Hypnosis Institute International School - HYPNOTIC ......© 2015 Hypnosis Institute International 313 HYPNOTIC RECOLLECTIONS CAN SOMETIMES BE FALSE By Jane E. Brody, The New York Times

© 2015 Hypnosis Institute International 313

HYPNOTIC RECOLLECTIONS CAN SOMETIMES BE FALSE

By Jane E. Brody, The New York Times - Sunday, September 14, 1997 – The Maui News

Hypnosis, even self-hypnosis can sometimes result in the creation of false memories – the

belief that something happened even though it never did. A psychologist at Ohio State University in

Lima and fellow researchers found that even when people were warned about the possibility of

acquiring pseudo-memories under hypnosis, more than a quarter of them did anyway.

Dr. Joseph Green, a professor of psychology at Ohio State and co-author of the study, said,

“There’s a cultural expectation that hypnosis will lead to more accurate and earlier memories, but

that’s not true.” For that reason, there is a raging controversy over the use of hypnosis to help

people recall lost memories of early trauma. Many experts dispute the conclusion that such

recovered memories are always real.

In the study, 48 students who had been shown to be highly susceptible to hypnosis were

divided into two groups. Before they were hypnotized, 32 of the students were warned that hypnosis

could lead to false memories and could not make people remember things that they would not

ordinarily remember. The remaining 16 students were not given such a warning.

Then the students were asked to select an uneventful night from the previous week – a night

they had uninterrupted sleep, uninfluenced by alcohol or drugs and without any dreams that were

recalled. During hypnosis, the students were asked if they had heard a loud noise at 4 a.m. during

that night. After hypnosis they were asked if they recalled hearing a loud noise at 4 a.m. during the

night in question. Twenty-eight percent of the forewarned students and 44 percent of those who

were not warned about false memories claimed that they had heard such a noise.

“The results suggest that warnings are helpful to some extent in discouraging pseudo

memories,” Green said, adding, “Warnings did not prevent pseudo memories and did not reduce the

confidence subjects had in those memories.” The findings were reported last month at the annual

meeting of the American Psychological Association. The study was conducted with Dr. Steven Jay

Lynn, a psychologist at the State University of New York at Birmingham and three graduate students

at Ohio University in Athens.

In a separate study Green conducted with the help of three students at Ohio State, also

reported at the psychology meeting, 160 students were divided into three groups. One underwent

self-hypnosis and another deep relaxation, while a third did counting exercises. All of them were

told that the regimen would help them recall their earliest memories. Forty percent of those in the

hypnosis group later recalled a memory of something that occurred on or before their first birthday.

Similar recollections were reported by only 22 percent of those in the relaxation group and 13


percent in the counting group.

But Green said: “Most research supports the claim that our memories typically begin around

age 3 or 4, so it seems quite unlikely that these very early memories actually happened at the stated

time. Many people believe that hypnosis can lead to earlier memories, although that has never been

shown to be true. People’s expectations about what hypnosis can do will influence what they

remember.”


The SECRET

to

Making Weight Loss Work for You

By Jane Ann Covington, BA, CCHT, RBT, since 1975 © Jane Ann Covington, 2010, Updated 2011

Please click on or copy the following URL into your web browser to watch this video before proceeding:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gastric-mind-band-weight-loss-hypnosis-11743607

Please be patient during the beginning advertising. The video you will want to see comes just after it. Thank you.

In this paper, I will be sharing with you:

1. Research Indicating the Effectiveness of Using Hypnosis for Weight Loss and Maintenance.

2. The 3 Best Ways to Change Your Habits and Patterns from Failure to Success

3. Insider Strategies for Learning to Control Your Mind

4. How to Avoid the Guilt Trap

5. The Latest Trends in Weight Loss Strategies

6. Instantly Improve Your Self Esteem

7. Ways to Overcome a Lifetime of Struggle and Failure with Your Weight

8. Two Giant Myths About Exercise and Metabolism

9. How Does Hypnosis Make the Difference in Helping You Lose Weight and Keep It Off?

10. Turn Off Food Cravings!

I’ve got a secret to share with you...at one time, I gained 15 lbs in 3 weeks and eventually gained 40 lbs, all within a 2 year period. I know the difficulty, struggle to change, pain, and embarrassment in trying to find clothes to wear. I remember what it was like to have to change my lifestyle and my eating and behavioral patterns. I only wish I hadn’t destroyed the photos from that period of my life to show you, but I wanted to forget all that.


In this paper, I’ll be sharing with you research findings on the effectiveness of using hypnosis to lose and maintain weight loss a little on in this paper. Research is clear [unlike the old assumptions of blaming our genetic heritage] that what we eat and how we take care of our self is a learned behavior, and our genetic make up has little if anything to do with our physical status. Granted, it’s easy to blame on our genes because we often follow in the pathway of one or more of our ancestors. Yet, our choices and unconscious patterns and behaviors...in other words our Life Style is most often the problem. Since all behavior comes from thought, albeit often unconscious, with help we can change to become more conscious and choose a different life style that promotes health and well being.

As an example as to how unconscious we are most of the time...I currently have a student who mentioned that she noticed when she went to lunch....she knew exactly what healthy choices she was going to order, yet when her food came, she was shocked to find what had been delivered up to her: fried chicken and a soda,s instead of the soup and salad that she had intended. It shocked her to realize...after the fact, that when she began to order, her old programming unconsciously kicked in when they asked her what her order was.

We’ve learned a lot more about the mind / body connection in relation to behavior, and what is necessary to become healthy and maintain a healthy weight; reaping the many benefits (improved self esteem, just finding something at a retail store that looks good on you, to name a few). I Guide is written in gratitude for the many people that I have been privileged to serve and I truly hope this Guide gives you at least “food for thought” in making better decisions and choices for your health.

Solution: Changing your mind can be done peacefully and permanently in both the conscious and unconscious mind with effective, specifically directed hypnosis and hypnotherapy to help you achieve the results and goals you choose.

Note the following results of a comparative study by American Health Magazine.

How effective is Hypnosis?

• Psychoanalysis: 38% recovery after 600 sessions • Behavior Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions • Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions

Hypnosis was approved for medical use by the American Medical Association in 1958. Many issues can be resolved in 2 to 5 visits. However, several patterns and unconscious responses including habitual weight problems typically take additional sessions over a longer period to reprogram your mind to have truly automatic responses of healthy living.

Research Findings: To make my point, let’s first look at several research studies and their findings regarding effective long-term weight loss:

• Hypnosis Over 30 Times as Effective for Weight Loss

Researchers investigated the effects of hypnosis in weight loss for 60 females, at least 20% overweight. Treatment included group hypnosis with metaphors for ego- strengthening, decision making and motivation, ideomotor exploration in individual hypnosis, and group hypnosis with maintenance suggestions. Hypnosis was more effective than a control group: an average of 17 lbs lost by the hypnosis group vs. an average of

0.5 lbs lost by the control group, on follow-up.1

• Two Years Later: Hypnosis Subjects Continued To Lose Significant Weight

109 people completed a behavioral treatment for weight management either with or without the addition of hypnosis. At the end of the 9-week program, both interventions resulted in significant weight reduction. At 8-month and 2-year follow-ups, the hypnosis subjects were found to have continued to lose significant weight,

while those in the behavioral-treatment-only group showed little further change. 2

• Hypnosis Subjects Lost More Weight Than 90% of Others and Kept it Off


Researchers analyzed 18 studies comparing cognitive behavioral therapy such as relaxation training, guided imagery, self monitoring, or goal setting with the same therapy supplemented by hypnosis. Those who received the hypnosis lost more weight than 90 percent of those not receiving hypnosis and maintained the

weight loss two years after treatment ended.3

• Hypnosis More Than Doubled Average Weight Loss

In a study of the effect of adding hypnosis to cognitive-behavioral treatments for weight reduction, additional data were obtained from authors of two studies. Analyses indicated that the benefits of hypnosis increased

substantially over time.4

• Hypnosis Showed Significantly Lower Post-Treatment Weights

Two studies compared overweight smoking and non-smoking adult women in an hypnosis-based, weight-loss program. Both achieved significant weight losses and decreases in Body Mass Index. Follow-up study replicated significant weight losses and declines in Body Mass Index. The overt aversion and hypnosis

program yielded significantly lower post-treatment weights and a greater average number of pounds lost.5

• Hypnotherapy group with stress reduction achieved significantly more weight loss than the other two treatments.

In a randomized, controlled, parallel study of two forms of hypnotherapy (directed at stress reduction or energy intake reduction), versus dietary advice alone in 60 obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea on

nasal continuous positive airway pressure treatment.6

• Hypnosis can more than double the effects of traditional weight loss approaches

An analysis of five weight loss studies reported in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1996 showed that the "... weight loss reported in the five studies indicates that hypnosis can more than double the

effects" of traditional weight loss approaches.7

• Weight loss is greater where hypnosis is utilized

Research into cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments established that weight loss is greater where

hypnosis is utilized. It was also established that the benefits of hypnosis increase over time.8

• Showed Hypnosis As "An Effective Way To Lose Weight"

A study of 60 females who were at least 20% overweight and not involved in other treatment showed

hypnosis is an effective way to lose weight.9

The 3 Best Ways to Change Your Habits and Patterns From Failure to Success

1. Wake UP! We’re already hypnotized in that we are pre-programmed from the society we were raised in, including our parents, culture, schools, playmates, and more including our perceptions and misperceptions. Most of how we respond emotionally as adults was programmed into us by age 6 and the majority by age 3 (it’s not like you had a lot of choice in the matter at the time). More recent research indicates that another major influential time is between ages 9 and 13. The good news is: if you learned patterns and habits that don’t serve you, you can learn other ways of being that will benefit and help you regain control of your behavior, body and your lifestyle.

2. Let’s face it that all behavior comes from not really thinking clearly or mostly preprogrammed patterns. Your hand, all by itself, doesn’t pick up that next bite of food and put it in your mouth without


you choosing to do so...albeit unconsciously at times. If we don’t change our unconscious mind, as well as our conscious mind about most anything, real change doesn’t really stick!

3. Change is about education, learning, and creating new options. Learning requires repetition in the right direction. In other words, the repetition of your old behaviors has gotten you and kept you stuck in a rut and is a HUGE part of any weight problem or other unhelpful patterns in life.

More and more people have gone into therapy of one kind or another in an attempt to stop their emotional eating, to improve their feelings, emotional state, and their lifestyle, including relationships with themselves, others, and food, but to no avail. Sometimes they come to understand the problem, but change does not necessarily occur as a result of mere understanding. However, the mind is the key and it has a power that can help you win!

Truth is people are intricate and sometimes complicated...needing support and transformation from a number of angles to truly get the help they need to change long standing habits and lifestyle patterns. Quick fixes, diets, pills, and exercise alone don’t typically work as well as we wished they did. The mind is the cornerstone to healthy habits and is the most helpful place to start in order for other methods to have their full intended effect.

Insider Strategies for Learning to Control Your Mind

You only have a chance at controlling something when you understand it and take the right action. You are a brain and a body, all connected to the greater source of life. Nobody learns about themselves to this degree in school. None of us come into life with a manual on how to use our mind, nor our body.

Telling someone or yourself to “just change the way you’re thinking or behaving” isn’t usually very effective in the long run without help. What can help is having a kind of coach (competent hypnotherapist) to help you improve your game. It’s no accident that the major athletic stars are using “mind coaching” to improve their game to win.

When people don’t understand their own mind (conscious and subconscious and how they work together, in addition to understanding how we create and change habits and patterns), one common outcome is to unconsciously repeat the same patterns over and over making things worse. It all ends up like a big mountain that you feel you can’t get over, around, or though. Sounds like the cornerstone of “guilt,” doesn’t it?

Teaching someone about their mind takes a number of hours, but it’s one of the fastest ways for them to stop sabotaging themselves and get on the path to influencing themselves more effectively and more appropriately. But learning about this most powerful tool of yours becomes simply academic if you don’t put the knowledge to work for you. That’s where effective, custom tailored hypnosis combined with a good coach makes the real difference.

Whether you know it or not, your mind is your most powerful tool. You can learn to choose and program your mind to do anything you wish. But, you have to learn how and need help from someone who is masterful at helping people like yourself in this endeavor. Very few people know how, much less how to teach others. We all came into this world with a body and a brain, but without the instruction booklet.

Attending to your mind and reprogramming it is a critical element of taking back control of your life, health, and well being, as you can imagine. And, as has been noted in the above research findings, an element that is a critical part of effective long-term weight loss. Remember - all behavior comes from thought. If you don’t change your thought patterns and the choices you give yourself, you will not succeed....your behavior will not permanently change...and either struggle or defeat will be a continuing and frustrating result.

Right now isn’t the time to teach this, but I’m sure you understand that those that truly succeed in life, under any circumstance, must master their mind and therefore their behaviors. You can learn to do this with the help of effectively delivered, effective suggestions through hypnosis, as well as support in the form of health coaching. It does take repetition for long-term learning, which can be achieved through education coupled with listening to hypnosis in office, by phone and CDs and DVDs. And, I suspect you can be helped if you understand what I’m saying here.


Let’s face it, people are intricate and often complicated...needing support from a number of angles to truly change habits and lifestyle patterns. I’ve found that a longer term program is required for people who struggle with weight issues and obesity. It helps to have a hypnotherapist / coach that works with you to help you get through those patterns when, in the past, you would have given up and simply slid back into old habits.

How to Avoid the 'GUILT' Trap

Guilt is an emotional, learned negative message received from our family, our society, our self. In general, guilt becomes a bad, debilitating habit that causes more stress and less control. Guilt is only good for two things: to motivate you to change, or to make a wrong into a right, ie. Doing the right things instead of doing what doesn’t work or is harmful.

The Latest Trends in Weight Loss Strategies

Frustration and long term success is rampant because the mental, habitual, emotional issues have not typically been dealt with.

Let’s first revisit the traditional, common attempts that most people have experienced at one time or another. The massive number of diet books on the market in the last half century, plus the pills (diet/appetitive suppressants–over the counter and prescribed), the messages from Harvard that we have to exercise at least an hour a day....are options that very few people benefit from long-term.

Quick fixes, diets, pills, exercise may work for a short period of time, but are likely not going to be the final answer because the mental, habitual, emotional patterns have not been addressed. Therefore, these methods do not typically work as well as we wished they did.

Yo-Yo Effect: This is going on and off diets, only to regain more than you lost in the first place. Research shows that following a diet is not the key because you still haven’t changed your lifestyle, much less your mind set. Most people who live by the Diet mentality, can’t keep it up because they feel deprived and still feel (emotionally, as well as physically) hungry which makes them ultimately give up and fall off the wagon. In the end, the need to have “comfort foods” wins the battle and the bulge is back on.

Starvation: Doesn’t work! Research shows this only burns up muscle and you need muscle to burn the fat. Fat hangs on to help you survive, not thrive. People feel tired and are literally starving; lacking the nutrients they need on a daily basis. This method is unhelpful on your brain’s ability to function, as your brain needs to be nourished from time to time throughout the day with good nutrition as well. Even your reasoning mind should know better than to rely on this method. But we’re not always rational when it comes to weight problems. Research has proven starvation to be a poor choice for weight loss.

Many over weight people actually become malnourished which only adds to ill health and a not very smart brain to make choices.

Most people typically eat more than before their starvation period began when they begin to eat again–which defeats the purpose in the long run.

Diets: Diets Don’t Work!–Because they don’t change the mind set. And, at the same time, almost any diet will work, IF we’d stay on it. Actually, some are healthy, some pretty restrictive or unbalanced; others are downright unhealthy. The problem is that we come to feel deprived and hassled by the options we’re given because they simply don’t allow you to deal with the emotional issues driving the need for comfort foods.

Often, if someone has read a “diet” book, it may not have been very accurate and is really ineffective for them. Or, they think that whatever they were raised eating is healthy because that’s all they know, when in fact, that may be the core problem. Education and retraining the mind with hypnosis is the only way to get past the feelings of deprivation and noncompliance and into eating healthy foods and beverages.

Even the U.S. government has recently changed the “food pyramid”... which only supports further weight gain, ignorance, and in the end obesity. According to research at the Mayo Clinic, the government hasn’t gotten it


right still. The Mayo clinic’s pyramid shows fruits and vegetables as the basis of our nutritional needs, with carbohydrates being just above that, then protein, then fats and finally sweets (only up to 75 calories a

day).10

Let’s also mention portion sizes: Examples between now and 20 years ago include 333 calories for a burger then and 590 calories for a burger today. The average soda back then was 6.5 oz (85 calories) and today 20 oz is more common yielding 250 calories. If you ever saw the movie, “Super Size Me” you were amazed at what eating these enormous amounts of fast foods do to a person in less than a month. So, no wonder years of eating fast foods and portions that used to feed 2 or 3 people are being consumed by one person has led to a nation out of control with weight at every age group.

Diet Pills and Appetite Suppressants: Again, these methods can be helpful for temporary weight loss, but you must be monitored only under the care of a qualified physician, even when using over the counter methods. Still, hypnosis can be the missing link to deal with the emotional issues that must be dealt with in order to have long term and on going weight loss success.

Surgery: As our society as a whole has continued to gain more weight and have lost more control, we’ve now come to increasingly rely on Surgery as the solution for the overweight problem! In fact, it has recently been approved to allow people that are only 30 lbs overweight to have gastric lap band surgery or some other form of stomach surgery.

Although surgery (now seen as a preferred resort by many) has been effective with suffering individuals, the long term success has its challenges. First of all, the cravings don’t usually go away because the emotional cravings haven’t been addressed with hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Plus, along with the dangers of “going under the knife” and the aftermath of necessary changes to maintain a smaller stomach size, comes many negative risks including the following:

1. Gastric band surgery is invasive and can include surgical complications for your lifetime. Along with lifetime maintenance and dietary restrictions, psychological and emotionally unresolved issues are present. The surgery is accomplished by surgically placing an “adjustable plastic band” much like is used to band together a bunch of computer wires, around the upper part of your stomach. This restricts the space and therefore the amount of food and the kind of food that you can take in at one time. Vomiting can easily result if instructions are not strictly followed.

2. Further risks of this surgery are similar to all major surgeries, including gastric, stomach and esophagus puncture, therefore, leakage into the body cavity; infection, death, organ problems (like lung, live, and spleen), nausea and vomiting, difficulty swallowing, blood clots. Band slippage and erosion into the stomach, stomach enlarging, leakage, blocked food outlet into your lower stomach and intestines, including diarrhea, are not uncommon side effects.

3. Post-Surgery Diets are tough to adhere to, but are necessary. Most people are simply not psychologically prepared to stick to the prescribed strictly liquid diet for the first week or two after surgery. The second week or two, all food at that point has to be pureed (finely blended in a blender) before being consumed. Of course, high calorie (fat and sugar) items need to be avoided. Because your stomach is so small and you need to be healthy, only small, highly nutritious foods (lean protein, vegetables) are necessary. All other foods are to be avoided because they do not energize the body and brain to keep you healthy.

4. Cost: Some patients have to pay (between$12,000and$25,000) out of pocket for the surgery, creating debt and credit problems. Some insurance companies, depending on the patient’s medical condition, will pay for the lap band surgery. Adjustment costs and follow up appointments are not included in the above noted amounts.

5. Psychological/Emotional Challenges: Many people who opt for lap band surgery have struggled with weight issues and obesity for many years and sometimes most of their lives. After surgery, the dramatic weight loss can affect their mental state and personal lives negatively. Some people have had emotional attachments to food, such as eating to celebrate, eating for comfort or boredom eating, self medication, and they are upset to find that they can no longer continue past eating habits. Some patients have difficulties


relating to friends and family because of the changes in themselves after surgery, and they find that they must change their peer roles after the weight loss. Some experience depression and self-esteem issues.

Instantly Improve Your Self Esteem

Most people negatively judge overweight people, but worst of all, they judge themselves terribly. You know: we’re our own worst enemy! As you begin to eat naturally better and smaller amounts, you feel and are more in control. This contributes to positive self talk; therefore, your self esteem naturally improves. You are proving to yourself, often for the first time in your life, that you can love yourself and take good care of yourself for the rest of your life.

Ways to Overcome a Lifetime of Struggle and Failure with Your Weight

Without changing your subconscious mind through hypnosis, as well as your conscious mind through education and knowledge, nothing you try will actually work long term. Don’t be hard on yourself, most of your old programming occurred at a very early age and had an emotional attachment to it.

If you learned those patterns that have kept you locked in a yo-yo situation or just have felt you had to struggle for so long, you can learn something else. Our mind is super powerful. It just needs the right programming; much like a computer being reprogrammed. You are a natural born learner and you can learn new ways of thinking and behaving. That’s the good news.

Two Giant Myths About Exercise and Metabolism

#1 MYTH: IF YOU EXERCISE ENOUGH, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT AND YOUR EATING PATTERNS WON’T MATTER. Reality: Movement and exercise are important for health and mobility, but do not typically make THE big difference in weight loss without change of diet and lifestyle patterns. In fact, if you exercise moderately for around 45 to 60 minutes a day, you will burn off about 200 calories. That’s equivalent to a very small muffin (20 years ago: 210 calories and 1.5 oz). Today, that muffin is likely to be 4 oz and pack 500 calories into it. Exercise is known to increase serotonin, that chemical that helps you feel good. Exercise provides the number one benefit for decreasing depression, thankfully.

#2 MYTH: AS YOU AGE YOUR METABOLISM DECREASES AND KEEPS YOU FROM LOSING WEIGHT. Reality: Yes, our metabolism decreases starting about age 20 and every decade that passes it continues. The reality is, however, that this is most often a lie you and society have been told about why you’ve gained weight. If you don’t adjust your intake to a small, more frequent, nutritionally beneficial foods and beverage intake, you’ll never lose the weight you need to lose, regardless of your metabolism. You may have to have your hormones checked, including your thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, etc., which could also make a difference.

Everyone should see their physician regarding weight and general health issues. In order words, get a good check up to rule out any medical challenges that could contribute to your weight issue before doing anything else.

How Does Hypnosis Make the Difference in Helping You Lose Weight and KEEPING IT OFF?

Perhaps you saw the recent ABC News report on a special type of Hypnosis program used for effective Weight Loss that originated in France then moved on to England in 2009. Although the process all began in France, it has now finally become available in the United States, thanks to California based hypnotherapist Duncan Tooley, my teacher.

If you’re not familiar with hypnosis, contact my office at http://hypnosisinstitute.com to receive a free packet on hypnosis and how you can be helped with it. In simple terms: in the state of mind called hypnosis, you are not unconscious, nor out of control, but just relaxed, yet your mind is in the most receptive state you can be in, should you choose to learn new ways of thinking and behaving. Retraining the brain, your thinking and feeling patterns and therefore your behavior are the keys to permanent change. In case you haven’t noticed, everything you do comes from your personal choices. Please refer to the research noted on pages 3 to 5 of this report.


Hypnotic techniques have been proven to be effective for weight loss, and I found the most effective method is by far a combination of methods I’ve learned, tried, and had long term results with clients over the years.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to go to France to be trained. In fact, several of my trainings were in California, and is totally free from even the thought of surgery and is way less expensive than actual surgery, yet consistently effective at helping clients lose weight. Instead of the memory of surgery, using hypnotic suggestions, your own stomach wall muscles are triggered to contract. The contraction or squeezing of a narrow band of muscles creates the sensation of a small upper stomach like the surgical gastric band creates. You are satisfied with a small quantity of food, and so eat less and begin to release excess pounds. The vast majority of my clients report that they get fuller faster and are making better choices right away.

Turn Off Food Cravings

One of the guided imagery processes used in the my method is to lead you into your body's control center where you turn down (or off, if you want) your preference (or even craving) for a particular less healthful food. The results are quick and dramatic!


References:

1. Cochrane,Gordon;Friesen,J.(1986).Hypnotherapyinweightlosstreatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.

2. JournalofConsultingandClinicalPsychology(1985)

3. UniversityofConnecticut,StorrsAllisonDB,FaithMS.Hypnosisasanadjunctto cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for obesity: a meta-analytic reappraisal. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1996;64(3):513-516.

4. Kirsch,Irving(1996).Hypnoticenhancementofcognitive-behavioralweightloss treatments--Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519.

5. Weightlossforwomen:studiesofsmokersandnonsmokersusinghypnosisand multi-component treatments with and without overt aversion. Johnson DL, Psychology Reprints. 1997 Jun;80(3 Pt 1):931-3.

6. JStradling,DRoberts,AWilsonandFLovelock,ChestUnit,ChurchillHospital, Oxford, OX3 7LJ, UK

7. UniversityofConnecticut,JournalofConsultingandClinicalPsychologyin1996 (Vol. 64, No. 3, pgs 517-519).



10. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


TEACHING CLIENTS TO HELP THEMSELVES

You May Have To Spend An Extra Session of About 2.5-3 Hours

With a Weight Loss Client

Because it May Be IMPORTANT

To TEACH THEM ABOUT THE MIND

AND

HOW WE CREATE AND CHANGE HABITS, PATTERNS AND ADDICTIONS.


DIETING UNDER STRESS

This diet is designed to help you cope with the “stress” that builds up during the work day!!!

BREAKFAST LUNCH

½ Grapefruit 4 oz. Lean Chicken Breast

1 slice Whole Wheat Toast (dry) 1 cup Steamed Spinach

8 oz. Skim Milk 1 cup Herb Tea

1 Oreo Cookie

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK DINNER

Rest of Oreos in package 2 Loaves Garlic Bread w/Cheese

2 pints Rocky Road Ice Cream Large Sausage/Mushroom/Cheese Pizza

1 jar Hot Fudge Sauce 3 Milky Way or Snickers Candy Bars

Nuts – Cherries – Whipped Cream

LATE EVENING NEWS

Entire Frozen Cheesecake – eaten directly from freezer

RIGID RULES FOR THIS DIET

1. If you eat something and no one sees you eat it – it has no calories. 2. If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy are automatically

cancelled out by the diet soda. 3. When you eat with someone else, calories don’t count if you don’t eat more than they do. 4. Foods used for medicinal purposes NEVER count – such as hot chocolate, brandy toast, and

Sara Lee Cheesecake. 5. If you fatten up everyone else around you – then you look thinner! 6. Movie related foods do not have additional calories because they are a part of the entire

entertainment package and are not part of one’s personal fuel – such as milk duds, buttered popcorn, junior mints, red hots, and tootsie rolls.

7. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage. 8. Things licked off of knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing

something. Examples: peanut butter on a knife making a sandwich and ice cream on a spoon making a sundae.

9. Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. Examples are: spinach and pistachio ice cream, mushrooms and white chocolate. NOTE: Chocolate is a universal color and may be substituted for any other food color.


He Was Only a Chocolate Chip Cookie…But I Loved Him

I met him at a party. There he was at the end of the buffet…a loner, the last one on the plate.

He had a certain something…a sweetness, a sensuality. He was one hot cookie!!!

I felt as if I’d always known him, always hungered for him. When he looked at me with

those warm brown eyes, I melted. Before I knew it, I had my hands on him, my mouth on him…in

public. After that night, we were inseparable.

With him, I could be myself. Together we had the recipe for happiness. No one satisfied me

like Chip. THEN THINGS CHANGED. My friends said he was no good for me. He started to give

me heartburn. I felt crummy, but it had to end.

Now we’ve gone our separate ways, I hardly think of him anymore. Oh, if I see a certain TV

commercial, a particular magazine ad, a coupon for 10 cents off…that old longing returns. And

when we run into each other at the supermarket, we nod.


10 EASY PORTION CONTROL TRICKS

By Kristen Stewart, Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Portion control is an important part of maintaining a healthy diet.

Here are 10 easy ways to limit what you eat.

When most of us sit down to eat, the last thing we want to think about is portion control. But for anyone on a diet or just looking to maintain their current figure, that’s exactly what they should be doing.

Gone are the days of eating a bagel or muffin and feeling safe about its calories. In fact, researchers measured typical servings from takeout restaurants, fast food chains, and family-style eateries and found that bagels were 195 percent larger than the standard set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), muffins were 333 percent bigger and cooked pasta exceeded the standard by 480 percent. Scariest of all were cookies, which were a whopping seven times the USDA recommended serving size.

Portion Control and Diet: How It Works

The first step in successful portion control is learning the correct serving size — the amount of food recommended by government agencies, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans put out by the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services, and the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. The serving size can usually be found by reading nutritional labels. But the portion is the amount of food or drink a person chooses to consume. In many cases, the portion eaten is larger than the serving size simply because we don’t know any better.

“Portion control is limiting what you eat,” says Mary M. Flynn, RD, PhD, chief research dietitian and assistant professor of medicine at the Miriam Hospital and Brown University in Providence, R.I. “It is being aware of how much food you are actually eating and what calories are in that serving.”

Portion Control and Diet: 10 Easy Tips for Smaller Servings

The good news is that with a little practice, portion control is easy to do and can help people be successful in reaching and then maintaining a proper weight.

Here are 10 simple ways to keep your portions a healthy size:

1. Measure accurately. For foods and beverages, use gadgets like a measuring cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, or food scale.

2. Learn how to estimate serving sizes. “‘Ballpark’ food portion sizes by estimating serving sizes in comparison to known objects,” says Rose Clifford, RD, clinical dietitian in the department of pharmacy services at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. “For example, three ounces of cooked meat, fish, or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards.” Other easy measurements to eyeball include:


· ½ cup is the size of an ice cream scoop · 1 cup is the size of a tennis ball · 1 ounce of cheese is the size of a domino

3. Use portion control dishware. Pick out smaller plates, bowls, cups, and glassware in your kitchen and measure what they hold. You might find that a bowl you thought held 8 ounces of soup actually holds 16, meaning you’ve been eating twice what you planned.

4. Dish out your servings separately. Serve food from the stove onto plates rather than family-style at the table, which encourages seconds.

5. Make your own single-serving packs. “Re-portion bulk quantities of favorite foods such as pasta, rice, and cereal into individual portions in zipper bags so that when you’re in the mood for some food you’ll instantly see the number of portions you’re preparing,” says Jennifer Nasser, RD, PhD, assistant professor in the department of biology at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

6. Add the milk before the coffee. When possible, put your (fat-free) milk into the cup before adding the hot beverage to better gauge the amount used.

7. Measure oil carefully. This is especially important because oil (even the healthful kinds like olive and safflower) have so many calories; don’t pour it directly into your cooking pan or over food.

8. Control portions when eating out. Eat half or share the meal with a friend. If eating a salad, ask for dressing on the side. Dip your fork into the dressing and then into the salad.

9. Add vegetables. Eat a cup of low-calorie vegetable soup prior to eating a meal, or add vegetables to casseroles and sandwiches to add volume without a lot of calories.

10. Listen to your hunger cues. Eat when hungry and stop when satisfied or comfortably full. “Try to gauge when you are 80 percent full and stop there,” says Clifford. “There will be more food at the next meal or snack!”

Eat 4-6 small, nutritious meals or snacks per day.


Why the Brain-Belly Connection is the Secret to Achieving an Optimal Weight

The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine With Larry McCleary, MD and Ruth Buczynski, PhD

Dr. Buczynski: Hello everyone! I’d like to get started. Welcome tonight to this call from the New

Brain Science. We are so glad that you are here. We want to welcome people from all over the

world. We have people calling in from just about every time zone and we want to say welcome; we

are glad you are here.

We also have people representing all of our different professions. We have physicians,

nurses, psychologists, social workers, family therapists, counselors. We have chiropractors, physical

therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, clergy, stress management consultants and coaches.

So no matter what your profession is, we’re glad you’re here.

We also appreciate the time you took to mark your schedule, or to get up in the middle of the

night, or stay up late, or get up very, very early to be part of this call. It is important to have the

whole worldwide community together; so thanks for being part of the call.

I am Dr. Ruth Buczynski, I am a licensed Psychologist and the President of the National

Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. And my guest tonight is Dr. Larry

McCleary. He was Pediatric Neurosurgeon at Denver Children’s Hospital. He is also the author of

two books I am going to tell you about; The Brain Trust Program: A Leading Neurosurgeon Reveals

Secrets for Increasing Brain Function at Any Age and Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly. That’s

kind of an interesting title, isn’t it?

So, Dr. McCleary, we are glad you are on the call!

Dr. McCleary: Well, I am thrilled to be on this call and I am excited about what we are going to be

talking about today because I think we are really in the era of the brain, with all of the work being

done affecting brain plasticity and how what we do, eat and how we live can impact that in dramatic

fashion.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay, so jumping right in because we have got a big agenda planned for tonight,

let’s go right to the metabolic approach to brain heatlh. You have four, what you call “Goldilocks

Principles” that explain the metabolic functioning of the brain. Can you review them for us? Can

you give us the foundations?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I think, rather than making this a didactic session, I think that what is

important for the listeners to understand is that there are a number of ways that the choices that we

make day in and day out can impact our brain function, whether we are a newborn, a stressed


teenager, an adult, or someone who is in their sixties or seventies.

And my the “metabolic impact,” what I mean in general is how these global decisions about

what we eat, how much sleep we get and so forth impact how the nerve cells function, how they

communicate with each other, how they form networks and ultimately how they impact brain

function.

And this can involve anything from controlling sugar, having not enough sugar or having too

much sugar, stress, and physical activity. And they can impact the metabolism and physiology of

the brain cells.

Dr. Buczynski: I would like to get into the Goldilocks Principles that you have outlined; controlling

the flow of calcium, controlling the balance of insulin and glucose, controlling growth, regeneration

and repair, and controlling inflammation. Can we spend a little bit of time on each of them?

Dr. McCleary: Sure, sure. When you look at how brain cells work, they are like switches turning

on and off. And what determines whether the switch is on or off involves how much calcium is

within the nerve cells.

And just to backtrack for a moment, I call these “Goldilocks Principles” referring to the

Mama Bear, the Baby Bear and the Papa Bear, and suggesting that it is possible to have too little,

just enough, or too much of any of these metabolic factors.

And when you look at calcium, calcium is what causes nerve cells to fire, so it is a very

important compound in any type of electrically active cell. And so, for example, when a

neurotransmitter binds to a nerve cell or a brain cell, calcium can enter the nerve cell. And that is

important for the function of the nerve cell because that is what triggers what it does.

However, in a number of disorders, for example some of the memory disorders that are

becoming quite prevalent, the amount of calcium entering the nerve cells can be excessive. Now,

how does that adversely impact the nerve cells? Well, it causes them to fire too often, which is not

what you want them to do, that consumes too much energy and then the nerve cells degenerate. So it

is very important to have just the right amount of calcium within nerve cells so they function

properly.

And again, the diet and lifestyle choices that we make can impact how much calcium is

entering and leaving these nerve cells.

Dr. Buczynski: So what is the right amount? And how could we affect that?

Dr. McCleary: Well, for example, if you don’t get enough sleep, that causes stress and it impairs

the function of the nerve cells. And one of the functions that is affected is their ability to regulate

the amount of calcium in nerve cells. So that is one thing that can tip over this balance of calcium.


Dr. Buczynski: Okay. Are there any others?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I think that there are some medications that you take, there are also drugs, for

example, recreational drugs that can affect the amount of calcium entering nerve cells and this can

upset the balance and actually cause premature degeneration of the nerve cells.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay, so what kinds of medications, what classes of medications might affect the

nerve cells?

Dr. McCleary: Well, there are some supplements that you can take that can improve the balance of

calcium, one that I discuss in the book, is a supplement that people may have heard about called

huperzine. Huperzine can affect a number of functions of nerve cells, one of them is how to balance

neurotransmitters; but it can also cause nerve cells to improve the regulation of calcium within the

nerve cell.

A supplement that people have heard about that could also impact calcium balance is called

magnesium. And magnesium is a sister of calcium that actually has a function that blocks the

amount of calcium going into the nerve cells. And because of that some people take calcium to calm

their mind or to help them sleep.

So those are a couple of examples of common herbs or supplements that someone might take

that can affect that calcium balance.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. Let’s go into controlling the balance of insulin and glucose.

Dr. McCleary: Okay. Insulin and glucose, insulin is the hormone in the body that controls blood

sugar. And we know from people who are diabetics, who inject insulin, that if they overdo it, if they

give themselves too much insulin, that clears sugar from the blood excessively, and that can make

these diabetics feel jittery, lightheaded, and shaky. It can cause them to feel nervous, to have trouble

thinking or remembering. And if the blood sugar gets lower, then what can happen is you can have a

blackout or a seizure.

So, low blood sugar, again this is like the Baby Bear, Mama Bear and Papa Bear, low blood

sugar can be bad for brain health. However, if you have high blood sugar, especially if it’s chronic,

that can cause inflammation and other changes in the brain cells that can, over the long term, impact

memory and some of the other brain functions.

So what the brain really likes is a stable level of blood sugar. And what primarily determines

that is what we eat. And if we eat a number of refined carbohydrates, which are primarily in the

packaged foods section of the grocery stores which are like cake, cookies, donuts and things like

that, or even soda with sugar in it. This can cause quite high increases in blood sugar which if that is


the way you’ve eaten for years, can cause inflammation and damage to the nerve cells.

So what you want to do is make food choices that either contain low sugar, such as non-

starchy carbohydrates or that contain carbohydrates in a form where the sugar is released slowly.

For example, fruits and vegetables because the starch is bound with fiber and it is released like a

slow release form of carbohydrate. So you can eat a meal and have a stable level of blood sugar that

makes your brain happy for a long period of time. It is not exposed to low blood sugar or high blood

sugar. It is kind of in its “blood sugar sweet spot.”

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. I was taking some notes and I just want to make sure I have got accurate

notes here – high levels of blood sugar would increase inflammation in the brain?

Dr. McCleary: Yes. And one of the ways that that happens is really the basis for a test. If you

measure hemoglobin A1C, you measure how glucose, for example, is bound to hemoglobin, which is

a protein, and it gives a reflection over 90 days or three months of what your average blood sugar

level is.

And the higher your hemoglobin A1C, or the more glucose that is bound to the proteins not

only in the blood but in the body, the more free radicals are generated and that is the basis for

inflammation. So that is why you don’t want to go too high on your glucose levels.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. And then you had another one in these Goldilocks Principles, and it was

controlling the growth, regeneration and repair. How are we going to do that?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I think there are factors that are called growth factors for neorutrophins and

they go by the name NGF, nerve grow factor, neurotrophin-3 and a funny one called brain-derived

neurotrophic factor. And these are all factors that are trophic factors for nerve cells. And what I

mean by that is it is like fertilizing your lawn, if you have an appropriate amount of water, nutrients

and fertilizer, you are going to have a green, healthy yard.

And the same is true of these growth factors. What they do, if they are present in the right

amount, is protect the nerve cells against the free radicals that our body generates, against high-stress

hormones, against excessive calcium levels, or excessive or low glucose levels all of which cause

metabolic insults to the nerve cells, cause them to malfunction and age prematurely. So these

growth factors can act as a buffer against those processes.

