Spiritual Dieting: What's with this new fad?

I read an article the other day that "spiritual dieting" is becoming all the rage. Spiritual dieting? Now there's a term I hadn't heard before and certainly not two words one generally puts together in the same sentence.

After reading the article and doing a quick Google search, it does indeed seem to be a topic buzzing around the Net. And after thinking about it a few minutes, it makes a certain kind of sense for a particular type of person.

Think about the 12-step programs, including Overeaters Anonymous. All 12-step programs include a centerpiece of believing in a higher power --- a spiritual power --- and focus on making it through one day at a time. Other programs involve Angels and asking them for help or agreeing to ask these Light Beings to replace whatever it is that you're craving with something that's better for you.

In hypnosis and hypnotherapy, we can do these things as well and they may have an even greater impact on your psyche and your life than they do when they're done in your normal waking state. But unlike OA, we don't view food as something to be avoided. (OA advises avoiding those foods that are "trigger foods" for you, much like a recovering alcoholic avoids alcohol.) If you do that with ALL foods, you'll end up anorexic. And this does by it's very nature make "dieting" or "weight management" or "weight loss" (we don't like that word because when we LOSE things often our subconscious will look and look and look until it FINDS it for us) more difficult than quitting smoking or drinking alcohol or most other addictive substances because when those other substances are given up, you literally do not have to touch them EVER again.  Not true for food.

We have to eat to live; therefore, we can't just avoid food. So moderation in eating those foods that are not that good for us becomes key. Another key item we must deal with is emotional eating. And when we're eating for emotional reasons, then yes indeed your spiritual beliefs may indeed provide additional help for you to avoid the chocolate or ice cream or brownie.

You (or we in hypnotherapy) can strengthen those spiritual ties that you have and believe in and help reinforce those ties so that you can have food cravings taken from you and replaced by a craving for something better.

You (or we in hypnotherapy) can help strengthen your desire for eating a more nutritious diet. The less processed a food is, usually the lower the glycemic index, the higher the fiber, the better the vitamins and the denser the nutrition.

Interestingly enough, many religions have nutrition and dietary guidelines. For example, Judaism and Adventists advise against "cloven-hooved" animals as "unclean." This grouping includes pork and many wild meats. They also advise against filter-feeding fish (scallops, clams, muscles, etc.) and also scavenger fish (catfish). Judaism also goes into great detail about not combining certain foods at the same meal, which I won't go into here. But the point is, that certainly in the last several years there has been a revival somewhat of diets that adhere the biblical dietary guidelines.  If we look even farther East, many other religions recommend a vegetarian diet.

Hypnosis can help you reinforce whatever dietary guidelines it is that YOU wish to follow. Helping to instill them into your subconscious makes it much, much easier to follow them in your conscious, waking state. So, what about this new fad?  I'd say it's really just some old-fashioned guidelines that have been revived.

Be well and eat healthy until next time,
---melodie