Typically the munchies tend to be pretzels and chips (crisps for my British friends) or some variation of those snacks. But there are so many other types of healthy snacks that you could choose that will also give you a good satisfying crunch.

Obviously it is easy to just say cut some fruit like apples and pears or some carrots and celery, but come on, that doesn’t compare to the salty snacks. Of course you want to enjoy what you are eating too. But fear not, there are alternative answers that you actually will enjoy!

A lot of negative press has been given to popcorn, but in actuality, popcorn is a great healthy snack… IF you make it yourself. Anything in a bag out on the market grocery shelves tends to have way too many additives and preservatives. Why not enjoy eating popcorn that you air pop. This way you have none of the oil and/or butter (which adds loads of calories to the snack). You are also not having to deal with the new dreaded buzz word ~ gluten. The good news is that corn is totally gluten-free.

For a unique twist to eating plain popcorn, there is a product that I recently found. Believe it or not, it is powdered peanut butter. As your popcorn is finished popping and is still on the warm side, sprinkle a teaspoon of the powdered peanut butter over the popcorn. Cover and shake well. This is just enough to add delicious peanut flavor to the popped corn without adding a lot of extra calories.

However, if you are only interested in the salt flavor instead of the peanut butter flavor on your popped corn, here is a quick and easy trick that will give you the delicious taste of salt without actually adding too much to the finished product. Very simply put a teaspoon of sea salt in 1/2 cup of warm water that has been put into a spray bottle. Shake until the salt dissolves. Then spray LIGHTLY over the popped corn. Too much spray will deflate the corn and defeat the purpose producing a soggy popcorn ~ not what you want at all. As an alternative, diluted soy sauce can also be sprayed.

Another of the more “interesting” snacks that have recently shown its face is a vegetable called kale that is cut, seasoned and then dried into bite-size chips. A very tasty green and crunchy RAW treat that actually tastes better than you would imagine. Dried kale chips are available in many grocery stores, and although pricy, they are very good. However, it is so very easy to make this delicious snack in various natural flavors. Be brave and try something totally out-of-the-box for you.

The following is a recipe for making your own Pizza Kale Chips that will keep you coming back for more ~ Recipe compliments of Amber Shea from her new book called Practically Raw: Flexible Raw Recipes Anyone Can Make. ~ Or for the Kindle Version, click here ~ Practically Raw: Flexible Raw Recipes Anyone Can Make (Kindle Version)

Even though the ingredient list seems to be lengthy, most of them can easily be found. The longest time in making this delicious snack is just in the drying of the kale.

Pizza Kale Chips

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 to 4 hours and drained
• 1/4 cup hempseeds
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons filtered water
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1 bunch kale, tough stems removed, roughly chopped (6 to 8 cups)

Method

1. Combine all ingredients except kale in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth, adding a splash of water if needed.
2. In a large bowl, combine the kale and the pizza sauce. Use your hands to massage the sauce all over the kale, making sure it’s coated completely.
3. Make it Raw: Arrange the kale in a single layer on a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray. Dehydrate for 8 hours or overnight, until crisp.
4. Make it Baked: Preheat the oven to 300°F and grease a baking sheet with coconut oil. Arrange the kale in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and use a fork or spatula to carefully flip the kale chips over. (It’s ok if you miss a few.) Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, watching carefully to make sure the kale doesn’t burn, then remove from the oven and let cool completely.
5. Substitutions:
   Hempseeds: additional sunflower seeds or cashews
   Red bell pepper: 1 medium ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped
   Oregano: dried basil

Always consider enjoying cut up fruit that is in season. Watermelon that is cut into small bite-size pieces make for an absolutely delicious snack that can do your waistline oh so good. Drinking fruit smoothies will also satisfy that urge and need to snack.

And of course, there is always the availability of outside help to keep you on track with your goals of eating the best foods for you – even snack foods. Consider searching out a competent professional hypnotist/hypnotherapist. (As I have mentioned before, they are one in the same) Make sure it is a professional that you can trust and feel very comfortable with. How she or he speaks will do a lot as to how easily you will be able to relax enough to be hypnotized. If the hypnotist has a voice that “grates” on you, then by all means do not even go any further.

Remember, hypnosis is supposed to be relaxing, soothing and absolutely making you feel so much better than when you first started. The better you are able to relax, the easier all the powerful suggestions will soon become a reality. After all, that is exactly what you are looking to have happen.

For immediate hypnosis in the comfort of your own home, just click on my Weight Loss Series link. Then you can just lie back, put your headset on, close your eyes, and get transported to the magical world in your mind where anything is possible. Allow me to soothe away your stress and worries even if just for a little while. You will arrive back into the world refreshed, revitalized and renewed.

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotherapist and Creative Visualization and Relaxation (CVR) specialist for more than 21 years.

