Do any of these scenarios sound too familiar to you?

• Are your stress levels higher than your roof?
• Are you frustrated trying to figure out how to lose weight?
• Are you currently on the yo-yo' dieting cycle?
• Are you an ‘emotional eater'?
• Have you ever wondered if your current ‘waist management' problems have anything to do with how you are handling the current stress in your life?

Let me paint you a picture. When I first work with my private clients, I describe them as being all wrapped up and twisted like a tight thick knotted rubber band. They have all of this stress and tension inside their body and they don't know what to do with it, and they so desperately want to feel better. Have you ever felt this way?

Well, some people have learned to turn to food for comfort to make themselves feel better. Some reach out for alcohol, some reach out for cigarettes, and some reach out for drugs. What they are really trying to do is mask and stuff their emotional feelings and by doing this, they have formed a bad habit of reaching for food to provide comfort in their lives.

Did you know that research has proven that learning to practice self-hypnosis is a natural stress releaser? So, doesn't it make sense when you learn to let go of the stress in your life in a healthy natural way by using self-hypnosis, and you feel good about who you are, you don't need anything outside of yourself to feel better? You can learn to relax and get "high" by listening to a self-hypnosis CD. It is legal, it is free, it feels wonderful, and you can do it anywhere but driving in a car because you have to close your eyes. Doesn't that make sense?

Also, understand some people just have to learn to break their bad eating habits. Others, in addition to learning to break their bad eating habits, also have to learn to break the habit of turning to food for comfort. This is called "emotional eating" and can lead a lot of people to binge eat. What they are really trying to do is cover up their emotional pain with food.

There was a time in my life when I reached out for food for comfort to dull my pain. In 1990, I was 40 pounds overweight, and I fell into a deep hole of depression and wallowed in that quagmire telling myself that I was dumb, stupid, and a failure. Other people could be happy. Other people could lose weight. Other people could be successful, but no, not me.

Boy, did I ever have a big ‘inner critic' sitting on my shoulder giving me a lot of ‘stinking thinking." In fact, I get real up close and personal in Chapter Eight, "Enrich Your Spirit" in myWeight Off NOWSelf-Hypnosis Home Study System™,where I share how I used food to dull my pain. The good news is I learned how to lose my 40 pounds and have kept it off since 1992… and you can too! You just need to know the four primary causes/triggers for emotional eating.

Let me make this easy for you by teaching you to recognize the four trigger points that cause you to indulge in what I call ‘emotional eating.' Once you recognize what you are doing, you can then reduce the number of times you automatically fall into this binge-eating trap.

Here are the four primary causes/triggers for emotional eating:

1. Security– You want to feel safe and loved.

2. Reward– "I worked hard today, I am unhappy, I deserve this."

3. Pacifier– Boredom.

4. Stimulation– You are looking for excitement or something to do.

So, the first step in learning to stop emotional eating is to recognize that you are doing it in the first place. Once you learn how your emotions are controlling your bad eating binges, you then need to learn to recognize the specific triggers that have helped caused you to become overweight and unhappy.

How do you do this?

Try this powerful exercise. Ask yourself this questionbeforeyou ever give yourself permission to put a morsel of food into your mouth: "Does my body need food noworam I reaching for food for an emotional reason?" This exercise will very quickly help you learn to eat only when your body needs food for energy, andSTOPeating because you are sad, unhappy, lonely or bored …‘emotional eating.' Make sense?

So, what solution do you think would work best for you?

If you have had enough of the ‘yo-yo' dieting and you are ready to "Take Action," but need help in losing and maintaining your weight, you may want to consider working with a qualified hypnotist that specializes in weight loss.

Sometimes we need a ‘buddy' system to accomplish our desire to lose weight. Working with a coach can help you overcome some of those obstacles, challenges, and struggles you regularly come up against. It definitely helps when you free yourself from what you feel is holding you back, and a coach will help you be accountable for your eating behavors and decide which course of action is best for you and develop an effective plan of action.

And the best news of all? You'll also have a great big self-confident SMILE on your face every day when you walk into your closet because all of your clothes fit and make you look like a million dollars.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your mind in gear, dump those old bad habits, and start developing new, healthier ones today!