Hypnosis, yes please

I have a big problem with low cal or low fat diets because I know from experience how soul destroying they can be. I'm very interested in nutrition and how to work with it rather than against it. Food isn't like alcohol or drugs, you can't choose to abstain totally, so if you have an addictive personality or a low self esteem, this can manifest in poor eating habits and negative body image pretty easily.

Conventional diets are:

a) difficult to sustain creating a roller-coaster journey emotionally and physically

b) easy to cheat with. You can do either without actually eating healthy food, but by buying plastic fantastic 'bars' and imitation processed foods which are full of chemicals and refined sugar

c) dangerous if you have emotional issues with food or a history of eating disorders, a conventional diet will not explore the root causes

d) a risk to your health and appearance by not eating enough of the good fats or having enough variety

I've been using Marissa Peer's You Can Be Thin programme for the last 8 weeks and I've found it very helpful in its' approach. Read more about it here. I suggest this technique if you eat for emotional reasons, if you binge and then diet or suffer from any kind of eating disorder. Here's a bit about what you'll get from it:

• You read the book and do the exercises first. They are designed to help you grow in confidence and self esteem and to enable you to visualise yourself dropping weight
• You will sleep well as a result of the relaxing hypnosis CD which you can use once you've read the book
• You will see yourself in a more positive way
• You will learn about the food types which leave you wanting more and more (dairy and wheat in the main)
• Cravings and self-destructive, self-sabotaging behaviour will diminish
• You will learn about foods and supplements which prevent cravings such as eggs, coriander and B Complex
• You will start to eat in a way which is nutritious and does not create mood swings 
• you will start to feel happier about everything in your life

 It would be great if the book explored how to get enough calcium from greens (which greens to eat, how often and so on) as it advocates a cow-dairy free lifestyle (oh yes, some big changes), given that women risk osteoporosis without a sufficient calcium intake, but having said that, I like that this book focuses almost solely on the emotional aspects of over-eating, rather than digressing into recipes and confusing matters. There are of course plenty of other resources to advise on how to prepare nutrient-rich meals. If you like affirmations, great, you'll be doing them by the bucket load if you choose this hypnosis system.