“Oh my! I really need to lose weight. I can’t believe that I look like this in the mirror! I think I will skip breakfast and just have a small salad for lunch. Hmmmm, I think I will have some soup for dinner and that’s all I will eat today. That should work out just fine. That will really help me lose this extra weight.” Now, just how many times have you said something like that to yourself? How many times have you decided to only eat one meal a day simply because you were wanting to lose weight?

Well, to be totally honest, that is absolutely the worst thing you can do to yourself. Yes, you just might lose some weight, but it won’t stay off without a major effort on your part. Starving yourself is the best way to add weight, not lose it. The best thing for you to do is simply change your eating habits.

The key to eating and losing weight at the same time is to actually eat more rather than less. Now I am not talking about eating lots and lots of food, but eating more in the way of frequency. If you were to eat 6 small meals a day, your body would thank you. This keeps your blood sugar at an acceptable level, and instead of always being hungry, you would feel so much more satisfied. It might seem counter-productive for you to be eating more frequently than you normally would. But you will soon find, that by eating more often, your appetite will not be anywhere near what it would be when you only eat one, two or even three meals a day.

A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING

Actually the best way to eat is to have something – like a small meal every two – three hours. Now it could be something as simple as a delicious, juicy apple along with a handful of raw almonds. That makes a fantastic snack to enjoy in-between your meals. It is not only satisfying and healthy, but the combination of the apple and raw almonds absolutely tastes phenomenal!

Judy was a person who was eating only one or perhaps two meals a day, but typically she ate just one. She would go out and get a large pizza pie and make that last as many days as she could. She would do her best to s-t-r-e-t-c-h that pie to provide as many meals as she could from it. Problem was, with her only eating the one meal a day, when she finally did allow herself to eat, she would eat like there was no tomorrow. And of course her body acted like it had no idea when or where her next meal was coming from, so because of that, she was starting to show the signs of increasing her weight.

Judy was very unhappy because she truly felt that the amount of food she ate was more than adequate, so therefore she should be losing weight, or so she thought. Unfortunately, she was still not losing her extra weight by only eating one meal a day. In fact, there were times her weight would jump as high as 5 pounds in one day. So of course, when she saw that extra added weight on the scale, Judy would tighten the belt even more. Judy was literally starving her body and adding so much unneeded stress not only to her body but to her mental faculties as well. She was in quite a vicious cycle.

I had asked Judy why she insisted on eating only pizza as her food of choice, and she had said how much she truly liked it – in fact, she said, she craved it. Then I attempted to explain to her how unbalanced that type of eating was, when to my huge surprise, she literally jumped out of her chair and stood up, pointed her finger and argued with me. She told me I was so wrong – that pizza was a perfectly balanced food. Since there was cheese on the pizza, she was consuming protein, of course the tomato sauce and even on occasion there were mushrooms added, and she was getting her vegetables, then the carbohydrates came into play with the pizza crust. As far as she was concerned, she was eating balanced. Period! It was rather difficult for me to tell her, at that point, that eating only pizza was not so-called balanced. But before I could explain why only eating pizza was unbalanced, Judy then proceeded to tell me that even though she really liked pizza, she was experiencing overwhelming hunger and cravings. Now we could get somewhere!

Due to Judy’s frustration, it was actually easier for me to explain how, even though her idea of eating balanced was inaccurate, that she was not actually harming herself by eating pizza, but let’s face it only eating pizza is not the best type of food your body needs on a daily basis. I told Judy she would be much better off diversifying and expanding her eating tendencies in healthier areas. Judy was really wanting to lose her weight but didn’t want to stop eating her pizza or some of the other foods she had always enjoyed. After I mentioned that she didn’t have to totally give up the foods she liked, Judy began to calm down. I started to put Judy’s mind at ease by telling her of the wonders of hypnosis/CVR to assist her in her weight loss goals. I also told her that eating balanced was only one of the keys. In her case, she really needed to consider eating those 6 small meals each day.

I wound up doing a combination weight loss and stress reduction hypnosis session with Judy that very day. By relaxing her worried mind and getting her to understand the importance of eating correctly, it would be so easy for her to lose those unwanted pounds. Usually when people are at their whit’s end and so very frustrated, they will jump at anything they can to accomplish their goals. Thankfully I was able to get through to Judy to approach her weight loss in a very sensible and logical way.

Judy was so terrified of putting on more weight, that she actually was a bit resistant to the hypnosis and the suggestion to eat those 6 small meals each day. Recognizing her fears, I immediately calmed her down and relaxed her first. Once she was relaxed, it was so much easier for her to accept the helpful suggestions of the best way to eat for her.