The other wonderful thing that these growth factors do, people who are interested in

neuroplasticity know this, is they tend to stimulate the formation of connections from one nerve cell

to another. And the rewiring that is based upon the connections from one nerve cell to another is

really the basis for neuroplasticity. So that is the role that these growth factors play in our brains.

Now, the question is what are some things that we can do to improve the level of growth


factors in our brain? Right now there is really no medication on the market that can enhance growth

factors. But there are some things that we can do and one of them is exercise. I know that you have

some experts on this panel talking about the impact of exercise on the brain. Exercise is one thing

that can turn on or increase the level of these growth factors in nerve cells. And it doesn’t have to be

extreme exercise. If you walk briskly, for example, three or four times a week for roughly a half-

hour that can improve brain function and it has been shown to enhance these growth factors that we

are talking about.

A couple of other examples that can lower growth factor levels are lack of sleep or stress. So

if you get the right amount of sleep and if you try to control the, especially the unremitting, stress in

your life or not expose yourself to chronic business or social or financial stress, you tend to have

higher growth factors.

So these are some of the external factors that can up- or down-regulate these important

trophic factors in the brain.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. And we briefly mentioned it already when we were talking about insulin but

let’s go over inflammation and why inflammation is bad for the brain.

Dr. McCleary: Okay. Well, inflammation is something that most people are aware of when they

get a cut, or they have a boil, or an incision gets infected, because it gets red, warm and swollen.

These are the overt signs of inflammation. But they are kind of macroscopic signs; things that you

can see, feel, you know, if you run your hand over the skin you can feel warmth.

But these same processes go on at a microscopic level and there are mediators that are

inflammatory mediators, like tumor necrosis factor that regulate inflammation and free radicals that

regulate inflammation. These mediators can cause microscopic changes in blood vessels, in bones,

and even in brain cells, which damages the nerve cells and impairs the function, especially if they

are present over the long term. So that is why inflammation is bad from a brain perspective.

Dr. Buczynski: And tumor necrosis factor interferes with BDNF – is that right?

Dr. McCleary: Well, there is an interrelationship between insulin, tumor necrosis factor, and some

of the neurotrophins. And one of the neurotrophins that can be adversely impacted by tumor

necrosis factor is BDNF. It kind of acts as a negative control factor. So, while BDNF has all of the

beneficial impacts that we have discussed, tumor necrosis factor can block those beneficial effects.

So if you participate in an inflammatory lifestyle, you will generate higher TNF-alpha

factors. And one example of how that could happen is if you eat a diet that generates high insulin

levels, because elevated insulin levels are associated with insulin resistance and insulin resistance is

an inflammatory condition which is associated with elevated levels of TNF-alpha which, if you are


concerned about these neurotrophins, blocks their actions.

So all of these are metabolic factors that can impair nerve function and that can be mediated

beneficially or adversely, depending on what lifestyle choices you make.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. Now, we are talking about factors. Are we thinking, when you use the word

“factors,” I am familiar with neurotransmitters, what do we mean by “factors?”

Dr. McCleary: Well, for example, TNF-alpha is a small compound that occurs either outside of

cells or within cells, that can affect signaling pathways. So it is almost like a drug-like compound in

size, scope and function that naturally occurs in the body, but when the level rises, it can derail some

of the beneficial signaling pathways such as insulin signaling or growth factor signaling.

Now, people might ask, “Why is tumor necrosis factor in the body or in cells in the first

place?” Well, if our body is invaded by a micro-organism, for example, suppose we have a cut or

suppose we have kind of a leaky bowel where some bacteria gets where they shouldn’t be, one of the

ways the body deals with that is by inciting inflammation, drawing in white blood cells, disabling the

bacteria and then clearing up the inflammation.

But inflammation can have benefits. It is just when it is chronic, unremitting, or the level of

inflammation is excessive that it causes problems. So TNF-alpha can be beneficial, but it can also

have a dark side as well.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. So, let’s look at some of the other factors that would influence brain health:

family history, and chronic stress – those would influence it as well?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I think that there are some people who have a history of memory loss or some

type of abnormality of brain function. So there is no question that the genetics you are born with can

impact how your brain works. So I would totally agree that family history is a factor. And that is

what you are born with so you don’t have much control over that, you can’t control who your

parents are.

But there are factors you can control and we have talked about several of them. Sleep and

stress are two critical factors. And if you just consider stress, there are delicate brain scans that have

been done looking at people who over several months have been exposed to unremitting stress.

Whether it is during war and you are a soldier or whether it is some type of environmental

thing that is not war, but it is work-related. In other words you have a boss who is always riding

you, you have a sick child, you have lost a parent or you are taking care of a parent and it puts a lot

of stress on you.

What happens under those circumstances is the level of certain hormones rise, one of which

is cortisol. And if you have elevated cortisol levels for protracted periods of time, what you can see,


if you do these delicate scans, is that certain areas of the brain actually shrink. And that is due to

loss of the connections between brain cells and also loss of brain cells themselves.

So stress and the hormone cortisol if it is present in high levels for protracted periods of time

can be bad for brain function, both acutely and chronically. I think most people know that when

they are under acute stress, their memory doesn’t work as well as it does at other times. And these

scans are just documentation of that.

If you look at models of animals under chronic stress and you look at a slice of the brain

from a memory center in the hippocampus, you can see that the density of neurons actually

decreases in chronically stressed animals. But what is interesting is if you remove that animal from

a chronic stress situation, that there is regeneration of these nerve cells. And that really is what is

exciting. And that has actually been documented in scans on human patients.

Dr. Buczynski: How long does it take?

Dr. McCleary: Well, you know, nerve cells can form pretty rapidly and connections can form

pretty rapidly. I saw one electron micrograph that suggested that over about an hour-and-a-half a

nerve cell could go from being wired to one neuron or nerve cell to changing its wiring into another

neuro network. So those individual fibers that connect and disconnect can change over hours. If

you are talking about nerve cells forming, at least at the rate where you can see these changes on

scans, it is usually not measured in hours or days, but usually in months, for example, three months

to six months.

But if you can document a change on a scan, that requires really millions or billions of

neurons being formed and being rewired. So that will obviously take a longer period of time.

Dr. Buczynski: Let’s go into sleep deprivation just a little bit more. What is it that lack of sleep

does to the brain? Why is that so serious for the brain?

Dr. McCleary: Well, we have talked about stress. There are a number of studies that show that if

you are sleep-deprived for 24 hours, your brain’s memory function is working about as well as if you

meet the national standards for driving under the influence.

So sleep deprivation really produces impaired function of the brain in a measurable fashion

that in the short term decreases function. If it is persistent, then it is usually associated with a rise in

these cortisol hormones and a fall in growth factors, so you see the impact on the brain of both of

those hormone and factor imbalances.

Cortisol causing loss of connections between nerve cells, death of neurons, and loss of

trophic factors making the nerve cells more liable to alteration in those metabolic factors we have

talked about as they cause injury. For example, there is a build-up of calcium and glucose


deprivation. So, sleep can influence all of these factors that we have been talking about.

Dr. Buczynski: How about head injuries?

Dr. McCleary: Well, head injury is obviously a very serious form of trauma to the brain. And there

are a number of pathways that can be affected with head trauma. Just to define the universe that we

are talking about, you can have a head injury that causes a concussion, but if you do an MRI scan

you might not see any changes in the brain. This is one type of milder head injury that can still

cause loss of consciousness. And it can go all the way to the other extreme where you can see loss

of brain tissue, bleeding, vascular injury which causes a stroke, which is an area of damage to the

brain caused by lack of blood flow.

So there are all of these factors, depending upon the severity of the head injury, that can

contribute to loss of brain tissue and loss of brain function. And if you have a head injury, you can

impair calcium metabolism, which we know is bad, you can alter growth factor signaling, you can

impair blood flow to the brain, which is how nutrients get to the blood cells and waste products are

transported away, and you can cause inflammation, free radicals, because you have disrupted the cell

energy-generating mechanism.

So head trauma can not only cause macroscopic disruption but it can also affect these micro

metabolic factors that we have been mentioning. Head trauma is just like an extreme form of

activating all of these adverse pathways.

Dr. Buczynski: And let’s look at smoking and alcohol use. How do they affect the brain?

Dr. McCleary: Well, smoking does several things that are not friendly to the brain. Number one, it

can affect the lungs, which impairs the delivery of oxygen to the brain. It can affect blood vessel

function, the ability of blood vessels to dilate and constrict to maintain appropriate blood flow, it can

contribute to heart disease and vascular disease that limits flow to the brain. But it can also generate

these inflammatory mediators such as free radicals and TNF-alpha that can have a direct adverse

impact on the brain. So at multiple levels, smoking is not good for brain health.

Dr. Buczynski: And how about alcohol?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I don’t think the final answer is in on alcohol because I think that there are

some studies that suggest that a small amount of wine or alcohol per day can actually enhance brain

function, whereas if you overdo it, and “overdoing it” remains to be appropriately defined, but if you

drink too much alcohol is a direct toxin to the brain.

The only concern I have about low levels of alcohol use is that there are now some studies

out that show if you drink anything at all that there is some slow loss of neurons or brain cells which

can manifest as shrinkage or atrophy of the brain over one, two or three years. So I don’t think that


the final answer on alcohol and the brain is in, but I think that we know now that if you drink too

much it’s definitely not good for brain health.

Dr. Buczynski: And does the impairment of the brain recede if the person stops drinking?

Dr. McCleary: Well, you know, I think that that is clearly what people would want to happen. But

I think that if you continue drinking, obviously it is going to get worse. If you stop drinking then

you are not adding insult to injury. But the problem is that there is enough damage and enough

inflammation that has been started, that sometimes these processes become autonomous and you can

have continued deterioration even though you stop drinking. But I think if you are drinking too

much and suffering loss of brain function, anyone would recommend the cessation of alcohol.

Dr. Buczynski: Absolutely. Okay, and what about hypertension? How does high blood pressure

affect brain function?

Dr. McCleary: Well, high blood pressure is not a friend of the brain, for a number of reasons. If

you look at dementing illnesses which are disorders where you lose the ability of the brain to

remember and to function, the majority of them are due to neurodegenerative diseases, different

types of dementing illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease.

But there is a significant percentage, maybe a third or so depending on which study you read,

that is attributed to vascular dementia. And what that means is that in those persons’ brains, there

are a number of primarily small strokes measuring a fraction of a millimeter to a centimeter and in

some instances there can be hundreds of them.

And what these small strokes do is not only kill nerve cells, but they can reduce the

connectivity of one nerve cell to another, if they are in the white matter of the brain. And some of

the more recent studies have shown that this is playing an even more significant role in loss of brain

function than was believed a few years ago.

But high blood pressure can predispose to these small strokes or infarcts that contributes to

these dementing processes. And that condition is called multi-infarct dementia and hypertension is a

high contributor to that.

Dr. Buczynski: Multi-infarct…

Dr. McCleary: Multi-infarct dementia. And that just refers to many of these small strokes. If you

look at a brain scan such as an MRI scan, what you will frequently see are hundreds of tiny

infarctions or strokes, mini strokes. The areas where there has been brain tissue but where there was

a stroke and the brain tissue has been removed and it is filled with fluid and it usually occurs in the

white matter.

And on an MRI scan if you image it appropriately you can see a number of these little white


circular regions. Those are very typical findings in a condition called multi-infarct dementia.

Dr. Buczynski: I see. So I would like to switch focus now and think about the brain / belly

connection and how that affects weight and so forth. So, first of all, what is the connection between

the brain and the belly?

Dr. McCleary: Well, it is different depending on who you talk to. But in the Feed Your Brain,

Lose Your Belly book, what I am referring to is the parts of the brain that are the appetite centers.

The parts of the brain that tell you when to eat and when you get hungry they generate a signal that

you need to eat. So that is the part of the brain that I am talking about primarily.

But I also talk about the components of the brain that are related to appetite and hunger. That

can include some of the craving centers, addictive centers of the brain because excessive eating can

be almost an addiction at times. So those are the parts of the brain that I am referring to.

When I talk about the belly, what I am referring to is the collection of fat cells in our body

primarily around our waist, but throughout the body. So that is the brain and the belly.

Normally what happens during a meal is you eat a meal and there is a certain amount of

energy in the foods you eat that is made available to your body. So for a while you are living off the

food that you have just eaten but since you can’t eat it all right away you store some of it in your fat

cells. And that is important because we don’t eat 24 hours a day. We eat discreet meals. And so the

connection is that if you eat a meal you don’t feel hungry for an hour or two. But if you get hungry

before your next meal then you are going to go back to the refrigerator and eat again.

And that is really where the big brain / belly connection plays a role because the fat stores

that have stored part of the energy from the meal you just ate are key. Their job is to provide the

energy to get you from breakfast to lunch, or lunch to dinner. And if the system is working well, if

the fat cells release their energy into the bloodstream and the brain has access to that energy, you

won’t get hungry. The next meal will come and you won’t overeat.

But here I think is where people are kind of missing the boat. If you make the wrong food

choices that causes a hormonal imbalance and that makes your fat cells sticky. And when your fat

cells get sticky when you need them to release those calories that you ate two hours ago they will not

do that, they will hang onto them.

And how does your brain respond? Well, the brain is told that there is no nutrient availability

in the blood so it gets hungry again. And that makes you eat prematurely. And that is how the brain

/ belly connection can play a major role in the obesity epidemic that we are experiencing.

Dr. Buczynski: So what makes the fat cells get sticky?


Dr. McCleary: Well, here is how fat cells work. Fat cells have a vital function they temporarily

store energy as fat. So when we eat, we eat more than we need at one point in time. So the fat cells

act as a local energy reserve to be tapped-into in between meals. When the fat cells are working

normally, they store some food energy when we eat and they release it between meals.

When that happens, the belly sends a signal to the brain, “You are not hungry. There is

plenty of energy. You don’t have to eat.” And when that happens, the brain is happy; it functions

normally and we don’t overeat.

If the fat cells don’t release that stored energy, the brain senses that and gets hungry. So why

would that happen? Here is how it happens. If we make food choices that raise insulin levels and

insulin is the blood sugar-controlling hormone that we talked about, then what happens?

Well, in addition to controlling blood sugar, insulin is an energy storage hormone. It not

only stores sugar in muscle cells, but it stores fat in fat cells. So in between meals, when the fat cells

need to be releasing the stored energy, if you have high insulin levels it blocks that process from

happening.

It is almost like if you put money in a bank and a bank closes, you cannot access that money.

High insulin levels store fat in fat cells, and prevent them from releasing it between meals. That is

what I mean by “sticky fat cells;” they absorb fat when they should but don’t release it when they

need to.

What is the downside of that? Well, the fat is stored in fat cells when it should be released to

be used by the body as a source of energy. If that energy is not made available, then the brain senses

that and makes us hungry. So we end up overeating before we have even used the calories from the

prior meal. And I think that that dysregulation of the brain / belly connection is at the root of the

obesity epidemic.

Dr. Buczynski: And would obesity specialists agree with this? I just was wondering how

widespread are the thoughts on this?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I think that there are a number of researchers around the country, such as Dr.

Mary Vernon, a gentleman who is at Duke University who is at the Neurometabolic Medicine Unit,

and there is a Doctor up in Connecticut, who are all starting to understand that dysregulation of the

fat cell, and that is a complex physiology, but it basically underlies the sticky fat cell concept and the

inability of fat cells to release these calories for use by the body. They are starting to understand

what is really driving the overeating that causes obesity.

And there are a number of studies that have been published in journals including the New

England Journal and JAMA, which are major medical journals, referring to this abnormality of the


fat cell and the impact it has on the brain that causes us to overeat.

And it is important to understand that because if you go to the doctor’s office and you say, “I

would like to lose ten or twenty pounds,” most doctors would say, “You need to exercise more and

you need to eat less.” Now, on the surface, that would make sense because if you want to lose

weight you want to decrease the number of calories available for your body and the two obvious

ways to do that are to eat less, so you are taking fewer calories in, and to exercise more so you are

expending more of the calories you have.

But I think the problem with that, and I think what the literature is starting to suggest, is that

just makes you hungry. So if you are overweight and you cut calories, and you don’t change the

food choices you make, you are asking your body to go into a calorie deficit and that is just going to

make you hungry.

And I think this is where the brain / belly connection offers an out. And let me explain what

I mean by that, because I think this is really important and this is what the research is starting to

support. Suppose you say, “I want to lose ten pounds” and your doctor, instead of saying, “Cut back

the calories you eat,” says, “I don’t want you to cut back calories. I just want you to make different

food choices but eat the same number of calories.”

Okay, if you make food choices that keep insulin levels low in the blood, and remember,

insulin is the fat storage hormone – what will happen? Well, if you need 2000 calories and you eat

2000 calories but you make food choices so that your insulin levels are low, then there is very little

being done at the level of the fat cell to make the fat cell sticky.

What happens is that you eat and then in between meals, because you have low insulin levels,

the fat cells release fat and you can burn that for energy. Your brain doesn’t tell you that you are

hungry and you do not go back and overeat. So what then happens is you burn the 2000 calories that

you ate, plus you burn the calories from the fat cells that are released.

So if your body needs 2000 calories and you eat 2000, and low insulin levels allow for 300

calories of fat to be released from your fat cells, that is 2300 calories, and your brain is going to

sense that and say, “Wow, that’s more than we need. We need to cut back and eat only 1700

calories.”

And that is how you can burn fat, eat less and not feel hungry because you are depending

more on the fat that is released from your fat cells than on what you are eating. And essentially that

is what you want to do when you lose weight.

But the problem with just cutting back calories is that it will make you hungry or it will make

you focus on food, think about food and dwell on food. It is a subtle thing but I think that is where


the problem lies, with the dietary choices we make and the obesity epidemic.

Dr. Buczynski: So what kind of food choices should we make?

Dr. McCleary: Well, I would like to provide some historical perspective so that the listeners

understand this. If you go back to about 1977, there was a concern about health at that time, heart

disease and the potential for obesity. George McGovern and his Senate Select Committee looked at

the issue.

McGovern and his Committee were interviewing a number of food experts, physicians,

obesity experts, cardiovascular disease experts, lipid experts, and their question was, “What should

Americans eat? What should we eat more of and what should we eat less of?”

And they were told, we want to avoid fat in the lining membranes of our blood vessels and

we want to avoid fat around our bellies; therefore, we should eat less fat. And their motivation for

that was that one gram of fat contains nine calories, whereas one gram of carbohydrate contains

about four calories. So fat is an energy-dense substrate or food, and we should cut back the amount

of fat in our diet.

And back in the seventies, approximately 38% to 41% of the calories in an American’s diet

was from fat. And so when this recommendation was made, Americans listened. And over the

ensuing 25 or 35 years, the percentage of fat calories in the diet have decreased from, just in rough

numbers, 40% to about 30%. So that is about a 25% decrease – 10 over 40.

But what has happened to our waistlines over that period of time? Well, obesity rates have

increased by 250%. And that is a correlation, I don’t think one thing proves another but I think that

there is a reason for that correlation. The reason is if you eat less fat and if you are eating the same

number of calories, you will eat more carbohydrates. And I think that that is really where the

problem arose.

Because as you eat more carbohydrates, especially of the manufactured type, they generate

higher blood sugar levels, which drives higher insulin levels. Higher insulin levels produce a potent

fat storage signal. And if you store fat in fat cells and you keep it in fat cells where it can’t be

released to be burned by the body, your brain gets hungry and you overeat.

And I think that that suggests historically that a low-fat diet is associated with bigger

waistlines. And I think there is some physiology, both at the level of the fat cell and hormonally,

higher insulin levels, to provide an explanation for that.

So the question that you asked was “What should we eat?” Well, my answer is theoretically

we should eat a diet that lowers blood sugar levels and keeps them at a smooth, appropriate level

which is, as we have discussed, good for the brain but it is also good for the waistline.


And based upon that insight over the last ten years, there have been a number of books that

have talked about the glycemic index. And for your listeners who have not heard about that, the

glycemic index is a rating for foods that reflects the impact of that food on the blood sugar level, and

indirectly, since the blood sugar level determines the insulin level, what the insulin level is. So

eating the wrong foods generates a high blood sugar level and a high insulin level. So the basis for

diets that decrease glycemic index is to lower blood sugar and blood insulin levels and therefore

prevent weight gain.

And what are these foods that produce high or low blood sugar levels? Those foods are on

glycemic index tables, for the listeners, glucose is rated as 100 on this arbitrary scale. But there are

foodstuffs such as certain types of bread products, such as white bread and a number of bread

products that have a glycemic index between 70 and 100. That is very high.

And what that means is that if you eat those you will have a higher blood sugar level and a

higher insulin level, and you will be in a fat storage mode. And a number of refined starchy

carbohydrates fall into that category as well. And those are the foods that you want to avoid.

The foods that are good, that are considered good or beneficial, as determined by their

glycemic index, are foods that have a glycemic index below 40. And those are usually whole foods

like non-starchy fruits and vegetables and although they contain carbohydrate, it is bound to fiber so

it is slowly released. So even though you might eat 100 grams of carbohydrate it is released over ten

hours rather than a half-hour.

And that is important because if you eat one slice of white bread, it could contain ten to

twenty grams of sugar. To provide a perspective for the listeners, there is about three grams of

glucose in the entire bloodstream of an adult. So if you eat one slice of bread, it is providing your

body with five times the amount of glucose in the entire bloodstream, which has the ability to

overload it.

Now, that is the basis for the glycemic index and the diets that are low glycemic index

mandates. And essentially that is avoiding starchy refined carbohydrates, which generate high

insulin levels and depending on carbohydrates that are in the fruit and vegetable aisle. And I think

that the literature supports that.

Now, I would like to go one step further and this gets back into the brain health arena and the

connection between brain health and belly health. If you look at these glycemic index tables, most

of the foods listed are carbohydrates or they are all carbohydrates. If you asked, “What impact

would eating an olive have on your blood sugar level?” the answer would be almost zero impact.

And the reason that is important is because these foods that are fatty foods like avocados and


olives, for example, that contain monounsaturated fats in their natural form, they are the lowest

glycemic index foods around. They are not at 100, they are not at 50, they are not at 20 – they are at

zero.

So I think that we need to eat more of these healthy fats to control insulin levels, which

decreases fat storage but they are also good for the brain. If you squeeze the water out of the brain,

the brain is two-thirds fat. And that is not an accident. Fats are an important contributor to brain cell

function. And as we restrict fat in our diet, I think we really truly starve the brain cells of the brain-

healthy fats. And I think that those are what I am recommending we increase in the Feed Your

Brain, Lose Your Belly diet.

Dr. Buczynski: The good fats.

Dr. McCleary: Yes.

Dr. Buczynski: The fats like in avocado and…

Dr. McCleary: Yes, by “good fats” I mean brain-healthy fats. And there are five rough categories

of fats that I think are worth mentioning. Four are brain-healthy and one is bad for the brain and bad

for the body. And in general when I talk about brain-healthy fats, they are usually body-healthy as

well. If there are fats that are bad for the brain, they are usually bad for the body. And I think it is

worth taking a moment just to discuss those.

The good fats that we eat in our diet which are primarily not digested but absorbed almost

directly and end up in nerve cells. And if you eat the good fats, the nerve cells remain flexible,

which means they can respond to the literally trillions of nerve cell impulses they receive every

second. And it is important to have flexible nerve cell membranes.

And one of the biggest categories of brain-healthy fats are called monounsaturated fatty

acids. On a low-fat diet these are restricted. And where do they occur in the food chain? Well,

good sources of monounsaturated fatty acids are, for example, olives or olive oil, and avocados that

are an oily fruit but it contains a high percentage of monounsaturated fats.

The other types of food sources for these valuable fats are in the nut and seed category. And,

again, because fats have a high calorie density, these have been banished. But I think that these nuts

and seeds with a high monounsaturated fat content should be reintroduced into the diet for the reason

I was just alluding to.

They are healthy for the brain and they have a glycemic index of zero. And these are in nuts

including pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashews, filberts, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, I mean, the whole

array of nuts. And seeds as well, such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and so

forth.


So those are where a lot of the monounsaturated fats live.

What are the other brain-healthy fats? Well, we heard from our mothers that “fish is brain

food” and one of the reasons that that is true is because it contains long-chain polyunsaturated omega

3 fatty acids. And these are important for the development of a child’s brain and the eyes.

They are also important in older brains, to keep the nerve cells flexible. They also play a key

role in the sugar transporters that allow the brain to remove glucose, which is its primary fuel from

the bloodstream, and transport it into the brain. If you restrict omega 3 fatty acids from the diet,

those transporters decrease. Including these fish oil long-chain omega 3 fatty acids in the diet

enhance the number of transporters.

So they are good for the brain structurally and they are good for the brain functionally, from

a perspective of enhancing glucose transport and energy generation. And those occur in cold-water

fish and we have all heard what cold-water fish are.

The other type, which I am pretty excited about, is the plant-based omega 3 fatty acids. And

those are in, for example, flaxseed oil, brown flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and some green

leafy vegetables. And these also are absorbed into the brain and keep nerve cells flexible.

It has just been recently discovered by Canadian researcher, Steven Cunnane that plant-based

omega 3 fatty acids generate large numbers of ketones. And ketones are brain-healthy energy

substrates. And one of the major findings in Alzheimer’s disease is an inability to generate

appropriate energy. So these omega 3 fatty acids, both from animal sources and plant sources, are

great brain foods. They also have a glycemic index of zero so they prevent fat storage.

The last category that I think the listeners should hear about is called medium-chain

triglycerides. And these occur, for example, in some plant sources such as coconut oil. Now, they

used to be banished from the diet because they are saturated fat and everybody wanted to cut

saturated fat out of the diet.

But these are medium-chain fats, and instead of being stored, they are preferentially burned.

So they are a fat that actually can be used for immediate energy. And they are also important

because they generate ketone bodies which provide brain cells with a high-energy, high-octane fuel.

So these are the good fats that we need to introduce into our diet. The one type of fat we

should restrict entirely, or banish from our diet, are manufactured fats that are referred to as trans

fats and they appear on food packages as “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.”

So those are the five types of fats that I think are important to let your listeners know about.

Dr. Buczynski: Thank you very much. I am sorry we are out of time – there is so much more to

cover and we did not get to it all, but there was a lot of – I am going to say “food for thought” here


tonight, and I appreciate that.

Now, everyone on the call thanks for being with us. And you will momentarily receive an

email from me and in that email I am going to send you a link to the Comment Board for tonight’s

call. I would like you to go to that Board, it is our Community Board, it brings us all together. We

have been participating tonight from all over the world. We now want to extend that dialogue to

you, and specifically to focus on application, how are you going to use what you heart tonight? So if

you would follow that link, go to the Community Board, put your first and last name in, your city or

state or country, and your profession, and talk about how you are going to use what you learned

tonight.

In addition I am also going to give you a couple of links to my guest Dr. Larry McCleary’s

books. I am going to give you the links to The Brain Trust Program and Feed Your Brain, Lose

Your Belly. And I think you will want to check those out because we weren’t able to get through

everything and there is so much more and it will also reinforce what we did cover.

So with that, I will say thank you to Dr. McCleary for all of your work. Thanks for putting

these ideas together and for all of the time you served children and their parents, and now, in this

stage of your career, thinking about the brain / belly connection. Thanks so much Dr. McCleary and

thanks for being part of this call tonight.

Dr. McCleary: It’s been a pleasure, Dr. Buczynski.

Dr. Buczynski: And take good care everyone! Goodnight!

References:

Atkins, R.A., Vernon, M.V., & Eberstein, J.E. (2004). Atkins diabetes revolution lp : the

groundbreaking approach to preventing and controlling type 2 diabetes. HarperCollins Publishers.

Cunnane, S.C. (2003). Problems with essential fatty acids: time for a new paradigm? Retrieved

from http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. Prog Lipid Res. 2003 Nov; 42(6):544-68. Review.


You want low glycemic fruits and vegetables.


OBESITY THREATENS TO CUT U.S. LIFE EXPECTANCY, NEW ANALYSIS SUGGESTS

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Over the next few decades, life expectancy for the average American could decline by as much as 5 years unless aggressive efforts are made to slow rising rates of obesity, according to a team of scientists supported in part by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

The U.S. could be facing its first sustained drop in life expectancy in the modern era, the researchers say, but this decline is not inevitable if Americans — particularly younger ones — trim their waistlines or if other improvements outweigh the impact of obesity. The new report in the March 17, 2005 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine appears little more than a year after the DHHS unveiled a new national education campaign and research strategy to combat obesity and excessive weight.

The new analysis, by S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Leonard Hayflick, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, Robert N. Butler, M.D., of the International Longevity Center in New York, and others* suggests that the methods used to establish life expectancy projections, which have long been based on historic trends, need to be reassessed. This reevaluation is particularly important, they say, as obesity rates surge in today’s children and young adults.

“Forecasting life expectancy by extrapolating from the past is like forecasting the weather on the basis of its history,” Olshansky and his colleagues write. “Looking out the window, we see a threatening storm — obesity —that will, if unchecked, have a negative effect on life expectancy.”

Unlike historic life expectancy forecasts, which rely on past mortality trends, the Olshansky group bases their projection on an analysis of body mass indexes and other factors that could potentially affect the health and well-being of the current generation of children and young adults, some of whom began having weight problems very early in life. The authors say that unless steps are taken to curb excessive weight gain, younger Americans will likely face a greater risk of mortality throughout life than previous generations.

“This work paints a disturbing portrait of the potential effect that life styles of baby boomers and the next generation could have on life expectancy,” says Richard M. Suzman, Ph.D., Associate Director of the NIA for Behavioral and Social Research. Indeed, Suzman notes, obesity may already have had an effect. The sharp increase of obesity among people now in their 60s, he suggests, may be one explanation why the gains in U.S. life expectancy at older ages have been less than those of other developed countries in recent years.

“But it is critical to note that the reduced life expectancy forecast by the study is not inevitable, and there is room for optimism,” Suzman says. “Government and private sector efforts are mobilizing against obesity, and increased education, improved medical treatments, and reduced smoking can tip the balance in favor of reduced mortality and continued improvements in life expectancy.”

For instance, smoking significantly reduces the life expectancy of the average smoker, Suzman says, so obesity is just one of many factors that will need to be accounted for, together or separately, in


projecting how Americans will age. The NIA supports several projects on population demography that forecast life and health expectancy, research which is critically important to policy makers looking at the implications of an aging population.

According to the NEJM report, studies suggest that two-thirds of American adults are overweight (having a body mass index — BMI — of 25 or more) or obese (having a BMI of 30 or more)**. One study cited by the authors indicates that the prevalence of obesity in U.S. adults has increased about 50 percent per decade since 1980. Additional research has shown that people who are severely obese — with a BMI greater than 45 — live up to 20 years less than people who are not overweight. Some researchers have estimated that obesity causes about 300,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. In addition, obesity is fueling an epidemic of type 2 diabetes, which also reduces lifespan.

To estimate the overall effect of obesity on life expectancy in the U.S., Olshansky and his colleagues calculated the reduction in death rates that would occur if everyone who is currently obese were to achieve the difficult goal of losing enough weight to reach an “optimal” BMI of 24. The calculation was based, in part, on age, race, and sex-specific prevalence of obesity in the United States from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Based on these calculations, the researchers estimated that life expectancy at birth would be higher by 0.33 to 0.93 year for white men, 0.30 to 0.81 year for white women, 0.30 to 1.08 year for black men, and 0.21 to 0.73 year for black women if obesity did not exist.

The overall reduction in life expectancy of one-third to three-fourths of a year attributed to obesity in this analysis exceeds the negative effect of all accidental deaths combined, and could deteriorate over time, the researchers said.

“These trends suggest that the relative influence of obesity on the life expectancy of future generations could be markedly worse than it is for current generations,” Olshansky and the authors conclude in their report. “In other words, the life-shortening effect of obesity could rise …to two to five years, or more, in the coming decades, as the obese who are now at younger ages carry their elevated risk of death into middle and older ages.”

The projected decline contrasts with estimates by other leading researchers, which predict a continuation of the historic trend of increasing life expectancy in America and Europe dating back to the 1850s, according to Dr. Suzman. In fact, he points out that the experience of other developed nations is instructive as a barometer of how much room might exist to increase U.S. life expectancy. More than 20 other developed nations, including France, Japan, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have a higher average life expectancy than the U.S. Women in Japan, for example, live about 5 years longer than women in the U.S. There is little evidence that life expectancy in these countries is approaching any kind of limit, Suzman says.

In March 2004, the DHHS launched public awareness campaign, entitled Healthy Lifestyles and Disease Prevention, to encourage American families to take small, manageable steps within their current lifestyle, such as using the stairs instead of the elevator, to ensure effective, long-term weight control. The campaign includes multi-media public service announcements (PSAs) and a new interactive website, www.smallstep.gov.

In addition, the NIA has developed a free exercise guide for older adults, which is available online at www.nia.nih.gov. The NIH and other Federal agencies also offer free information about excessive weight and what can be done about it, including the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and


Kidney Diseases http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm, the Food and Drug Administration http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-wght.html, and the Federal Consumer Information Center http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/works4you/weightloss.htm.

This research was also supported by the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Charles H. Hood Foundation.

The NIA is one of 27 Institutes and Centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The NIA leads the Federal Government effort

conducting and supporting research on the biomedical and social and behavioral aspects of aging

and the problems of older people. For more information on aging-related research and the NIA,

please visit the NIA website at www.nia.nih.gov. The public may also call for publications describing

these efforts and offering health information for older people and their families at 1-800-222-2225,

the toll free number for the National Institute on Aging Information Center.

* Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, Layden J, Carnes BA, Brody J, Hayflick L, Butler RN,

Allison DB, and Ludwig DS, “A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the

21st Century,” New England Journal of Medicine, 352:11, pp. 1138-1145.

** BMI is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. BMI can be calculated with simple

math using inches and pounds, or meters and kilograms. For adults aged 20 years or older, BMI falls

into one of these categories: underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. Based on BMI, a 6-foot-tall

man, for instance, is considered overweight if he weighs more than 190 pounds and obese if he

weighs greater than 220 pounds. A 5-foot-4 woman is considered overweight if she weighs more

than 150 pounds and obese if her weight exceeds 173 pounds.


INTENTIONS – MORE THAN MERELY THOUGHTS

by Caroline Myss – from The Planetary Citizen

We have thousands of thoughts and perceptions every day – perhaps hundreds of thousands.

Yet, we are unaware of the constant activity of our minds and hearts. The first fundamental division

between a thought and an intention is consciousness, a most over-used word. An intention is a

consciously constructed thought that we desire to hold in our perceptual system in order to generate

some level of physical manifestation in our world. The next question, logically, is whether

intentions really influence the quality of our lives, relationships or health since these are the arenas

toward which we generally direct our intentions. Furthermore, why would intentions have more

influence than wishful thinking?

Let’s approach this subject by discussing what is required of us in order to assist our

intentions in their process of manifesting. An intention is a consciously constructed thought form.

The teaching behind the law of manifestation suggests that once an intention is formed, the

individual must reinforce that intention each day. The significance of the discipline of reinforcement

is that it generates a realignment of the other thought-forms in our mind and heart which either

support the intention or challenge the intention – and both are equally valuable.

Generally, intentions are formed because we want something to be other than the way it is, be

that our health or our financial situation or our relationship dynamic. In forming an intention, we

use our mental energy. The empowerment of that intention, however, comes from our emotional

body. It is crucial to understand this process. Let’s view this through the intention to lose weight.

We are using a common intention as an example, but the mechanics described apply equally to an

intention – whether the intention is to cure a disease or to create financial abundance. Mechanics are

mechanics – like cause and effect. Let’s say you have never been thin; your emotional body has no

experience of thin. It is not, in other words, a reality for your emotional body. Your mental body

begins to hold an intention of thin. Now comes the challenge! Your emotional body has the power

– it has the feelings associated with being overweight: low self-esteem, self-consciousness, social

rejection. Every time your mind brings up the intention to be thin, your emotional body will

immediately challenge that mental intention with emotional power in the form of these emotional

signals: this will never work, it never has worked, so why bother trying. And now, as your

emotional body is radiating these feelings to you, you have a choice – to either challenge your

emotional body with a new intention such as, “I am thin now. I am losing weight.” You either

continually reinforce that intention or you can allow yourself to give in to the emotional force and

run for the refrigerator. Let’s say you do run for the refrigerator and start to binge. Did the intention


fail? Was it powerless?

The intention did not fail. It caused conflict, for one thing. It caused you to stop and think

before choosing action. And this is the heart of what makes an intention successful: as your

emotional energy produces one challenging feeling after another – empowering an intention means

that you continually challenge those old emotions with your new intention by making a choice that

validates the mental intention. This is how you put emotional power behind the emerging mental

intention.

[“Pay attention to all the challenges your emotional body presents to you”]

Let’s replay this situation with a different outcome. You have the intention to lose weight.

The urge to binge strikes and the emotional voice begins its challenging attack: go ahead, what

difference would one more binge make. Instead of bingeing and giving in to your emotional history,

you choose to repeat your “thin” intention continually until the emotional voice ceases its challenge.

In that moment, you have empowered your intention and, equally significant, you have

disempowered the thought forms in your consciousness that interfere with the manifestation of a new

you.

Thoughts come and go – but intentions are consciously constructed thoughts that then

become more and more empowered as you live according to the demands that the intention requires

for manifestation. This requires that you pay attention to all the challenges your emotional body will

immediately present to you – and that you reinforce your intentions each day both mentally and

emotionally.

Create your intentions consciously and do not overload your circuits. In other words, honor

the power of manifestation and all that it demands on the part of your inner emotional discipline. Do

not make a dozen intentions at one time. And once your intention is formed, live as though it has

manifested already. Keep your power in the present moment! And when your emotional energy

presents you with a challenge, repeat your intention like a prayer or mantra until the emotional

energy retreats.

Then note, with great delight, that each time you succeed in challenging your emotional body

you will feel lighter, more empowered. Congratulations, that’s the feeling of manifestation moving

through you and closer to physical form.


WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM

WEIGHT LOSS SESSION ONE INTERVIEW Name: __________________________________ Today’s Date: _________________

Current Height: _____________ Weight: ____________ Goal Weight: ______________

1. Please describe your history of being overweight. Be as specific as you can be, including your

age at the time of any significant gains or losses. (Women, please also note pregnancies or hormonal

changes and your age at the time.)

What weight loss programs have you used?

What worked and what didn’t?

What’s motivating you to change your lifestyle?

Is this a must or a should?

2. Please describe your eating habits. Begin with the time you get up in the morning (on average).

What time is that?

What is the first thing you eat or drink* after awakening and the time you do it, on average?

When is the next time you eat or drink* something? What are those things that you typically

consume then?


consume then?


consume then?


consume then?


consume then?

[If they eat out, ask what types of foods and particular dishes are their favorites.]

What time do you go to bed at night?

Do you ever wake up in the night and eat, consciously or unconsciously?

The client should have already filled out 2-page intake form.

Always ask client if they’ve had a physical.


