slimmer Mind'.

Posted April 2009

Over last 6 months or so we have all been under a huge amount pressure. This can effect many parts of our lives, especially on an emotional level, in-turn can make us very anxious. I have decided to do my bit in beating the credit crunch and give some well needed tips to keep that failing esteem on the up. I have decided over the next several weeks to post some very useful techniques and tips that I use within my therapy clinic to combat this on going crisis.

My first tips and techniques will be based on interviews and getting people back to work. It is now getting harder to get a job as there are less positions available and there are more people fighting for that available vacancy. So nows the time to perfect you and the way you present yourself. This starts with positive thinking and positive doing.

Why not take the the time to work on yourself emotionally, now that 'time' is in your hands with some proven to-work techniques that I am going to offer you here over the coming weeks. Be on top of your game! (and don't leave anything to chance.) Why not invest some time into yourself, while you have it and spend a little effort on your way of thinking. I know from personal and professional experience that if I was to allow this crisis (credit crunch) to control me and my thoughts I would see a dramatic change in my personality, this could create so many problems personally and professionally. So my way of thinking is to use the power of my subconscious to control my conscious outlook on life. So keep this in mind 'Beliefs or aspirations are fundamental to happiness', so in effect what you believe is what you are, or what you are becoming, so if you think negatively you will be negative, (you probably already know this, as this is basic psychology), but are you doing anything about it? Probably not, because you limit your beliefs and aspirations, saying things like 'I cant get a job because there's a credit crunch', 'there are too many people going for each job', I have had 3 interviews already and I have not been successful in any', and so on this trend builds and is accumulative and after while your belief is tumbling.

Ask yourself this question.

Am I really positive when my beliefs are already formed before I go for an interview? In other words 'your doomed from the start'. Your new mind frame is working against you and you are beginning to accept this even though you are probably not aware of this consciously and even physically. Again ask yourself this question..'How do you perceive a confident person'? How do they present themselves verbally? How do they present themselves physically? and then ask yourself this 'Is this me'? Again ask yourself this question.. 'How do you perceive a negative person'? How do they present themselves verbally? How do they present themselves physically? Is this you? Now if you fall into the negative category, then you need help to overcome this, if you fall into both, you still need some help to improve the way you think. If you are not negative at all, then your probably not human! Only Joking, there are still things to be learnt as nobody can be perfect and you are probably limited by the fact that you maybe feel that there's nothing more you can do to improve and hence become inhibited by your beliefs. 'Anyone can improve no matter what you feel or think'. 'The fact that you can learn more means that you can strive to become a better person'.

I had a client just recently that was struggling, had became very anxious, because every position that they applied for was a 'knock back'. Over time, after 5 interviews decided to get help because their belief was now negative and inhibiting and holding them back. My client had formed negative suggestions saying things like I'm never going to get a job etc. Not only was the money becoming tight, the depression was setting in. I had to think of the best way to help my client without keeping them in therapy for longer than they needed because their finances were becoming low and this would only create more worry and anxiety, almost a double edged sword. So I had to come up with something that was effective and kind on my clients pocket. Normally I would use a form of analytical therapy due to other symptoms, as I follow the doctrine of 'cause and effect'. This type of therapy can last between 6-12 sessions and would have been far more life changing but time was the essence. Money and the financial commitments were an issue to. So I agreed to deal with confidence and interview worries, as this was what was more important at this point in their lives. So therefore I came up with some simple techniques that could be used on an ongoing basis at home whilst having also agreed to have a couple of practical therapy sessions with me.

These techniques were very successful, my client now has a job, feels far more positive about the direction he is taking in life and has even set aside monies for analytical therapy to deal with his other issues. Everyone's happy! So over the next few weeks I will be revealing these simple techniques and tips to help you get back to work or even help you with anything you desire as these techniques are versatile and can be used for anything you decide to improve on. Heres what in store for the weeks ahead:

Using your personality - applying for a job that fits your personality and getting the most out of it.

Interview techniques - Mirroring. Self projection techniques.

How to use your imagination effectively, visualisation techniques to reduce nerves/anxiety, Formulation of self suggestion and auto-therapy (self hypnosis), making them accumulative.

Tips for stopping smoking (saving a ton of money). Tips for losing weight easily without dieting (reducing your food bill every week).

All you need to clinch that Job or even that deal if your self employed. Bye for now!

Hypnotherapy Hertfordshire UK