Eating what you like is never a problem. Of course, how much of what you eat can be. I hesitate to talk about calories, because people typically get caught up in counting calories and totally lose the whole purpose of what is attempting to be accomplished. There is a simple rule of thumb to remember about eating. Your stomach is actually quite small, so eating food in the amount of the size of a deck of cards would be the best thing to do at any given meal. You might think that’s not a lot of food, and it isn’t, but if you recall that you will be eating every 2 to 3 hours, that time will be here before you know it, and it will be time to eat again. By all means, feel free to set an alarm to remind you that it’s time to eat. When you chew your food slowly, and enjoy each bite, you might even find that in spite of eating the smallish amount of food the meal before, you are actually still full! Then when that 2 or 3 hour time frame rolls around, the speed of how fast it arrives may surprise you, and even more of a surprise, you may not even feel hungry. However, and this is very important, make sure you eat when the designated time has arrived. It is critical for you to stay on track with your new eating pattern. You are now building new habits, and like all habits, they need to be repeated in order for them to work. (Think about that one… )

Now if by chance you do find yourself still hungry after your deck of card-sized meal is finished, feel free to help yourself to a tall, refreshing glass of water with lemon added to it. Drink it right down and chances are you will find that your remaining hunger pangs have gone away. Interestingly enough, by drinking the water, it is very possible that you will realize you were probably more thirsty than hungry. More than anything else, it is just a case of working with something that is new and strange to you. In a very short amount of time, this new way of eating will become very natural for you.

Most people eat way too much at one time, stretching their small stomachs way out of proportion with the huge amounts of food they consume at each meal. This is not to say that you don’t enjoy eating meals and you can only have fruit or something like that. Far from it. Within reason, feel free to eat the foods you like, but only enjoy the smaller portions. Try using a much smaller plate to eat from. Your eyes will acknowledge a full plate whether it is a large dinner plate or a luncheon-sized plate, so use the smaller one. As a snack, do enjoy yogurt with some crushed nuts added. The nuts will add a wonderful consistency to the yogurt, and will allow you the motion and satisfaction of chewing as well. Nuts also will slow down the rapid digestion of the yogurt allowing you to feel fuller longer. Eating slowly will allow your stomach to register that it is already reaching the full mark. Along with the hypnosis/CVR, your brain will also engage where you will be eating consciously, and the suggestions your hypnotist has given you will make it so much easier for you to attain and then maintain your weight loss goals by eating those six small meals each day.

Like Judy, you too can change your eating habits very easily and effectively. It is simple when you enlist the assistance of a competent hypnotist or CVR specialist. You can also get wonderful assistance from my hypnosis/CVR sessions that are posted on Imagine You Thin.com and are available for purchase. Good Luck!

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotist and CVR specialist for more than 20 years.

Do you know how easy it is to “forget’ all the pain and suffering you have gone through to get to where you are now? What prompted you to start on your weight loss quest to begin with? Typically pain and suffering. That’s right. When you get to a point when you are no longer emotionally disturbed and distressed by your excess weight, then it’s critical that you keep your weight loss journal up-to-date. If not, it’s too easy to slide and revert back to your original bad habits… most of the time without you even realizing it!

Let’s face it, when you start to feel good about yourself, it is much easier to slide. You no longer feel the emotional pain – potentially physical pain too – and before you know it, you feel it’s ok to cheat “just a little”, or “just this time”… but of course, not as badly as you used to. At least not in the beginning. After all, you certainly don’t want to wind up back in the same situation… just like you used to look and feel. You make all the determined promises to yourself that this time it is different. But do you really believe it?

Imagine this. You are in your kitchen looking back over your daily weight loss journal that you diligently kept up-to-date from the very beginning, Your thoughts of how you felt, as well as what you ate are staring back at you. Your picture is also staring you right in the face. You cringe as you look at the difference from what you were when you first started out, to what you have accomplished and have become now – and that alone gives you the necessary push you need to stay right on track with your goals. Woohoo!

Basically you need to monitor everything that goes into your mouth. Period! Not only food-wise, but liquids too. Of course, drinking plenty of water is critical for your successful weight loss. Please refer to my post called “How Much Water Should I Drink?” to get specifics on the amount of water that is recommended for you to consume on a daily basis. It’s up to you as to the amount of information you wish to track in your food journal, but the more detailed you are, the easier it will be in the long run. Reviewing your journal months down the road will be quite eye-opening!

So please, if you are serious about losing weight, do yourself a favor and consider keeping a food journal. Writing down everything you eat and drink will give you a pretty clear picture about what you need to change, as well as give you a record of how well you are doing. In spite of the fact that it takes persistence to keep this journal, this is without a doubt, one of the best ways to create your weight loss success. Let’s face it, you are less likely to eat an unhealthy food item if you are diligent in writing it down. No sense in kidding yourself. You have started this journey to lose weight, not see what you can get away with.

One other suggestion I would like to emphasize is, Begin With the End in Mind. Take a look at where you want to be. That’s right… you need to know your outcome first! You would be amazed how well that works. Your brain is a very powerful tool, so use it to the best of your ability. Get creative and use that imagination of yours!

Write down your goal first, then decide how you will be attaining that goal. Then go ahead and muster some courage to step on that scale for the first time. Write down your starting weight. Chart your progress as you go along right in your food journal, whether it be in a bound book or even on your smart phone. Simply weighing yourself (preferably no more than once a week) and writing down your weight changes can be a big motivator to help keep you going. By all means take out a tape measure and measure around your waist, your hips, your upper arms and your thighs. You will be amazed at how quickly you will start losing inches once you incorporate healthy eating and a little bit of exercise into your daily life.