3. Do you consume alcohol? What do you typically drink and how frequently, i.e. daily, twice a

week, weekends, or on social occasions only (how often do these typically occur?)?

4. Do you feel addicted to certain foods?

5. How much water do you consume a day on average?

6. Do you have any fears of losing weight?

After the interview, before you begin the weight loss hypnosis process with the client:

1. Ask them to show you where their stomach is. Most people do not really know (they think

it’s their abdomen). So, teach by demonstration where the stomach is (just above their

waistline, in the center).

2. Ask them what size their stomach is supposed to be (answer: the size of their fist). Have

them make a fist and take a good long look at it so they get this in their mind and consciously

and subconsciously.

3. Explain hypnosis

4. Explain the Hunger Level Scale (see your notes)

5. Teach them about their Blood Sugar Level (see your notes)

6. Ask the client to ask themselves if they are really hungry or thirsty or have some other

emotional discomfort. Often times, we are dehydrated and need to be re-hydrated instead of

eating more food. Sometimes, we need to acknowledge that our feelings (physical) may be

related to emotional discomfort (assure them we will address this in the 3rd session when we

do the hypnotherapy to become aware of and remove that feeling)

7. 3500 calories = 1 lb.; lower your calorie intake 500 calories a day to lose 1 lb. / week.

8. If you eat something 7 times – you will begin to like it, especially if you want to learn to like

it. Start off with a really tasty version and high quality version of the food you are learning

to eat.

9. The reality of eating is seldom up to the expectation.

10. Taste it with your mind's eye.

11. Check BMI - +/or BMA (inquire on the internet for formulas already there to insert your

info)

12. Stay away from the buffet.

Keep track of what you eat, when you eat it and the calories. Bring in the information at your

next session. Learn to eat differently.

*Re: Soda / pop – 1 can / bottle / day = yields extra 10 lbs. gained per year on average.


BMR CALCULATOR → BMR FORMULA

The BMR formula uses the variables of height, weight, age, and gender to calculate the Basal

Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is more accurate than calculating calorie needs based on body weight

alone. The only factor it omits is lean body mass and thus the ratio of muscle-to-fat a body has.

Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be

very accurate in all but the very muscular (will underestimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will

overestimate calorie needs).

English BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches) – ( 4.7 x age in

years)

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds) + ( 12.7 x height in inches) – ( 6.8 x age in

years)

Once you know your BMR, you can calculate your Daily Calorie Needs based on your activity level.

The internet has various options for assisting in discovering what you need to know and/or using the

Harris Benedict Equation. See next page.


HARRIS BENEDICT EQUATION → BMI CALCULATOR

The Harris Benedict Equation is a formula that uses your BMR and then applies an activity factor

to determine your total daily energy expenditure (calories). The only factor omitted by the Harris

Benedict Equation is lean body mass. Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner

ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will under-estimate

calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs).

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as

follows:

· Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2

· Lightly active (light exercise / sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375

· Moderately active (moderate exercise / sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55

· Very active (hard exercise / sports 6-7 days/week): BMR x 1.725

· Extra active (very hard exercise / sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

Multiply your BMR by the correct factor. This is the total number of calories you need in order to

maintain your current weight. Once you know the number of calories needed to maintain your

weight, you can easily calculate the number of calories you need to eat in order to gain or lose

weight.


WEIGHT LOSS RESOURCES

BMI:

http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm

Exercise:

http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/pdf/paguide.pdf

GAIAM Take Charge of Your Health VIDEO

Mayo Clinic

Wellness Solutions for Weight Loss

Pedometer

Book: The Schwarzbein Principle by Diane Schwarzbein, MD


Teach Client About Hypnosis Using Brain Wave Pattern Information


Hunger Level


Blood Sugar Level


YOU ARE GETTING THINNER…

Edited by Jane Ann Covington, © 2011

Close your eyes. Imagine your food cravings floating away. Imagine a day of eating only

what's good for you. Imagine hypnosis actually helping you lose weight – because the news is: it does.

Harvard Medical School psychotherapist Jean Fain gives you ten hypnotic suggestions

to try right now... When I tell people how I make much of my living – as a psychotherapist hypnotizing people

slim – they inevitably ask: Does it work? My answer usually brightens their eyes with something

between excitement and incredulity.

Most people, including my colleagues at Harvard Medical School, where I teach hypnosis,

don’t realize that adding trance to your weight loss efforts can help you lose more weight and keep it

off longer.

Hypnosis predates carb and calorie counting by a few centuries, but this age-old attention-

focusing technique has yet to be embraced wholeheartedly as an effective weight loss strategy.

Until recently, there has been scant scientific evidence to support the legitimate claims of

respected hypnotherapists, and a glut of pie-in-the-sky promises from their problem counterparts,

stage hypnotists, hasn’t helped.

Even after a persuasive mid-nineties reanalysis of 18 hypnotic studies showed that

psychotherapy clients who learned self-hypnosis lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t (and,

in one study, kept it off two years after treatment ended), hypnotherapy has remained a well-kept

weight loss secret.

Unless hypnosis has happily compelled you or someone you know to buy a new, smaller

wardrobe, it may be hard to believe that this mind-over-body approach could help you get a handle

on eating.

Seeing is definitely believing.

So see for yourself. You don’t have to be entranced to learn some of the invaluable lessons

that hypnosis has to teach about weight loss. The ten mini-concepts that follow contain some of the

diet-altering suggestions my weight management clients receive in group and individual

hypnotherapy.

1. The answer lies within. Hypnotherapists believe you have everything you need to succeed.

You don’t really need another crash diet or the latest appetite suppressant. Slimming is about

trusting your innate abilities, as you do when you ride a bicycle. You may not remember


how scary it was the first time you tried to ride a bike, but you kept practicing until you could

ride automatically, without thought or effort. Losing weight may seem similarly beyond you,

but it’s just a matter of finding your balance.

2. Believing is seeing. People tend to achieve what they think they can achieve. That even

applies to hypnosis. Subjects tricked into believing they could be hypnotized (for example,

as the hypnotist suggested they’d see red, he flipped the switch on a hidden red bulb)

demonstrated increased hypnotic responsiveness. The expectation of being helped is

essential. Let me suggest that you expect your weight loss plan to work.

3. Accentuate the positive. Negative, or aversive, suggestions, like “Doughnuts will sicken

you,” work for a while, but if you want lasting change, you’ll want to think positive. The

most popular positive hypnotic suggestion was devised by doctors Herbert Spiegel and David

Spiegel, a father-son hypnotherapy team: “For my body, too much food is damaging. I need

my body to live. I owe my body respect and protection.” I encourage clients to write their

own upbeat mantras. One 50-year old mother who lost 50-plus pounds repeats daily:

“Unnecessary food is a burden on my body. I’m going to shed what I don’t need.”

4. If you imagine it, it will come. Like athletes preparing for competition, visualizing victory

readies you for a victorious reality. Imagining a day of healthy eating helps you envision the

necessary steps to becoming that healthy eater. Too tough to picture? Find an old

photograph of yourself at a comfortable weight and remember what you were doing

differently then; imagine resurrecting those routines. Or visualize getting advice from a

future older, wiser self after she’s reached her desired weight.

5. Send food cravings flying. Hypnotherapists routinely harness the power of symbolic

imagery, inviting subjects to put food cravings on fluffy white clouds or in hot air balloons

and send them up, up, and away. If McDonald’s golden arches have the power to steer you

off your diet, hypnotists understand that a counter-symbol can steer you back. Invite your

mind to flip through its Rolodex of images until one emerges as a symbol for casting out

cravings. Heave-ho.

6. Two strategies are better than one. When it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, a

winning combination is hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps

revamp counterproductive thoughts and behaviors. Clients who learn both lose twice as

much weight without falling into the dieter’s lose-some, regain-more trap. You’ve already

tried CBT if you’ve ever kept a food diary. Before my clients learn hypnosis, they keep track

of everything that passes their lips for a week or two. Raising awareness, every good


hypnotherapist knows, is a key baby step toward lasting change.

7. Modify, modify, modify. The late hypnosis innovator Milton Erickson, MD, emphasized

the importance of using existing patterns. To alter one client’s lose-regain, lose-regain

pattern, Erickson suggested she first gain weight before losing it – a hard sell nowadays,

unless you’re Charlize Theron. Easier to swallow: Modify your highest-calorie craving.

Instead of a pint of ice cream, how about a cup of frozen yogurt?

8. Like it or not, it’s survival of the fattest. No suggestion is powerful enough to override the

survival instinct. Much as we like to think it’s survival of the fittest, we’re still programmed,

in case of famine, for survival of the fattest. Case in point: a personal trainer on a starvation

diet who wanted me to suggest away her gummy bear addiction. I tried to explain that her

body believed her life depended on the chewy candies and wouldn’t give them up until she

got enough calories from more nutritious foods. No, she insisted, a suggestion was all she

needed. I wasn’t surprised when she dropped out.

9. Practice makes change. One Pilates class does not produce washboard abs, and one

hypnosis session cannot shape up your diet. But silently repeating a positive suggestion 15 to

20 minutes daily can transform your eating, especially when combined with slow, natural

breaths, the cornerstone of any behavioral-change program.

10. Congrats, it’s a relapse. When clients find themselves, against their healthiest intentions,

overindulging, I congratulate them. Hypnosis views a relapse as an opportunity, not a

travesty. If you can learn from a real or imagined relapse – why it happened, how to handle

it differently – you’ll be better prepared for life’s inevitable temptations.


EAT LATE, GAIN WEIGHT?

We all have svelte friends who swear by their 7 pm food cutoff rule. But there’s no scientific

proof that the time of day affects how a calorie is burned. “What you eat and how much you eat is

the bottom line,” says Joan Carter, a registered dietitian at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

And while grazing versus eating three squares may help some control their food intake, there’s no

physical weight loss advantage except, perhaps, for women in their 40s and 50s, who may no longer

process large meals as efficiently, making it easier to store excess calories as fat. One caveat for the

late crowd: The typical setting for nighttime noshing (you’re prostrate on the couch watching tv)

certainly contributes to mindless chewing and a damn-the-portions philosophy.

Discussion of the Sumo Wrestler’s Diet


Reading Food Labels and Your Weight

Here’s a behavioral strategy that may help you control your weight: make a habit of reading food

labels. A new study authored by an international team of researchers showed that women who read

food labels routinely weighed almost nine pounds less than women who don’t.

The researchers analyzed data from U.S. National Health Interview Survey, which asked more than

25,000 consumers about their health, eating and shopping habits, including how often they read the

nutritional information on food labels.

They found that women are more likely to read the nutrition labels than men (74 % of the women

read labels, compared to 58% of male shoppers), that smokers were least likely to read labels, that

the more highly educated the consumer, the greater the likelihood of carefully reading labels.

The study also showed people who live in cities were the most conscientious about reading labels

and that urban white women read food labels most often.

Reference: The study was published in the May, 2012 of Agricultural Economics.


DON’T DRINK THAT!

Fruit Juices And Soft Drinks Can Lead To Arthritis, Bone Fractures, Cancer by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.

Special from BottomLine / Personal - August 15, 2011

No one thinks soda is good for you, but you might not realize just how bad it is for you. And

fruit juice is almost as bad.

The American Heart Association has concluded that the safe upper limit of daily added sugar

– which includes all of the sugar that isn’t naturally present in foods – is six teaspoons for women

and nine teaspoons for men. A 12-ounce can of Pepsi has about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Most soft

drinks have a similar amount. And bottled teas and sports drinks contain about the same amount of

sugar per ounce as colas.

In addition to sugar, these beverages may contain phosphoric acid (which disrupts mineral

balance), high-fructose corn syrup (a form of sugar that may increase the risk for metabolic

syndrome) and caffeine (which can cause heart palpitations and insomnia). None of it is good for

you.

Even real fruit juice – including fresh apple, grape, and orange juice – contains about 10

teaspoons of sugar in every 12-ounce glass. Yes, it is naturally occurring sugar, but it upsets your

body chemistry in the same way that added sugar does.

High Consumption, Serious Risks

The average American drinks about 11.5 gallons of fruit juice and fruit beverages and more

than 50 gallons of soft drinks a year. This works out to about 600 12-ounce cans of soda and 125

12-ounce servings of juice.

Our bodies aren’t designed to process this much sweetness. Excess sugar breaks down the

process of homeostasis, the body’s ability to maintain a healthy chemical balance. What this can

lead to…

Calcium depletion. Sugar acidifies the blood. The body attempts to restore to a normal state of

alkalinity by removing calcium from the bones. This increases blood levels of calcium while

decreasing bone levels. Results: A higher risk for bone fractures and osteoporosis, along with an

increased risk for cardiovascular disease from arterial calcification.

Autoimmune diseases. The mineral imbalances caused by excess sugar and phosphoric acid impair

the normal functions of enzymes, including digestive enzymes. When the digestive enzymes can’t

function, protein molecules from incompletely digested foods can pass through the intestine and into

the bloodstream. These “foreign” molecules are then attacked by the immune system. This


condition, known as leaky gut syndrome, could increase the risk for and/or severity of lupus,

rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases.

Pancreatic cancer. Swedish researchers sent food questionnaires to nearly 80,000 men and women.

They found that those who consumed the most sugar, particularly from soft drinks, were

significantly more likely to get this deadly cancer than those who consumed less. Other studies have

reported similar results.

Hypertension, heartburn, asthma, more. The consumption of soft drinks has been linked to an

increased risk for high blood pressure, gout, heartburn, and even asthma.

Diet Sodas, Bad Too A presentation at the International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles looked at information

from more than 2,500 participants. Researchers found that those who drank diet soda daily were

61% more likely to suffer a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, than those who

didn’t drink these beverages.

Although the reason for this isn’t known, there is enough information about sugar substitutes

(such as aspartame and saccarin) to make them a good guess. The phosphoric acid could be a likely

cause, too.

Whatever the cause, I do not recommend diet soft drinks.

Hard To Quit

When French researchers gave cocaine-addicted rats a choice between more cocaine or an

artificial sweetener, the animals consistently chose the artificial sweetener.

Like cocaine, sweeteners elevate dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes us feel good.

However, the sugar “high” doesn’t last very long. In the absence of more sugar, dopamine declines

precipitously, which causes classic symptoms of withdrawal – mood changes, fatigue, and

irritability.

To relieve these symptoms, soda drinkers unconsciously “self-medicate” with more soft

drinks.

Healthier Choices Manufacturers have promoted sports drinks (such as Gatorade), bottled teas and fruit juices

as being healthier than carbonated beverages such as 7-Up, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi. They’re not. A

16-ounce bottle of lemon tea has 10.5 teaspoons of sugar. A 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade Original

Lemon-Lime contains 8.5 teaspoons.

You can enjoy the occasional soft drink, just as you might enjoy the occasional rich dessert.

But people with health challenges should not drink any soft drinks, sugar or no sugar, caffeine or no


caffeine.

The challenge for those who are accustomed to sugary beverages and have developed a

chemical dependence is cutting back. They’ll invariably experience intense cravings.

You can quit cold turkey or do it gradually. If you want to do it gradually, try the following

strategies…

Water it down. You don’t need full-strength fruit juice to get the satisfying taste. Add about three-

quarters cup of water to one-quarter cup of juice. You’ll get a little sweetness and fruit flavor,

without the excess sugar.

Add bubbles. Many people like the carbonation in soft drinks as much as the sugar. You can make

your own carbonated beverage by adding about one-half cup soda water to one-half cup of fruit juice

or iced tea.

Add lemon. Many restaurants routinely add lemon slices to glasses of water. You can also add a

little pureed fruit, such as melon or peaches, for flavor.

Try commercial substitutes. A few companies make tasty beverages with little or no added sugar.

Brands such as Metromint and Hint use purified water that is lightly flavored with peppermint,

lemon mint, raspberry-lime, etc.

Good, Within Limits The following are additional ways that soda and juice drinkers can cut back on sugar as long

as they’re used in moderation…

Coconut water. It’s the base ingredient in several commercial beverages, such as those made by

Nature Factor Organic Young Coconut Water and Zico. Although these drinks are lower in sugar

than most soft drinks, they’re not sugar-free. I advise drinking no more than about four to six ounces

a day.

Stevia. This plant-based, noncaloric sweetener is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar. You can

use a little to sweeten tea or other beverages. It’s also the sweetener that’s used in some commercial

diet beverages, such as Zevia Natural Diet Soda. Caution: Stevia appears to be healthier than

artificial sweeteners, but still use it in moderation. The sweetness can keep you “hooked” on

sweetness and make it harder to reduce or eliminate excess sugar from your diet.

BottomLine/Personal interviewed Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., nutritional consultant based in San Diego. She created an advanced

curriculum for the National Institute for Nutritional Education and is author, with G. N. Jacobs, of Killer Colas: The Hard Truth

About Soft Drinks (Square One). www.NancyAppleton.com


ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS MAY BE MAKING YOU FAT!

Do you think using artificial sweeteners is a good hedge against weight gain? Think again.

Although artificial sweeteners have no calories, they may still contribute to weight gain,

according to some fascinating new research at Purdue University. Remember Pavlov's dogs from

high school biology? Pavlov rung a bell every time he served the dogs dinner, and after a while the

dogs would salivate when they heard the bell. Their bodies produced a readiness for food as a

conditioned response to the bell, even though no food was forthcoming. The researchers at Purdue

University – Terry Davidson, PhD, and Susan Swithers, PhD – think the same thing may be going

on in humans when they use artificial sweeteners, and it may be contributing to weight gain.

Research Details

“In nature, things like the taste and texture of food is always associated with calories,” Dr.

Swithers told me. Sweet taste tells the animal this is a high-calorie item, and his body prepares by

increasing its core temperature and gearing up for calorie burning. When the sweet taste is not

accompanied by the usual calories, the physiological mechanisms may be disrupted, leading to less

efficient calorie burning and more weight gain.

“Over the past 25 years there has been a dramatic increase in the consumption of artificially

sweetened foods and low-calorie beverages,” said Dr. Swithers, a developmental psychobiologist.

“And obesity has increased markedly. Our hypothesis is that experience with these foods interferes

with the natural ability of the body to use sweet taste and thickness to gauge caloric content of food

and beverages.”

In one study, Dr. Swithers and Dr. Davidson gave two groups of rats different sweet-flavored

liquids. In group one, the liquids were sweetened with regular sugar...in group two the liquid was

sweetened with saccharin, so that the relationship between sweet taste and calories was inconsistent.

After 10 days, the rats were presented with the rat equivalent of chocolate cake. The rats that had

been given the artificially sweetened beverages ate much more. “When you substitute artificial

sweetener for real sugar, the body learns it can no longer use its sense of taste to gauge calories.

You're fooled into thinking anything sweet has no calories and you overeat, Dr. Swithers said.

There are lots of ways our physiology responds to food, including secreting hormones such

as insulin and increasing core temperature. But when taste and calories no longer correspond to each

other the way our bodies are programmed to expect, we lose our unconscious ability to regulate food

intake. When we eat sugar, for example, our pancreas secretes insulin, a fat storage hormone. And

just as Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate in response to a bell, our bodies may indeed become

“conditioned” to release insulin in response to a sweet taste, even when that sweet taste has no


calories. Increased insulin means decreased fat burning and increased fat storage.

Moral of the story: Although eating sugar does not provide any nutritional benefit, sometimes we

all really want some. If that's the case, go ahead and have a little. If it's the real deal, your body will

respond appropriately and know that it is satisfied. If it's not the real deal, you will finish the sweet

unsatisfied and potentially search for other foods to satisfy, consuming more in the long run. Be

well.

- Carole Jackson – Bottom Line's Daily Health News


ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS: Understanding These and other Sugar Substitutes

Whether your goal is cutting calories or eating healthier, options for sugar substitutes abound. Understand their pros and cons to make an informed choice.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

If you're trying to reduce the sugar and calories in your diet, you may be turning to artificial

sweeteners or other sugar substitutes. You aren't alone. The popularity of artificial sweeteners and

other sugar substitutes is on the rise as manufacturers and consumers seek lower calorie alternatives

to regular white sugar without sacrificing sweetness.

Today, artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes are found in a variety of food and

beverages marketed as “sugar-free” or “diet,” including soft drinks, chewing gum, jellies, baked

goods, candy,, fruit juice and ice cream. In addition, other sugar substitutes are being touted as

healthier sweeteners than regular sugar, even if they don't have fewer calories, such as honey and

agave nectar.

Just what are all these artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes? And what's their role in

your diet?

Understanding artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes

Sugar substitutes are loosely considered any sweetener that you use instead of regular table

sugar (sucrose). Artificial sweeteners are just one type of sugar substitute. Some sugar substitutes,

such as aspartame, are promoted because they add virtually no calories to your diet. Newer sugar

substitutes, including stevia and agave nectar, claim to be lower calorie, tastier and healthier options.

The topic of sugar substitutes can be complex and confusing. One problem is that the

terminology regarding sugar substitutes is often open to interpretation. For instance, some

manufacturers call their sweeteners “natural” even though they're processed or refined, as in the case

with stevia preparations. And some artificial sweeteners are derived from naturally occurring

substances – sucralose comes from sugar, for example. Sometimes sugar substitutes are categorized

by whether or not they contain calories.

Regardless of what they're called or how they're classified, sugar substitutes aren't magic

bullets for weight loss. Take a closer look.


Artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes but may be derived from naturally

occurring substances, including herbs or sugar itself. Artificial sweeteners are also known as intense

sweeteners because they are many times sweeter than regular sugar.

Artificial sweeteners currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are:

ñ Acesulfame potassium (Sunnett, Sweet One)

ñ Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)

ñ Neotame

ñ Saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet'N Low)

ñ Sucralose (Splenda)

FDA approval is being sought for other artificial sweeteners. And some sweeteners, such as

cyclamate, are not approved in the United States but are approved for use in other countries.

Uses for artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are attractive alternatives to sugar because they add virtually no calories

to your diet. In addition, you need only a fraction compared with the amount of regular sugar you

would normally use for sweetness. Artificial sweeteners are widely used in processed products,

including tabletop sweeteners, baked goods, soft drinks, powdered drink mixes, candy, puddings,

canned foods, jams and jellies, dairy products, and scores of other foods and beverages. Check the

food label to see if a product contains artificial sweeteners.

Artificial sweeteners are also popular for home use. Some can even be used in baking or

cooking. Certain recipes may need modification, though, because artificial sweeteners provide no

bulk or volume, as does sugar. Check the labels on artificial sweeteners for appropriate home use.

Some artificial sweeteners may leave an aftertaste. You may need to experiment with

artificial sweeteners to find one or a combination that you enjoy most.

Possible health benefits of artificial sweeteners

ñ Weight control. One of the most appealing aspects of artificial sweeteners is that they are

non-nutritive – they have virtually no calories. In contrast, each gram of regular table sugar

contains 4 calories. A teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams. For perspective, consider that one

12-ounce can of a sweetened cola contains 8 teaspoons of added sugar, or about 130 calories.

If you're trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain, products sweetened with artificial

sweeteners rather than with higher calorie table sugar may be an attractive option. On the

other hand, some research has suggested that consuming artificial sweeteners may be


associated with increased weight, but the cause is not yet known.

ñ Diabetes. Artificial sweeteners may be a good alternative to sugar if you have diabetes.

Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners generally don't raise blood sugar levels because they are

not carbohydrates. But because of concerns about how sugar substitutes are labeled and

categorized, always check with your doctor or dietitian about using any sugar substitutes if

you have diabetes.

ñ Dental cavities. Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners don't contribute to tooth decay.

Possible health concerns with artificial sweeteners Artificial sweeteners have been the subject of intense scrutiny for decades. Critics of

artificial sweeteners say that they cause a variety of health problems, including cancer. That's

largely because of studies dating to the 1970s that linked saccharin to bladder cancer in laboratory

rats. Because of those studies, saccharin once carried a warning label that it may be hazardous to

your health.

But according to the National Cancer Institute and other health agencies, there's no sound

scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the United States cause

cancer or other serious health problems. And numerous research studies confirm that artificial

sweeteners are generally safe in limited quantities, even for pregnant women. As a result of the

newer studies, the warning label for saccharin was dropped.

Artificial sweeteners are regulated by the FDA as food additives. They must be reviewed

and approved by the FDA before being made available for sale. In some cases, the FDA declares a

substance “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). These GRAS substances, including highly

refined stevia preparations, are deemed by qualified professionals based on scientific data as being

safe for their intended use, or they have such a lengthy history of common use in food that they're

considered generally safe and don't require FDA approval before sale.

The FDA has also established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each artificial sweetener.

This is the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day over the course of your lifetime.

ADIs are intended to be about 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health

concerns.

Sugar alcohols and novel sweeteners Sugar alcohols (polyols) are carbohydrates that occur naturally in certain fruits and

vegetables, but they also can be manufactured. They're not considered intense sweeteners, because

they aren't sweeter than sugar – in fact, some are less sweet than sugar. Sugar alcohols aren't


considered noncaloric or non-nutritive sweeteners because they contain calories. But they're lower

in calories than is regular sugar, making them an attractive alternative. Despite their name, sugar

alcohols aren't alcoholic. They don't contain ethanol, which is found in alcoholic beverages.

Novel sweeteners are combinations of various types of sweeteners. Novel sweeteners, such

as stevia, are hard to fit into one particular category because of what they're made from and how

they're made.

As with artificial sweeteners, the FDA regulates the use of sugar alcohols. Approved sugar alcohols and novel sweeteners include:

ñ Erythritol

ñ Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates

ñ Isomalt

ñ Lactitol

ñ Maltitol

ñ Mannitol

ñ Sorbitol

ñ Xylitol

ñ Stevia preparations that are highly refined (Pure Via, Truvia)

Note that the FDA has not approved the use of whole-leaf stevia or crude stevia extracts for

use as a sweetener. Rather, only certain highly refined stevia preparations can be used in food

products. Stevia is also available as a dietary supplement.

Tagatose and trehalose are considered novel sweeteners because of their chemical structure.

They're categorized by the FDA as GRAS substances. Tagatose is a low-carbohydrate sweetener

similar to fructose that occurs naturally but is also manufactured from lactose in dairy products.

Foods containing tagatose can't be labeled as “sugar-free.” Trehalose is found naturally in

mushrooms.

Uses for sugar alcohols

Sugar alcohols generally aren't used when you prepare food at home. Rather, they are found

in many processed foods and other products, usually replacing sugar on an equal basis. When added

to foods, sugar alcohols add sweetness, bulk and texture. They also help food stay moist, prevent

browning when heated, and add a cooling sensation to products.


Sugar alcohols are used in a broad range of products, including chocolate, candy, frozen

desserts, chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwash, baked goods and fruit spreads. Sugar alcohols are

often combined with artificial sweeteners in products to enhance sweetness. Check the food label to

help see if a product contains sugar alcohols. Food labels may list the specific name, such as xylitol,

or simply use the general term “sugar alcohol.”

Possible health benefits of sugar alcohols

ñ Weight control. Sugar alcohols are considered nutritive sweeteners because they contribute

calories to your diet. Still, sugar alcohols have fewer calories than does regular sugar – about

2 calories per gram on average. This means that sugar alcohols can be considered lower

calorie sweeteners, and they may aid weight-control efforts.

ñ Diabetes. Unlike artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols can raise blood sugar levels because

they're carbohydrates. But because your body doesn't completely absorb sugar alcohols, their

effect on blood sugar is less than that of other sugars. Different sugar alcohols can affect

blood sugar differently. You can consume sugar alcohols if you have diabetes but you still

must pay attention to the total amount of carbohydrates in your meals and snacks. Talk to

your doctor or dietitian for guidance.

ñ Dental cavities. Sugar alcohols don't promote cavities.

Possible health concerns with sugar alcohols

As with artificial sweeteners, the FDA regulates sugar alcohols as food additives. Sugar

alcohols typically are labeled as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) and don't require FDA

approval before sale.

There are few health concerns associated with sugar alcohols. When eaten in large amounts,

usually more than 50 grams but sometimes as little as 10 grams, sugar alcohols can have a laxative

effect, causing bloating, intestinal gas and diarrhea. Product labels may carry a warning about this

potential laxative effect.


Natural Sweeteners

Natural sweeteners are sugar substitutes that are often promoted as healthier options than

processed table sugar or other sugar substitutes. But even these so-called natural sweeteners often

undergo processing and refining, including agave nectar.

Among the natural sweeteners that the FDA recognizes as being generally safe for

consumption are:

ñ Date sugar

ñ Grape juice concentrate

ñ Honey

ñ Maple sugar

ñ Maple syrup

ñ Molasses

ñ Agave nectar

Uses for natural sweeteners

Natural sweeteners have a variety of uses both at home and in processed foods. They are sometimes known as added sugars because they're added to foods during processing. They may be used to sweeten drinks such as tea and cocktails, in desserts, as pancake and waffle toppings, on cereals, and for baking, for example.

Possible health benefits of natural sweeteners

Although natural sugar substitutes may seem healthier than processed table sugar, their vitamin and mineral content isn't significantly different from that of sugar. Honey and sugar, for instance, are nutritionally similar, and both end up in your body as glucose and fructose. Choose a natural sweetener based on how it tastes and its uses, rather than on its health claims.

ñ Weight control. Natural sweeteners, like sugar alcohols, are considered nutritive sweeteners because they contribute calories to your diet. In fact, they contain the same amount of calories as does regular table sugar. If your goal is weight control, products sweetened with natural sweeteners may not help since they add the same amount of calories to your diet as table sugar.

ñ Diabetes. Natural sweeteners can raise your blood sugar, just as table sugar can. Some proponents of agave nectar, also called agave syrup, say that it's a low-glycemic sweetener and doesn't cause blood sugar spikes. However, scientific evidence doesn't support such


claims about agave nectar. Agave nectar can trigger a need for insulin.

ñ Tooth decay. Natural sweeteners can contribute to cavities. Xyletol can help heal tooth decay (studies of gum given to children to chew; check the internet for info).

Possible health concerns with natural sweeteners

So-called natural sweeteners are generally safe. But there's no health advantage to consuming added sugar of any type. And consuming too much added sugar, even natural sweeteners, can lead to health problems such as tooth decay, poor nutrition, weight gain and increased triglycerides. Also, be aware that honey can contain small amounts of bacterial spores that can produce botulism toxin. Because of that, honey shouldn't be given to babies less than 1 year old.

Moderation is key with artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes

When choosing sugar substitutes, it pays to be a savvy consumer. Get informed and look beyond the hype. While artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes may help with weight management, they aren't a magic bullet and should be used only in moderation. Just because a food is marketed as sugar-free doesn't mean it's free of calories. If you eat too many sugar-free foods, you can still gain weight if they have other ingredients that contain calories. And remember that processed foods, which often contain sugar substitutes, generally don't offer the same health benefits as do whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Oct. 9, 2010

© 1998-2011 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. “Mayo,” “Mayo Clinic,” “MayoClinic.com,” “EmbodyHealth,” “Enhance your life,” and the triple shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research,


SCIENTIFIC FAT BURNING SECRETS

Have you ever been told that if you raised your self-esteem, you would lose weight?

I am a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, and I am here to tell you that the idea of a fat

person having low self-esteem is a myth.

Every psychological test given to overweight people indicates that if you are overweight, you

are as mentally healthy or unhealthy as anyone in the general population.

Obesity is not a psychological disorder. Obesity is not an eating disorder. Evolution has

programmed us to eat when food is available and to store this food for lean times.

So you can stop beating yourself up.

The problem is that in our current environment, calories are simply too plentiful and easy to

get. You are just following your genetic programming.

The only way around this is to make changes to our behaviors and focus on changing our

environment.

The first step is knowing the truth.

The following scientific weight loss secrets will let you know what you are up against, and

will also provide you with simple steps you can take NOW towards taking control of your weight.

All the tips I provide are based on the latest scholarly research. You will benefit from them.

Just get started today with your own small steps.

I wish you all the best in your weight loss pursuits.

Sincerely,

Jane Ann Covington, BS, RBT, CCHT

P.S. If you do nothing else, please make sure to read FACT 21: Willpower Is A Limited Resource

P.P.S. Then read about the tool I use to bypass willpower altogether.


FACT 1: WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU EAT

Researchers at Cornell University offered a group of students a free lunch for several weeks.

Unbeknownst to the students everything they ate was measured and weighed.

Each week the amount of food served was increased. Each week the students ate whatever

was in their plate. Portions of soup, pasta, breadsticks and ice cream increased significantly

during the course of the study; and the students simply ate what was in front of them. The

scientists concluded that portion size determines calorie intake.

Source: David A. Levitsky and Trisha Youn, “The More Food Young Adults Are Served, the More

They Overeat.” Journal of Nutrition, Oct. 2004, 134(10):2546-9.

TIP 1: IF IT'S ON YOUR PLATE, YOU WILL EAT IT. SO TAKE SMALL PORTIONS.

FACT 2: DON'T TRUST YOUR STOMACH Dr. Brian Wansink and his research team rigged up some interesting soup bowls that were

connected, beneath the table, to a pipeline that continuously fed tomato soup into the bowls.

One group of eaters in his experiment ate their tomato soup from regular bowls and the other

group ate from the bowls that refilled themselves. The diners did not know that their bowls were

constantly refilling. All eaters were instructed to eat until they felt full. Those whose bowls refilled

ate 73% more food than those eating from regular bowls.

Even though they ate so much more, none of them claimed to feel full. In fact, one eater

when asked if he was full (because he had consumed almost a gallon of soup) looked down at his

bowl which was half full and said, “Why would you think I'm full? I still have half a bowl to go.”

Source: Brian Wansink, James E. Pointer and Jill North, “Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of

Portion Size May influence intake.” Obesity Research 13,93-100 (2005).

TIP 2: CHOOSE YOUR PORTION SIZE BY MEASURING IT OR WEIGHING IT

DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL FULL TO STOP EATING.

FACT 3: TASTE MAY NOT MATTER Researchers wanted to see if moviegoers would eat popcorn even if it was stale, even if it

tasted terrible. Sure enough, not only did everyone in this study eat whatever was given them, they

ate plenty of it. People who were given small and medium containers of popcorn ate it all, and felt it

was sufficient. On the other hand, people who were given giant size containers filled with stale

popcorn ate it all, too. The larger the portion served, the more the people ate.

Portion size determines how much is eaten, whether or not the food tastes good.


Source: Brian Wansink and SeaBurn Park, “At the Movies: How External Cues and Perceived Taste

Impact Consumption Volume.” Food Quality and Preference, 72(7): 69-74 (January 2001).

TIP 3: YOU WILL EAT WHATEVER IS IN FRONT OF YOU, DON'T TEMPT YOURSELF

FACT 4: RESTAURANT PORTIONS ARE GARGANTUAN

When you wish to eat a particular food, it is assumed you are eating one serving of that food.

Most restaurants serve portions that really are for 3 or 4 people. When we see huge portions so

often, they start to look normal.

Here are the desired portion sizes of foods appropriate for one person:

ñ A portion of a snack food, such as small crackers, potato chips, pretzels, should be one

ounce. This is one handful.

ñ A cup of fruit should be the size of a baseball.

ñ A 3 oz. portion of meat is the size of a cassette tape.

ñ A portion of potato is one potato (the size of a computer mouse).

ñ A portion of cheese is the size of your thumb.

Based on: “Visualize the Right Portion Size,” by the American Dietetic Association.

TIP 4: IN RESTAURANTS, ASK FOR HALF THE FOOD TO BE WRAPPED TO TAKE HOME BEFORE IT IS SERVED TO YOU.

FACT 5: WRITING CAN HELP YOU EAT LESS Dieters who record everything they eat tend to eat less than dieters who don't write down

their foods.

Pausing to find paper and pencil sometimes actually gets you to think twice and ask yourself,

“Am I really hungry?” And seeing in black and white precisely what you've put into your mouth can

be so shocking that some dieters simply stop over-eating so they can stop writing.

Source: Linda Bren, “Losing Weight: Start by Counting Calories,” FDA Consumer, January –

February 2002. Pub.#FDA 04-7303C.

TIP 5: WALK AROUND WITH PENCIL, PAPER, AND WRITE DOWN WHATEVER YOU

EAT AND TALLY YOUR CALORIES EACH NIGHT.

FACT 6: LOSING A LITTLE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE Most of the symptoms and complications related to being overweight will disappear when


you lose just a little bit of weight. Losing even 5% or 10% of your current weight will affect your

health.

As the American Dietetic Association summarizes it: “A review of several randomized,

controlled clinical trials found that maintaining a modest weight loss (7 to 10 pounds) reduced the

incidence of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk for the disease by a whopping 40 to 60 percent

over 3 to 4 years. In another study, losing 15 pounds and maintaining that weight loss for 4 years

decreased hypertension risk by 21 to 29 percent in overweight middle-aged and older people.”

Don't intimidate yourself by thinking you have a huge amount of weight to lose. Instead,

think of losing 8-10 pounds at a time. Just that small amount of weight lost is enough to make you

feel much, much better.

Source: William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Linda Bren, “Losing Weight: Start by Counting

Calories,” FDA Consumer, January-February 2002. Pub.#FDA 04-1303C.

Source: Elisa Zied, MS, RD, with Ruth Winter, MS. So What Can I Eat?! How to Make Sense of the

New Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Make Them Your Own (Wiley 2006), cited by the

American Dietetic Association.

TIP 6: BREAK UP YOUR WEIGHT-LOSS GOALS INTO UNITS OF POUNDS TO BE LOST. CONCENTRATE ON LOSING ONE POUND AT A TIME.

FACT 7: LOW FAT LABELS CAN BE MISLEADING You've seen those low-fat labels on many food boxes. When you examine the box of cookies

or the package of muffins with that label, please look closely. Check the calories and check the

sugar content.

Processed food is usually made tasty by adding sugars and fats. If there's low or no fat, then

the sugar is increased. Reducing dietary fat alone, without reducing calories, will not result in

weight loss.

The Nutrition Facts panel on your food will tell you about the nutrients in your food. Look at

the %DV line. If the Daily Value is 5% or less, you know it is low in that particular nutrient. If it is

20% or more, then it is considered high.

The FDA recommends using the %DV to compare foods and their claims. If one food claims

to be low in fat, just check the nutrient claim for fat in a rival food to determine if the claim for low

fat is really valid.

Source: Naomi Kulakow, coordinator for education and outreach in the FDA's Center for Food


Safety and Applied Nutrition, in Linda Bren, “Losing Weight: Start by Counting Calories,” FDA

Consumer, January-February 2002. Pub.#FDA 04-1303C.

TIP 7: THE NUTRITION FACTS PANEL ON YOUR FOOD IS IMPORTANT.

YOU SHOULD CHECK IT BEFORE YOU PURCHASE OR EAT A PARTICULAR FOOD.

FACT 8: EATING BREAKFAST HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF

Scientists polled 2959 people who had each lost a significant amount of weight, and kept it

off for at least one year – the majority had kept off their weight for about six years. The results

indicated that 96% of those who kept their weight off regularly ate breakfast. Over 75% of

respondents report eating breakfast every day of the week.