And of course using hypnosis as an addition to your heroic efforts will result in greater and better results. Searching out a competent professional hypnotherapist will do wonders in keeping you focused on your weight loss goal, and accomplishing it too! By incorporating hypnosis, you will also have the added benefit of stress reduction. And who doesn’t need stress reduction now-a-days. You will be sleeping better, eating healthier and feeling better than you have in a very long time.

Get that motivation moving! Start your weight loss journal and take some time for yourself in the process. And please, remember to do some sort of exercise to round out the whole program. The end results will be well worth it!

For immediate hypnotic assistance, be sure to download my Weight Loss Sessions available by clicking on this link – Weight Loss Series.

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotherapist and Creative Visualization and Relaxation (CVR) specialist for more than 21 years.

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There are so many options out there for losing weight… which one shall I use? I know I need to shed these excess pounds, but how? I’ve heard its possible, but can I really lose weight by juicing?

It becomes extremely frustrating to be watching the television or even talking to your friends and hearing about the latest fad on losing weight. Of course you want to try them, who wouldn’t. They promise you the world in the form of losing all the weight you want in this ridiculously short amount of time. Let’s face it… if it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is.

All weight loss needs to be carefully monitored and controlled. So before starting any weight loss program, please talk with your health care provider. By rushing to do the next fad on the market, you are not only doing damage to yourself, but you are also doing yourself an injustice. The plain and simple fact is, fast weight loss equals fast weight gain right back. Obviously you are not interested in gaining any of the weight back. After all, you worked hard to shed those unwanted pounds, didn’t you? And even if you didn’t, putting those pounds back on is less than desirable. It sort of puts you right back into the place you started off to begin with… wanting to lose your excess weight. Nothing but a vicious circle round and round each and every time.

Well – it’s now time to put a Dead-Halt-Stop! to this cycle of lose/gain weight over and over and over again. One of the best ways is to simply add fresh juices to your well-balanced diet. Now freshly made juice is so much more than just fruit juice. Unfortunately, too many people are only familiar with fruit juice. However vegetable juice is important too. In fact, you can even combine the vegetables and fruits to make delightful healthy juices to consume. Not only do they taste so good, they are so good for you. Juices can be blended (keeping all the fiber intact) or they can be extracted (removing the fiber). The major differences will be covered in a future post.

The Story of Louise

Louise was a good friend and neighbor. She loved to try new things, (or so she always claimed) but for some reason she had this aversion to even tasting the “green drink”. According to her, it was disgusting to look at. No amount of coaxing would make Louise agree to sample this delectable concoction. She was so dead set against it, that one mention of the drink and she would simply walk away. Needless to say, I valued our friendship, so I stopped talking about it.

One day Louise was over and she saw my oldest daughter gathering up bananas and apples, so being nosy, she asked her what she was doing with them. My daughter answered her and said she was getting ready to make a juice drink. I guess since the words green drink were not mentioned, Louise didn’t bolt from her chair and run the other way. Curiosity got the better of her as she watched my daughter prepare her drink. As the bananas and apples and spinach were transformed in my Vita-Mix, the fruity fragrance wafting from the blender was incredible. When the drink was ready to serve, Louise shocked us all by agreeing to sample a small glass of the powerful alkalizing elixir.

Only too happy to comply, we tentatively held our breaths as Louise took a small sip… and then promptly finished the green drink in the glass. Her eyes opened very wide, and the look of surprise on her face was quite a sight to behold. She gave us a huge grin and asked for more. We actually gave a shout for joy when Louise agreed that this green drink truly was one of the best things she had tasted in a very long time.

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotherapist and CVR specialist for more than 20 years.

http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/can-i-really-lose-weight-by-juicing/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ImagineYouThin/~3/9RNyhs3dlE8/ http://imagineyouthin.com/hypnosis-for-weight-loss/green-smoothie-guidelines-why-do-i-need-guidelines/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:22:51 +0000 Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. http://imagineyouthin.com/?p=1882

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Welcome to the Wonderful World of Green Smoothies! Green Smoothies are a fantastic, nutritious and alkalizing drink that are perfect to enjoy for breakfast. In fact, green smoothies are a wonderful drink to consume at any time throughout the day. The nutrition they give you are comparable to any good meal, and in some instances, even surpass the nutritional attributes of said meal.

I’m sure by now many people are very familiar with the term Green Smoothie. Perhaps though you may not know exactly what to put into these delicious drinks. For many advocates of the RAW movement, there are just countless varieties of recipes that are available to try. No two seem to be alike… and truly they are not. You will find just about everything from soup to nuts going into the smoothies as “wonderful ingredients”. But to be honest, are they really “wonderful ingredients”?

Yes, by themselves, they are fantastic, but when blended in a green drink, you may be compromising your digestion if you are not aware of proper food combining. Victoria Boutenko is a pioneer and expert in the Green Smoothie movement. Below is an excerpt from one of her many books outlining simple guidelines that are so very important to heed. By following the suggestions, you will find each green smoothie recipe that Victoria offers will easily digest in your system.

Do yourself a favor and take time to learn how to do these easy green drinks properly from the start. You will never tire of them nor feel unwell after you drink them.

Guidelines for Green Smoothie Consumption for Optimal Health Benefits.

Ever since the invention of the green smoothie, I have been drinking them daily myself and sharing them with others. I love green smoothies so much, I am committed to drinking green smoothies to the last day of my life. Everyone in my family fell in love with them and many of our friends did too. Wherever I go, I gather new information from green smoothie fans worldwide. Through everyday blending, research, experience, and letters from our readers, we have created the best recipes and came up with the basic principles of green smoothie making and consuming.

To help people receive the most benefits from drinking green smoothies and to avoid some typical mistakes, I have created the following guidelines:

Prepare your green smoothie first thing in the morning in the amount that you usually consume in one day, one or two quarts (liters). Pour enough smoothie in a glass for your morning enjoyment and keep the rest in a refrigerator or another cold place.

Sip your green smoothie slowly, mixing it with saliva. Sometimes I put my smoothie in a coffee mug with a lid and carry it with me to the car or to my office. That way I minimize a chance of spilling it and keep it private without distracting others.

Don’t add anything to your smoothie except greens, fruit, and water. I don’t recommend adding nuts, seeds, oils, supplements or other ingredients to your green smoothie. Most of these items slow down the assimilation of green smoothies in your digestive tract and may cause irritation and gas. I encourage you to stick to the basic green smoothie recipe (fruit, greens, and water) in your daily routine.

Drink your smoothie by itself, and not as a part of a meal. Don’t consume anything, even as little as a cracker or candy with it. You may eat anything you want approximately 40 minutes before or 40 minutes after you finished your smoothie. Your goal is to get the most nutritional benefit out of your green smoothie.

Do not add starchy vegetables such as carrots, beets, broccoli stems, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, pumpkin, squash, okra, peas, corn, green beans, and others to your green smoothies. Starchy vegetables combine poorly with fruit and may produce what my children call “gas 4 less.”

Don’t add too many ingredients into one smoothie, such as nine different fruits and a dozen different greens. Try to keep most of your recipes simple to maximize nutritional benefits and to keep it easy on your digestive system.

Learn to prepare a really delicious green smoothie so that you are always looking forward to the next one. If your drink is not tasty, you will eventually discontinue consuming it. Keep your taste buds happy.

Always rotate the green leaves that you add to your smoothies. Almost all greens in the world contain minute amounts of alkaloids. Tiny quantities of alkaloids cannot hurt you, and even strengthen the immune system. However, if you keep consuming kale, or spinach, or any other single green for many weeks without rotation, eventually the same type of alkaloids can accumulate in your body and cause unwanted symptoms of poisoning. Please note that you don’t have to rotate the fruit in your green smoothies. Most commonly used fruit have very little or none of the alkaloids and cannot cause the same toxic reactions as greens. At the same time, rotating fruits will enhance the variety of flavor and nutrition in your smoothies.

Choose organic produce whenever possible. The absence of pesticides and other toxic chemicals is only one of many benefits of organic food. The most important reason to consume organic food is the superior nutrition of organic fruits and vegetables in comparison to conventionally grown produce. We have been discussing earlier, how deficient most people are. The best way to nourish your body is to consume organic produce and whenever possible, locally grown. I consider it very important to get the fruit that was allowed to ripen on the vine because it is the best for nourishment. Tree-ripened fruit is several times more nutritious and when consumed shortly after picking retains significantly more nutrients.

This is an excerpt from the book Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko, reprinted with permission. You can purchase this book from Amazon by clicking on Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health.

We all know how difficult it can be to “stick” to something… especially if it is something very different and new from what you normally do. Drinking green smoothies can appear daunting, especially since they are very green, but don’t let the ingredients fool you… they are extremely tasty. Visually it might be uncomfortable and awkward because it is new and looks strange, but before you dismiss it, give it a try. Once you taste it, you will be amazed at the delicious flavor… finding it so easy to drink, not to mention all the wonderful energy you will get out of them too.

As an added benefit for those of you who are wanting to lose weight, by incorporating green drinks/smoothies into your daily regime, you will find your weight loss accelerating rapidly. And for those of you who find it difficult to stick with a routine, you will find that hypnosis is one of the best ways to help you stay on track – especially with weight loss. By giving suggestions to your other-than-conscious mind, it becomes second nature to complete your mission and then continue forth with new goals.

Changing your habits can potentially be a challenge. Changing your habits in order to achieve success with your weight loss is also challenging, but not impossible. From my experience in dealing with thousands of clients, using hypnosis sessions to assist with your weight loss is definitely the answer. The soothing hypnosis sessions are painless and actually a lot of fun, but most of all extremely relaxing. And we all know how important to your well-being it is to remain stress-free and relaxed. Consider the possibilities of hypnosis and search out a competent, professional hypnotist/hypnotherapist to boost your success in the right direction… whether it be weight loss or anything else for that matter. A good hypnotist can really do wonders for you.