It seems that a common characteristic of people who can maintain their weight loss is that

they do not skip breakfast.

Source: Holly R. Wyatt, Gary K. Grunwald, Cecilio L. Mosco, Mory L. Klem, Reno R. Wing and

James O. Hill, “Long-Term Weight Loss and Breakfast in Subjects in the National Weight Control

Registry.” Obesity Research 70:78-82 QA02.

TIP 8: BE CERTAIN TO SIT DOWN TO A MEAL EVERY MORNING.

FACT 9: WATCHING TV ADDS TO YOUR WEIGHT The average person in the United States watches television for about 28 hours a week.

The people in one study had all achieved a good weight loss and had kept it off. The

majority of these people watched television for fewer than 10 hours per week.

When the group was interviewed again, after one year, those people who gained weight were

the very people who increased their television watching.

Source: Douglas A. Raynor, Suzanne Phelan, James A. Hill and Reno R. Wing, “Television Viewing

and Long-Term Weight Maintenance: Results from the National Weight Control Registry.” Obesity

14:18L6-1824 (October 2005).

TIP 9: STAY AWAY FROM THE TV

FACT 10: EATING OUT MAY BE DANGEROUS

Researchers in Massachusetts studied 500 adults for a year. They determined that those with

the highest risk of obesity were those who ate the most meals away from home.

Frequently eating breakfast and/or dinner out was associated with an increased risk of obesity

and overweight.

The study also evaluated the nutritional content of meals eaten at home versus those eaten


away from home. Breakfasts and dinners eaten away from home were significantly higher in total

calories, percentage of calories from total fat, and percentage of calories from saturated fat.

Meanwhile, they were lower in their percentage of calories from protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.

Source: Yunsheng Ma, Elizabeth R. Bertone, Edward J. Stanek, III, George W. Reed, James R.

Hebert, Nancy L. Cohen, Philip A. Merriam and Ira S. Ockene, “Association between Eating

Patterns and Obesity in a Free-living US Adult Population.” American Journal of Epidemiology

1.58:85’92 (July 1, 2003).

TIP 10: EAT HOME AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN

(Suggestion: SEE “SUPER SIZE ME” DVD)

FACT 11: THE SCALE IS YOUR FRIEND People who have lost at least 30 pounds and have maintained that weight loss for at least one

year are eligible to become members of the National Weight Loss Registry.

Researchers who have studied these members have learned that they all weigh or measure

themselves regularly (usually daily). You can’t fool the scale or the tape measure.

Source: James Hill, PhD and Reno Wing, PhD, “The National Weight Control Registry.” The

Permanente Journal 7(3): 34-37 (Summer 2003).

TIP 11: BUY A SCALE OR A TAPE MEASURE. USE IT EVERY MORNING.

FACT 12: WALK AND WALK AND WALK SOME MORE

Members of the National Weight Loss Registry report that they engage in 60-90 minutes of daily

physical activity.

And most of them walk. They walk so much that they far exceed the minimum physical

activity recommended by the US Surgeon General.

To put more walking into your daily routine, consider parking your car as far from the

entrance of your destination as possible. If you use public transportation, get off a stop earlier than

your usual stop and walk the rest of the way. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, and whenever

you have a few spare moments, walk around the neighborhood.

Source: Mory L. Klem, Rena R. Wing, Maureen T. McGuire, Helen M. Seagle, and James O. Hill,

“A Descriptive Study of Individuals Successful of Long-Term Maintenance of Substantial Weight

Loss.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66:23946 (L997).

TIP 12: LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO ADD WALKING TO YOUR LIFE


FACT 13: EATING SLOWLY MAKES YOU FEEL FULL

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island fed a group of women some pasta. Half of the

women were instructed to eat very slowly and half were told to eat quickly.

When the eaters were interviewed after the meal, the fast eaters had eaten more calories and

did not feel full. The slow eaters ate less, and felt full.

Source: Research by Dr. Kathleen Melanson, Director of Energy Metabolism Lab at the University

of Rhode Island. Reported in October 2006 by research intern Ana Androde of the annual meeting of

the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.

TIP 13: CHEW YOUR FOOD WELL AND EAT SLOWLY (CHEW 17+ CHEWS/BITE)

FACT 14: BORE YOURSELF AND LOSE WEIGHT

If you eat the same menu every day, you will eat less and food will play a lesser role in your

life.

In an experiment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, two groups of people

were offered bowls of M&M’s. One group had bowls with 10 colors of candy in them. The other

group had bowls of M&M’s with just a few colors.

Eaters who were given the 10 colors of candy in their bowls ate almost twice as much as the

other eaters. Many choices and much variety encourage eating and overeating. (FYI: one half cup

of M&M’s has over 500 calories.) Source: Barbara E. Kahn and Brian Wansink, “The Influence of Assortment Structure on Perceived Variety and Consumption

Quantities.” Journal of Consumer Research 3O: 519-5i3 (March 2004).

TIP 14: STICK TO A BORING MENU, ELIMINATE CHOICES, AND STAY AWAY FROM BUFFETS

FACT 15: YOUR FRIENDS CAN MAKE YOU FAT Scientists have discovered that people can always make room for more food and they do,

especially when they’re sitting around a comfortable table enjoying a conversation with friends.

If you eat alone, you tend to eat one third less than when you dine with others. And, if eating

with a large group, diners tend to eat twice as much as they normally eat.

Source: Brian Wonsink, “Environmental Factors That Increase the Food Intake and Consumption

Volume of Unknowing Consumers.” Annual Review of Nutrition 24:455-479 (2004).

TIP 15: EAT ALONE WHEN POSSIBLE. LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL EATING TO A FEW FRIENDS.

MEET WITH LARGER GROUPS OF FRIENDS WHILE WALKING, OR IN A NON-FOOD

ENVIRONMENT.


FACT 16: FOOL YOURSELF WITH PORTIONS

Psychology professor Dr. Paul Rozin set out two bowls of candy in an apartment building’s

lobby. He hung a sign that said, “Help yourself – take as much as you want.”

And everyone did take some candy on their way in and out of the building. But they did not

take an amount having to do with how hungry they were or how much they wanted a snack. Instead,

each person took what they thought was one serving.

If they happened upon one particular bowl with a gigantic spoon for serving, they would take

that amount, and eat all the candy in that large serving. If they happened upon the other bowl with a

much smaller serving spoon, they would use that spoon and eat the amount it contained. Hunger

seemed to be irrelevant.

Source: Andrew B. Geier, Paul Rozin, and Gheorghe Doros, “Unit Bios: A New Heuristic That

Helps Explain the Effect of Portion Size on Food Intake.” Psychological Science 17(6): 521-525

(June 2006).

TIP 16: SERVE YOURSELF DINNER ON A SALAD-SIZED PLATE.

USE SMALLER SIZED SPOONS, TOO. YOUR PORTIONS WILL LOOK LARGER AND YOU WILL EAT LESS

FACT 17: TREAT YOUR KIDS AND YOURSELF TO HEALTHFUL FOODS

The third National Health and Nutrition Survey was a study carried out by the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention. They studied 33,000 people over the course of six years.

The researchers examined what families ate. They determined that adults living in families

with children ate far more fatty foods than adults living alone or with only other adults, and

consumed an additional 4.9 grams of fat daily.

The calories consumed were about the same in both groups. But the group of families living

with children ate far more pizza, ice cream, bacon, and cheese. The lead researcher, Dr. Helena H.

Laroche, a professor at the University of Iowa, concluded that to achieve healthy nutrition the focus

must be on the entire family.

Source: Helena H. Laroche, MD, Timothy P. Hofer, MD, MSc and Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP,

“Adult Fat Intake Associated with the Presence of Children in Households: Findings from NHANES

III.” The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 20 (1):9-L5 (January 2007).

TIP 17: IF YOU HAVE KIDS, LIMIT THEIR FATTY FOODS.

BUY FOOD THAT IS GOOD FOR YOU – IT’LL BE GOOD FOR THEM, TOO.


FACT 18: EXERCISING FOR THE FUN OF IT WILL KEEP YOU ACTIVE

Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that women who exercise

regularly and don’t stop after a few weeks or a few months are women who are not thinking

exclusively about exercising to lose weight. They are thinking that exercise makes them feel good –

often cheers them up – and makes them smile. They actually have fun.

Long-term participation in an exercise program came from women who enjoyed and took

pleasure in their activity. They appreciated the stress relief and the strength they acquired. Their

body shape and the calories they consumed were not their primary motivations.

Source: Michelle Segar, Donna Spruijt-Metz and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, “Go Figure? Body-Shape

Motives are Associated with Decreased Physical Activity Participation Among Midlife Women.” Sex

Roles: A Journal of Research 5a F-4: 175-1.87 (February 2006).

TIP 18: COME UP WITH ANOTHER REASON TO EXERCISE, BESIDES LOSING WEIGHT. FIND A SPORT OR ACTIVITY THAT YOU LOVE TO DO.

FACT 19: FORBIDDEN FOODS WILL CALL OUT TO YOU Researchers in one study placed containers of chocolate kisses in three different locations

accessible to individual office workers in the desk, on the desk, and six feet from the desk, changing

the location every few days. The researchers tracked the number of candies actually eaten each day,

and then at the conclusion of the experiment asked participants to estimate how many they had

consumed.

They learned two interesting things. First, participants ate 3 candies per day with the

container six feet away, 5.7 per day with the candies hidden in their desks, and 8.6 with the candies

on their desks (convenient and visible). Second, participants significantly underestimated how many

candies they had eaten from the most inconvenient location.

Source: James E. Pointer, Brian Wansink, and Julie B. Hieggelke, “How Visibility and Convenience

Influence Candy Consumption,” Appetite i8 (3): 237-238 (June 2002).

TIP 19: KEEP HEALTHY FOODS ACCESSIBLE AND VISIBLE. DON’T BUY AND STORE UNHEALTHY FOODS IN YOUR HOME OR OFFICE, BECAUSE YOU MAY EAT

MORE THAN YOU INTEND TO.

FACT 20: SLEEPING MORE HELPS YOU EAT LESS

Scientists at Rockefeller University in New York City discovered the hormone leptin, which

is produced by fat cells and passes through the circulatory system to the brain. Leptin signals the


brain and lets it know when food has filled the body. Thus, leptin is an appetite suppressant. Leptin

also has some effect on body temperature, so it actually increases the amount of calories burned.

Here’s what obesity researchers Jules Hirsch, Jeffrey Friedman, and Rudolph Leibel did:

They bred mice that were unable to produce leptin. The result? Those mice all ate nonstop and

became obese!

How does this help us humans who want to lose weight? We need to be sure we are

producing enough leptin to let us know when we are satiated.

When do humans produce leptin? During sleep – and not just the moment we fall asleep, but

only after about 6 or seven hours of sleep. If you are sleep deprived, your supply of leptin may be

reduced and you will feel hungry and eat more.

Source: Korine Spiegel, Rachel Leproult, Mireille L’Hermite-Baliriaux, Georges Copinschi, Plamen

D. Penev, and Eve Van Cauter, “Leptin Levels Are Dependent on Sleep Duration: Relationships

with Sympothovagol Balance, Carbohydrate Regulation, Cortisol, and Thyrotropin.” The Journal of

Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 89: 57 62-577 L (November 2004).

TIP 20: GET AT LEAST 7 HOURS OF SLEEP EVERY NIGHT TO REDUCE WHAT YOU EAT.

FACT 21: WILLPOWER IS A SCARCE RESOURCE

This might be the most important fact you ever learn in your battle against the bulge, and in

life.

According to a fascinating experiment published in the Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology:

Just one act of self-control depletes your ability to have self-control in another unrelated area.

For example, when subjects were told not to eat chocolates sitting right in front of them, their

persistence in puzzle solving deteriorated. Allow this to soak in; just staying away from a chocolate

chip cookie hurts your performance in all other tasks!

A similar experiment simply asked people to suppress an emotional reaction to a movie.

These people had problems solving a solvable anagram.

Again, when we are asked to consciously use our “willpower” we struggle in all other areas.

Actually, we are really only able to use our willpower (conscious self-regulation) on one

thing at a time. So if you have to focus your attention on some other act of self-control…

You can kiss your diet goodbye.

Again, this is the overwhelming reason why willpower only works in the short term. You


only have the conscious resources to exhibit willpower on one (or at the most two) fronts at one

time.

This is why it is SO HARD to stay disciplined with eating and exercise.

Source 1: RE Boumeister, E Brotslavsky, M Muroven, and DM Tice. “Ego Depletion: Is the Active

Self a Limited Resource?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 74, L998.

Source 2: Moroven, M., Tice, O.M., & Baumeister, R.F. (L998). “Self-control as a limited resource:

Regulatory depletion pattern.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74. 774-789

Source 3: Zimmerman, M., (1989). “The nervous system in the context of information theory.” In R.

F. Schmidt & G. Thews (eds.), Human Psychology, pp. 156-773. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.

TIP 21: CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU DON’T NEED WILLPOWER

The previous 20 secrets focused on things you can do in your environment to make it more

probable that you will lose weight without relying on willpower. I really hope you install them into

your life.

APPENDIX: LOSING WEIGHT WITHOUT DEPLETING WILLPOWER

Your conscious mind is only able to process approximately 50 bits of information a second,

while your unconscious mind processes approximately 11 million bits per second.

That means your unconscious mind processes information about 220 THOUSAND TIMES

FASTER than your conscious mind.

Much of the time, your conscious mind is actually the bottleneck towards effecting true

change, as its main role is getting you through the day in the here and now AND setting long term

goals. (Researchers call this “Executive Control.”)

So the trick is to train your subconscious mind to “Want” to eat healthier foods. Wouldn’t it

be nice if you naturally wanted to stay away from the cookie so that you didn’t have to use

willpower to stay from it?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you automatically had the behaviors of a thin person? So that you got

the same satisfaction for your cravings by eating fresh vegetables as you used to get when eating a

big piece of chocolate cake?

Well, strange as it seems, there is a tool I use in my practice that seems to make willpower

totally unnecessary when fighting the battle of bulge.

This tool is called Hypnosis, and I have never seen anything more powerful in over 30 years

of helping people to lose weight.


Because hypnosis works at the level of self-image, the behavioral changes are not surface

level. You truly become the kind of person who simply doesn’t desire the eating and exercise habits

of an overweight person.

Staying away from the cookie becomes easy (no willpower required). And even better, when

the time is actually right to eat that cookie…

You will enjoy it even more because it is a part of your plan – and you deserve it.

Hypnosis has been independently verified to help over 9 out of 10 people lose weight, and I

am certain it could help you too.

If you are having any issues at all with willpower I strongly recommend you give it a try:

www.HypnosisInstitute.com


SIZE MATTERS

Forget counting carbs or cutting fat. The best way to lose weight is portion control.

By Carla Rohlfing Levy

We’ve done Atkins, South Beach, added up points and tried to hit the weight loss Zone.

Despite all this dieting, we’re fatter than ever, with 64 percent of U.S. adults officially overweight or

obese. “We’re looking for answers in all the wrong places,” says Lisa Young, Ph.D., of the

department of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University in New York City.

She’s one of a growing number of experts who say that researchers and dieters have overlooked the

fundamental problem: What we eat is less important than how much we eat. “The bottom line is

that we just eat too much,” says Young. “Portion sizes started to creep up in the 1980s, and the

increase is 100 percent in direct parallel to the obesity epidemic.”

The average woman now takes in 22 percent more calories a day than she did in 1971,

according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her daily calorie consumption has

rocketed from 1,542 to 1,877 – an astonishing net daily gain of 335 calories. A separate study, Size

USA, found that the typical 36-year-old woman’s waist has swelled to 35.4 inches – just over the 35-

inch threshold the National Institutes for Health has established for an increased risk of diabetes and

other obesity-related ailments. In fact, another alarming report in the Journal of the American

Medical Association warns that obesity may soon overtake tobacco as the number-one cause of

preventable death in the United States. “In our current food environment, most of us have the

potential to be overweight,” says Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., director of the laboratory for study of human

ingestive behavior at the Pennsylvania State University. “The rise in obesity in this country has been

too rapid to be explained by biological changes. It’s our environment that has changed.”

So what’s the answer? Simple. Eat less.

Of course, if eating less was such a piece of cake, then we wouldn’t be in this fat-fix to begin with.

“The problem is that we no longer recognize what a normal, healthy portion of food should look

like,” says Keith Ayoob, an associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York

City. Small wonder, with muffins weighing half a pound, 500-calorie bagels and restaurant bowls

loaded with two pounds of pasta – for one dinner – now the norm. “If you don’t get it under control,

weight loss is never going to happen,” says Ayoob. “It takes a little work, but the obesity epidemic is


a war that has to be actively fought.” By retraining your eye and appetite to enjoy healthy portions,

you’ll not only have an easier time managing your weight, you’ll reduce your risk of diabetes, heart

disease, and other serious and even life-threatening ailments. Now, that’s worth fighting for.

Just How Much Is On Your Plate?

Enough for an entire family, most likely. In recent years, restaurants across the country, from fast to

formal, have sealthily increased portions of meals in an effort to market more “value” to the diner.

The result: Today’s dinner out is likely to be up five times as big as it would have been even 30

years ago. (The actual cost of food represents just a small part of a restaurant’s overhead, so

supersizing is a cheap way to create the illusion of a bargain.) And not only are we eating more when

we go out, we’re eating out more often than ever – ordering up to 53.5 billion meals each year,

according to the National Restaurant Association.

“You get used to seeing lots of food and it becomes emotionally addictive,” says Young. “Any less,

and you think you’re getting gypped.” Food manufacturers have followed the restaurant industry’s

lead, marketing 72-ounce sodas, “big grab” bags of chips and jumbo candy bars all within easy reach

– 24 hours a day – from vending machines, delis, even gas stations.

“Portion creep is occurring at home, too,” says Young. We’re serving up heftier meals, in part

because many common foods come in bigger-than-ever packages. One study found that when

women are asked to estimate how much spaghetti is needed to serve two adults, they’ll pull 302

strands from a two-pound box, but just 234 strands from a one-pound box. Even standard cookbooks

have supersized their recipes. Take the trusty Joy of Cooking, for instance. In 1975, a pan of

brownies was listed as serving 30. Today, a similar recipe in The All New, All Purpose Joy of

Cooking yields just 16 brownies. Even sneakier, since the 1960s, standard dinner plates have grown

from as small as 8 inches in diameter (about the width of this magazine) to 12 (more than its height).

Normal servings look skimpy on big plates, so you pile on more. According to a study by the

American Institute of Cancer Research, only 38 percent of us have noticed the boosted serving sizes

– and 69 percent polish off our entire meals all or most of the time. “The more food you see, the

more you’ll eat,” says Rolls.

Her research shows that people eat in units – consume and entire cookie, gulp and entire soda, down

a whole sandwich – no matter how large that unit may be or how hungry they are. In one study,

Rolls asked volunteers to eat four differently sized portions of macaroni and cheese. When given the

biggest servings, the volunteers ate 30 percent more than when they were given the smallest, but all

participants, regardless of the portion size they’d just consumed, reported about the same level of


hunger and fullness before and after eating. In other studies, Rolls also found that no one eating

bigger portions compensated for the extra calories by cutting back the rest of the day.

And often, people just don’t know when they’ve had enough to eat. “We’re not that sensitive to

satiety cues,” says Rolls. “Your stomach is elastic enough to stretch to accommodate more food, so

you have a lot of flexibility in the amount you can eat. That’s why if you’re not paying attention, the

extra calories can go unnoticed.” The good news: Rolls’ research shows that if you make a point of

replacing part of your usual portions with high-volume, low-calorie foods like salad greens,

vegetables, broth-based soup and fruit, you can enjoy the same amount of food for fewer calories.

“It’s the method that people who naturally manage their weight use,” says Rolls, author of the

forthcoming book The Volumetrics Eating Plan (HarperCollins, 2005), which offers step-by-step

guidelines for eating healthy without feeling deprived. “It’s a physically satisfying way to eat,

because you’re full, and it’s also psychologically satisfying because you feel you’re getting enough

to eat at every meal. It’s the big portions of calorie-dense foods that are a real problem.”

One Meal At A Time

“It’s never been easier to eat poorly – or well,” says Keith Ayoob of Albert Einstein College of

Medicine in New York City. “Fresh produce is available all year, for instance. But the difference

nowadays is that you have to be more conscious of what you eat because there is just so much food

around.” Start by making gradual changes in meals and portions. Some suggestions to get you going:

· Do the math. Start by measuring out your food a few times to estimate your actual

consumption. “It’s a good way to get a feel for what you’re really eating,” says NYU’s Lisa

Young. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, I just have a bowl of cereal in the morning.’ Well, how much

is in there?” Check the serving size on the box and pour it in your bowl. Chances are you’ve

been eating a lot more than you thought. And, says Young, “If you don’t know how much

you’re really eating, you can’t cut back.”

· Follow the rule of one. “Whatever you’re eating, you can have one,” says Ayoob. “One pork

chop, not three. One scoop of rice, not a plateful. One egg. The exception is fruits and

steamed or raw vegetables – you can pretty much have as much of these as you want.”

· Stock up on foods you like. “Don’t worry so much about variety,” says Ayoob. “If you like

tomatoes, eat them every day.” Keep the healthy stuff in sight; you’re more likely to eat fruit

if it’s in a bowl on the counter, not in the fridge. The more low-calorie fresh food you eat, the

less room there will be in your diet for fattier food.


· Eurosize when you eat out. Fast food chains like McDonald’s serve smaller portions in

Europe than in the U.S., and overseas restaurants in general serve healthier – i.e., normal –

portions, says NYU’s Lisa Young. If you’re eating fast food, get the small sizes. When

you’re out to dinner, “have a salad with dressing on the side and an appetizer as your main

course,” she suggests. Or share an entrée.

· Limit liquid calories. A giant-size soda or juice can be several hundred calories, says Ayoob.

And research suggests that calories in liquid form aren’t as satisfying. “Drink water and other

calorie-free drinks instead.”

· Improve your vision. You can learn to measure healthy portions by keeping a few visual

tricks in mind, says Ayoob.


SAYING GRACE

It’s at home in pizza joints and great restaurants. It stops time (and overeating). Lauren F. Winner on the pleasures of an old-fashioned ritual:

In my kitchen, we begin our meals by holding hands and bowing our heads. We usually say

the short and sweet grace found in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: “Bless this food to our

use and us to Thy service.” Sometimes, when my husband is out of town, I experiment a little bit.

Lately, I’ve offered this haiku by Basho, the 17th century Japanese poet:

In the twilight rain

These brilliant-hued hibiscus –

A lovely sunset.

I don’t have hibiscus, but saying Basho’s poem helps me notice, and be thankful for, the

magnolia tree out my window, the slow sunset, the pretty table linens. Whether you recite a Zen

poem or a Christian prayer, saying grace does good work at the table. On the simplest level, saying

grace means offering thanksgiving – grace comes from the Latin gratiarum action, “act of thanks.”

To say grace before meals is, among other things, to remember that it was God, not my credit card,

that provided my meal. But whether or not you’re a believer, a pre-meal thanksgiving recognizes the

dozens of people who did hard work to get food to your table – the farmers, the grocery store clerks,

the friends or relatives or restaurant chef who transformed a pile of raw vegetables into a delectable

soup.

I’ll admit to a certain squeamishness about saying grace in restaurants. Praying at home is

one thing, but bowing my head at Wendy’s or Jean Georges is quite another. (I never know what to

do when a waitress appears as I’m praying. Interrupt myself? Ignore her?) And yet increasingly, I

try to overcome my discomfort and boldly say grace at restaurants precisely because I find it so easy,

when I go out to eat, to take for granted the low-paid folks who set the table, wash the dishes, and

generally make my night on the town possible. To pray before my meal, even if it’s awkward, is to

remind myself how privileged I am, how much I owe.

Saying grace suggests not only the grazie of thanksgiving, but also the calm, gracious

elegance of living fully and well. You don’t find grace said when people are rushing around,

scarfing food, eating over the sink or in the car, polishing off a meal in tem minutes flat. You find

grace offered at tables where people sit still, where they’re trying to pay attention. Indeed, doctors

will tell you that there are physiological benefits to saying grace before meals. People who do it

tend to eat more slowly, aiding digestion, while speed eaters don’t give their bodies time to register

that they’re full.


Sometimes I forget to say grace. I fail to say it when I’m ravenous and also when I’m

distracted, or when eating has nothing to do with intention and everything to do with fueling my

body. These hasty meals are probably the times when I need to say grace the most – when I need to

pause, feel lucky, and purposefully create a space of repose and awareness in my hectic day. We

can’t always eat on find china or by candlelight, but grace is portable. In an age when we so often

eat without thinking about it, saying grace can transform a mere meal into an act of celebration,

focus, and gratitude.


WEIGHT LOSS SCRIPT #1

Never use this hypnosis recording while driving a vehicle or operating machinery. Pick out a

spot on the ceiling or on the wall, high overhead. Focus your eyes on that spot now and please do

not remove your eyes from that spot until I ask you to do so. Take the first deep breath all the way

in, filling up your lungs now. Exhaling slowly, sending that wave of relaxation from your head right

down to your toes. Take the second deep breath all the way in, really filling up your lungs now.

Exhale slowly, “calm and relaxed.” Third deep breath, all the way in now. Exhale slowly, calm and

relaxed. As I count from five down to one you find with each count your eyelids want to close more

and more and on or before the count of one, simply let them do so. Number five, your eyelids

becoming a little sleepy, drowsy, heavy and wanting to close. Number four, the next time you blink,

that’s the relaxing feeling of hypnosis coming over you. Number three, eyelids wanting to close

now. Two, let them close down and number One, let them be closed now. Let them be closed and

notice how good it feels to have them closed. Some people like to imagine a heavy pleasant feeling

on the eyelids, just relaxing them to the point where opening them seems to be more than you even

want to concern yourself with.

Just let that relaxation go right down your body, down to your toes and right out through your

fingertips. Let it cover you like a blanket. Every easy breath that you take simply takes you deeper

with the sound of my voice. Letting your arms and hands and fingers relax twice as much as the rest

of your body. Be aware of the muscles around your mouth. Allow the corners of your mouth to

creep up and bring on a smile from the inside out. And this feels so good from the top of your head

to the tips of your toes. Every muscle in your body becoming like loose rubber bands lying on top of

a desk. Start down the ten steps holding on to the handrail to your beautiful place, be it the beach, a

meadow, a beautiful room, a secret place, perhaps where only you can go.

Number ten, holding onto the handrail, starting down deeper now. Number nine, each step

takes you deeper within and closer to that place of serenity, energy, motivation and harmony in your

mind. Number eight, drifting, floating. Seven, simply just letting go. Number six, all your thoughts

and cares just floating away like a balloon, lifting up into the sky and disappearing up into the

clouds. Number five, halfway down now, your mind and your body beginning to wonder what it

will feel like to relax even more deeply, and yet wanting to move with joy. With every count you let

go more and more. The more you let go, the more authentic control you gain in your life. Number

four, deeper. Number three, double it now. Number two, number one, let go. Just let go. Enjoy a

very deep level of hypnotic relaxation, continuing to breathe normally, just like you do when you

sleep at night.


Let yourself be in whatever beautiful place that you have chosen and bring your thumb and

index finger together on one of your hands. That's the signal to your inner mind to let you be in this

beautiful place of peaceful relaxation, in this beautiful place of powerful inner change. You are so

excited to realize that you're learning to use the most powerful part of your mind to change your

habits, to become a person in control of your eating behavior, free from unwanted, unnecessary

weight issues. Your inner mind understands. It always understands.

As I introduce the following healthy suggestions, your inner mind accepts them, acts upon

them, and they become, from this moment forward, a powerful and permanent part of your daily

experience. As you hear them over and over again, they become a permanent part of your mind.

Number one, I am more calm and relaxed now. Number one, I am more calm and relaxed now.

Number two, I only eat when my body is hungry and I stop when my body is satisfied. Number two,

I only eat when my body is hungry and I stop when my body is satisfied. Number three, I'm satisfied

with small well-balanced, nutritious meals, 4 to 6 times a day, and I easily leave food on my plate.

Number three, I'm satisfied with small well-balanced, nutritious meals, 4 to 6 times a day, and I

easily leave food on my plate. Number four, I enjoy feeling my stomach shrinking down to its

normal size, the size of my fist. Number four, I enjoy feeling my stomach shrinking down to its

normal size, the size of my fist. Number five, I am happier healthier, stronger and trimmer each day

of my life. Number five, I am happier healthier, stronger and trimmer each day of my life.

You realize that it takes a very small amount of nutritious food to satisfy you now 4 to 6

times a day…very small.

Place your hand in a light fist over the area of your stomach. (Pause) Begin to repeat over

and over in your mind, "My stomach is the size of my fist. My stomach is the size of my fist." (Say

this 7 to 10 times). Feeeeel your stomach getting smaller and smaller like a balloon with the air

being let out. Shrinking on down so small. You can feel it shrinking down, so small now that you

hate the feeling of your tiny stomach being stretched out by too much food. You are amazed that you

can be satisfied with only a few bites of healthy, nutritious food, 4 to 6 times a day, chewing each

bite 17 times.

Breathe in now and as you exhale, relax your hand. The area where your stomach is tells you

when you're hungry, or when you've overeaten, or when you're somewhere in between. Put your

attention now on that spot. And you'll feel something related to hunger or fullness. We're going to

use a scale from 0 to 5 to describe the feeling. Just like the gas gauge in your car, this is a fuel gauge

in your body and it's becoming more and more real for you. Zero means that your stomach is very

empty and five means that it's just right, no feelings of hunger. Very comfortable, feeling satisfied.


Anything over a 5 means very stuffed, very uncomfortable.

You're getting in touch with your hunger level now. Hunger, true hunger, is your body's

signal that tells you it needs nourishment. The urge to eat does not come from the body, it comes

from the mind and sometimes the mind will give you the urge to eat when you're feeling emotional

or because it is a certain time of day or a social situation or because food is simply present. But true

hunger... that's what you're in touch with now. True body hunger can be different every day. It does

not depend on the time of the day or the amount of food on your plate or the social situation. It's

crucial to trust your body. Its signals are there for you and with each passing day you feel more and

more in tune and in touch with what your body is telling you.

Take a moment now and bring all your attention to this area of your body, your stomach, and

feeeeel what your hunger level is right now. (pause) What number would you put on it? [If you are

with them, after you put your recorder on pause, ask them the number. Otherwise, pause long

enough for them to become aware and have them tell you or nod their head when they’ve done so.]

A 3, for example, would be the level where you could eat, but it would be okay not to eat. It would

mean that you're not quite hungry enough to eat. A 2 would mean that you are ready to eat. If you're

over a 5, your body is uncomfortable. Your body has more food than it can use. Any time you get to

a feeling above a 5, you're feeding the mind instead of the body, and you'll distort the body's shape.

The body would always be happy if you did not eat until you at least reached a 2 and never ate above

a 5. You're learning to trust this hunger level. You would never put fuel into your body when it didn't

need it any more than you would put fuel in your car when it didn't need it. It's that simple and it's

always there for you. You hate the uncomfortable stuffed feeling that being above a level 5 gives

you. You always wait until a level 2 to eat, and stop eating at a level 5. That is, when you feel

satisfied without feeling stuffed.

Staying in touch with your hunger level prevents unconscious eating. To determine when it's

time to eat, the first thing you do is to check your hunger level. If it is not at a 2, you merely say to

yourself, "STOP! I am finding new ways to give to myself." Ask yourself, "what do I really want

and really need right now?" And you go and do something else. When your hunger level is at a 2,

you follow the simple eating habits. You always sit down when you eat and you look at your fist as

an approximate guide for the amount of food to put on your plate. If you check your hunger level

and it is above a 2, you enjoy a big glass of water and then later, when you reach a 2, you know it's

time to eat.

You eat slowly, chewing each bite of food completely. Chew each bite 17 times. You put

your food item or utensil down between bites, chewing each bite 17 times, and fully enjoy and


experience each bite. Tasting it in your mouth just the way nature intended for you to do. You find

you're enjoying your food much, much more and eating much less of it. You’re amazed, that you can

be satisfied with only a few bites of healthy and nutritious food, 4 to 6 times a day.

Take a deep breath all the way in and as you exhale, feel a wave of relaxation go from your

head right down to your toes. Now just take a big glass of water and notice how refreshing that

seems. You find yourself drinking lots and lots of water. This keeps you feeling satisfied, purifies

your blood and washes out all the toxins, keeping your body and brain healthy. You're finding

yourself drinking water all throughout the day, keeping a bottle or pitcher of water nearby, wherever

you are, at work, at home, at play, or in your vehicle. You tell yourself “I love water, it’s my favorite

beverage!” (repeat 2-3 times) You find yourself drinking herb tea, green tea, or perhaps hot or cold

lemon water.

You find that it takes a very small amount of nutritious food to satisfy you now. Very small,

4 to 6 times a day. And since you're taking in less food, chewing each bite 17 times, your body has

more energy to free up in the use of metabolizing fat. The fat is melting off your body. As your

metabolism increases through the power and direction of your own subconscious mind, fat is melting

away from your body like an ice cube sitting in a warm room... effortlessly.

Your inner mind is beginning to understand what helping you really means. In the past, it

may have felt that helping you meant giving you food to cover up uncomfortable feelings or

boredom or stress. But now it understands that giving you the desire for food beyond what your body

needs would never help, it would only hurt... no matter what the situation or circumstance. Helping

you now means this powerful part of your inner mind adjusting to the truth of your physical needs,

totally and completely removing from every part of your mind and your body, every thought and

desire for food beyond what your body needs; totally and completely removing from every part of

your mind and your body, every thought for foods that are unhealthy for you and your body.

That way you can be alert and curious about your true nature, learning new, appropriate

options for your well-being. Now that your inner mind really understands what helping you is all

about, the entire process is extremely smooth, mentally and physically. You understand that your

strength does not lie in your fat cells. The more slender you are, the more healthy you are, and the

better you feel. The more strong and centered you feel, the better you're able to make healthy

decisions in your life. Your inner mind understands that the closer you get to your goal weight, the

safer and healthier and stronger you are!

Each and every one of these positive and beneficial suggestions are making a deep and

lasting impression upon your inner mind permanently, never to be removed. You enjoy keeping your


blood sugar level even. You can imagine it evening out just like a straight line across a piece of

paper; having a little lean protein each time you eat, along with complex carbohydrate foods like

whole grains: sprouted grain bread, brown rice, beans, sweet potatoes, vegetables, salads and a little

fruit from time to time. You find that only a few bites of nutritious food, each bite chewed 17 times,

4 to 6 times a day, satisfies your hunger level. Balance. That's how you live your life now.

You are now forming a relationship with food that is natural, normal, just the way nature

intended it to be. You find that you enjoy eating lean protein, vegetables, salads, fruits, whole grains

in moderate amounts. This way you keep your blood sugar level very, very even. You're becoming

more in touch with your body and what a wondrous instrument it really is; understanding that the

normal, natural relationship with food is simply as fuel for your body. Effortlessly, your inner mind

is freeing you and liberating you so that the entire issue of food seems to shrink down and move far,

far away off into a distant corner of your mind, with other things that are just taken care of

automatically, like the beating of your heart and breathing of your lungs.

All desire for white flour and sweet, starchy, or greasy foods is fading away, fading away,

fading away. You enjoy drinking water, lots and lots of water. Reminding yourself “I love water; it’s

my favorite beverage!” Your body guides you by telling when it needs nourishment. You're trusting

your body and taking care of it now. Your body is rewarding you by becoming slender, strong and

healthy at a perfectly natural rate for you. You're becoming more calm and relaxed now. You only

eat when your body is hungry, 4 to 6 times a day, and you stop when your body is satisfied. You

enjoy the feeling of your stomach shrinking down to its normal size, the size of your fist. You are

happier, healthier and trimmer each day of your life.

Each and every one of these suggestions makes a lasting impression upon your inner mind,

consciously and unconsciously. Your subconscious is your tool and you allow it to serve you by

repeating these messages to yourself, by listening to this recording daily.

If you're lying in bed at night listening to this recording and you desire to go off to sleep, you

can do so easily, drifting into a deep, restful and relaxing sleep, sleeping all night long, waking up at

your predetermined time in the morning with energy and vitality. Just turn the recording off now.

Any other time you're listening to this recording, such as starting your day or sitting in a

chair and relaxing, you’ll open your eyes at the count of 5. You feel as though you've rinsed them in

pure, cool spring water. You feel as good as if you have had one to two hours of deep refreshing,

relaxing and energizing sleep. 1. You're coming up now. 2, feeling the relaxation in your body,

realizing you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. 3, coming up further now. 4, lightening,

getting ready to open your eyes, fully aware, fully alert. And 5, eyes wide open and feeling


wonderful and in control.

[ASK THEM TO KEEP A FOOD LOG UNTIL YOUR NEXT MEETING AND BRING IT IN

TO YOU TO REVIEW] Keep: Date, Time, What they are eating (and how much), and

drinking, What they are feeling emotionally. Were they actually hungry or not?

If you have any problems – technical or otherwise – please call me right away.


Exercise and The Brain

By Jeffrey Kleim, PhD March 2011, IDEA Fitness Journal

Exciting discoveries underscore how exercise benefits brain health and boosts lifelong learning.

Exercise improves our physical and mental health – that is now beyond debate. The physical

benefits are obvious; we know that exercise lowers blood pressure, decreases cholesterol, reduces

fat, adds muscle and improves cardiovascular function. But how is it that exercise also reduces

stress, anxiety and depression and allows us to maintain focus at work and to think clearly?

You might easily assume that improved physical health drives improved mental health; that a

healthy body breeds a healthy mind. But the truth is, we know much more about how exercise

affects the body than how it affects the mind. That brings us to the

issue of measuring the mind and to the proverbial “mind-body

problem”: Is the mind separate from the body? It is a question that

has tormented philosophers since Rene Descartes suggested nearly

400 years ago that mind and body were clearly separate but the brain

(the pineal gland to be precise) was the place where mind interacted

with body. This Wizard of Oz sort of view suggests that a peek behind

the neurobiological curtain will unveil some ethereal force pulling

levers.

Regardless of your view on the issue, accept for the time being

that our cognitive, perceptual and emotional faculties – indeed, our

sense of self – are all nestled within the 100 billion or so neurons (nerve cells) that make up the

brain. So if exercise can have lasting effects on the mind, then exercise must also affect the brain.

As it turns out, the brain is incredibly dynamic. It is not hard-wired, as we once believed, and it

responds to exercise in much the same way that heart, lungs and muscles do. The brain can change

its structure and function by adding new neurons, making new connections between neurons

(synapses) and even creating brand-new blood vessels, all in response to different forms of exercise

(see Figure 1, at Right).