For immediate hypnosis in the comfort of your own home, just click on my Weight Loss Series link. Then you can just lie back, put your headset on, close your eyes, and get transported to the magical world in your mind where anything is possible. Allow me to soothe away your stress and worries even if just for a little while. You will arrive back into the world refreshed, revitalized and renewed.

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotherapist and Creative Visualization and Relaxation (CVR) specialist for more than 21 years.

]]> http://imagineyouthin.com/hypnosis-for-weight-loss/green-smoothie-guidelines-why-do-i-need-guidelines/feed/ 0 http://imagineyouthin.com/hypnosis-for-weight-loss/green-smoothie-guidelines-why-do-i-need-guidelines/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ImagineYouThin/~3/TT79XLWihTw/ http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/is-food-a-comfort-thing-for-you/#comments Tue, 23 Oct 2012 02:26:24 +0000 Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. http://imagineyouthin.com/?p=2323

“AGHHHH!!! I am so-o-o frustrated! I wish I would not have said what I said. Especially to the person I said it to. Now it will get all over the internet. G-R-O-A-N! Oh, what am I going to do. Hmmm, let’s see… some chips and dip will make me feel better. How about some chocolate. That ALWAYS makes me feel better! Mmmmm ~ Ahhhh, yes. Much better. Boy that chocolate really tastes extra good today. I wonder if anyone will notice that there is no more left.”

When was the last time YOU reached for some comfort food just to help make you “feel better”. In many ways, we all tend to do it, just some more than others. Comfort food can be classified as a food that gives you a sense of well-being once you eat and consume it… sometimes the faster the better since guilt is typically associated with the consumption of said comfort food. Now, be aware that not all comfort food is sweet or nor is it a heavy carbohydrate.

Let me tell you an unusual story about Trisha. Trisha was very unusual in the fact that she not only had sweets like chocolate and cakes for her comfort food, but also had bread with butter, and a few other choice goodies, as well as (and here is the unusual part) hard boiled eggs! She just couldn’t get enough of her hard boiled eggs. If there were no sweets in her house when she needed comfort, she would turn to hard boiled eggs.

Now mind you, hard boiled eggs are not a problem when eaten in moderation. But when Trisha started to eat one, she would frequently wind up eating 8 at a time before she was comforted enough to stop. Out of desperation, Trisha came to see me. She had wanted to know, first of all, if the eggs were doing her any harm, and second of all, if I could help her get off the sweets. I told her yes, that I would help her.

Trisha was eager to get started doing the hypnosis. She had heard from so many of her friends as to how easy and relaxing it was… as well as how effective and fast it works. Her first appointment was set two days later.

While Trisha was at home anticipating her first session, I had asked her to make a list of all the things she wanted to accomplish, especially with her weight situation. Since she had been relying on comfort food more and more each time she became stressed, her weight was climbing at an alarmingly rapid rate. Needless to say, she was not happy about that.

During her first session, Trisha proudly handed in her paper with all sorts of things she wanted to see change. I was happy to see on the top of her list was the infamous comfort foods she diligently ate ~ most of the time without realizing it, and certainly without enjoying it. She was always in a hurry to gobble it down just to assuage her feelings of inadequacy and hurt feelings along with the ever-present stress that seemed to continually prevail.

Looking at her list, I saw there was much more to address than would be helpful by throwing it all into just one session. I encouraged Trisha to slow down and take things one step at a time. The old saying of Rome wasn’t built in a day definitely played a part. No matter how eager, she was to get it all done at once, she finally realized that in order to get the success she so wanted, she would have to do it in increments. This method we hypnotists like to call “chunking“.

Trisha went through her hypnosis with flying colors. She was absolutely elated when her session was done. When her eyes opened, she had the biggest grin on her face. Trisha grabbed my hand and with tears in her eyes, said thank you over and over and over again.

During the session I had removed all her desire for the sweet comfort foods. She no longer had the need, want nor desire to eat the chocolates, cakes and candy. I had also given her suggestions to only eat the bread and butter occasionally, as part of her meal, and not when she became stressed in any way, shape or form. As far as the huge consumption of hard-boiled eggs were concerned, I had easily suggested to her to eat only one and find that when she was finished with that one egg, she would just STOP! I had recorded her session and gave it to her to use for reinforcement… which she promised she would listen to every day.

Trisha’s next appointment was then scheduled for the following week. When she arrived, she came into my office and her eyes were literally dancing with joy! She was so excited and even more eager to get started once again. Before I could even ask her, the first thing out of her mouth was “I am so happy! I have gone through so much stress at work and not even once did I feel like having any of the comfort food I used to shovel into my mouth!” “I am so ready for more!”