A Powerful Healing Agent for Change

Over the last two decades, neuroscientists have begun to reveal how physical activity –

whether it be endurance, strength or skill training – can change the neurochemistry, structure and


function of the brain. We are starting to understand how these changes in brain biology affect our

cognitive, sensory, motor and emotional behaviors. We are also discovering that the neurobiological

imprint of exercise can help treat and possibly even prevent a number of psychiatric disorders (such

as depression and anxiety) in addition to neurological disorders (such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease

and Parkinson’s disease).

Exercise Improves Cognitive Function Although the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends at least 30

minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise 5 days per week (ACSM & AHA 2007), alarmingly

it is estimated that 74% of all Americans fail to meet this requirement, and the lack of activity

represents a major contributor to rising healthcare costs. Aside from the obvious effects on physical

health, there is mounting evidence that a sedentary lifestyle also affects the brain – and in turn

lessens mental capacity. Sibley and Etnier (2003) found a clear connection between how much

schoolchildren exercised and their cognitive performance; the more aerobic exercise the children

engaged in, the better they performed on verbal, perceptual and mathematical tests. The same

pattern of results was found in older adults; aerobic training improved cognitive performance

(Colcombe & Kramer 2003), and active lifestyles decreased age-related risks for cognitive

impairment and dementia (Yaffe et al. 2009). Not surprisingly, these cognitive effects were

accompanied by clear changes in brain structure and function.

How Does Exercise Protect Against Neurological Disease?

Neurons are arguably the most high-maintenance cells in the body. They require a constant supply

of glucose and oxygen or they begin to die. The brain represents 3% of total body weight (Love & Webb

1992) but uses 20% of the total blood supply and 25% of total oxygen supply. Neurons are constantly being

bombarded by hundreds of neurochemicals, and the DNA must work incredibly hard to keep up with making

all of the necessary proteins to maintain function.

There is one family of neurochemicals known as growth factors. So named because they can make

neurons “grow,” these neurochemicals have been clearly shown to increase in the brain in both number and

size during exercise (van Praag, Kempermann & Gage 1999). Think of growth factors as “fertilizer” for the

brain. They act to keep neurons healthy and reduce their susceptibility to cell death, which may account for

why exercise appears to combat the onset of many neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (Xu

et al. 2010) and Alzheimer’s disease (Scarmeas et al. 2010).


Exercise Changes Brain Function

The fact that exercise enhances cognition suggests it must have some effects on the brain that

outlast the exercise experience itself. That is, exercise must somehow change brain function in a

lasting manner. Indeed, research supports this hypothesis; the reduced cognitive capacity in

sedentary individuals is also associated with different patterns of brain activity – both at rest and

while performing mentally challenging tasks – than those observed in active subjects.

Although a number of brain areas are involved in the complex cognitive tasks that we engage

in on a daily basis, the cerebral cortex is a major player. Compared with sedentary people,

individuals show greater baseline levels of cortical activity (Dustman et al. 1990) and more activity

in various brain regions when performing cognitive tests (Polich & Lardon 1997). Some cortical

areas show increases in activity when we are struggling with a particular task. One such area that is

especially sensitive in this regard is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Part of the brain’s limbic

system, the ACC has connections with numerous brain areas involved in processing sensory, motor,

emotional and cognitive information. This brain area becomes very active during moments of

indecision or confusion when we are posed with a problem. After a 6-month walking intervention,

people showed decreased ACC activity relative to nonaerobic toning or stretching groups (Colcombe

et al. 2004), the implication being that less activity in the ACC contributes to the enhanced cognitive

function resulting from exercise.

Exercise-related changes in brain function are not limited to areas of the cortex concerned

with cognitive function. Brain areas that are engaged during movement are also affected. One key

cortical area is the motor cortex. This strip of tissue contains neurons that send information down

to the spinal cord to cause muscle contraction. Individuals engaged in regular exercise show

reductions in the amount of activity within the motor cortex when performing simple movements

(Voelcker-Rehage, Godde & Staudinger 2010). While this might seem counter-intuitive, one

interpretation is that the cortex is more efficient at controlling movement and therefore requires less

effort to produce movement.

Exercise Changes Brain Structure

Although the structure of the brain is highly complex, it can be broken down into two general

components. Gray matter contains all of the neurons and supporting cells, while white matter

consists of the axons of these neurons (nerve cell fibers) that carry signals from one area to another.

One might compare this to the way in which most large cities are organized, with houses and

buildings connected by streets and freeways.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for the measurement of gray and white matter and

can reveal something about the way that exercise influences the overall structure of the brain. MRI

scans have shown that exercise boosts overall brain volume (Colcombe et al. 2006), increasing both

gray matter (Colcombe et al. 2006) and white matter (Gordon et al. 2008). Interestingly, these

changes can occur over relatively short periods of time with what might seem like minimal amounts

of training. After learning to juggle for only a few weeks, for example, study subjects showed

increases in gray matter within regions of the brain concerned with integrating visual and motor

information (Draganski et al. 2004).

For more on how exercise affects health and learning, see the sidebars.

In Conclusion

Our knowledge of the effects of exercise on the body and mind continues to expand. The

development of new technologies is indeed allowing us to “peek behind the cerebral curtain” to see

which levers are being pulled – to understand the biology of how exercise improves both body and

mind. This knowledge will allow us to harness the brain’s endogenous capacity to adapt to

experience and will guide the development of new therapies to treat the damaged or diseased brain

as well as to improve our general quality of life. This has become increasingly important as our

population ages and the stressors of this fast-paced world mount.

Exercise Is Key to Lifelong Learning

One of the more exciting discoveries in neuroscience in the last 20 years has been that the adult

brain can continue to make new neurons throughout the lifespan. It doesn’t happen equally in all brain areas,

for reasons that are not totally understood, but it happens readily in one specific area: the hippocampus. This

is an evolutionarily older part of the brain that is concerned with forming memories and processing emotion,

which may help explain some of the cognitive and emotional benefits of exercise.

Interestingly, aerobic exercise can increase neurogenesis (generation of new neurons) within the

hippocampus at many stages of development, including in the neonatal (Kim et al. 2007), juvenile (Lou et al.

2008), and adult brains (van Praag, Kempermann & Gage 1999). The fact that the hippocampus is a critical

brain structure used in memory may explain why aerobic exercise can enhance learning (Vaynman & Gomez-

Pinilla 2006). Furthermore, we know that stress reduces neurogenesis, an effect that may contribute to

depression and anxiety (Lucassen et al. 2010). Therefore, the enhanced neurogenesis brought about by

exercise may represent the neurobiological mechanism by which regular exercise reduces depression.


Jeffrey A. Kleim, PhD, is the director of rehabilitation neuroscience at the Brain Research Rehabilitation Center in Gainesville,

Florida, and an associate professor in the department of neuroscience at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

References ACSM & AHA (American College of Sports Medicine & American Heart Association). 2007. Physical activity and public health guidelines. www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home_Page&TEMPLATE=CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7764#Under_65; retrieved Jan. 7, 2011. Colcombe, S., & Kramer, A. F. 2003. Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults: A meta-analytic study. Psychological Science, 14 (2), 125–30. Colcombe, S.J., et al. 2004. Cardiovascular fitness, cortical plasticity, and aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101 (9), 3316–21. Colcombe, S.J., et al. 2006. Aerobic exercise training increases brain volume in aging humans. Journal of Gerontology, Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 61 (11), 1166–70. Draganski, B., et al. 2004. Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427, 311–12. Dustman, R.E., et al. 1990. Age and fitness effects on EEG, ERPs, visual sensitivity, and cognition. Neurobiology of Aging, 11 (3), 193–200. Gordon, B.A., et al. 2008. Neuroanatomical correlates of aging, cardiopulmonary fitness level, and education. Psychophysiology, 45 (5), 825–38. Kim, H., et al. 2007. The influence of maternal treadmill running during pregnancy on short-term memory and hippocampal cell survival in rat pups. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 25 (4), 243–49. Lou, S.J., et al. 2008. Hippocampal neurogenesis and gene expression depend on exercise intensity in juvenile rats. Brain Research, 1210, 48–55. Love, R., & Webb, W. 1992. Neurology for the Speech-Language Pathologist. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Lucassen, P.J., et al. 2010. Regulation of adult neurogenesis by stress, sleep disruption, exercise and inflammation: Implications for depression and antidepressant action. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 20 (1), 1–17. Polich, J., & Lardon, M.T. 1997. P300 and long-term physical exercise. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 103 (4), 493–98. Scarmeas, N., et al. 2010. Physical activity and Alzheimer disease course. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry; doi:10.1097/JGP.0601381eb00a9. Sibley, B.A. & Etnier, J.L. 2003. The relationship between physical activity and cognition in children: A meta-analysis. Pediatric Exercise Science, 15 (3), 243–56. van Praag, H., Kempermann, G., & Gage, F.H. 1999. Running increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the adult mouse dentate gyrus. Nature Neuroscience, 2 (3), 266–70. Vaynman, S., & Gomez-Pinilla, F. 2006. Revenge of the “sit”: How lifestyle impacts neuronal and cognitive health through molecular systems that interface energy metabolism with neuronal plasticity. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 84 (4), 699–715. Voelcker-Rehage, C., Godde, B., & Staudinger, U.M. 2010. Physical and motor fitness are both related to cognition in old age. European Journal of Neuroscience, 31 (1), 167–76. Xu, Q., et al. 2010. Physical activities and future risk of Parkinson disease. Neurology, 75 (4), 341–48. Yaffe, K., et al. 2009. Predictors of maintaining cognitive function in older adults: The Health ABC study. Neurology, 72 (23), 2029–35. IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 8, Number 3 March 2011


When the Client has Food Addiction Issues, Teach Them:

The Mind &

How We Create & Change Habits, Patterns & Addictions CLASS REVIEW to Educate Clients


WEIGHT LOSS SESSION TWO INTERVIEW

Name: Today’s Date:

Weight Loss? Listened to CD?

Have you been getting fuller faster?

Eating less?

Have you been making better food choices?

What is your weight now?

Please show me your food log. If they forgot to bring it to you, or didn’t do it, ask them to do it

and email it to you (even a few days of this awareness can make a big difference).

1. Please describe your history of exercise or physical activity. Be as specific as you can be,

including your age at the time of any significant gains or losses. (Women, please also note

pregnancies or hormonal changes and your age at that time).

What exercise weight loss programs or sports have you used?

What worked and what didn’t?

What do you enjoy doing?

2. Please describe your current physical activity habits. Begin with the time you get up in the

morning (on average). What time is that?

Etc…


Exercise

Studies show that for every decade after the age of 20, the average person’s metabolism

slows down by approximately 4% in the absence of exercise. You also lose about one percent of

your lean muscle tissue every four years after age 20, if you’re not exercising. Weight training,

especially when combined with an aerobic exercise program, can slow down and even reverse these

losses.

30-Second Rule

MINI TRAMPOLINE

COVERED GARAGE / SHOPPING CENTER / PARKING LOT Pedometer

Mayo Clinic Weight Loss DVD, Chapter 2

Use relapses to get back on track.

Get an exercise partner

Wetransfer.com


Fit in 5: Get a Great Workout - and Then Get on With Your Day

http://www.toyourhealth.com

"I just don't have the time" is perhaps the most common excuse for not exercising regularly, especially among the 25-and-older crowd, who are generally immersed in such time- (and energy-) sapping pursuits such as a career, raising children, etc. While it's true that committing to exercise requires just that – a time commitment – no one said how much time. Enter the 5-minute workout, a great way to rev up your cardiovascular system and get the blood flowing to muscles you may not have used in far too long (due to the aforementioned "not enough time" excuse). Do each of the following five exercises for 45 seconds apiece, with 15 seconds to transition from one exercise to the next (and 15 seconds at the end to cool down). Five minutes later, you'll be done – and feel great for it. Oh, and did we mention you can do all five exercises in the comfort of your own home (or office, for that matter)? Here goes:

1. Mud sprinting: Run as fast as you can for 45 seconds – without ending up any farther than where you began. Bend your knees and elbows, and lean forward slightly (keeping your eyes straight ahead and back in neutral) and sprint in place, lifting your feet off the floor with each step and moving your arms forward and back in tune with the motion.

2. Push and go: Perform standard push-ups for 45 seconds, but with a twist: After each

push-up, when you've returned to the starting (elevated) position, move one hand from the starting position to your left or right, and then do the same with your other hand (essentially, reposition your hands – as you follow with the rest of your body – so you're moving across the floor from one push-up to the next). You'll be surprised at the extra work your arms and chest need to do, and it's a nice change from the single-position, one-after-the-next push-up most of us are used to doing.

3. 180 degrees: Using a sturdy chair or other elevated, flat surface that can support

your weight, do five inclined push-ups (hands on chair, legs extended on floor behind you) ... then get up quickly and turn around 180 degrees, repositioning your hands behind you on the chair (facing away from the chair this time), so you can do five triceps dips (bend arms to 90 degrees behind you as you lower yourself toward the chair, keeping your elbows in a fixed position so you engage the back of your arms). Then switch quickly back to push-up position and repeat the routine for 45 seconds.

4. Crunch, then catch: Assume a standard crunch position (lying on the floor, knees

bent, etc.), but take a small medicine ball with you (the kind you can easily throw into the air and catch). Figured out what you're going to do yet? It's simple in theory; challenging in execution. As you crunch up 30 degrees or so, toss the ball in the air at chest level with both hands and catch it – while holding the crunch – and then return to the floor and repeat. Feel the burn for 45 seconds.


5. Back and forth: Secure an exercise band around your feet, a table leg, etc. Sit on the

floor, feet out in front of you, knees slightly bent, leaning back slightly (without putting the low back at risk). Grasp the handles of the band at shoulder width and pull toward your sides, spreading your chest as you do so; then extend arms back to starting position and repeat for 45 seconds. Focus on working the muscles of the upper/mid back, not your arms.

So, no more excuses for not exercising; this 5-minute workout will leave you energized – and with plenty of time left to enjoy your (busy) day. Remember to talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program if you have a pre-existing health condition and/or need more information on the proper performance of these and other exercises.


10 Ways to Boost Your Exercise Motivation Hate to work out? These simple strategies will get you up and going for good.

By Virginia Anderson WebMD Feature Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

Debbe Geiger could summarize her feelings about exercise in two words. “It stinks,” she'd say.

But then her thinking changed when -- after much urging from friends who wanted her to play with them -- she joined a volleyball team. Now, she’s at the gym with a convert’s fervor on game nights because she doesn’t want to let her teammates down.

“There have been lots of reasons I could have missed, and I haven’t,” says Geiger of Cary, N.C.

Her experience illustrates what exercise experts have known for years: To stick with an exercise routine, you need a reason to carry on when that little voice inside says, "Sit on the couch. Have a doughnut."

And just knowing that exercise is good for you doesn't seem to be enough to get you moving.

Carla Sottovia, assistant director of fitness at the Cooper Fitness Institute in Dallas, says, “You may have had a bad experience in school, or maybe you’re afraid you’ll hurt yourself. Maybe you’re even afraid to sweat.”

Intimidation is a factor also, experts say. When you're out of shape, it takes courage to don workout duds and head for the gym.

If any of this sounds familiar, don't give up hope. Here are fitness inspiration tips from fitness experts and exercise converts that are guaranteed to help you learn how to love moving.

Be Realistic

First-time exercisers often set unrealistic goals that are too ambitious for beginners. Gerald Endress, fitness director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C. says, “They want to go for maximal goals, but they tend to get overwhelmed.”

So don’t start off trying to work out an hour every day. Instead, set more reasonable, achievable goals, like exercising 20 to 30 minutes two or three times a week.

Keep Track of Your Progress

Remember to chart your progress, whether it's with a high-tech online tracker or an old-school fitness journal. Seeing incremental improvements, whether it's improved time,


increased reps, or greater frequency of workouts, can boost your exercise motivation.

Don't Expect Perfection

Another pitfall is all-or-nothing thinking, a perfectionist way of looking at life that leads to giving up when you miss a day or two or your workout doesn’t go well. Endress says if you accept that there will be some sidesteps on your fitness journey, you’ll be better prepared mentally to deal with setbacks.

Expect that you'll get sick from time to time, and be psychologically prepared to miss a few days of exercise when that happens. Don’t let it be an excuse for giving up. "From then on, many people say, ‘I can’t exercise,'" Endress says. "But there’s always a way to exercise."

To keep injuries from sidelining you, do your best to prevent them by warming up, cooling down, stretching properly, and not doing too much too soon.

Don't Compare Yourself to Others

We’ve all seen those toned, fatless specimens who strut through the gym in their Barbie-sized shorts and sports bras.

Don’t compare yourself to them, Endress says. Forget about them. Forgive them. But do not let them deter you from your goal.

Get Support

Enlist the help of your spouse, girlfriends, boyfriends, buddies -- anyone who will encourage you to stay on track.

"The person should be in support, but not say, 'Why can’t you? It’s so easy,'" says Sottovia. If helpful reassurance turns into criticism, gently remind your pal that you don’t need nagging.

If you need additional help, hire a trainer, she advises.

Find the Fun In It

Sottovia and Endress both say it’s essential to find an activity you like. With an explosion in the number and types of fitness classes at most gyms, it has become easier to find something to appeal to you, from aerobics to Zumba.

If you're not the gym type, walk around your neighborhood or try activities around the house, such as walking up and down stairs or dancing with the stars in your living room. If you're motivated by being social, follow Geiger's lead and join a team.

Break It Up

You can make it easier on yourself by splitting your exercise session into two or three sessions, says Endress. Research supports the idea that this can be as beneficial as one long workout, he says.


So, for example, if you don’t feel like exercising for an hour on any given day, do three sessions of 20 minutes each.

Make It Convenient

Do whatever you can to remove obstacles to exercise, and make it as convenient as possible, says Sottovia.

If you are time-pressed, for example, don't spend 30 minutes driving to a gym. Try exercising at home to fitness DVDs instead. If you're too tired to work out at the end of the day, set your alarm a little earlier and exercise in the morning.

Forget the Past

Don't let previous bad experiences with exercise hinder you, Sottovia says.

So maybe you weren’t the most athletic kid in high school and were the last chosen for class games. That was years ago. Your goal now is not to win a letter jacket or make the cheerleading squad -- you want to exercise to stay healthy and enjoy your life.

Reward Yourself

Treat yourself for making the effort to exercise -- not with food, but with something that you enjoy, like a movie or flowers, says Endress

Try to think of indulgences that will reinforce a mind-body connection so you can savor the rewards of your hard work. Plan a short trip, or just an hour in a botanical garden. Go to a ball game. And remind yourself with each precious moment that you are enjoying this time because of all the great things you have been doing for yourself.


HOW TO EXERCISE WITH DISABLED OR WEAK LEGS

By Jacques Courseault, 2010, Edited by Jane Ann Covington, 2011

Spending long hours sitting in a wheelchair or in a bed can not only be uncomfortable, but

can also lead to weight gain, weakened muscles, joint and muscle stiffness and weakened heart and

lungs. Thus, moving as much as possible is very important for anyone with disabled or weak legs.

This is easier said than done, because quite a few exercises, particularly aerobic exercises, involve

the use of functioning legs. However, you must remember that you have a greater amount of muscle

in your trunk and arms than you do in your legs! You can design your personal exercise program to

focus on working these muscles to reap the benefits of an exercise program.

Boxing

Make a fist and start swinging to burn calories and raise your heart rate. Purchase a boxing

DVD, a mobile punching bag or imagine yourself as a boxing great and punch thin air to cash in 390

calories per hour, according to HealthStatus.com. Another option is to purchase an interactive video

game system, such as Nintendo Wii. The Wii includes many games such as boxing, tennis, baseball

and bowling that are sure to keep you active.

Swimming and Water Aerobics Swimming is an excellent exercise to perform if you have access to a pool. Always swim

with a partner that can assist you. To swim, have your partner hold your legs while you propel

yourself forward with your arms. Use a snorkel if you are not comfortable with holding your breath.

If you have some leg function, a water aerobics class will improve your cardiovascular system and

may help strengthen your legs.

Aerobic Resistance Training

Performing lightweight resistance training at a fast pace is the perfect substitute for

cardiovascular exercise. These exercises will increase your heart rate and loosen up stiff joints.

Purchase a lightweight resistance band and perform resistance exercises at a fast "one second

up, one second down" pace. Choose a resistance that will allow you to perform 40 to 50 repetitions

per set. Perform two to three sets per exercise. Limit your rest between sets to less than 1 minute and

increase your resistance as you become more efficient.

To begin, wrap your resistance band under your chair or bed to perform bicep curls, tricep

extensions, front shoulder raise, side shoulder raise, and shoulder press exercises. Wrap a resistance

band around the back of your chair, grab the handles and push away from your chest to perform a

chest press. Wrap the band around a pole and pull the handles towards your body to work your back


muscles. It should take about 30 minutes to perform these exercises.

Strength Resistance Training Muscular strength is just as important as aerobic strength, especially if you are relying on

your upper body to help you get around. To gain strength, you can perform the same exercises listed

in the "aerobic resistance training" section above. Instead of a fast pace and high repetition workout,

focus on using a thicker resistance band or a dumbbell that you can only lift 10 to 12 times. Perform

two to three sets per exercise and allow yourself one to three minutes of rest between sets. Only

perform strength exercises three times a week, with a day off between workouts.

Tips Perform aerobic exercises five days a week. You can perform back-to-back days of aerobic

resistance training. Always make sure you discuss your exercise plans with your doctor. Make

healthy food choices to properly manage your caloric intake. Participate in organized disability

sports, such as basketball, racing or fencing. Change it up!


When Exercise May Not Be Good for the Brain

April 2, 2012 by Ruth Buczynski

Have I managed to convince you that exercise is an optimal way to encourage neuroplasticity

(brain growth) and maintain a healthy brain?

Good.

However, now I have a caveat: exercise can sometimes be bad for the brain.

Just ask the people who ended up with one of the estimated 300,000 sports-related injuries

per year.*

For the 15-24 year age range, sports-related injuries were second only to car accidents in the

number of brain injuries.

In addition, concussions account for 10% of all high school sports injuries.

When looking at kids who played American football, nearly 2,000 injuries were treated every

day in emergency rooms during football season. This study, spanning 18 years, also found that brain

injuries has increased by 27%.

Americans aren't’ the only ones with hight levels of brain-related sports injuries. A Canadian

research team led by Dr. Michael Cusimano, Director of the Injury Prevention Research Centre at St.

Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, found that youth hockey players were 10 times more likely

to suffer a brain injury after rules on body checking were relaxed.

Are these brain injuries going to influence brain health later in life?

Repeated concussions have been linked to neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease,

though no one knows the exact role concussions may play in its development.

They have also been correlated with higher risk of PTSD and anxiety disorders.

There are other things we do that aren’t good for our brains - and we may not realize that

we're doing them now.


Exercise and the Neuroplasticity Revolution

with John Ratey, MD and Ruth Buczynski, PhD

Dr. Buczynski: Hello everyone! Welcome back. I’m so glad you are here with us tonight

again for The New Brain Science.

I am Dr. Ruth Buczynski. I am a licensed psychologist and President of the National Institute

for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. We are hosts for this series.

I want to welcome people from all over the world. I know that practitioners have been calling

in each week from all kinds of time zones. And no matter what time it is, we appreciate you taking

the time to be part of this call. We are a big family of multidisciplinary practitioners. We are

physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family counselors. We

are physician assistants, dieticians, occupational therapists, chiropractors, clergy, stress management

consultants, and coaches. If you are a layperson and you don’t fit into any of those categories, I want

you to know we’re glad you’re here!

My guest today is Dr. John Ratey. I am very excited about this call. He is the author of one of

my favorite books; it is called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

And I will tell you, when I am having trouble motivating myself, I just think about the things that I

read in this book and it gets me going and exercising, even when I don’t always feel like doing it.

So, John, I’m grateful that you are part of this call. I thank you for your work. People may

know of you from your work with Driven to Distraction and the many other books that you have

written, but tonight we are going to spend time talking about exercise and where exercise fits into the

brain. So, welcome John!

Dr. Ratey: Great to be with you. It sounds like you have an exciting program and an exciting

audience.

How and Why Exercise Can Change the Brain Dr. Buczynski: Well thanks! So, you have said that exercise is the single most powerful tool

you can have to optimize your brain. Can you tell us why you say that?

Dr. Ratey: Well, I think that what we know today, in this growing field of knowledge and

science, is that exercise really helps regulate our emotional brain. It helps us manage our moods,

both up and down, it helps us with motivation, as you alluded to, it helps us with anxiety and stress

management, and it helps keep our attention system and our ability to withhold actions from

cravings. In other words, it improves the impulse control issues that we may have. Also there is

nothing that we know of that is better than physical aerobic and anaerobic exercise to optimize our


brain to function cognitively - that is to learn, to remember, and to think, even think creatively.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. So, let’s go into more detail, like why does exercise help us to learn,

and think creatively. What happens when we’re exercising?

Dr. Ratey: Well, the “why” is important because it gives people a framework. I think we

need to remember who we are, like the Greeks and “know thyself.” I think we are still hunter

gatherers, all of us. It has only been ten thousand years since we have come off the plains and

savannahs and farming has become a part of things.

And we aren’t moving like we used to when our genes were developed over a half a million

years ago. Then we were moving approximately ten to fourteen miles a day, lifting, balancing, and

all those physical attributes that were part of our lives. And that is not so long ago. Our genes have

not changed that drastically.

So why movement is so crucial is because it is really part of the brain. Our thinking brain and

the emotional control part of our brain really developed from our moving brain. Becausewe became

better movers is the way I like to think of it. We became able to think, to imagine, to abstract and

have all the wonderful human functions that we have - in part to help us be better movers and be the

evolutionary victors that we were.

Also “how?” is what is coming to the fore front now. We know that exercise, activity, and

play help us because it causes our brain cells to really work a lot. And this causes a release of

neurotransmitters. Those in mental health certainly will recognize dopamine, norepinephrine and

serotonin, all of which get immediately increased in concentration when we begin exercise and stay

up for a period of time.

Also, we know the effect of exercise on a variety of different hormones like endorphins and

the new class of hormones called endocannabinoids – and is or our body’s own marijuana. The

endorphins are our body’s own morphine. When I lecture to student audiences, I always tell them,

“If you really want to get high on morphine and marijuana, just go out for a long run, lift weights,

play tennis, play basketball, soccer, or whatever you have available. Or just jump rope!”

But also we know that in the past ten years we’ve seen a whole new group of targets that

exercise really propels and they are what we call the growth factors, in both the body and the brain.

Specifically, in the brain there is one that has become a big favorite, called brain-derived

neurotrophic factor or BDNF, which I call “Miracle Gro" for the brain because it is brain fertilizer.

Dr. Buczynski: I was going to say, I would like to get into that but before we do, I would

like to just lay out some of the work that buttresses this whole idea. Can we talk some about Scott

Small’s work? He is a neurologist that you wrote about in your book.


Neuroplasticity, Exercise and the Brain

Dr. Ratey: Yes. Well, basically that is the sexy part of what we call neuroplasticity. Exercise

improves the brain’s ability to be plastic. That means all of the hundred billion nerve cells that we

have are much more apt to grow and change, which is necessary if we are to learn and remember.

Scott Small’s specific contribution comes from showing, really for the first time, “in vivo”

that is in a live person that exercise improves our brain’s ability to make new nerve cells from the

stem cells that we have in our brain. And this is a process called neurogenesis, a process that we

really only began looking into about ten years ago in humans.

And Scott showed that, even a group of previously sedentary thirty-three-year-olds, who

began an exercise program for, I believe, only three months, four times a week, for forty minutes,

getting their heart rates up eventually, could show a pretty dramatic improvement in their pre and

post test scores.

And most importantly they showed a dramatic increase in the volume of the area in the brain

where we know we are growing new brain cells every day. An area called the hippocampus, which is

what I call the “Grand Central Station for memory.” This is the area that gets the new brain cells that

we make from our supply of stem cells in our brains. And we didn’t know this really until 1999.

Small’s work began, I think in 2007 and really showed the change in the volume of this area by

using the fancy scans that were developing then. This led everyone to conclude that in fact it really

does happen in humans.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. And let’s also talk about Carl Cottman’s work. He is the Director of

the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at UC Irvine.

Dr. Ratey: Yes. And he is one of the three people I dedicated my book to.

The Role of Exercise in the Prevention of Cognitive Decline

Dr. Ratey: Yes, because he started the whole process going. In the late eighties or early

nineties there was the big MacArthur Study, an international study, looking at which activities

prevented the onset of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. And from that study, it was quite

large, they showed three activities. One was reduce caloric intake or not getting overweight.

Actually being a little underweight which no one likes to hear but it’s the truth! The second was

continuous learning. So doing Sudoku or crossword puzzles or whatever people are doing these days

and keeping your brain active all the time. And the third activity was exercise. It was really quite

profound.

And Carl Cottman was a co-author of this study and decided to look at this. He began a study

back in his lab in Irvine and published it in 1995. That study really turned the world around in terms


of exercise and neuroscience.

He got a group of mice and taught them how to run in a running wheel, he had their brothers

and sisters in other cages where they weren’t able to run. He pre and post tested both groups and

found that the running rats improved their test scores about twenty percent over the controls and over

their previous tests. And then he sacrificed them and looked at their brains.

Their brains were thicker. The cortex seemed like they were much more connected. They had

an area of the brain, the hippocampus, which was much bigger than it had been and very much

bigger than the match controls.

He also measured the substance, BDNF, which we had only known about for about ten years

and found that it had increased quite significantly. And this really opened the door to what I think is

a virtual tsunami of neuroscience on the issue of exercise and the brain.

So there is a connection between increased BDNF, I am pretty sure of that now, and an

increase in actual cell proliferation or new growth or neurogenesis, which means new brain cells

growing.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. Has anybody done this work with aging adults?

Dr. Ratey: Oh yes, after Carl Cottman’s work, for the past ten years or fifteen years, most of

the work has been done with the aging generation. Arthur Kramer and his group out at the University

of Illinois, Urbana, has sort of led the way in this area. But there are people from all over the world,

in many countries that are looking at how to delay the onset of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s

disease and also how exercise specifically is working on the brain.

Kramer is sort of the leading light because he has a lot of scans and information about cell

growth in the elderly, but basically the conclusion of all the studies is that if you are sedentary and

you begin to exercise in your middle-age years, you can prevent the onset of cognitive decline by as

much as ten to fifteen years.

And some of our Alzheimer’s researchers have found that if you begin to exercise and

continue at it, you can cut the incidence of Alzheimer’s, your chance of developing Alzheimer’s

disease almost in half, which is really quite remarkable.

Dr. Buczynski: Cutting your chance of Alzheimer’s almost in half that is pretty attention-

getting. Tell us some of the studies that show that.

Dr. Ratey: Yes. The names escape me right now - my own cognitive decline! No, there’s a

whole host of them that are listed in my book, and I refer people to that. And, boy, if you just Google

“Exercise Alzheimer’s disease” you’ll get a lot of the more recent studies.

Dr. Buczynski: Is anyone doing it with people that have an early diagnosis or who have been


recently diagnosed?

Dr. Ratey: Yes - but again I can’t give you their names, there are too many.

Dr. Buczynski: Sure!

Dr. Ratey: But there are many, many people that have looked at this and they find that

exercise is one way to delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline and that it

lets you really make a dent in the speed at which people deteriorate. If people are diagnosed or if

there is a hint of that, then you really want to get exercising.

Dr. Buczynski: Right. Let’s talk about learning. What do we think is happening in the brain

when we are learning?

Building Your Patients’ Brains

Dr. Ratey: Well, when we learn anything, at the basic cellular level what has to happen is

your cells have to grow. And that is because of our wonderful neuroplastic brain, that is our brain is

able to grow and change. And the only way we can learn anything is if that happens, if the brain does

grow.

So we know what exercise does. One, it helps this learning process by providing the right

“soup,” the right constituents, to help our brains grow and change. And second, as I mentioned

earlier, it helps make new brain cells, which adds to the potential for our brains to learn and

remember just in our memory banks, if you will.

But the third area, which is most important to me, is that exercise really makes for an optimal

learner because exercise helps our attention system to work better. It helps us stay focused and fixed

on whatever subject we are wanting to learn about, it provides motivation for us so we don’t get as

bored, it decreases our impulsivity in general, so it makes us less fidgety and more able to sit in our

seats or stay with whatever it is we are trying to master.

It reduces stress, the toxic stress that is anti-learning and blocks our ability to learn if we are

under too much stress and anxiety. And in general, exercise puts us in a very positive place to take

the world in. I think this is really one of the reasons why I have spent so much time lecturing and

pushing the schools to get exercise and play back on their dockets. All over the world, less and less

time is being spent with our kids exercising, as they spend less and less time moving outside of

school. So it is a very huge problem.

Dr. Buczynski: Yes. And are there studies going on that are looking at the impact of

exercise on kids’ ability to learn?

The Impact of Exercise on Children’s Learning Dr. Ratey: Oh, absolutely. Again, this is all over the world now. There are some very good


studies. There are scientifically rigorous studies and empirical studies, as well. The first chapter in

my book is on a school in Naperville, Illinois. It stimulated me to write the book and shows that

exercise played a big role in helping this school to be one of the best in Illinois. All the kids are in a

fitness-based PE program every day and they scored at the top of the heap of all the schools in

Illinois.

So for me the “sacrificing of seat time” as it is called did not negatively affect their scores.

Dr. Buczynski: Has anyone figured out how long the effect of exercise lasts after one has

exercised?

Dr. Ratey: No, I don’t think so. First of all, exercise is cumulative. If you are a chronic

exerciser, which is the more fit you are as a person the better learner you are going to be. And that

has been well documented over years, both in the United States and across the world, the more fit

you are, the better learner you are going to be.

One recent study out of Illinois looked at ten-yearolds. They divided the children into two

groups, those that were fit on a running test and those that they deemed unfit. They did tests and

found that the fit kids did a little better, fifteen percent better I believe. But then they also imaged

their brains to look at their hippocampuses - or hippocampi as they are called - and found that those

that were in the “fit” category versus the “unfit” had bigger hippocampi - which is very nicely in

concert with what we know in adults and in the elderly. So it is the first study to sort of break that

news and I think it is really quite remarkable.

Dr. Buczynski: Has anyone looked at a previously sedentary population to try to determine

how long it takes before an effect starts to kick in?

Is Exercise an Option for Everyone? Dr. Ratey: Oh, I think you can see an effect on anyone. I mean, if you are talking about that

day’s effect, you can see an effect on almost any population, whether they are sedentary movement-

based, or are in a “fit” category. Their brains will be much more open to information from the

environment, which is really what learning and memory is all about. There are plenty of people

looking at a variety of different exercises, such as, strength training, tai chi, and a variety of different

modes of movement that improve test scores.

Dr. Buczynski: The reason I ask is, when practitioners are thinking about their patients,

there are some obvious patients that you would suggest exercise for and then there are some that

perhaps are significantly overweight and are attached to a sedentary lifestyle. They shouldn’t rule

out the possibility of there being some help for that person even if they are sedentary.

Dr. Ratey: Oh, I think you are asking the right question but I think those are the people that


are helped the most, so that it is just the opposite of what one might think. I mean, they don’t have to

go out and run a marathon! You know, for somebody who is really overweight you want to start

them off slowly, in something that they can see progress in.

At our Department of Obesity and Nutrition here at Harvard, the head guy who has been in it

for many years says the first exercise people who are reallyobese should begin with is actually

weight training because probably they don’t have the energy to go much distance-wise and

aerobically.

And with weight training they can see that they are getting stronger day-by-day. They need

that sort of reinforcement. That they can go from 5 lbs to 8 lbs in whatever exercise they are doing.

That reinforcement is so important because exercise is so off-the-radar for so many people.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. That’s interesting. Let’s go into BDNF - that is brain-derived

neurotrophic factor. When did people start figuring out that BDNF was so important?

BDNF – The "Miracle Gro" For the Brain

Dr. Ratey: I think it really was in the late eighties and early nineties when we learned what

BDNF was. It has really increased its power with Cottman’s 1995 study on mice. So people began to

really know that it had a significant fertilizer power to improve cell life, longevity of the cells, and

the ability of the cells to do what they are supposed to do.

And since then we have learned it has many partners. Neuro growth factor itself and factors

that come up from the body when you are moving that help with the learning process, and also with

the neuroplasticity process, which usually goes along with keeping your cognition for a longer

period of time than you might had you not been moving.

Dr. Buczynski: Right. Now, as you mentioned, you coined the term that BDNF is the

“Miracle Gro" for the brain. What is BDNF doing that seems to be so positive for the brain?

Dr. Ratey: Well, what it does, it turns on a lot of genes that have to do with all kinds of very

good things. And it turns on the growth factors. In our genes it is a growth factor, but it also helps

each individual brain cell be that much more vigorous.

It also helps with brain cell repair, it promotes what I think of as the “janitorial service”

inside each and every brain cell to get tougher, to have “more employees” if you will, to clean up the

waste products and to decrease the potential for cell death. BDNF does all those things and does it at

the synapse level where the growth occurs as well as intracellularly. So it really has quite a

remarkable effect.

It is also an antidepressant. It helps manage our moods and an anti-anxiety, anti-panic agent

or one can think of it in those terms. So it helps to do the regulating of those problems.


Dr. Buczynski: And there is a study out of Kandel’s Lab in Columbia where they worked

with BDNF with mice - is that correct?

Dr. Ratey: Well, I think they do a lot of studies at Eric Kandel’s lab, he has won a Nobel

Laureate. But his work had been done mainly with squid neurons. But, yes, BDNF is a factor there.

He might be doing some mice studies that I am unaware of now. But I wouldn’t doubt it because

they are looking into how to make more of this BDNF, or the biotech companies have been. I think

he was involved with a number of the studies, to promote the cell learning at a very, very basic level.

Dr. Buczynski: And I think I read in your book that there are German researchers who found

that people with a gene that robs them of BDNF are more likely to have learning deficiencies?

Dr. Ratey: Yes, yes. That is now supported by other studies. There are certain families that

have rampant mental retardation and their BDNF is very, very low. So it goes along with the whole

idea that BDNF is a very powerful enhancement for our brain and what it supposed to.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. So let’s tackle some of the other growth factors. There is IGF, insulin-

like growth factor.

The Role of IGF as a Growth Factor Dr. Ratey: Right. It is made both in the body and in the brain. And in the body it helps us

grow more insulin receptors, which is all to the good, to help us use our over-supply of glucose, in

the developed world, anyway. Also it works in partnership with BDNF and other factors in the brain

to promote cell growth. And that is the real link in the lynchpin, that it helps BDNF when the supply

comes from the body when we exercise.

And it is very useful paradigm. When we exercise, our muscles get over-stressed and when

that happens, in both our heart and our muscles, it sets up a call for more of this IGF-1 to help,

“Bring in more glucose!”. That is really what it translates to, more insulin receptors so you can bind

more insulin so it can do its job. That is to bring glucose into the cell, which feeds the cell. Because

when you are overtaxing it, you want more of it available.

So it releases this IGF-1 plus a bunch of other different factors that we now know also have

an important function in the brain, although not the same as I just described. But they promote other

growth-enhancing factors and mechanisms in the brain.

Dr. Buczynski: And there is also vascular endothelial growth factor?

Dr. Ratey: Boy, you really read the book! This is great, I love it! VEGF is vascular

endothelial growth factor - right. And it is the same story, when you overtax a muscle you are

causing this alarm to go off saying, “We need more help! We need more blood supply!” And so this

is one of the important factors. It stimulates more blood vessel growth, small capillaries.


And in the brain, however, it is very important. Scott Small showed that there is actually an

improvement in changing our stem cells into new nerve cells. Well, VEGF is very involved in that

process, to help stimulate our stem cells to change or divide and grow into a new nerve cell. It is also

important in keeping that nerve cell alive as it is young and it needs to be integrated. The VEGF,

IGF-1, and BDNF all are crucial in that whole process.

Dr. Buczynski: And there was one more I read in the book - FGF2.

Dr. Ratey: Yes, Fibroblast Growth Factor. Again, the same sequence, of having the muscle

needing to build more muscle, FGF2 also goes up to the brain to turn on the division process of the

stem cells and to make brand new nerve cells. So they are all important and it is a veritable

symphony of action. These growth factors together help, one, build muscles and, two, build brain.

Dr. Buczynski: Now, we have a lot of mental health people on the call and, in the US

anyway, many times if a patient presents with depression they will be treated with antidepressants.

But in Europe they might be treated with an exercise regimen first?

Exercise as an Alternative to Drugs in the Treatment of Depression

Dr. Ratey: Right, and very well, by the way. But, of course they do have antidepressants

there too. I think one of the reasons I became interested and stayed interested over the years in the

exercise role in mental health is just that target - depression and mood regulation.

And I think many centers have been looking at how exercise is doing it, what are the crucial

components, how much, how fast, and how intense, all those questions are being looked at as we

speak, and have been looked at. Duke University leads most prominently in this area. They picked

up on it early in the eighties and began to notice that people exercising for cardiac reasons decreased

their hostility, decreased their anxiety, decreased their depression, and improved their mood and

sense of wellbeing.

They began to look at this pretty seriously. And ten years ago a fairly large study came out of

Duke. It took place over a number of years. They looked at about a hundred people who came in

looking to be treated at Duke for depression and divided them into three categories. One group

receiving increasing doses of Zoloft, one of our antidepressants. A second group was started on an

exercise program four times a week and a third group got both the exercise and the medication.

They met with these people weekly, they did scales and at the end of two weeks all groups

were starting to drop in terms of their depressive scores. At the end of four weeks, all of them had

achieved a dramatic, statistically significant drop in their depressive scores. And at the end of four

months this remained true.

So it showed that exercise is at least as good as our antidepressants. And there is some hint


that maybe the activity, the resilience, and the feeling that you did it on your own kind of thing

might have a more lasting impact on mood.

Dr. Buczynski: Yes. Too bad they didn’t use talking treatment as part of that research

design.

Dr. Ratey: Right. I think there are studies looking at that now, but at that point there wasn’t.

It is hard to find funding for exercise studies – at least in this country!

Dr. Buczynski: Yes. If there is nothing you can sell, if it is not going to increase sales of any

pharmaceutical. But, still, it would have been nice to know the effect and where a talking treatment

fell in that process.

Let’s spend some time looking at the various intensities -low, medium and high level

intensities of exercise andwhat is going on in the brain at each of those levels. Let’s start with low-

intensity exercise, which is probably where, if one of the practitioners on the call has a patient who

has been sedentary, is they are going to start. What is happening in the brain with low-intensity

exercise?

Movement Improves Scores in Children and the Elderly Dr. Ratey: Well, I think what is happening with movement in general and with low-intensity

exercise in particular, you are activating all of your nerve cells. So there is much more activity going

on that will cause an increase in neurotransmitters.

And I think that is the real action there. So it is like taking, a little bit of Prozac and a little bit

of Ritalin. Because it improves the serotonin levels, it improves our dopamine and

norepinephrine levels, it helps us be a little less stressed, a little more positive, and improves

our focusing quite a bit.

A recent study, since my book came out, showed that in children, even walking at sixty

percent of their maximum heart rate, which is really walking, being able to talk, and not sweating,

but just walking for twenty minutes, improved their test scores by fifteen percent, from pre to post.

So it is not as though you are not getting anything, you know, with walking.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. So I just want to make sure I got that down. Children's test scores

improved by how much?

Dr. Ratey: By fifteen percent.

Dr. Buczynski: Wow!

Dr. Ratey: Yes. And with the elderly, there are walking studies showing an improvement

over a three to six month period. Different studies showing that just walking sixty to sixty-five

percent, before they start to get out of breath, has a very positive effect on mood, cognition, and


anxiety in general. It also tends to make you more social. And it certainly has a big impact on your

physical health.

Dr. Buczynski: Right. We have known that for years; it seems to me with Ken Cooper’s

work out of Texas. We have known that aerobic exercise was healthy for cardiac purposes and

helpful in reducing hypertension and certainly we have known that it is helpful in managing weight.

But the whole idea that it is helpful with learning and with the brain that seems to be more recent

research.

Dr. Ratey: Absolutely. And it is, around the edges, most people know about it and have

written about it but now we know, once you get into the mechanisms what is actually happening.

Then it becomes something that people can latch onto, can understand. And I think that it goes along

with the rise of what we know about what is going on in the brain and with neuroscience in general.

That has given people more information to see how this might all play together.

Dr. Buczynski: So, let’s move on to medium intensity activity. You describe low-intensity

as an activity where you could still have a conversation and wouldn’t necessarily break a sweat. And

that seemed to have a fifteen percent improvement in test scores. First, what would be some markers

for medium-intensity excercise?

Dr. Ratey: Well, it is hard to go low, medium and maximal, other than by using heart rate,

because that is something most people can understand. When we talk about “sixty percent maximum

heart rate,” what is “maximum heart rate?” Well, every person’s maximum heart rate is roughly

figured by taking 220 minus your age. And whatever that is, that is a hundred percent, or supposedly

what your maximum heart rate is or should be. And if you take sixty percent of that, then that is what

the heart rate would be.

So medium or moderate, it depends on the author of the study, is anywhere from seventy, to

eighty-five percent of your maximum. And there you are going to see much more of a change in the

neurochemistry, much more of taxing the nerve cells. And you are likely to see development of more

neurotransmitter receptors, as well as improvement in the amount of neurotransmitter that you might

have available. You are going to see higher levels of BDNF and all the other factors that we

mentioned, the VEGF, the FGF2 and IGF-1, just because you are taxing the body more and you are

getting more input into the brain.

The markers are a better improvement in mood, certainly more reduction of anxiety and

stress. One begins to develop resilience, which is doing something that is a little more taxing, and

staying with it - that whole practice of committing to something and then making it, you know,

doing it, - three-four times a week or every day, that takes practice. And that is a skill that has been


lost in the sedentary world that we are living in.

It is a very big issue with our kids, all over the world now. I just returned from India and I

have been working in Taiwan and it is not just in the US that we are have a problem with our

children who are mesmerized, as we all are, by our wonderful cyber toys, including TV and all the

wonders of the computer. We pay a price for that, like sitting in our chairs and not moving. And our

kids are really not moving and that is a big problem.

Dr. Buczynski: Yes. So, with medium-intensity activity, the body starts burning glucose?

Dr. Ratey: Well, it is burning glucose even in moderate and low activity. But then you start

really churning it up and start taxing the muscles even more, so you are going to cause a lot more of

these recovery factors to be generated and that is going to lead to more growth of the muscles and

the heart and better circulation overall.

Certainly better circulation to the muscles of the heart and especially to the brain. And you

are probably going to have jump in neurotransmitters and growth factors even more than you would

have with low-intensity exercise.

Dr. Buczynski: And I think you wrote that higher exercise activity triggers the release of

metabolic cleanup crews?

High Intensity Interval Training Dr. Ratey: Yes! You’re so good! Yes, it is really quite extraordinary. I think one of the areas

that I got into in doing research for this book is what is called high-intensity interval training. Some

questions that everybody asks, from all audiences that I have ever spoken to are, “How little can I

do?”, “How little time can I devote?” and “How little pain can I make?”

Well, I say it is not about that - it is about intensity duration. So, if you spend just a small

amount of time but in a very intense way, you get a very powerful effect on the brain and you cause

a release of other factors.

At the very high-intensity intervals and we are talking here “beyond the beyond” sprinting

for thirty seconds as fast as you can go, uphill or lifting weights continuously for thirty seconds and

not taking any breaks. This really causes a release not only of all the factors we have talked about,

but of a hormone called the human growth hormone, HGH. HGH is popular among all the athletes

and the Hollywood stars because it keeps you young. It is the anti-aging hormone.

There are anti-aging centers around all over the world that have synthetic HGH and give it to

people to use. What it does is keep the body young, like an adolescent. One of the properties of HGH

is that it burns fat and makes muscle. People like that because one of the best measures of how

healthy we are is out body fat content. We want to want low fat content and this hormone really


helps with that.

Secondarily, in the real peak exercise experience that I am trying to describe, you make more

of the substance called nitrous oxide, which we make all the time. But you make more of it as you go

up the scale. Then all of a sudden, at the higher stressors, the high-intensity exercise points, you are

making more of this substance.

And this is really magical because it functions in our small vessels in our brain, in our body,

and in our hearts, as what I think of as a “Roto Rooter effect”. It has been described as such, to clean

up all theplaque and cells that adhere to the small little arteries that lead to trouble later on in terms

of stroke and heart attacks and just general loss of function. It also expands these arterials, these

small arteries.

So it makes for a cleaner, bigger transport mechanism for our blood flow to get through so

we can feed our organs with more glucose and oxygen.

But it really takes you getting to this maximal stress and it is not something that I would

recommend for anybody that is not already in pretty good shape but this really has a very powerful

effect.

People are using it to train. Even endurance athletes are training with much more time spent

on sprinting and going “beyond the beyond,” and worrying less about the endurance because they

will improve with this real challenge to the body.

Dr. Buczynski: So that is with interval training.

Dr. Ratey: Right.

Dr. Buczynski: You know, I was at a conference once and I did not have time to do a whole

half-hour of running. And I went outside and found a back set of stadium steps and I went up them

as fast and I could and came down, and back up again. I did that four or five times and I was amazed

at the impact that had on me pretty much the whole day!

Dr. Ratey: Oh, it’s incredible when you do it. I mean, you couldn’t ask for a better

description or a better example. It was probably maximal or above the maximum for you, when you

are running up stairs. That is a really good challenge.

Dr. Buczynski: Yes. Now, I want to go in an entirely different direction and talk about some

of your thoughts about using exercise to fight addictions.

Exercise and the Fight Against Addiction Dr. Ratey: Okay. Well, there are many reasons why exercise is very useful in treating

addictions. One reason is that exercise reduces craving because all of our addictive substances and

activities really come down to jazzing-up or improving the concentration of dopamine in our brains.


It seems that not only is it involved with the attention system but it is also a key player in the

addiction issue and the “getting the buzz” off of whatever it is, from cigarettes to heroin, from

gambling to porn, to intensity, to extreme sports. All of those give you “the dopamine rush” and

exercise does as well.

So one gets a craving, at least at a neurochemical level, partially sated by this

neurotransmitter and you increase endorphins and endocannabinoids, which are very important for

feeling of satiation and feelings of wellbeing and wellness. So in that score it really helps with

reducing the craving.

And I think it gives people an activity. One of the big pluses of AA is that it is an activity that

is not part of the addiction issue. It is not related to anything that is surrounding the addiction

problem. So that is why they push “90 meetings in 90 days” because it is something to supply an

activity.

Well, exercise is a pretty good activity. And also it brings about a better physical health,

reduces panic and stresses, and influences mood improvement - all that factors in to, I think, being

something that is really crucial for helping people who are struggling with addictions.

Do School Gym Classes Help or Hinder Neuroplasticity? Dr. Buczynski: Thank you. Now, you have some thoughts about kids’ gym classes and why

they don’t always help with neuroplasticity. Can we get into that just a little bit?

Dr. Ratey: Sure. I think the focus in many gym classes is on just athletics what is called the

“Three R’s” where the gym teacher “Rolls a ball out, Relaxes, and Reads the paper!” and lets happen

whatever is going to happen. That is an extremely bad example but I think the over-focus on

athletics and athletic skills is really taking away from getting everybody involved all the time.

It is one of the beauties of the programs that are very successful in schools now, that

everybody is involved and everybody is participating, whether it is an athletic event or a fitness,

aerobic, calisthenics, or even weight training program. But all kids are expected to be involved, are

involved, and are not identified as being terrible at it, using shame and humiliation. Unfortunately

that had been used too frequently by many of our PE teachers in the past.

But to spend the precious time that we have with kids in a very thoughtful, planned kind of

way where everybody is moving about as much as they can, certainly with breaks and everything,

but really keeping them going, and hopefully showing them how much fun it can be because that is

such an important part of the puzzle.

Dr. Buczynski: Now, we don’t have a lot of time left so I would like to sort of pick your


brain about what would be an optimal regimen when we are thinking about our patients? Where

would we be hoping to get to in terms of number of times a week, and types of exercise, and length

of exercise, structure and so forth?

Planning an Optimal Exercise Program For Our Patients Dr. Ratey: Right. Our US Health and Human Services has come out with the following

recommendations and I think I am describing it accurately. The recommendation is that exercise

should be an hour a day for five days a week and on the “off days” doing some kind of fun activity

that involves movement. It is almost really an everyday program!

Now, how I would break it down is at least four times a week to really put in at least forty

good minutes of aerobic exercise, whether that is at first walking, then jogging, walking uphill, or

walking to the point where you are in a moderate stage. The stage where your heart rate is being

taxed and you are not just lollygagging along.

And then add in strength training, whether it be calisthenics, lifting weights, just doing knee

bends, and push-ups, and sit-ups. One can get a lot of exercise from just doing those, a lot of very

good exercise. And one doesn’t need a whole gymnasium to do get that, in fact some of the better

groups these days that are providing really good exercises really don’t use much in the way of gym

equipment.

Just keep yourself moving, use your own body weight but really work on building your

muscles. And especially as we age because our muscles tend to fly away much quicker. They tend to

erode very quickly. The more you age, the harder it is to keep the muscles on. So you have to really

school yourself to do whether it is weight training or calisthenics on an either three or four times a

week basis.

And then I like to throw in some time to improve your balance because it is an important part

of the whole package for the brain and the body. And for that you can look at yoga, one of the tai

chi, or actual balance training in the gym. And it is really quite important. Especially as we age, we

know that goes away, that balance tends to leave us and we need to constantly work on it.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay. The aerobic part we had said forty minutes each time. About how

long would we be thinking the strength part would be?

Dr. Ratey: Well, it depends. I think you would want to alternate it but I think at least twenty

minutes three times a week to really do a good circuit. I mean, in this country women have the

Curves kind of thing which is a circuit training. That is very good because generally their heart rates

are up most of the time and they are doing weights, as well.

So I like that program or other programs in gymnasiums where you have to go from one


machine to another. Or just do you own boot camp with jumping-jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups, and

knee bends.

Dr. Buczynski: Right. And how about balance?

Dr. Ratey: Balance you could do, I would say as often as you can tolerate it! If you are into

yoga, that’s perfect but you can do thatwith jump rope or doing balance challenges on your own.

Now the Exergaming, the Wii Fit and other PlayStation kinds of games that your kids have, most of

them will have an exercise game on it if you can get it and there they have some very good both

aerobic and training programs as well as balance programs.

Dr. Buczynski: And jumping rope will improve balance?

Dr. Ratey: Oh yes! Oh yes, sure it does! Because you have to sort of get everything in order,

you know? Your swing, your movement, where you are landing and everything, absolutely. As well

as, it is probably the best aerobic exercise you can do, if you really get going.

Dr. Buczynski: You know, we have run out of time again. And I am so sorry because we

have just scratched the surface here. But, everyone, I am going to be sending you an email and in

that email there will be a couple of links. One will be to our Comment Board and I would like you to

do that first. Go to the Comment Board and talk about how you are going to use what you have

heard tonight.

And when you do, please put in your first and last name, your city and state or country, and

your profession and talk about how you are going to use what you heard tonight. This is our

community board and it will continue the dialogue you can see what other people are doing - that in

and of itself will be interesting to you. So take some time to do that right away.

And the other thing I am going to send you is a link to John’s book. The book is called

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. I am going to send you the link to

an Amazon link and you can check it out there and take a look at the reviews. If you want to buy it

that will probably be one of the least expensive places to buy it or you could print out the review and

maybe get your library to buy it. But do have a look at that.

Well, first let me say, John, thank you so much for being part of this call, and for all of your

work. You are a prolific thinker and you get involved in so many things and I just want to thank you

for your work and for sharing some time with us today, to help us learn more about this issue.

Dr. Ratey: Right. Can I put a pitch in for my newest website of my nonprofit called

www.sparkinglife.org, it is all one word, where there is a lot of information that I went over today.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay, great!

Dr. Ratey: And people can get on that and learn, and refresh as well as expand on what I


have talked about here today.

Dr. Buczynski: Okay, great! And, everyone, I know many of you went through some trouble

to be part of this call - and I’m sure you are glad that you did! And some of you were up very early

in the morning, or very, very late at night, or in the middle of the night; and some of the folks in

California had to take a very late lunch in order to block off the hour in order to be part of this call

and I just want to say thank you to everyone for taking the time to be part of our community.

So with that, I will say thank you and goodnight to everyone.



Making Your Body Work for You Never use this hypnosis recording while driving a vehicle or operating machinery. Pick out a

spot on the ceiling or on the wall, high overhead. Focus your eyes on that spot now and please do not

remove your eyes from that spot until I ask you to do so. Take the first deep breath all the way in,

filling up your lungs now. Exhaling slowly, sending that wave of relaxation from your head right

down to your toes. Take the second deep breath all the way in, really filling up your lungs now.

Exhale slowly, "calm and relaxed," Third deep breath, all the way in now. Exhale slowly, calm and

relaxed.', As I count from five down to one you find with each count your eyelids want to close more

and more and on or before the count of one, simply let them do so. Number five, your eyelids

becoming a little sleepy, drowsy, heavy and wanting to close. Number four, the next time you blink,

that's the relaxing feeling of hypnosis coming over you. Number three, eyelids wanting to close now.

Two, let them close down and number One, let them be closed now. Let them be closed and notice

how good it feels to have them closed. Some people like to imagine a heavy, pleasant feeling on the

eyelids, just relaxing them to the point where opening them seems to be more than you even want to

concern yourself with.

Just let that relaxation go right down your body, down to your toes and right out through your

fingertips. Let it cover you like a blanket. Every easy breath that you take simply takes you deeper

with the sound of my voice. Letting your arms and hands and fingers relax twice as much as the rest

of your body. Be aware of the muscles around your mouth. Allow the corners of your mouth to

creep up and bring on a smile from the inside out. And this feels so good from the top of your head

to the tips of your toes. Every muscle in your body becoming like loose rubber bands lying on top of

a desk. Bring your thumb and your index finger together on one hand now and start down the ten

steps with a handrail to your beautiful place, be it the beach, a meadow, a beautiful room, a secret

place, perhaps where only you can go.

Number ten, holding the handrail starting down deeper now. Number nine, each step takes

you deeper within and closer to that place of serenity, energy, motivation and harmony in your mind.

Number eight, drifting, floating. Seven, just simply letting go. Number six, all your thoughts and

cares just floating away like a balloon, lifting up into the sky and disappearing up into the clouds.

Number five, halfway down now, your mind and your body beginning to wonder what it will feel

like to relax even more deeply, and yet wanting to move with joy. With every count you let go more

and more. The more you let go, the more authentic control you gain in your life. Number four,

deeper. Number three, double it now. Number two, number one, let go. Just let go. Enjoy a very


deep level of hypnotic relaxation, continuing to breathe naturally, just like you do when you sleep at

night.

Your body is working in perfect harmony with your mind, just the way nature intended it to

be, and you're now preparing to give it new and positive directions that are sent to your body from

your inner mind so that your body responds and takes you to the goal of being at your healthy size

and weight.

Imagine being in a special room now, just place it there in your mind. It’s a room with lots of

dials, lights, and knobs, and meters. It is a control room. It controls the functions of your mind and

your body. The creative ability of your inner mind takes you deep within to this room. Deep within

now to a special room and in front of you on a panel just there is a large lever. This lever controls the

rate at which your body burns up food and excess body fat to produce energy and heat within you. It

controls the rate of your metabolism.

You may notice that it’s time to increase your metabolic rate to feel the energy and vitality,

the increased warmth as each cell within your body prepares to respond to the new and positive

directions of your inner mind. Place your hand on the lever, prepare to raise it, begin to do so now

and as you begin to slowly increase it, become very sensitive and aware of the fine subtle changes in

your body, the increased blood flow as your heart begins to beat just a little faster. Things begin to

pick up in a balanced way; your breathing increases just a little. You may find a sense of tingling in

certain parts of your body, an increased sense of vitality and warmth as you continue to raise the

level higher and higher. Every cell within your body is awakening, becoming alive, you're turning up

the temperature at which your body functions, and it’s beginning to burn and melt away excess fat

from your body. Take it right up to the ideal level for you. There may be a marking there at that level

where you will feel and know when it’s there. Take it up there now … imagine, feel, experience how

good your body feels when it is functioning as it should be.

Knowing that within you right now excess fat is melting away in exactly the same way as an

ice cube sitting in a heated room would begin to melt away and become smaller. Your body is doing

exactly that. At your cellular level with every beat of your heart and with every breath that you take,

your body is melting away the excess fat. Your body is a powerful fat burning machine and it

automatically processes everything you eat to produce and maintain your ideal size and weight.

Repeat that over in your mind now. "My body automatically processes everything that I eat to

produce and maintain my ideal size and weight." How exciting to know that through the power of

your inner mind, your body is responding. It's happening right now. Your body is responding and is

becoming your lean fat-burning body. You realize your true strength is not contained within your fat


cells. The more excess fat that melts off your body, the stronger, healthier, safer you are.

Recall an image of yourself as a child…full of energy, can’t stay still. See yourself in that

state at that age and ask the child if they will help you………..(pause…nod your head their

response). Ask the child to step back inside you and feel the energy awakening within yourself from

the top of your head down through your entire body. Feeeel the vibration of life pulsating through

you and urging you on to play and be active! It feels so good to be active and alive!!

Now, allow yourself to get in touch with the feeling and image of you at your healthy size

and weight. Notice how you move so much more easily, so much more confidently. Feel the vitality

and energy within you. The vitality and energy of a perfectly functioning body. A body that is kept

in top condition by your regular daily activity. You’re finding that you have an overwhelming desire

to exercise regularly, no matter what-it might be that you choose..... running, walking, bicycling,

dancing, swimming, aerobics, rowing machine. Whatever it may be. You’re enjoying all the benefits

of regular exercise. As you get in touch with the feeling of doing your chosen activity right now,

whatever it may be. Feel your body becoming warmer, knowing that you’re melting away those

excess pounds with every moment of exercise. See and think of it all through the mind of a child and

have fun being active. And all of the benefits of exercise begin to run through your mind now,

strengthening your heart and your lungs, increasing the level of serotonin in your brain -- the

chemical that gives you that feeling of well-being...even peacefulness. Balancing out your blood

sugar levels and your body’s hormones. Normalizing your blood pressure, strengthening your body,

shaping it, decreasing your appetite, changing your fat thermostat and increasing your metabolism so

that you lose excess -weight much more easily. Your body automatically maintains the ideal size and

weight for you.

Exercise for you is becoming a wonderful habit. You find yourself enjoying and looking

forward to your regular periods of health and movement. Increasing them, allowing yourself to

become more active, more vital, more alive with every passing day and your body and mind respond

in perfect balance to give you the continuing increased desire to maintain your activity level. You're

proud of yourself, you're forming new habits and those new habits are becoming a part of you

forever. You're an active person, you choose the active way of doing things, even the little things

add up. And you are now reversing the aging clock! Your body and mind are becoming healthier

and more youthful.

You take the stairs instead of the elevator. You park a little further away so that you can get

in those few extra yards of walking, knowing that it all contributes to the new you. Every time that

you do something like that, every time that you choose the active way, walking instead of driving,


making two or three trips instead of one, becoming a little more active every day. Every time you do

that you feel better. Because it’s a part of the new you, the active you. Your body is made to be and

is becoming a fat burning body. It absorbs the value perfectly and efficiently from nutritious foods

you eat and eliminates and passes off the fat. Your body retains only the vital nutrients and produces

lean muscle tissue. Excess fat stores in your body are melting away at this very moment. Your body

automatically processes everything you eat to produce and maintain your ideal size and weight.

Breathe in slowly and exhale…relax deeper and deeper.

There is a gland, a small gland, deep in the center of the brain called the pituitary gland. It's

located behind the forehead, just above the center of the eyebrows and in from the temples, a small

pear-shaped gland with a small opening. As the master gland, it controls the functioning of all the

other glands in your body and as I count from one to five, picture, feel, imagine, experience in any

way that comes to you, the image and idea of that gland opening up and releasing into your blood

stream, the perfect balance of hormones for you. And as you'll feel them in a moment cascading

down through your body, they carry with them a soothing warmth and evenness that lets you know

that things are in balance. It smoothes out your moods and your energy levels. Takes off all the

rough edges as things come into perfect balance and harmony in your emotions...in your physical

body.

Take a deep breath all the way in now. Focus your attention on the awareness and the

presence of that gland deep in your brain. Number one, imagine it beginning to open now. Number

two, it’s opening wider and wider and as it does there begins to flow out the perfect balance for your

body's biochemistry. Number three, the perfect balance of hormones beginning to cascade down

through your bloodstream now, over your chest down through your body like a warm, soothing

golden light or oil. It soothes and evens everything in its path. Number four, all of the other

endocrine glands in your body awaking, becoming more alive and responding. Contributing their

part this very instant to the perfect balance within you and five, it's wide open now. All the gray

clouds lifted away. Your moods are even. Your thinking is clear. Your judgment is stable and wise.

You feel good, knowing that your mind and your body are working in perfect harmony to balance

out your body's hormones.

Take a deep breath all the way in now. Exhaling and just knowing that your body is

becoming more and more healthy; you're stronger. Every pound that is melting away gives such a

rest to your heart and your heart is responding by being healthier, more fit, more in balance. Your

entire life is coming into balance.

You sleep better. Sleep is the natural deep rest that balances out the dynamic activity of your


day. You look forward to your day. Your days are full of energy and vitality, enjoying the active

lifestyle, enjoying the regular times of healthy exercise. It's so easy for you to select foods that

increase your metabolism because all desire for sweet, white, salty, greasy, starchy foods is fading

away, fading away, fading away. You only eat when your body is hungry, and you stop eating when

your body is satisfied.

Get in touch with your hunger level now, that fuel gauge within you. On a scale of 0 to 5, get

in touch with where it is right now, knowing that a five is just satisfied; no hunger, perfectly

comfortable. A three means that you could eat but it’s not quite time to eat. A two means it's time to

eat. The first thing that you always do when you think about eating is to check your hunger level. If

your hunger level is not yet at a two, you simply say, "Stop, I don't need it and my body doesn’t

want it!”

You’ll notice that you need to hydrate yourself and you remember that your body has more

water than anything else and needs to be replenished frequently. Perhaps enjoying a tall glass of

cool refreshing water. You find yourself drinking much more water than you formerly did. Water

fills you up, keeps you satisfied. Refreshes your body, cleanses your blood. Cleans out all the toxins

from your system. You enjoy drinking water with all of your meals, at work, around the house,

outside, in your vehicle. You keep water near you. You enjoy drinking herbal or green teas, hot or

cold, or even lemon or lime water. You find it’s so satisfying.

You always wait until your hunger level is at a two before you eat and you stop eating when

your hunger level reaches a five, that is, when you're satisfied. And you immediately remove the

excess food that you've left on your plate or on the table. Anytime you eat above a level five, you’re

feeding the mind instead of the body and that would distort your body shape. Your body is happy

that you always wait until a level two and stop eating at a level five. And, you’ve decided to lose

weight in a steady, daily process. Losing a quarter of a pound a day; Losing a quarter of a pound a

day; Losing a quarter of a pound a day. Not because I say so, but because it’s your decision and

you’ve made up your mind to be healthy, starting with taking good care of yourself…day by day by

day by day. Losing at least a quarter of a pound a day.

You wouldn’t think of putting too much fuel into your vehicle, putting fuel into your car

when it wasn't necessary. Your hunger level in your body works the same way. So simple. Always

there to let you know. You always take the time to put your fork or sandwich or food item down

between bites. You chew each bite, noticing how it tastes in different parts of your mouth, focusing

all of your attention and awareness on the bite of food that's in your mouth, just the way nature

intended it to be. You wouldn't think of putting another bite of food in your mouth until you had


completely chewed 17 times, experienced and swallowed the bite that was already there. Then and

only then, you take another bite of food into your mouth. In this way you find that it takes a very

small amount of nutritious food to satisfy you now, very small. Your stomach is shrinking down

now, down to the size of your fist. And you hate the feeling of your tiny stomach being stretched out

by too much food.

Each and every one of these positive and beneficial suggestions on this recording are making

a deep and lasting impression upon your inner mind, never to be removed. They're making your

mind, consciously and unconsciously, and your body work for you.

If you're lying in bed at night you can cut off the recording now and enjoy a deep, restful

sleep, waking up at your predetermined time in the morning, looking forward to the day.

Any other time you're listening to this recording, such as starting your day or sitting in a

chair and relaxing, you’ll open your eyes at the count of 5. You feel as though you've rinsed them in

pure, cool spring water. You feel as good as if you have had one to two hours of deep refreshing,

relaxing and energizing sleep. 1. You're coming up now. 2, feeling the relaxation in your body,

realizing you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. 3, coming up further now. 4, lightening,

getting ready to open your eyes, fully aware, fully alert. And 5, eyes wide open and feeling

wonderful and in control.


Anorexia's Roots in the Brain

It began innocently enough, with an hour a day of exercising to a Jane Fonda workout tape, but once

Wendy Headrick began losing weight in eighth grade, she could not stop. Soon she quit eating

candy, then fat and meat. By the end of the year, she says, "I was drinking water, eating cucumbers

and other vegetables, and chewing gum to curb my appetite." Within 18 months, the 5- foot, 6-inch

teen had dropped from 145 to 84 pounds.

Headrick had anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder that afflicts millions of American teenagers, most

of them girls. Once thought to be entirely the result of cultural pressures on girls to be thin, anorexia

and bulimia (also an eating disorder) are now thought to be related as well to changes in the brain

that occur at puberty.

Headrick says the idea to lose weight occurred to her at age 13, when neighborhood children began

teasing her for being overweight. Most pubescent girls find themselves gaining weight suddenly

because their bodies must have a certain percentage of fat in order to mature sexually, says Sarah

Leibowitz, a neurobiologist at Rockefeller University in Manhattan. As a girl enters puberty, her

hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls basic functions like sex and eating, starts churning out

high levels of a neurochemical that stimulates appetite.

Obsessed. While all girls put on fat at puberty, only a fraction become focused on losing weight to

the point of harming themselves. Headrick, now a 21-year-old junior at Ohio State in Columbus,

recalls, "I was obsessed with food. I would cook and cook and cook but not eat. I would watch what

everybody else put in their mouths."

That obsessiveness may hold a clue to what's going on in an anorexic's brain, says Walter Kaye,

director of the Eating Disorders Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh, where Headrick took part in a

study. He has found that girls with eating disorders have higher than average levels of serotonin, a

brain chemical that helps transmit electrical signals between neurons. People with high levels, says

Kaye, "tend to be obsessive, anxious perfectionists. They are the best little girls in the world." This

need to be perfect may start them on the road to starvation, but what keeps them going, Kaye

suspects, is the discovery that starving themselves makes them feel better. Food contains a

component of a protein that's necessary for the body to manufacture serotonin. Starving themselves

may ease their anxieties by lowering the levels of serotonin in their brains.


EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF WEIGHT LOSS SESSION THREE INTERVIEW

Review: Weight? ________________ Listen to CD? ___________________

1. Are you or have you ever engaged in bingeing and/or purging?

2. Please briefly describe your relationship with each of your parents as you remember them when

you were growing up. Also any other significant person in your life such as a step-parent or

grandparent. Please note if any of these people are now deceased.

What were the people’s attitudes about food, alcohol, and your body? What was their size

(overweight or thin or other)?

What messages did they send you that may be contributing to your overall health and behavioral

patterns?

3. What beliefs or decisions did you make growing up about your own body image?

4. Were there any incidents of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse in your childhood that you are

aware of?

5. Some people seem to have a reasonable amount of insight into why they overeat or do not take

care of themselves, i.e. don’t exercise or eat well at all or enough, while others are at a total loss to

understand themselves. If you have any insights, it would be helpful to have you share them with

me now.

6. What causes you the most stress at this time in your life?

7. How would you describe your relationship with your spouse or primary partner at this time?

8. How do you think life will be different when you are at your goal weight?

9. Is there anything that scares or worries you about reaching your goal weight?

10. What name were you called when you were a child? Nickname?



Weight Loss - Emotional Healing Never use this hypnosis recording in a moving vehicle or while operating machinery. Sit or

lie comfortably wherever you are listening to this tape. Pick out a spot on the ceiling on the wall or

high overhead. Focus your eyes on that spot now and do not remove your eyes from that spot until I

ask you to do so. Take the first deep breath all the way in and as you exhale, begin to let yourself go

even deeper than ever before. Calm and relaxed. Second deep breath all the way in. Exhaling slowly,

calm and relaxed. Sending a wave of relaxation from your head right down to your toes. Third deep

breath all the way in. Exhale slowly, calm and relaxed just let every nerve, muscle, fiber in your

body be loose and limp.

As I count from 5 to 1, let your eyelids close. 5 - they're wanting to close (long pause). 4 -

eyelids a little sleepy, drowsy, heavy, wanting to close. 3 - the next time you blink, that's the relaxing

feeling of hypnosis coming right over you. 2 - drifting down, letting the lids close. 1 - let them be

closed now. Let them be closed and just relax them to the point where they feel they don't even want

to work. Opening them would simply be too much to bother with.

Take another deep breath all the way in, and as you exhale, simply let go. Let go and begin to

drift and dream and float on the sound of my voice. This time you relax more deeply into hypnosis

than ever before. Your mind knows exactly how to take you to that peaceful inner place. (So bring

your thumb and index finger together on one of your hands.)

Imagine you are starting slowly down a set of 10 steps with a hand rail, going 10 times

deeper, deeper within to an even healthier level of mind and body with each step that’s taken.

Number 10, each nerve and muscle, fiber in your body loose, limp and letting go. Number 9, calm

and relaxed coming right down. Number 8, relaxing your mind as well as your body. Number 7, that

just takes all the stress, strain, worry right out of your mind. Number 6, deeper and deeper relaxed.

Number 5, noticing how relaxed the lower half of your body has become. 4 the relaxation spreading

throughout your arms and your hands as well. 3, just let go. 2, coming right down. Number 1, as you

step off the final step it seems as though you must be standing on a powerful magnet which seems to

pull the final bits of stress and tension right out through the bottoms of your feet.

You feel 10 times deeper and more relaxed with every easy breath you take, with every

sound that you hear. You continue to relax more and more completely. Let yourself imagine that you

are now in a beautiful, peaceful, serene place. Feel the serenity, and harmony around you. Feel the

beautiful, relaxed, natural feelings in your body and let yourself go even deeper, deeper within as the

sound of my voice mixes with your own thoughts, circulating relaxation throughout your entire


body. Just letting yourself drift, flow, breathing naturally just like you do when you sleep at night.

[Turn recording device off now]

Think back to a time when you were eating when you weren't really hungry. Maybe you were

eating out of control. Perhaps it was a particular food you were bingeing on that comes to you now.

Perhaps it was just too much food in general. Let yourself think back to a time perhaps recent

perhaps not, when you were eating when you weren't really hungry. Nod your head when you’re

aware of that.

Now, get in touch with the emotion that you were feeling just before you started to eat, just

before. The emotion may have been loneliness, perhaps anger, resentment, perhaps you were feeling

bored or maybe you were feeling the need to distract yourself so that you didn't feel anything.

Maybe you had a feeling of entitlement, or a sense of celebration. Maybe you were feeling sad or

sorry for yourself. It may have been a strong emotion or just a whiff of emotion but it led you to eat;

it led you to give to yourself with food.

Get in touch with that emotion now. What is the emotion? (Pause and let them answer)

Whatever it may have been, learn to identify it (use name of emotion). There's always one there.

And now let that emotion become stronger in your mind and in your body. As I count from 1 to 5,

with each number it intensifies. 1, let it come up more and more now. 2, saying the things to yourself

that make you feel that way. 3, turn up the volume on that emotion now. 4, let yourself feel it all

through you now. And 5, let it be very strong open up the flood gates on that feeling now.

And now, as I count from 10 back to 1, your inner mind takes you automatically back on a

thread of this emotion to an earlier time, perhaps a time in your childhood when you had this same or

similar emotion. Don't try to think or remember, your mind works on feelings. Your inner mind can

find an earlier time with this same or similar feeling.

Number 10 drifting back, floating back younger. Number 9 growing smaller, younger now.

Number 8 arms and legs shrinking, drifting back. 7, back to a time when you had this same or

similar feeling. Number 6, way back now. 5, younger, younger and younger. 4, drifting on back, 3,

right on back. 2 and 1, let yourself be there now (snap finger, pause).

Check around. Notice. Get in touch with how old you are for a moment. How old are you

there?

Get in touch with what the situation is. Where are you; what’s going on?

Is there someone there with you? If so, what are they saying or doing?

How are you feeling about that person and about yourself?

Maybe there's someone who you wished was there, but they're not. Who would that be, if


anyone?

Get in touch with the feeling. Notice how that feeling tends to be centered in some certain

part of your body, perhaps you're feeling sad or angry as well, it's all right to let those emotions

come out.

Emotions are like waves in the ocean. They come and they go. And if you try to press them

down, you press down the positive feelings as well. It's all right to feel those feelings.

As I count from 1 to 5, come back to the present and my voice. Deeply relaxing in hypnosis,

but back to adult time. 1, coming up slowly, 2 (pause), 3, deeply relaxing 4 and 5 now.

With your adult mind, we're going to go back in a moment to that time in childhood. This

time we go back as an observing adult, go back as an adult and watch what's happening to that child

over there.

Going back, 5, 4, back to that time earlier in your life, going back as an adult now, 3, 2, like

watching it on a movie, 1. Notice how the child is feeling over there.

What's happening?

Are they alone? Or with someone else?

How is that child feeling about (him/herself)?

Does that child feel wanted? Loved? Accepted? Safe?

If others are around, how do they feel about themselves? Wanted? Loved? Accepted? Safe?