Needless to say I had congratulated her and told her to keep up the good work, as well as continue to listen to her session every single day. She promised me she would. We then proceeded to do another session reinforcing her original suggestions, and even adding some of the other concerns on her list. By chunking her information, she had a much easier time accepting what she needed to know, instead of overwhelming her with much too much information at one time.

Trisha finished her program and felt she was well on her way to making her success permanent. A year later, she stopped into my office and I was amazed at how different she looked and acted. Thanks to the hypnosis, Trisha now knew how to handle the stress instead of eating to fill the void. Her weight was down to her normal and ideal weight. She had shed 35 pounds and kept it off! And most importantly, she was elated with her results! The attitude that exuded from her was so different from the guilt-ridden person that first came in to see me. I was happy and proud of her, and so was she! Her before and after pictures still hang on my office wall for all to see. The amazing success stories that leave my office are a major source of pride and joy.

For immediate hypnosis in the comfort of your own home, just click on my new Weight Loss Series link. Then you can just lie back, put your headset on, close your eyes, and get transported to the magical world in your mind where anything is possible. Allow me to soothe away your stress and worries even if just for a little while. You will arrive back into the world refreshed, revitalized and renewed.

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotherapist and Creative Visualization and Relaxation (CVR) specialist for more than 21 years.

]]> http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/is-food-a-comfort-thing-for-you/feed/ 0 http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/is-food-a-comfort-thing-for-you/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ImagineYouThin/~3/grZmcnpPJJQ/ http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/weight-loss-tip-9-eggs-good-bad-indifferent/#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:10:00 +0000 Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. http://imagineyouthin.com/?p=2009

Eggs are probably one of the most misunderstood foods around. Everyone and their brother has an opinion about eggs. Too much fat, one might say… bad for your cholesterol, someone else might offer. And then there is the question about how many eggs a week are “safe” for you to eat? Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish!

[For the record, the cholesterol in the eggs will NOT contribute to any increase in the cholesterol in your body. That is a different matter altogether!]

So few people are aware that eggs are probably one of the most complete foods in the world. Actually the protein and the fats in the egg complement each other to make it a whole food. Yes, that’s right… that Incredible, Edible Egg.

Eggs are truly one of nature’s “miracle foods” with each large egg sporting only 70 calories. Eggs are all-natural and jam-packed with so many nutrients. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals ~ including Vitamin D, loads of the B vitamins, Vitamin E as well as Omega 3 fatty acids. Eggs also offer plenty of high-quality protein, unsaturated fats and antioxidants. WHEW! Is that enough good stuff for you all wrapped up in one small package?

Do yourself a favor and enjoy a hard-boiled egg or two when you are in the mood for a snack. Not only will it supply you with a great healthy snack, the protein and fat will allow you to feel satisfied and will “stay with you” much longer than any carbohydrate ever will. Then when it comes time for your actual meal, you won’t feel ravenous, actually eating only what you want instead of everything in sight. Sounds to me like a good start to keeping your weight loss moving in the right direction!

Eggs! The Miracle Food ♥

]]> http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/weight-loss-tip-9-eggs-good-bad-indifferent/feed/ 2 http://imagineyouthin.com/unique-miscellaneous/weight-loss-tip-9-eggs-good-bad-indifferent/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ImagineYouThin/~3/2WzS3RuoFlw/ http://imagineyouthin.com/hypnosis-for-weight-loss/is-there-a-difference-between-juicing-and-blending/#comments Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:09:32 +0000 Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. http://imagineyouthin.com/?p=1343

Just the other day, a client asked me… What is the difference between juicing and blending? Now, that is a very good question. Most people consider anything fruit (or even vegetables) in clear liquid form (extracted) to be juice. And in essence that is true. But since the advent of high power blenders, there is a new buzz word in town ~ blended juice.

I’m sure you have all seen the advertisements about the latest and greatest juicers on the market. This one will juice everything including the kitchen sink. This other one right next to it is only selling for $200.00, but if you take advantage of this special offer today only, you can get this amazing juicer for a mere $49.00. And for the first 100 lucky people to buy this juicer, you can ~ in the next hour ~ get it for ONLY $17.00! That’s right my friends – only $17.00. GROAN!

Now obviously just about everyone here has seen this type of ridiculous come on… but when it comes to juicing machines, you do get what you pay for. Unfortunately, I too have purchased inexpensive juicing machines in the past, and they have fallen apart after just 3 uses. What a waste of money and time. It just isn’t worth it! The pulp ejected is still very wet ~ indicative of the extraction not doing a good job and most of the juice is still left in the pulp, only to be thrown away… along with the machine!

Extracted juice and blended juice are two different things… and they have two different purposes as well. First of all, good juice extractors are not only wonderful, but they are critical for producing the best extracted juice. Extracted juice is simply fruit and/or vegetables that have been literally ground up in the juicing machine and spun, to remove the liquid, in a centrifugal manner. All this is a part of the juicing machine and it happens automatically. The pulp that is left is ejected out the back of the machine, while the clear liquid juice flows freely and fragrantly down the spout into a glass or container, ready to drink. There is absolutely nothing like the taste of fresh raw juice!