If that child were a child down the street, and they came and asked for your help in this same

situation how would you advise the child? [You may need to help them with appropriate responses.]

How would you help the child understand in a way that would support the child growing up

being and feeling healthy and secure within (her/him) self? [You may need to help them with

appropriate responses. Ask, “What did that child need to hear or didn’t hear enough of? Tell them

now.”]

How would you help the child see and interpret the experience differently, in a way that

supports the child? [You may need to help them with appropriate responses.]

Imagine walking over and putting your arms around that child. [Give your client a stuffed

animal, but ask them if it’s ok with first to do so, to pretend it is the child they are focusing on in

their mind.]

Giving them the love and support they need right now. (Pause and let them do it; help them

if they need guidance. Keep asking what the child needed and tell them the truth.)

And if there is someone who's been treating them unfairly, or in appropriately, stand up for

that child. Be that child's advocate. Say the things that you can say, and do the things that you can do


as an adult. Teach the child and the adults. (Call in their mother, then their father, others who they

need to advocate to for the child.)

Perhaps you need to rescue that child from that situation. Perhaps you just need to be that

child's friend, or both.

[Turn recording device on]

Knowing that the adult part of your personality is always there within you, just as the child

part is, and the adult part is able to support you to see and experience things rationally and clearly, to

interpret things from an adult understanding; you now recognize that those feelings, the ones that

had led you to over eat, no longer need to be comforted by food. You no longer need to give to

yourself inappropriately with food because you're feeling better and better about yourself, safer.

Those negative feelings are beginning to calm down with every easy breath that you take, with every

word I say. (Pause)

[Turn recording device off]

Let yourself go within in your mind's eye and get in touch with where ever those emotions

may have been in your body. Sometimes it's a feeling of emptiness or void, when you're eating,

when you're not hungry. You may feel an emptiness you're trying to fill with food or perhaps you

feel a sense of anger you're trying to stuff down with food. Perhaps it’s hurt or loneliness. Whatever

it may be, get in touch with the feeling that you have when you're eating out of control.

Get in touch with where that feeling is in your body. It may seem to have a physical shape. It

may be that it's a certain color or size, perhaps like a hard dark lump in your stomach or the chest, or

perhaps an open hole in the heart area or something in the throat. Whatever it may be, get in touch

with that now. Get in touch with the idea of it being a certain shape, size and location in your body.

A shelf about 2 feet in front of you at arms' length, imagine constructing one now. Imagine

reaching your hands out there and do so if you wish, feeling the structure of the shelf that you're

building build it very strong. Make it strong enough to hold a thousand pounds or more. That's it, run

your hands over it.

Feel how strong and steady and stable it is (pause). And now go back to that feeling in your

body and imagine reaching right inside, taking all that feeling and energy out and putting it on the

shelf. Do a good job, get every bit of it now.

It may come easily. You may have to be gentle, but firm, and work it loose. Imagine getting

every bit of it out and on to that shelf. Take your time....... And now imagine taking a big, special

golden sponge that lies at one end of the shelf, reaching back inside and just cleaning and swabbing

it out that entire area, where that feeling used to be lodged. Get all of it. Do a good job. Put it all on


the shelf, the sponge and everything...

I'll give you a moment to finish......... And when you're finished, [Turn recording device on]

imagine filling that area with a beam of light that comes down from the sun like a spot light on a

stage, a beautiful golden-white light filling up the void where that energy used to be. Filling it up

with light, and love. There are cells there that have been parched, blocked from receiving that.

They're quenching themselves now. Filling up that area that you use to fill up with food.

Notice the difference in how your body feels. And now imagine a friend, or an angel, or any

figure you choose coming and taking the shelf and all that's on it far, fat away, completely out of

sight. Let it be gone. And feel how free that is. You realize that food is no longer needed to shove

down emotions. Food doesn't hold you. Food doesn't hug you. Food doesn't really comfort you. Food

is simply fuel, nutrition for your body.

You only eat when your body is hungry; chewing at least 17 times, putting your utensils

down between bites; asking yourself if you’re hungry or really thirsty for clean water. You're finding

new ways to give to yourself. Ways that keep you healthy. New ways to keep you interested in life.

You're putting food in its proper place, as fuel for your body. And with every passing day, you're

feeling better and better about who you are inside and outside. It's so important to make friends with

your body, to love your body, exactly the way it is. And that it's so easy to help it change if it needs

to and to love yourself no matter what your body looks like, because who you are loving is much,

much deeper than your outer body.... That essence of who you are, that core of your being that looks

out behind your eyes, it's not your body.

And it's that part of you that comes to the forefront in your life and brings more joy and

boundless happiness. You're feeling lighter. If you let go of those emotions, you no longer need extra

weight to protect you. You’re strong. You're becoming stronger with every passing day and you're

believing in yourself.

You always know what you need to know when you need to know it. You always know-how

to do whatever it is you need to do. Life is a learning process. You learn easily. Now is the time to

have the courage to let go what's no longer necessary

Now is the time to let the real you that's inside come out. The you that perhaps has been

hiding behind those extra pounds. You realize that you're now authentically in control. You always

decide what changes you're ready to make and you no longer need extra pounds to keep you in a

situation or protect you from a new situation. You're embracing life, opening yourself to it, inviting

it.

Change is the nature of life and the degree to which you accept change in your life is the


degree to which you're happy. You're expressing your feelings honestly and openly more so every

day. You're more able to get in touch with your real feelings. You recognize you no longer desire to

cram them down with food because it takes more and more food to do that. So you're feelings are

real. They're valid, simply because you have them, no matter what anyone else says or thinks.

You have a right to your feelings. The more honestly and openly and appropriately you

express them, the more happily you live life. The better you feel about yourself and your

relationships. And you're allowing other people to be responsible for their own feelings. No longer

taking responsibility for other people. You're responsible for you. You're responsible for the changes

that are happening now.

It's time. It's time to come forward to be who you really are and you're excited about the

change. Let it go. Let go of the old hurts, the old guilt. Let it all go. Take a deep breath all the way in

and as you exhale, just let it all go. All the old resentments, the fears, the doubts. You can change in

the space of one breath by simply deciding to do so. (Pause)

And you're deciding that you deserve to be at your ideal size and weight. Feel it now. How

freeing it is. How powerful it is. It's not only all right for you to be at your goal weigh! It’s the only

right thing to do. Each and every passing day leads you closer to your goal. You easily and naturally

select the foods that take you to your goal.

You're always in touch with why you're eating. Should you ever eat in response to

emotions, which I doubt, you will immediately stop and say to yourself, "I'm finding new ways of

expressing my emotions". You're able to focus on what you're body really needs at that moment,

what your mind needs and it makes you feel so good. So in control.

Get in touch with what the child within you needs. You know that you're learning the

difference between body hunger and the urge to eat, one of the most important differences you can

learn in life... Learning to feed the body and not the mind. You feed your mind instead with new

ideas, new challenges, new opportunities, new growth and change and your body requires such a

small amount of nutritious food. You're amazed at what a small amount of nutritious food you can

be satisfied on.

Now that you're feeding the body and not your mind, you're growing stronger, leaner, healthier.

(Pause)

Each and every one of these positive and beneficial suggestions is making a deep and lasting

impression upon your inner mind never to be removed. If you're lying in bed at night listening to this

tape and you desire to go off to sleep, you can do so easily, drifting into a deep, restful and relaxing

sleep. Sleeping all night long, waking up at your predetermined time in the morning with energy and


vitality. Just turn off the recording now.

Any other time you're listening to this recording such as sitting in a chair and relaxing you

opening your eyes at the count of 5. You feel as though you rinsed them in pure, cool spring water.

You feel as good as if you had one to two hours of deep refreshing, relaxing and energizing sleep. 1,

you're coming up now. 2, feeling the relaxation in your body. Realizing you can accomplish

anything you set your mind to. You now have greater confidence in all your abilities. 3, coming up

further now. 4 lightening, getting ready to open your eyes, fully aware, fully alert, and 5, eyes wide

open and feeling wonderful.


ADDICTIONS: PHYSICAL AND/OR MENTAL?

© Jane Ann Covington, BA, CCHT, 1998. 3rd Edition, 2011

Over 30 years ago I began to question the physical disease theory of addictions. I think it’s

pretty clear now that there is much more to learn about the underlying causes of addiction and

effective methods of treating it.

However, I would like to add my own observations on the subject, gained from some 35

years of experience as a hypnotherapist. Let me begin with a personal observation that led me to my

current prevailing theory on addictions.

At age 9, I learned [because I committed] to smoke Camel cigarettes with my older cousins

at a family reunion. I was so very committed and willing to learn that by age 16, I was a full-time

smoker.

I distinctly remember feeling physically sick and dizzy at first. I now know that my body was

telling me that it did not want the tobacco poison. Nevertheless, I had a very strong desire to “be

grown up” and accepted by my older cousins. I lied to them and myself when I told them that I

really enjoyed smoking. Over the years I convinced myself that I enjoyed smoking all-around.

At age 27, I was no longer willing to lie to myself when I woke up one morning and threw

the cigarettes away. I had come to my senses.

Much to my surprise I experienced absolutely no withdrawal symptoms, I began to question

my experience, asking "Why didn't I have withdrawals?" and later, "Why would the body be

addicted to poison?" By the way, nicotine is one of more than 600 poisons among the 4,000

ingredients found in each cigarette.

I proceeded to conduct an informal survey over the next four months, finding that more than

50 percent of the population at large experienced absolutely no negative side effects to quitting

poisonous foreign substances like cigarettes, alcohol, nor drugs. This finding led me to surmise that,

as a society, we’ve been "hypnotized" into believing that everyone will suffer withdrawal when

quitting smoking, for instance.

I began to suspect that the majority of substance users are far more mentally addicted than

physically addicted. I now believe that addictions are mostly mental habits and withdrawal is a

mostly self-fulfilling, fearful expectation.

Through what’s been called by many now, “The Covington Method” of education, coaching,


and the use of individualized effective hypnosis, I have helped many, many people stop smoking all

kinds of things, as well as permanently stop using other substances without any physical and

psychological withdrawal symptoms whatsoever.

The following is a success comparison of current popular methods for stopping smoking,

gathered from information reported in the Physicians Desk Reference l998: Placebo 17% at 7 weeks

and 12% at 6 months; Zyban (antidepressant: bupropion) 49% and 19% respectively; Nicotine

Transdermal System (NTS-patch) 36% at 7 weeks and 27% at 1year (from Knight-Ridder, 1994).

Caution was also given in the literature regarding potential negative side effects for all these

substances. Finally, the clinical trials offered counseling as an important part of these programs. Out

in the real world most people never receive counseling during the transition from smoker to non-

smoker.

However, the Covington Method of Education/Counseling/Hypnosis combination treatment

yields an overall 96% success rate initially, with 80% still smoke free after 6 months. These clients,

much to their surprise, report virtually no physical or psychological withdrawal symptoms and there

are no negative side effects.

In all cases, a desire to quit smoking and a willingness to follow instructions are both

required. When comparing the Covington method of Smoking Cessation with the chemical options

noted above, there is strong support that the issue of addiction to smoking is more mental/

psychological than physical.


FORK IN THE PATH RELAXATION TECHNIQUE SCRIPT

[Toes Up Induction or other another optional induction]

Picture yourself walking slowly down the mountain, becoming more relaxed with each step you

take. Each breeze that caresses your body relaxes you more and more. The path is made up of

switchbacks, and each time you change direction you'll double your relaxation.

You're about a third of the way down the mountain, enjoying every step, feeling a comfortable

breeze blowing, keeping you not too hot and not too cool, but just right. You stop and look up at the

clouds against a beautiful blue sky. Take a deep breath, and peacefulness overtakes you and you

continue down, deeper down the mountain. You've become more relaxed with each step that is

taken, allowing every muscle in your face, neck, and shoulders to let go of any tension. Your legs

and feet feel great. Walking down the mountain brings pleasure to your heart and body.

You are half way down the mountain. You see a place to stop and take a break. There is a tree and a

stream and you are able to watch the birds fly about, taking some time to relax yourself deeper,

deeper relaxed than you've been before. (Pause 10-20 seconds)

It's now time to journey to the bottom of the mountain and relax much more deeply. Down, down

slowly deeper down the mountain in complete joy, peace, strength, and energy. Nothing bothers you.

Nothing disturbs you in any way. The peace that passes all understanding is yours. Your heart and

mind are totally open at the bottom of the mountain. Feelings of love and acceptance of who you are,

are yours. As you reach the bottom of the mountain you notice a fork in the path. You must make a

decision of which path to take. If you go to the left, you will experience your future with no changes.

If you choose to go to the right, you can experience the changes that you want to make now.

First, let us experience the left path. Keeping all your behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes, see what your

life is like for you now. What is it costing you physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually,

financially? How do you feel? What do you say to yourself?

Now go five years into the future. Look at yourself in the mirror. Are you happy with what you see?

What are your behaviors costing you? Financially, emotionally, socially, spiritually? How do you

feel about yourself? What are you saying to yourself while you look in the mirror?

Now let's go ten years into the future. (Repeating above questions and statements).


Twenty years. (Repeating above questions and statements.)

Fifty years. (Repeating similar questions and statements.)

Now I want you to go to the time when you're rocking in a rocking chair and reflecting on your

whole life. What do you say to yourself? What do you wish you would have done differently? What

behaviors do you wish you had changed? What attitudes have hindered you? What beliefs about

yourself or others have limited you? Is this the life you wanted? What learning can aid you back in

the present?

Come back to the crossroads and let's travel the path to the right. Take a couple of nice deep breaths,

letting go. Now in your minds eye, experience yourself making the changes that are important to

you. Who you are tomorrow depends on the decisions you make today. Behaviors you want to

change. Beliefs about yourself that are limiting you. What new beliefs could you now believe about

yourself and others? What new attitudes can enhance your life?

Now, let's journey one year into your future down the path on the right. Look in the mirror. See

some of the positive changes that have taken place. How do you feel? What do you say to yourself?

How have these changes affected you physically? How have these changes affected you socially?

Emotionally? How have these changes affected you with your loved ones, your family, your

parents, your children (grandchildren?), your friends? What other areas of your life are different?

Go five years into the future. Look at yourself in the mirror. How happy are you with the changes

you’ve made? What other changes have occurred because of the one or two changes that you made?

How have these changes affected you socially? Emotionally, what have been some of the benefits?

Look in that mirror… what do you say to yourself? How do you feel about yourself being successful

at making changes? Ten years, repeating questions and statements. Twenty years into the future,

repeating questions and statements. Fifty years, repeating above statements and questions.

Now I want you to go to the time when you are rocking in a rocking chair, reflecting on your whole

life. See how making one or two changes can make a difference on the outcome of your life. A

change in behavior, belief or attitude can have a rippling effect in many ways and in many areas of

your life.

How is it richer emotionally? What have been the benefits in family, friends, and others? What other

areas of your life have you improved?


Now, what are you saying to yourself? How do you feel about yourself knowing the changes that

took place? What is it like to look in the mirror at yourself? Enjoy it! Intensify it!

Come back to the present, to today, and know that all of this is yours, the choices are yours. You

have the ability to deal with (boredom, frustration and other information that was revealed during the

pre-talk). See yourself now dealing effectively with making the changes that you desire. Feel

yourself being successful at what you set your mind to do.

And then you know without a doubt that the change you desire will happen soon.

You may open your eyes feeling refreshed, energized and peaceful.

Shared by Darlene Shaffer of Ann Arbor, Michigan


WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY SMOKING?

This is a partial list of poisonous chemicals that are added to cigarettes or used on tobacco when it’s

being grown, and what they affect. Read over this list, then stop and ask yourself: “Is this something

I really want to light a flame to and then ingest into my lungs?”

Acetaldehyde Eye, nose and throat irritation. Skin burn, cough, narcotic and toxic. Used as a reducing agent for silvering mirrors. When treated with a small amount of sulfuric acid it forms paraldehyde, a trimer, which is used as a hypnotic drug.

Acetone Eye, nose and throat irritation. Head dizziness, narcotic, and toxic by

inhalation. Nail polish remover and paint stripper. Acrolein Abnormal pulmonary functions. Irritation to eyes, skin and mucous

membranes. Chronic respiratory disease. Chemical used in manufacturing electronics.

Ammonia Eye, nose and throat irritation. Excessive accumulation of fluid in the tissue.

Inhalation of concentrated fumes fatal. Difficulty in breathing. Household floor or bathroom cleaner.

Angelica Root Ext. Known to cause cancer in animals. Arsenic Ulceration of nasal septum. Gastrointestinal disturbances. Carcinogen –

cancer causing agent and mutagen – biological mutation causing agent. Affects vision. Used in rat poison.

Benzene Used in lighter fluid. Benzopyrene Highly toxic. Carcinogen by inhalation. Affects reproductive system. Butane Narcotic. Causes drowsiness. Deprives body of oxygen. Hydrocarbon

obtained by refining petroleum. Cadmium Tight chest. Sense of smell loss. Emphysema. Mild anemia. Protein in

urine. Nausea. Used in batteries. Carbon Monoxide Angina. Rapid respiration. Toxic. Chrysene Cancer causing agent. Cresol Irritant. Corrosive to skin and mucous membrane. Lung, liver, and kidney

damage. Rapid respiration. Weak pulse. Depressant. Difficulty breathing. Aromatic alcohol present in coal tar.

Cyanide Deadly poison. DDT Banned insecticide – except for use on tobacco.


Ethyl Furoate Causes liver damage in animals. Formaldehyde Eye, nose and throat irritant. Cough and bronchial spasm. Pulmonary irritant.

Toxic. Carcinogen. Used to preserve cadavers. Hydrazine Rocket fuel. Hydrogen Cyanide Asphyxiation and death at high levels. Respiration slow and gasping. Rat

poison. Hydrogen Sulfide Insomnia. Temporary restriction of respiration. Lead Dense metallic element used in containers and pipes for corrosives, solder and

metal, bullets, paints. Poisonous in high doses. Methanol Human poison by inhalation. Toxic. Causes illness. Affects nervous system

and optic nerves. Methoprene Insecticide. Methyl Chloride Narcotic. Psychic effects. Liver and kidney damage. Dizziness. Vision

disturbance. Methyl Ethyl Ketone Or methyl ethyl death. Highly toxic. Affects esophagus. Poison.

Skin and eye irritant. Used as a solvent for resins and as paint remover. Lacquers, cements, adhesives, and cleaning fluids.

Methyl Nitrate Narcotic. Strong irritant to tissue. Naphthalene Ingredient in mothballs. Nickel Delirium. Cough and chest pain. Toxic. Carcinogen. Used in batteries. Nicotine Toxic. Hearing loss. Head dizziness. Vision disruption. Difficulty

breathing. Poisonous alkaloid used as an insecticide and to kill cockroaches. Nitrogen Dioxide Pulmonary. Cough and chest pain. Frothy mucous. Found in smog and auto

exhaust fumes. Nitrogen Oxide Toxic by inhalation. Present in car exhaust. Nitrosamines Nasal and sinus. Lung, brain, esophagus, stomach, liver and bladder

difficulties. Carcinogen. Nornicotine Faintness. Exhaustion. Muscular weakness. Oleic Acid Poison. Mildly toxic. Skin irritant. Phenol Used in plastics. Liver and kidney damage.


Phosphorus Radioactive fertilizer used on tobacco. Equivalent each cigarette to a chest x-

ray. Polonium Cancer causing radioactive element. Tar Found in tires and roads. Average smoker inhales a quart per year. Tovene Highly toxic. Used in glue. Vinyl Chloride Weakness. Gastrointestinal bleeding. Paleness of extremities. Carcinogen.


Did you know? If you took just 4 leftover cigarette butts, crumpled them up and let them soak in a cup of coffee,

there would be so much nicotine soaked into the liquid, that if someone drank that cup of coffee,

they would be dead within 30 minutes.

If a 3 year old child ate 1 cigarette, he would most likely be dead within 1 hour.

The chemicals found in cigarettes are also found in these everyday products, and more: lighter fluid,

sewer gas, alcohol, insecticide, gas chamber poison, poison, candle wax, toilet cleaner, cadaver

preservative (formaldehyde), paint stripper, vinegar, rocket fuel, industrial solvent, batteries.

When smoking, smokers take in 50% less oxygen than non-smokers. Blood vessels shrink by 50%

when smoking.

List 3 major reasons that motivate you to want to become a non-smoker:

1.

2.

3.


Hidden Danger

There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes an cigarette smoke.


599 Ingredients added to Cigarettes

People. It’s time to quit smoking. This is what you are putting into your bodies.

Google what these ingredients are. You will be shocked.

Do you want to live longer and productive life and see your children, grandchildren grow? Quit now.

Check out my other documents on how to quit smoking. I did after 21 years. I’ve been smoke-free

for 4. You can quit! Do it now!

Cigarette Ingredients and Additives

The list of 599 additives approved by the US Government for use in the manufacture of cigarettes is

something every smoker should see. Submitted by the five major American cigarette companies to

the Department of Health and Humans Services in April of 1994, this list of ingredients has long

been kept a secret.

Tobacco companies reporting this information were:

American Tobacco Company, Brown and Williamson, Liggett Group, Inc., Philip Morris, Inc., and

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

While these ingredients are approved as additives for foods, they were not tested by burning them,

and it is the burning of many of these substances which changes their properties, often for the worse.

Over 4,000 chemical compounds are created by burning a cigarette, many of which are toxic and/or

carcinogenic. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia are all present in

cigarette smoke. Forty-three known carcinogens are in mainstream smoke, or both.

It’s chilling to think about not only how smokers poison themselves, but what others are exposed to

by breathing in the secondhand smoke. The next time you’re missing your old buddy, the cigarette,

take a good long look at this list and see them for what they are: a delivery system for toxic

chemicals and carcinogens.

Cigarettes offer people a multitude of smoking-related diseases and ultimately death.


Instructions:

Put the handout of smoking toxins in a 1/2 inch notebook colored picture on cover, and kept in

your office to be briefly shared with your clients.

Let them take home the prior noted, shorter version of toxins in tobacco. Have them review it at least 5 times between the sessions.


Big Tobacco Knew Radioactive Particles in Cigarettes Posed Cancer Risk But Kept Quiet

By Kim Irwin, University of California, Los Angeles Health Sciences. 2011.

Tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoke contained radioactive alpha particles for moe

than four decades and developed “deep and intimate” knowledge of these particles’ cancer-causing

potential, but they deliberately kept their findings from the public, according to a new study by

UCLA researchers.

The analysis of dozens of previously unexamined internal tobacco industry documents, made

available in 1998 as the result of a legal settlement, reveals that the industry was aware of cigarette

radioactivity some five years earlier than previously thought and that tobacco companies, concerned

about the potential lung cancer risk, began in-depth investigations into the possible effects of

radioactivity on smokers as early as the 1960s.

“The documents show that the industry was well aware of the presence of a radioactive

substance in tobacco as early as 1959,” the authors write. “Furthermore, the industry was not only

cognizant of the potential ‘cancerous growth’ in the lungs of regular smokers, but also did

quantitative radiobiological calculations to estimate the long-term lung radiation absorption dose of

ionizing alpha particles emitted from cigarette smoke.” The study, published online Sept. 27 in

Nicotine & Tobacco Research, the peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine

and Tobacco, adds to a growing body of research detailing the industry’s knowledge of cigarette

smoke radioactivity and its efforts to suppress that information.

“They knew that the cigarette smoke was radioactive way back then and that it could

potentially result in cancer, and they deliberately kept that information under wraps,” said the

study’s first author, Hrayr S. Karagueuzian, a professor of cardiology who conducts research at

UCLA’s Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, part of the David Geffen School of Medicine at

UCLA. “Specifically, we show here that the industry used misleading statements to obfuscate the

hazard of ionizing alpha particles to the lungs of smokers and, more importantly, banned any and all

publication on tobacco smoke radioactivity.”

The radioactive substance – which the UCLA study shows was first brought to the attention

of the tobacco industry in 1959 – was identified in 1964 as the isotope polonium-210, which emits

carcinogenic alpha radiation. Polonium-210 can be found in all commercially available domestic

and foreign cigarette brands, Karagueuzian said, and is absorbed by tobacco leaves through naturally

occurring radon gas in the atmosphere and through high-phosphate chemical fertilizers used by

tobacco growers. The substance is eventually inhaled by smokers into the lungs.


The study outlines the industry’s growing concerns about the cancer risk posed by Polonium-

210 inhalation and the research that industry scientists conducted over the decades to assess the

radioactive isotope’s potential effect on smokers – including one study that quantitatively measured

the potential lung burden from radiation exposure in a two-pack-a-day smoker over a two-decade

period.

Karagueuzian and his colleagues made independent calculations using industry and academic

data and arrived at results that very closely mirrored those of that industry study, which was

conducted nearly a quarter-century ago. They then compared those results to rates used by the

Environmental Protection Agency to estimate lung cancer risk among individuals exposed to similar

amounts of alpha particle-emitting radon gas in their homes.

“The gathered data from the documents on the relevant radiobiological parameters of the

alpha particles – such as dose, distribution and retention time – permitted us to duplicate the

industry’s secretly estimated radiation absorbed dose by regular smokers over a 20- or 25-year

period, which equaled 40 to 50 rads,” he said. “These levels of rads, according to the EPA’s

estimate of lung cancer risk in residents exposed to radon gas, equal 120 to 138 deaths per 1,000

regular smokers over a 25-year period.”

Despite the potential risk of lung cancer, tobacco companies declined to adopt a technique

discovered in 1959 and then another developed in 1980 that could have helped eliminate polonium-

210 from tobacco, the researchers said. The 1980 technique, known as an acid-wash, was found to

be highly effective in removing the radioisotope from tobacco plants, where it forms a water-

insoluble complex with the sticky, hair-like structures called trichomes that cover the leaves.

And while the industry frequently cited concerns over the cost and the possible

environmental impact as rationales for not using the acid wash, UCLA researchers uncovered

documents that they say indicate the real reason may have been far different.

“The industry was concerned that the acid media would ionize the nicotine, making it more

difficult to be absorbed into the brains of smokers and depriving them of that instant nicotine rush

that fuels their addiction,” Karagueuzian said. “The industry also were well aware that the curing of

the tobacco leaves for more than a one-year period also would not eliminate the polonium-210,

which has a half-life of 135 days, from the tobacco leaves because it was derived from its parent,

lead-210, which has a half-life of 22 years.”

Karagueuzian said the insoluble alpha particles bind with resins in the cigarette smoke and

get stuck and accumulate at the bronchial bifurcations of the lungs, forming “hot spots,” instead of

dispersing throughout the lungs. In fact, previous research on lung autopsies in smokers who died of


lung cancer showed that malignant growths were primarily located at the same bronchial

bifurcations where these hot spots reside.

“We used to think that only the chemicals in the cigarettes were causing lung cancer,”

Karagueuzian said. “But the case of these hot spots, acknowledged by the industry and academia

alike, makes a strong case for an increased probability of long-term development of malignancies

caused by the alpha particles. If we’re lucky, the alpha particle-irradiated cell dies. If it doesn’t, it

could mutate and become cancerous.”

Karagueuzian said the findings are very timely in light of the June 2009 passage of the

Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which grants the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration broad authority to regulate and remove harmful substances – with the exception of

nicotine – from tobacco products. The UCLA research, he said, makes a strong case that the FDA

ought to consider making the removal of alpha particles from tobacco products a top priority.

“Such a move could have a considerable public health impact, due to the public’s graphic

perception of radiation hazards,” he said.

To uncover the information, Karagueuzian and his team combed through the internal tobacco

industry documents made available online as part of the landmark 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement

Agreement. Documents from Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, Brown I Williamson, the

American Tobacco Company, the Tobacco Institutes and the Council for Tobacco Research, as well

as the Bliley documents, were examined, Karagueuzian said.

The team searched for key terms such as “polonium-210,” “atmospheric fallout,” “bronchial

epithelium,” “hot particle” and “lung cancer,” among others.

Karagueuzian said the earliest causal link between alpha particles and cancer was made in

around 1920, when alpha particle-emitting radium paint was used to paint luminescent numbers on

watch dials. The painting was done by hand, and the workers commonly used their lips to produce a

point on the tip of the paint brush. Many workers accumulated significant burdens of alpha particles

through ingestion and absorption of radium-226 into the bones and subsequently developed jaw and

mouth cancers. The practice was eventually discontinued.

Another example involves liver cancer in patients exposed to chronic low-dose internal alpha

particles emitted from the poorly soluble deposits of thorium dioxide after receiving the contrast

agent Thorotrast. It has been suggested that the liver cancers resulted from point mutations of the

tumor suppressor gene p53 by the accumulated alpha particles present in the contrast media. The

use of Thorotrast as contrast agent was stopped in the 1950s.

In addition to Karagueuzian, authors of the study include the late Amos Norman, professor


emeritus in the departments of radiation oncology and radiological sciences at UCLA; James Sayre,

of the departments of biostatistics and radiological sciences at UCLA; and Celia White, who served

from 1999 to 2002 as director of content and services at the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library,

which contains more than 13 million documents created by major tobacco companies related to their

advertising, manufacturing, marketing, sales and scientific research activities.

The study was funded by the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research

Program, established by the passage of California’s SB1613 in 1989 to fund a comprehensive

University of California grant program to support research into the prevention, causes and treatments

of tobacco-related diseases. The authors report no conflict of interest.


MAJOR HEALTH HAZARDS OF SMOKING TO SMOKERS

Almost everyone knows that smoking is hazardous to health and can cause lung cancer in

smokers. But most people have very little idea of exactly how dangerous smoking can be, how many

different types of diseases it can cause or complicate, or how much smoking increases the risk of

contracting various deadly diseases. The purpose of this document is to provide this basic

information.

OVERVIEW: Smoking causes fully one sixth of all deaths in the United States each year-more than

alcohol, all illicit drugs, AIDS, guns, autonomies, and all forms of air pollution COMBINED. A

conservative estimate, looking only at deaths directly caused by diseases most clearly caused by

smoking, is 350,000 per year - more than two jumbo jets crashing every single day. Some estimates

place the total number of deaths at 500,000 each year!

CORONARY HEART DISEASE (CHD): Of the estimated 565,000 deaths each year from CHD, 30

percent - 170,000 - are caused by smoking. Every person who smokes a pack or more per day

increases his risk of the disease by at leas 150 percent (2.5 times the chance) and his risk of dying of

sudden cardiac death by 140 percent (2.4 times the chance). The principal constituents of tobacco

smoke associated with CHD are nicotine and carbon monoxide.

ALL CANCERS: Of the estimated 472,000 deaths each year from cancer, 30 percent – over 140,000

- are caused by smoking. A smoker increases his chance of getting cancer by 100 percent (2 times),

and a heavy smoker increases his chances by 200-300 percent (3-a times). The principal substances

causing cancer are found in the “tar.”

LUNG CANCER: Of the largest single category of cancer deaths, lung cancer, 80-90 percent of the

130,000 annual deaths are caused by smoking. A smoker increases his risk of getting lung cancer

900 percent (10 times), and a heavy smoker increases his risk over 1400 percent (15-25 times the

risk). The five-year survival rate for lung cancer is only l0 percent, among the lowest for all cancers.

Smoking also greatly multiplies the chances of contracting lung cancer if the smoker is also exposed

to other substances such as asbestos, coal dust, cotton dust, saw dust, heavy metals, and other

industrial contaminants. For example, a smoker who is also exposed to asbestos increases his risk of

contracting lung cancer nearly 60 times!

OTHER CANCERS: Smoking is also responsible for many other types of cancers, many of which

prove fatal. Following are the other major forms of cancer with: (l) the total number of annual

deaths, (2) the percentage caused by smoking (where available), (3) the relative risk comparing

smokers to comparable nonsmokers (where available), and (a) the survival rate (years and percent):


(1) (2) (3) (4)

Larynx 4,000 84% 5–33 5 Years

Oral (Lip, Tongue, etc.) 9,000 50-70% 2-33 5 Years

Esophagus 8,000 50% 2-8 5 Years

Bladder 11,000 30-40% 2-4 5 Years

Kidney 9,000 1-5 Cig smokers;

10-12 pipe and

cigar smokers

1-3 Years

Pancreas 24,000 >1-3 3 Years

Stomach 14,000 5 Years

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTM LUNG DISEASE (COLD): Cigarette smoking is the major cause of 80-

90 percent of COLD morbidity and mortality in the U.S. In older age groups, mild to moderate

emphysema is present in most smokers and rare in nonsmokers. The severity of emphysema among

smokers increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the duration of the smoking

habit. Smokers have a higher frequency of respiratory system problems (cough, phlegm, wheezing)

and a steeper decline in lung expiratory airflow with increasing age.

ULCERS: Cigarette smoking is significantly associated with the incidence of peptic ulcers, and

increases the risk of dying from PEPTIC ULCERS by about two times. Deaths from DUODENAL

ULCERS are 2 to 4 times more common in smokers than nonsmokers, and duodenal ulcers heal

more slowly and recur more frequently in smokers than nonsmokers.

FIRES: Cigarettes are the major cause of residential fire deaths in the U.S., including hotels and

motels, dormitories, nursing homes and hospitals. Those most likely to be killed are the smokers and

their families or living companions. Nationally, there are millions of fires, thousands of deaths and

injuries, and billions of dollar loss – which makes the U.S. fire problem one of great national

importance. Between 1999 and 2008, there was an average of 1,634,150 fires resulting in an

estimated $11,634,800,000 in direct dollar loss each year. An average of 3,625 Americans lost their

lives and another 18,765 were injured annually as the result of fire. These averages do not reflect the

events of September 11, 2001.

The following table shows the numbers of fires, deaths, injuries and dollar loss in the United States

from 1999 to 2008.


Year Fires Deaths Injuries Direct Dollar Loss in Millions

2002 1,687,500 3,380 18,425 $10,337

2003 1,584,500 3,925 18,125 $12,307

2004 1,550,500 3,900 17,875 $9,794

2005 1,602,000 3,675 17,925 $10,672

2006 1,642,500 3,245 16,400 $11,307

2007 1,557,500 3,430 17,675 $14,639

2008 1,451,500 3,320 16,705 $15,478

Note: The decrease in direct dollar loss in 2004 reflects the Southern California wildfires with an

estimated loss of $2,040,000,000 that occurred in 2003. The dollar loss estimate for 2007 includes

the California Fire Storm with an estimated property loss of $1,800,000,000. For 2008. The direct

dollar loss includes the California Wildfires at an estimated loss of $1,400,000,000.

Source: National Fire Protection Association Fire Loss in the U.S. 2008

OTHER: Smoking can cause a wide variety of complications of medical problems and procedures,

even those not caused by smoking itself. Examples include amputations due to nicotine constricting

blood vessels where circulation is already impaired and substantially longer periods to recover from

most serious operations. Smokers also have far more accidents both driving cars and in general and

are more likely to be absent from work and become disabled.

NOTE: This leaflet contains general information, updated by Jane Ann Covington. For specific

medical problems related to smoking, you should consult your physician.


SMOKER QUITS, BODY RECOVERS

You might think it’s too late to quit smoking, but here is some good news from the American Cancer

Society:

As soon as you snuff out that last cigarette, your body will begin a series of physiological changes.

v Within 20 minutes: Blood pressure, body temperature, pulse and heart rate will drop to normal.

v Within 8 hours: Smoker’s breath disappears. Carbon monoxide level in blood drops and oxygen

level rises to normal.

v Within 12 Hour: The amount of carbon monoxide in your blood drops to normal.

v Within 24 hours: Chance of heart attack decreases.

v Within 48 hours: Nerve endings start to regroup. Ability to taste and smell improves.

v Within 3 days: Breathing is easier.

v Within 2 Weeks to 3 Months: Your heart attack risk begins to drop. Your lungs begin to work

better.

v Within 2 to 3 months: Circulation improves. Walking becomes easier. Lung capacity increases

up to 30 percent.

v Within 1 to 9 months: Sinus congestion and shortness of breath decrease. Cilia that sweep debris

from your lungs grows back. Energy increases.

v Within 1 year: Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a person who smokes.

v Within 2 years: Heart attack risk drops to normal.

v Within 5 years: Lung cancer death rate for the average pack-a-day smoker decreases by almost

half. Stroke risk is reduced. Risk of mouth, throat and esophageal cancer is half that of a

smoker.

v Within 10 years: Lung cancer death rate is similar to that of a person who does not smoke, and

the rate is half that of a smoker’s. The pre-cancerous cells are replaced. Your risk of cancers of

the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decrease.

v Within 15 years: Risk of coronary heart disease is the same as a person who has never smoked.

…so long as we stop while there’s still time!

But even if they already have lung disease, emphysema, COPD, becoming a non-smoker may

not add years to their life, but it will add life to their years. And now a word to women who are falling for the latest ploy to pull females into the ranks of cigar

smoking: Your lungs are being damaged, your teeth are turning brown and your breath smells

terrible. Even your best friends won’t tell you, but you can count on me for the truth. Cigars stink.


Within 20 minutes after you smoke that last cigarette, your body begins a series of changes

that continue for years…


STOP SMOKING [WITH 1 YEAR GUARANTEE*] PROGRAM: 2 VISITS

(*Guarantee: Can come back one time for a free 1 hour hypnosis visit within the first year)

[Partially adaptable to Any Type of Addiction Issue]

1st Visit: (Total 1st visit is 3-3.5 HOURS) Briefly review their Registration form.

Part I Interview Part II Education: My Mind & How We Create & Change Habits, Patterns, and Addictions

Part III Teach Hypnosis Brain Wave Patterns and What to Expect in Second Visit Part IV Teach Breathing)

1. Interview

Name Spouse a smoker?

Occupation: Do you like your job?

Children: How do they feel about your smoking?

Have you ever been hypnotized before? If so, induction & purpose:

Did it work for you?_____________________________________________________________

Age started: Grade: Circumstances:

Ever stopped before? Method(s) & Age(s)? How Long?

Why did you start again?

______________________________________________________________________________

Quantity/day? Brand / Substance: _______________________________

How much/many do you actually enjoy, if any?

When? _________________________Where?_________________________

Last physical / results? Did the doctor tell you to quit?______

Reasons to stop (motivation)?

Where do you smoke? Vehicle, home, work, bar, alcohol, caffeine, friends, etc.


Mom smoke? __________ Dad smoke? __________ Did they quit?

Others smoke?

Spiritual beliefs, if any (in a nutshell)?

Fears of becoming a Non-Smoker? (Give stats on weight gain)

Is there anything I haven’t asked you that you think I need to know to help me help you in this regard?_______________________________________________________________________

* (If Another Addiction Issue(s), then further sessions (up to 10 more) may be necessary.)

2. Next Two Hours of First Visit: Teach “My Mind,” “How We Create & Change Habits,

Patterns, and Addictions,” and Explanation of Hypnosis (brain wave patterns) and let them

know what they can expect when they return.

3. Thank them for the opportunity to serve them. Ask them, “How would you like to take care

of this (financially)?” Get their payment by credit card, check (get their driver’s license

info), or cash.