However, there is a major down side for doing extracted juices. It is very easy to use 3 and sometimes even 4 whole apples, depending upon the size of each apple, just for a single 8 ounce glass of fresh juice. If you don’t mind using that many apples at one time (most certainly more than you could typically eat at one time), as well as composting or trashing the resulting pulp, then that will not be an issue. The wonderfully fragrant juice that emanates and wafts from the extraction juicing machine certainly gets your saliva juices working overtime. Foaming with a good juicer is practically non-existent… which is a good thing. I’m sure you would rather drink clear, sparkling juice instead of foam. Save that for the beer.

One of the reasons why clear, extracted juice is so often served in very small glasses is because of the concentration of the juice. Drinking this juice can increase your blood sugar if you are sensitive to high amounts of fructose that naturally occurs. Because of the concentration, it can be easily diluted with pure, filtered water ~ almost half and half if you would like. You will still get a very tasty juice to drink. And of course, if you have no difficulties with your blood sugar, by all means enjoy your juice elixir straight up.

Now on the other hand blended juice is totally different. There is no waste and also you get the opportunity to retain all the fiber from the blended fruits and vegetables. (Yes, if you like, you can even blend the apple seeds ~ just not pits) Quite beneficial to the body in many ways. By drinking blended juices, your bathroom habits will change for the better. It is possible if you are only used to drinking filtered juices, then the texture might be a little bit strange at first, but trust me ~ adjusting to the texture will come very easily and in a very short amount of time.

There is also a very big difference in the amount of fruits and vegetables that are needed to produce tasty blended juice. As I had mentioned above, it is very easy to use 3, 4 or even 5 apples just for a small amount of clear, extracted juice. On the other hand, putting a single apple, with some raw leafy greens like kale, spinach and/or collard greens, adding 8 or so ounces of filtered water and perhaps a few almonds and walnuts into a high speed blender will most assuredly give you a huge amount of blended juice to enjoy, complete with fiber, some Omega fatty acids, protein, fruit and of course all the wonderful benefits of the raw greens.

Clear juices make a great pick-me-up ~ and you will find that blended juices also make a fantastic breakfast. (The fiber will keep you fuller longer.) Try both kinds of juices… the possibilities are endless. Try them for a week and see how you feel. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that they are a perfect substitute for soda and sugary drinks, and so much healthier for you too. You be the judge.

For more information on juicing as well as some fantastic juicing recipes, please see

1. “Can I Really Lose Weight By Juicing?“
2. “Green Smoothie Guidelines… Why Do I Need Guidelines?”
3. “Will a Raw Food Diet Help Me Lose Weight?“

Each of these articles will give you recipes and a look into the world of juicing for health and weight loss. And of course I will always recommend hypnosis for assisting you in achieving your goals ~ whether they be in health, weight loss or just staying on track. Hypnosis is fun, painless and oh so relaxing.

For immediate hypnosis in the comfort of your own home, just click on my new Weight Loss Series link. Then you can just lie back, put your headset on, close your eyes, and get transported to the magical world in your mind where anything is possible. Allow me to soothe away your stress and worries even if just for a little while. You will arrive back into the world refreshed, revitalized and renewed.

This post has been written and read by Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. ~~ A practicing and successful, professional hypnotherapist and Creative Visualization and Relaxation (CVR) specialist for more than 21 years.

]]> http://imagineyouthin.com/hypnosis-for-weight-loss/is-there-a-difference-between-juicing-and-blending/feed/ 0 http://imagineyouthin.com/hypnosis-for-weight-loss/is-there-a-difference-between-juicing-and-blending/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ImagineYouThin/~3/KAgwe3X6uCw/ http://imagineyouthin.com/weight-loss-tips/weight-loss-tip-7/#comments Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:34:32 +0000 Cynthia L. Fertal, M.Ch.T., C.I. http://imagineyouthin.com/?p=2004

Do you eat with your eyes? Now that might seem very much like a silly question, but if you really think about it, how often have you walked by a bakery looking at and salivating over the delicious looking pastries. Not to mention the absolutely phenomenal smells that emanate from the bakery as well. When you go to a nice restaurant, is the food pleasingly arranged on your plate? To be honest, you really DO eat first with your eyes. If the food that has been served to you just doesn’t look good, do you really think you would enjoy it as much? I think not!

No matter what kind of meal you are planning on eating, whether it is in a restaurant or more importantly eating at home, get double the pleasure out of each meal. First of all make sure the food is cooked properly to retain as much nutrients as possible. Arrange the food pleasingly on your plate and appreciate the beauty of the perfectly made food. (As well as enjoying the amount of time and effort and all the love you put into the meal.) Enjoying it ahead of time by “eating with your eyes” will enhance the flavor even more than you could ever imagine. And of course, when you take your time to eat slowly, the whole eating experience becomes a total enjoyment all around!

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