4. Send them home with supporting educational CD and the “What’s in Tobacco” information.

5. Have them (for homework [very critical] read their notes daily, and notice the correlation

between their thoughts and their behavior until their next visit. Instruct them to give

themselves new, healthier options.

2nd Visit—About 3 to 10 days later: Total 1-1.5 hours on your calendar for check in/Hypnosis

Ask them when you begin the session the following questions:

1. How have you been doing since our last visit?

2. Have you slowed down or stopped smoking already since our first visit?

3. Have you noticed the correlation between your thoughts and behavior?

4. Did you clean up your internal self talk to your 2 year old?

5. Did you come up with any more motivations to Become a Non-Smoker? (Add them)


Suggested Pre-Talk by John Daughters (modified by Jane Ann Covington)

Smoking is more a mental/emotional pattern, than a physical addiction. When you quit, the habit

will decrease each day and go away in about three days. If you smoke during that time the strength

of the mental craving will go back to the first day. Since each day gets easier, don’t smoke and give

yourself options we talked about or come up with your own. How have you been doing since your

last visit?

Smoking is a habit. Since habits are subconscious, we must communicate with the subconscious

in order to change them. The conscious mind is directed by will. The subconscious is directed by

imagery and emotion. You cannot will the subconscious to change, but we do have choice and you

have decided to take back control of your life. Since you have consciously decided to be a non-

smoker, we can now talk to the subconscious to change the habit patterns to support your decision to

be a non-smoker.

The reasons for smoking were learned subconsciously. You learn in three different ways,

through repetition, association and emotion. The advertising industry is well aware of this. They

structure ads that associate cigarettes with wealth, beauty, strength, independence, and sex appeal. If

the ad runs often enough and brings in some emotional impact, people will learn to associate

cigarettes with what is portrayed – even if it isn’t true. Cigarette advertising efforts paid off very

well in 1954 when ads were targeted at young males. They chose the cowboy, the American hero, to

associate with cigarettes. They portrayed an independent, strong and capable man out on the

range…and for all those young men…if they couldn’t be a cowboy, if they couldn’t be out on the

range…all they really had to do was flash their cigarette and people knew right away what kind of

man they were.

Another ad showed a man in his canoe paddling across some exotic lake or maybe kayaking

down the Amazon. That creates a feeling of independence and being a real man, a lot of young

people couldn’t have an adventure or kayak down the Amazon, but if they smoke a particular kind of

cigarette, everyone will know what kind of man they really are.

It’s possible they might want to be a rescuer…to be in charge for a change. There are some ads

that portray people rescuing other people. Someone flying a helicopter, someone else pointing down

a canyon to some poor lost soul and someone else getting ready to repel down and rescue them. The


actuality is that the person who smokes needs the rescuing before they kill themselves.

The ads aren’t always aimed at young men. Sometimes they are aimed at young women. One of

my favorites showed a woman down on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor. Standing in back

of her, looking very important and not helping at all, is a man puffing a cigarette. As she finishes,

she lights up a cigarette and she dumps the mop water on him. The next scene shows a vibrant,

young, dynamic woman. Beautiful, slim, trim, and attractive in full living color with a briefcase.

She’s looking great and “you’ve come a long way baby”. This ad is really interesting because it tells

you that you can be free from the domination of a man. You can be free and independent and still

maintain your femininity (baby’s a very feminine word). The other thing that’s important is the

name of the cigarette…it’s not “Minnesota Fats”.

In the early 1980’s the word “baby” was deleted since it was considered belittling to women.

Hypnosis is a normal and natural state. Remember, you’re already programmed, or hypnotized.

If you have ever daydreamed or been so engrossed in a movie that you forgot about your body, you

have entered an alpha state which is the state of hypnosis. You will feel comfortable and relaxed.

You will be aware of things around you but you may choose to focus your thoughts internally and let

the outside world take care of itself.

A. Induction

1. Count down or other technique (I use counting down and progressive relaxation

because it lends itself well to self-hypnosis and is compatible with the smoking

reinforcement recording. I do not use rapid inductions on this issue.)

2. Deepen the trance. Check for visualizations. If visualizations are weak, use

physical deepening techniques such as dropping their hand. “When your hand

touches your lap you will go twice as deep.” Use kinesthetic words rather than visual

ones. (Feel, taste, smell, sense, touch, be aware of, rather than visual words like see or

view.) Or, better yet, use Jane Ann Covington’s Toes Up Induction.

“Now that your conscious mind and subconscious mind are working together as a team, I’m

going to give you a suggestion that I want you to repeat within yourself as I say it. You

don’t need to say it out loud, just say it within yourself. The more forcefully you say it to


yourself, the more effective it will be:

“I am now a non-smoker, and I’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of my life!” (repeat this from 7

to 10 times, giving them time to say it to themselves, letting it sink way down into their

subconscious mind and throughout their being).”

B. “Review your reasons for BNS”. Take a deep breath when that has been done. (pause)

You can only have these important things as a non-smoker. Not because I say so, but

because it’s the nature of your own mind to succeed.

1. Health

2. Family

3. Social pressures

4. Any “personal reasons”

(pause – nod your head when that’s been done)

C. Project yourself twenty years into the future as a smoker. [You can use “The Fork in the

Road” script.]

1. Review their appearance, health and happiness.

2. Notice them coughing, weakness, lack of energy and aging.

3. Imagine seeing their lungs.

4. Ask that older person if they have a message for you.

5. Ask “What is the message?” Take a deep breath when you’ve received it. [Pause the

recorder and ask them to speak it aloud. This will normally be “Don’t smoke, quit now.”

Turn the recorder on when they’ve taken that deep breath signal to you.] “Honor the

message.”

6. “In your inner mind, tell them why you are quitting now.” Take a deep breath when


that’s been done.

7. See the older self-change into a non-smoker, repeating to your inner self, “I am a non-

smoker and I’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of my life.” Keep saying that to yourself as I

continue to talk to you. “I am a non-smoker and I’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of my

life.”

a. Review your appearance, health and happiness as a non-smoker.

b. Notice your energy, enthusiasm and youthful appearance as a non-smoker.

c. Imagine seeing your lungs and body healed and healthy.

d. Feel the joy and pride of being in control.

e. Build emotions of health and happiness. Anchor this image! Anchor the feeling!

f. Ask them if they have a message for you? Take a deep breath when you hear the

message. Honor the message.

8. Step into the non smoking you – feeeeel how good and free that feels. Take all the time

you need. Take a nice deep breath when you fully feel that non-smoking you inside.

(pause) Come back to the present knowing your future self is healthy and happy as a non-

smoker.

D. “Review how they started smoking.”

1. “To grow up; now you are grown up and smoking had nothing to do with it.”

2. “To belong; now you make your own decisions.”

3. The younger you was tricked and manipulated by the advertising and the tobacco

industry; their environment. The tobacco industry and advertising companies lied to people

just to get their money. (You are setting them up as a target for the rebel!)

4. “At that time you didn’t really know the dangers of smoking.” It wasn’t your fault


you started smoking. It was like a game at the time.”

E. Go back in time to when you first started “practicing” smoking.

1. See that young person practicing smoking…being macho, sophisticated,

intellectual, trying to fit in, to be cool growing up.

2. Practicing lighting…talking macho…blowing smoke rings.

3. Practicing not coughing.

4. You didn’t “really” know about the effects of smoking.

5. “In your mind, tell that younger you what you know about smoking and why you

are quitting now; why you’re really a non-smoker from now on!” (Turn the recorder

off and tell them to “Nod your head when that’s been done.” After you get their

response, turn recorder back on.)

6. Ask that young person if they understand and if they will join you in being a non-

smoker now; in being a non-smoker from now on and for the rest of your life.

(Pause). (Turn the recorder off and tell them to “Nod your head when that’s been

done.” NOTE: if YES, go to #7 below. If NO, go to #8 below. (Keeping recorder on

until yes or no; tell them to “Nod your head yes or no for their answer.”

7. ( If the answer is yes), (Turn recorder on) Thank them for their support. (Go to 9)

8. (If the answer is no), “Ask the smoker why they want to continue to smoke.” (It is

critical to get the smoker to change sides!) Look for the rebel who resists any

attempts to manipulate them.

i. Reframe. Have them rebel against the cigarette and advertising industry or

a smoker they don’t get along with. Have them rebel against an authority

figure they resent. [Build resistance]. “No matter how hard others try, they

can’t get you to smoke. The harder they try, the calmer you get.”

ii. Go back to #6


9. [After getting the young person to quit, give suggestions of pride.] (Recorder on)

“Feel good. Feel proud for being there when a young person needed you. Give the

young person what they really wanted: the power of choice and to be grown up –

have them step inside you. Let that part of you that is a non-smoker fully integrate

within yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.”

F. [Give suggestions for healing.] “Walk down the path of life as a non-smoker.. Feeling

strong, proud, free of toxins. Lungs are healing, muscles stronger, heart stronger, thinking

quicker, thinking clearer. As a non-smoker, you are full of energy and enthusiasm, reversing

the aging clock.” (Repeat and reinforce!) Not because I say so, but because you’ve made up

your mind to be free of the poisons and toxins in cigarette smoke.

G. “Meet the nagger on the path. By becoming a non-smoker now, for your own reasons,

you have taken away their power. They have nothing to nag about.”

H. “Meet the smokers on the path. Hear the reasons they couldn’t quit.” (Pause)

1. “Realize that they want to quit but don’t know how, like you did, with the use of

hypnosis.”

2. “Realize that they may not want you to succeed, to show them up and leave them

behind. See how they light up. Even if they blow smoke in your face, you are more

determined than ever to remain a non-smoker for the rest of your life.”

3. “Realize the best thing you can do for them is to show them the way. Show them it

can be done. Become a leader by doing.”

4. “Realize the best thing you can do for yourself is to be in control; be the non-

smoker that you came into the world as; your natural and normal state as a non-

smoker.”

I. “Meet the saboteur on the path, the harder they try to get you to smoke, the calmer you

become.” or “No thanks, I’m a non-smoker.” (Repeat) Feel how good it feels to be a non-

smoker.

J. “Meet someone who has or had a smoking related disease, such as a parent who died of


lung cancer. “Do they have a message for you?” (Pause) Take a deep breath when you have

the message. Thank them and tell them why you are quitting now; why you are a non-

smoker now and you’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of your life.”

K. [If they have children or grandchildren], “Meet them on the path and tell them why you

are quitting now!” (Pause). Take a deep breath when that’s been done.

1. “Quit for them. Be an example. See the children’s pride. See the children telling

their friends that you quit! Promise them, you won’t let them down… Take a deep

breath when that’s been done.”

2. “Quit for yourself. You have the right to a long, healthy, happy life. You have

earned it, you deserve it, and you are giving yourself permission to enjoy it.”

L. [If they have a significant relationship, have them] “See your significant

(partner/wife/husband/family member) person. Feel the love. Tell them why you are

quitting now! (pause) Be aware of gifts you wanted to give them, but maybe couldn’t

afford. Now you are giving them a gift beyond price. Your health, your life, and the ability

to live your life to the fullest for the rest of your life. Living, laughing, and loving…living,

laughing, and loving…” (Pause, let them drift with loving.)

M. “See the person you respect the most, a person you may have met or not. A person of this

time or not. The person you respect most. They greet you on the path. They ask why you

look so happy and energetic. Tell them why you are quitting now; why you’re a non-smoker

and will be a non-smoker for the rest of your life!”

1. Ask them if they will support you in your decision. Take a deep breath when you

receive their support.” (Pause recording until you get a response that you can move

on with – nod your head yes or no)

2. If yes, “Thank them for their support. Tell them you won’t let them down. You

won’t let yourself down. Feel proud, strong, and healthy.”

3. If no, ask why? Reframe or use rebel also go to K.2. (They rarely say no)

N. Give suggestions to love and respect themselves. “Love and respect are earned. As you


love and respect yourself, you send a message to the world ‘I am worthy of love and

respect’. As a non-smoker, you show respect for your body, your mind, your future, the

world around you. You show love of yourself by accepting the gift of a healthy, happy

body. Because you love and respect yourself, you are becoming more aware of your

appearance and posture. You are worthy of love and respect, you deserve it, and you have

earned it by being a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of your life. You

have permission to enjoy a healthy, happy life. Living, laughing and loving…

O. Give more healing suggestions. “Healing every day in every way. Having more energy

and enthusiasm. More energy and enthusiasm. Exercising, longer and stronger. Feeling

strong. Feeling full of energy. Reversing the aging clock! Feeling fantastic as a non-

smoker.”

P. Give suggestions for changing eating habits.

1. “Lips, tongue, nose and throat healing.”

2. “Smelling freshness.”

3. “Tasting food. Eating slowly and savoring it.”

4. “Enjoying the flavor and eating only as much as you need.”

5. “In control of your eating, in control of your life.”

6. “Leaving food on your plate as a signal that you are in control.”

7. “Nothing tastes as good as this feels.”

Q. Project daily healing, happiness and energy. “Imagine yourself going through your day as

a non-smoker. (Make up this day—tie it in with their job; their life, etc.)

1. “See yourself getting up in the morning as a non-smoker and continuing your day

as a non smoker…..”

2. Feeling great…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for the

rest of your life.


3. Feeling fresh…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for the

rest of your life.

4. Clothes smelling fresh…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker

for the rest of your life.

4. Car smelling fresh…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for

the rest of your life.

5. People attracted to you…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-

smoker for the rest of your life.

6. Having more energy…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker


7. Enjoying your food…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker


8. Leaving food on your plate…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-

smoker for the rest of your life.

9. Getting more done…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for


10. Enjoying exercising…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker


11. Having more energy…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker


12. Living, laughing, loving…because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-

smoker for the rest of your life. (Pause and repeat)

R. If they have a smoking enemy or someone they resent…let them see themselves as

superior. If the other is a non-smoker…let them know that they are in control. Build resolve.

You will realize you have healed because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker


S. Use aversion. This is not a long-term solution, but may help them through the initial

adjustment.

“If by accident, you should take a puff off a cigarette…you will find it is hot, bitter, and

acrid. You will feel the toxins, the 600 poisons, running through your veins that will

already be absorbed through the membranes of your mouth and will be being distributed

into your brain and body. The poisons will be replacing the very important oxygen you

need with each breath your body is programmed to take naturally. You will spit it out.

Put it out. Throw it away and rinse your mouth out with pure clean fresh water.

If by accident you should take a second puff, it will be twice as hot, twice as bitter and

twice as acrid. You will spit it out. Put it out. Throw it away and rinse your mouth with

pure clean fresh water. You are clean and fresh and your body rejects poisons. Realize

how much you have healed because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for



After all, you came into this world as a non-smoker and you are returning to your natural

state, easily, effortlessly, and comfortably. You are proud of yourself for taking back

control; for growing up. You are clean and fresh and your body rejects poisons.

Rejoice in your healing. You are in control of your life. “Drinking and thinking clean and

fresh.” (Be aware of the difference between aversion and dominance. Dominance talks

down to the client and may arouse the rebel to oppose you. You must have the rebel on your

side! Aversion uses negative images and links them with the negative habit of smoking.)

T. Give suggestions for forgetting about smoking, “As you walk down the path of life, you

encounter the river of forgetfulness…pure, clean, fresh water. The river of forgetfulness…

the time has come to remember to forget or forget to remember…

You want to rinse your mouth with pure clean fresh water…

As you take a drink of pure clean fresh water…


Everything about cigarettes washes out of your mind…

Washing away, gone forever…as if it never happened, as if it never happened…

Which brand you ever smoked…washing away, gone forever…

Which hand you used…washing away, gone forever…

Ashtrays and lighters…washing away, gone forever…

Calm and relaxed…calm and relaxed…calm and relaxed…

Every time you drink water…

Drinking and thinking clean and fresh, calm and relaxed…

Drinking and thinking clean and fresh, calm and relaxed.”

U. Now I’m going to ask your subconscious a couple of questions:

1. “Have you accepted at every level that you are you a non-smoker now?” (Pause - nod

your head) [If no – go back to D and E]

2. (Recorder on) “Will you remain a non-smoker for the rest of their life?” (Pause – nod

your head)

“By taking control of your mind once and for all, you have made a decision to be and remain

a non-smoker for the rest of your life. Congratulations! Feel good about your decision and

see how this will benefit your life in every way.” (pause)

V. See yourself awakening in the morning as a non-smoker; full of energy and breathing in

life giving air. See yourself going through a typical day, but this time you see yourself as a

non-smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of your life.

Feeling so good about your self. (pause) Take your time. Take a deep breath when that’s

been done.


And, when your head hits the pillow at night, you go into a deep peaceful sleep, sleeping all

night long awakening in the morning feeling refreshed, relaxed and in control because you

are a non smoker and you’ll be a non smoker the rest of your life.

W. Bring them back to full awareness. “When I count from 1 to 5, you will return once again

to your full awareness, eyes open at the count of 5 but not before.”

1. “Be aware you have learned much. New things and old things in new ways. Take

a mental tour through your body and wake yourself up just a little and feel good.”

2. “Knowledge is power and you have knowledge. Even though your conscious mind

may have wandered, your subconscious mind has been with me and has heard

everything it needs to know. Wake yourself up a little more and enjoy feeling

wonderful.”

3. “Power is acting on knowledge. Take three deep breaths and feel the power fill

your body. (Coach them through this.) There’s no poison there, only pure fresh clean

oxygen…the Gift of Life! Power, poise and confidence. Power, poise and

confidence. Power, poise and confidence because you are a non-smoker and you’ll

be a non-smoker for the rest of your life. Feel more and more awake. Moving your

fingers and toes. Feeling wonderful because you are a non-smoker and you’ll be a

non-smoker for the rest of your life.”

4. “More and more awake. Beginning to move around. Eyes feeling rested and

refreshed. Ready to return once again to your full awareness. Feeling fantastic! Full

of energy, poise and confidence. Almost awake, full of energy, feeling so good you

want to laugh.”

5. “Wake up, rested, refreshed, and full of energy!” Congratulations!

(Recorder off)

When they return to awareness with their eyes open:

Ask them if they are a non-smoker now?


Ask them if they will remain a non-smoker for the rest of their life?

Give reinforcement and tell them to listen to the copy of their recording of the session daily for the next 3 weeks (21 days). Send them home with their recording on a CD or email it to them using wetransfer.com; and with Follow Up Instructions.

Thank them for the opportunity to serve them. Give them three cards in case they know of someone who might benefit from your services. Sell other services, products if appropriate.


Suggested Follow-Up Script – For Guarantee Purposes [Within One Year]

Ask them to tell you what happened that they started smoking again (find out any triggers).

If they still smoke, ask them how much they smoke. If they have reduced, calculate their success

rate. Ex. You smoked two packs a day, that’s forty cigarettes. Now you smoke ten a day. That is a

75% success rate!

1. Congratulate them on their success. If they have doubts about this being a success, you are

dealing with a perfectionist. Educate them. Life isn’t perfect and no one is. Life isn’t black

or white. It is shades of gray and rainbows. Perfectionists deny themselves one of life’s

greatest joys. The joy of accomplishment. They deny it because nothing is ever perfect

enough. If they run a marathon, they criticize themselves because they didn’t break four

hours. If they break four hours, they criticize themselves for not breaking three. I point out

that if they broke three hours they would probably be sweaty. If they were really perfect,

they wouldn’t sweat.

Perfectionists are perfect candidates for some sessions riding themselves of anxiety and self-

criticism, or on goal setting and achievement. No one is perfect but they can be excellent.

Assign them many small goals and have them achieve them 10%, 25% or 50%. (The goal of

achieving part of a goal helps keep it small and achievable.) Keep them small.

Perfectionists like to set impossible goals in order to keep themselves feeling inferior. They

use failure as a whip. (“I failed. I’ve got to try harder next time!”) They also use failure as a

leading play to get strokes from others. They will point out their lack of perfection in hopes

that someone will reassure them that they did a great job. They whip themselves in the hope

that someone else will stop them. Another way to break the pattern is to ask them why they

punish themselves or deny themselves the joy of accomplishment. An even tougher

approach is to unmask their game and say “poor baby”.

Achievers enjoy their successes. Achievers enjoy life. Achievers recognize that perfection

always defeats excellence and will often settle for “good enough”. General George Patton

said that “A good plan executed today is better than a great plan executed next week”.


2. Ask how often they listened to the recording. (The recording works!)

3. Concentrate on specific problem areas.

If they are smoking as usual...

1. Ask how often they listened to the recording. (The recording works!) Remind them that this

is a joint effort. (I have never had a person who listened to the recording every day not report

a dramatic decrease in the number of cigarettes smoke, nor quit smoking for some period of

time.

2. Talk to the smoker (in hypnosis) and ask them why they are smoking. Ask them what they

need in order to stop.

3. Look for a death wish. This can take two forms. The first is a family script, “All the men in

my family die of cancer”. Ask if there is a part of them who disagrees with that pronouncement.

Use that part to argue for life. “Is there anyone who would like to disagree with this

pronouncement?” The second form is a part of them that is trying to destroy them. This is a

judge that feels that they are unworthy. Unmask the judge by asking who is really behind the

judge’s mask. “Pull the mask off. Who is there?” Is there a part of them who can argue their

case before the judge? Use the rebel. Remember, every judge creates a rebel!

4. Look for the judge. Ask to talk to the part of them that feels they don’t deserve to be healthy.

5. Look for the friend. (Look for this especially in older people who live alone.) Ask if they can

retire their “friend cigarettes” and find another, healthier friend. Be sure to find a replacement

that is satisfactory to every part of them.

6. Look for another rebel besides the original smoker. Check with the original smoker and see if

they are still a non-smoker. If not, who gave them permission to start smoking again? If the

original smoker has stopped, ask to talk to the part of them that started up again. (This also works

if the original smoker has not stopped.)

7. Look for the victim. Ask to talk to the part of them that has just given up, the part that feels

they can’t do it, the part of them that feels it just isn’t worth the effort. Ask to talk to that wimp.

Find a power source to back up the wimp. Search for the inner warrior.


8. Do a general search. Ask to talk to any part of them that wants to smoke. Ask them what they

need in order to quit.

9. Take them to the releasing well. A releasing well is like a wishing well except you release

things you no longer need rather than wish for things you don’t have. It might be something they

have carried for a long time. Something that has weighted them down. Something they acquired

a long time ago. They can realize that they no longer have to let the things of the past influence

the future.

They can look in the releasing well and say:

“I willingly release all the (guilt, resentment, doubt, jealousy, habits, attitudes, etc.) that limit my

joy and success.” (Repeat for each item.) Ask if there is anything else they wish to release. Let

them repeat the phrase until it feels right for them.

For those clients who are very resistant, you might tell a metaphorical story. The structure of

metaphors and mythology is beyond this work, but the references will provide some guidance in

this area. When I tell a smoking metaphor I might use some of the ideas below:

Metaphor

“Once there was a person who, for a change, felt the time had come for a change. They set out,

fresh and full of energy, to discover what it was they were changing toward. They took along the

things they needed in the past because they thought they might need them again in the future.

They felt the time has come so they just packed up things and dragged them along. As they

traveled down the path they discovered that there were many paths and many people wanted them

to take their path and they gave many reasons why their path was the one they should take.

Sometimes they went down someone else’s path for a while but they began to understand that it

wasn’t their path. Getting back on track was more trouble than going down someone else’s path

but they were happy when they decided to make the right decision and were in control and on

their own path once again.

They also realized that they were packing too many things and it slowed them down. They had

needed these things once and they weren’t sure if they might not need them again but they


thought I don’t need them now.

As they walked along the path a part of them seemed to be whispering in their ear saying “Stop

now, stop now”. They ignored the voice for a while and struggled on, but the pack seemed to be

more and more of a burden.

They noticed that other people seemed to be on the same path headed in the same direction. It

was hard to meet them because the others came from behind and passed them up and were so

fresh and full of energy they got ahead before they could meet them. They did notice, however,

that the others weren’t weighted down with big packs.

Finally they decided it’s time to stop. They decided to clean out the pack and as they did, they

found that there were lots of things they hadn’t used and didn’t need. At first, they weren’t really

sure if they should clean out the pack a little at a time or all at once.

As they thought about it, they realized the pack isn’t needed once it’s cleaned out so they simply

decided to leave it behind. As they continued their journey, they felt lighter and full of energy.

They finished each day refreshed and full of energy and found they accomplished more and more

each day.

They also found that they were passing other people struggling with packs. They breezed on by.

Some of the people struggling with packs tried to get them to stop and share their pack but they

realized that they were really on different paths and they just smiled and decided to keep on

track.

They felt good about their new strength and ability to make their own decisions. As the days

went by, they sometimes wondered if the change they wanted was moving toward something or

moving away. They wondered if the change was in gaining something or leaving something. It

seemed that the leaving left room for something right and they weren’t really sure it mattered, but

they knew they would never go back and that felt right.

Bring them back to this time and place, feeling wonderful and in control because you are a non-

smoker and you’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of your life.


STEP BY STEP (21 DAY PROGRAM)

1. Know that you have a strong personal commitment to be a non-smoker. 2. Once and only once, listen to the recording on your feet while actively doing something. 3. Listen to the recording at least once while sitting during the daytime hours. This allows the

powerful post-hypnotic suggestions to be accepted by both your left and right brain. 4. Each night for 21 nights, listen to the recording as you go off to sleep. Listening to the

recording will relax you and give you a deep, restful sleep. 5. Take Vitamin B Complex as directed on the package for 10 days. Take Vitamin E (400 mg)

in the morning along with your first Vitamin B Complex of the day. 6. Eat lots of fresh citrus fruits, oranges and/or grapefruit. Whole oranges are best, especially at

breakfast. Eat lots of apples and other fruit, too. Continue this for at least the first 4 days. 7. Eliminate juices and alcohol during the first 4 days. Drink lots of water! 8. To overcome the occasional thought that may come from time to time:

a. Use the recording at least once a day for the next 21 days. Do not use the recording while in a moving vehicle or while operating machinery. b. Repeat the key words, “I’m healthy!”, “I’m free!”, “I choose health and happiness!”, “I am now a non-smoker and I’ll be a non-smoker for the rest of my life.” c. Take 10 deep breaths deeply into the center of your brain and diaphragm and feel physically supported, repeating the words “calm and relaxed” as you exhale. d. You can eat carrot sticks, celery, etc. in addition to chewing on toothpicks, straws, or play with pens, etc. e. Use baking soda to neutralize the toxins leaving your body. (Warning: since baking soda is high in sodium, check with your doctor if appropriate.) Useful ways to use the baking soda include 1) brushing your teeth with it in the morning, 2) dipping your little finger tip in the dry soda and applying to your tongue, letting it slowly dissolve, 3) drinking an 8oz glass of water a day with 1/4 tsp. of baking soda dissolved in it. f. To support yourself regularly, use the knowledge that your mind is your tool that you can choose to use any way you wish.

NOTE that within 3 to 4 days, all the nicotine and other toxins will be eliminated from your body.

NOTE that at the 10 day mark, your red blood cells will be oxygenated and you’ll have more energy.

You are now home free! Remember, don’t play with fire! Allow yourself to be healed!

Please call (your name) at (your number) by __________ (your third day), on __________ (the tenth day) of freedom, and again at __________ (the third month).

I appreciate you sharing your success with others.

Congratulations!!


Cycle of Addiction Circle of Addiction (Alcoholism) Drink - Looking for euphoria effect, relief. Loss of Control - Drinking despite consequences – legal, occupational, relationships, health,

financial. Emotions - Guilt, shame, remorse. Obsession-Compulsion

RELAPSE

Physical - Quit physically, but they’re not emotionally equipped and will go back to drinking. Often you have to deal with their self esteem issues, or anxiety issues, etc.

Emotional - Thinking and feeling (denial of need for help), misdirected dependency on self.

Spiritual - Compromise of morals and principals numb themselves. Disease of Loneliness - Denial, avoidance. Progressive Reverse Tolerance Progression while in recovery; start out slow and go faster over time.

Once you know, you cannot not know.

The only reason we do what we do is because we see it as a benefit (immature perspective after a while)


HAMS: Harm Reduction for Alcohol What Is Reverse Tolerance?

In the average healthy human being alcohol is metabolized by the liver at the rate of about one standard drink (0.6 oz ethanol) per hour. In people who frequently engage in heavy drinking alcohol tolerance develops. Changes occur in the brain and the liver which work to adapt them to the steady presence of alcohol. When alcohol tolerance develops people need to drink much more alcohol to get the same effect as they used to.

Reverse Tolerance occurs when a heavy drinker develops liver damage and the liver no longer produces as great a quantity of the enzymes needed to break down alcohol in the body as it did before. Since people with a lot of alcoholic liver damage can no longer metabolize alcohol very well, these people can get very intoxicated on small quantities of alcohol--much smaller quantities than are needed to affect the person who rarely drinks. This phenomenon is known as Reverse Tolerance. The way that Reverse Tolerance can develop over a lifetime is illustrated by the curve in Figure 1.

As we can see from Figure 1, tolerance in an adult who has never had a drink of alcohol in his/her life remains steady. Once a person begins to drink alcohol on a regular basis the dose response goes down--in other words the same dose of alcohol produces less intoxication than it used to. Saying that the dose response to alcohol goes down is exactly the same as saying that alcohol tolerance goes up--and vice versa. Dose response and tolerance are mirror images of each other. As long as a steady consumption of alcohol is maintained, tolerance will tend to increase and dose response will tend to drop. If liver damage begins to occur, however, tolerance will begin to drop once again and dose response will tend to increase. When there is sufficient damage to the liver there will be considerably less tolerance and considerably greater dose response to alcohol than there was before the person ever took their first drink.

It is important to note that most heavy drinkers do NOT develop liver damage or Reverse


Tolerance. The majority of heavy drinkers will not suffer liver damage and hence will not develop Reverse Tolerance.

One should be very careful not to confuse Reverse Tolerance with the Healthy Tolerance Reversal which occurs when a heavy drinker does a period of abstinence from alcohol or a period of moderate drinking. When the amount of alcohol to which the liver is exposed on a daily basis is greatly decreased, liver enzymes begin to return to normal levels and alcohol tolerance (as well as dose response) tends to return to levels similar to those before the subject began drinking heavily.

The essential difference between Reverse Tolerance and Healthy Tolerance Reversal is that Reverse Tolerance is caused by damage to the liver which is often irreversible. In Healthy Tolerance Reversal the liver is actually becoming more healthy than it was during the period of heavy drinking--and the reason why the tolerance is dropping is that the excessive and unhealthy levels of liver enzymes associated with heavy drinking are now returning to normal and healthy levels. In Reverse Tolerance many of the cells needed to produce these enzymes have died and that is the reason why less of the enzymes are produced. In Healthy Tolerance Reversal the liver cells are going back to producing normal levels of these enzymes rather than the excessive levels which they produced during the heavy drinking period--no cells die when Healthy Tolerance Reversal takes place.

A period of abstinence may not necessarily return tolerance to the same levels as before the person ever took a drink of alcohol, however, an abstinence period significantly reduces tolerance from the levels it was at during the time of heavy drinking. Figure 2 illustrates the course of Healthy Tolerance Reversal in a typical individual.

How much time is needed for Healthy Tolerance Reversal to take place? There is not an exact answer to this. Tolerance will start dropping as soon as heavy drinking ceases, but experts say that it takes a month or two for the full effect of Healthy Tolerance Reversal to take place.


OPTIONS FOR EMPOWERMENT

1. Listen to your body. Fly/fish in tank – premature cognition commitment. 2. Cultivate self-respect. I accept myself unconditionally right now – 30 days in mirror – paste on mirror – you’ll know who the committee in your head is. 3. Identify the desire to create and your power of intent. Start with parking place. Write down where you were 5 years ago – who were you with. Notice how we create our thoughts. 4. Institute of Heart Math – love for 30 seconds – heart 5x. Balance out sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system – evens out blood pressure. 5. Embrace the potential (knows how to create health) of your biology. DNA is expressed in terms of years in environment. Twins with same DNA get different diseases. Emotions are our guidance system. Do something fun that’s nurturing. 6. Get support. Al-Anon, Square Dancing. Get a life. 7. Walk away from negativity. Turn off the news, don’t read newspapers. 8. Internalize competition regularly: regularly identify your strengths without denying. Internal completion – well done. 9. Don’t blame; forgive. For you to free up yourself. Doesn’t mean what happened was right. Get it off your chest. 10. Appreciate where you are right now and make a list. What you pay attention to tends to expand.


BRAIN SCANS PINPOINT CANNABIS MENTAL HEALTH RISK

by Ben Hirschler Mon. Apr. 30, 2007 10:34am E

LONDON (Reuters) – Brain scans showing how cannabis affects brain function may help explain

why heavy consumption of the drug triggers psychosis and schizophrenia in a small number of

people, scientists said on Monday.

Psychiatrists are increasingly concerned about the mental health impact of smoking large amounts of

modern super-strength marijuana, or skunk, particularly among young people.

Until now, the mechanism by which cannabis works on the brain has been a mystery but modern

scanning techniques mean experts can now detect its impact on brain activity.

Professor Philip McGuire and Zerrin Atakan of London’s Institute of Psychiatry said their work

using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, showed patients given the active cannabis compound

tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) had reduced function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region.

This area is associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to

situations.

“What THC seems to be doing is switching off that part of the brain, and that was associated with

how paranoid people became,” McGuire told reporters.

Their research will be presented at a two-day International Cannabis and Mental Health Conference

at the Institute of Psychiatry this week.

Similar findings from other teams also highlight the link between THC dose and the risk of

schizophrenia-like symptoms, conference organizer Professor Robin Murray said.

“It’s no longer a contentious issue. The expert community, by and large, accepts that cannabis

contributes to the onset of psychotic symptoms in general and the severe form of psychosis,

schizophrenia,” he said.


DOUBLE-STRENGTH JOINTS

One reason for the growing problem is thought to be the increasing strength of modern strains of

cannabis, which are cultivated to produce the maximum amount of THC.

In recent years, the average THC content of marijuana sold in Britain has doubled to 12 percent from

around 6 percent, while in the Netherlands it is about 18 percent, Murray said.

Most users of cannabis still do not have a problem with the drug but a minority, possibly because of

genetic factors, are vulnerable to long-term damage from modern skunk – which Murray says is to

old-fashioned dope what whiskey is to lager.

The rise in THC content is linked with a decline in another active ingredient called cannabidiol

(CBD), since the two products compete biochemically inside the cannabis plant.

CBD, which reduces anxiety but does not produce the euphoric high of THC, may help offset some

of the paranoid feelings.

Markus Leweke of Cologne University said a clinical trial involving 42 patients showed CBD was as

effective as the established medicine amisulpride, sold as Solian by Sanofi-Aventis, in treating

patients with psychosis.

“It seems there are good guys and bad guys within cannabis,” Leweke said.

Reuters, 2007. All Rights Reserved.


Google

Medical Marijuana Pros and Cons



EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

© by Jane Ann Covington, December 11, 1992. Updated Edited Version April 5, 2010

Without question, the central nervous system (CNS) and particularly the brain is the most sensitive organ system of the body to the presence of alcohol. This "sensitivity" is what being high, drunk, intoxicated, or impaired is all about. The neurophysiology is not fully understood, but is directly related to the concentration of alcohol in the blood, and therefore the brain. However, Dr. Daniel Amen, MD, has documented the destructive nature of alcohol with the SPECT imaging. Exactly how the brain is affected by alcohol is also not fully understood. Research indicates that the physical structure of nerve cell membranes is altered by alcohol, thereby altering their functioning. Alcohol is seen as significantly and negatively affecting the production and activity of neurotransmitters, chemical substances in the brain released by neurons that stimulate or inhibit binding to receptors of neurons or effector cells. Neurotransmitters transmit messages from one nerve cell to another by crossing the synapses and activating the receptors on the receiving nerve cell. Alcohol is a CNS depressant. Three different neurotransmitters have been identified as being affected by alcohol: 1) decreases the levels of GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), the principal inhibitory transmitter; 2) speeds up the breakdown and removal of norepinephrine from the body; 3) depresses the over-all activity of the CNS, serotonin. Decreased levels of serotonin are also found in individuals with depression, anxiety, poor impulse control, aggressiveness, and suicidal behavior. Research also indicates there may be a genetic predisposition. Strong evidence supports there may be an environmental exposure predisposition, as well. The degree of intoxication is also dependent on whether the blood alcohol level is rising, falling, or constant. The central nervous system and behavioral effects of a given blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is greater when it is rising, known as the Mellanby effect. As a CNS depressant, alcohol interferes with the activity of various brain centers as well as neurochemical systems. A high BAC can suppress CNS function to the point of causing respiratory arrest and death. At lower doses it may lead to poor control, disinhibited behaviors, giddiness, all typical of intoxication. This is not due to stimulation of CNS centers that mediate such behavior, but rather to the indirect effect of selective suppression of inhibitory systems that normally keep such behavior in check. There is a fairly predictable progression of behavioral effects as the amount of alcohol increases within a specific time frame. An electroencephalogram (EEG) taken when someone is high would show a diffuse slowing of normal brain waves. Changes in how the body handles alcohol (metabolic tolerance) and changes in alcohol's impact on the nervous system (functional or behavioral tolerance) occur with chronic use. With the development of tolerance there is both an increased rate of metabolism of alcohol and a decrease in behavioral impairment for a particular blood alcohol level. Dramatic effects on the CNS are associated with an acute lack of alcohol. Withdrawal is commonly thought of as a reaction over a long time of drinking, but a hangover is also considered as evidence of withdrawal. In the absence of alcohol and its chronic suppressant effects, certain regions of the brain become overactive. Symptoms of this can include tremulousness, agitation, seizures, and hallucinations. A relatively unusual CNS disorder related to alcohol use is "alcoholic idiosyncratic intoxication". This manifests as a transient psychotic state with a very rapid onset where the person becomes confused and disoriented; may have hallucinations, be aggressive, anxious, impulsive, enraged, violent, all for only a few minutes. The person then lapses into a profound sleep and has amnesia


about the whole episode. Chronic alcohol use can also lead to varying degrees of dementia or organic brain disease. The particular type of brain disease is determined by the portion of the brain involved. "Wernicke's syndrome” and "Korsakoff's psychosis" are both closely tied to alcoholism. Both are caused by nutritional deficiencies, especially a B vitamin, thiamine, in combination with the toxic effects alcohol has on the nerve tissue. More recent research indicates that a genetic factor, the lack of an enzyme, transketolase, may play an important role in both diseases. Wernicke's syndrome involves injury to the midbrain, cerebellum, and areas near the third and fourth ventricles of the brain. Clinically, a person is apt to be confused, delirious, and apprehensive. A characteristic dysfunction due to peripheral nerve damage or cerebellar damage, and often one of the first symptoms to appear is nystagmus and/or paralysis of the eye muscles that control eye movements. Difficulty in walking (ataxia) and balance are also typical. When recognized and treated early, it often responds to thiamine therapy quite rapidly. Korsakoff's psychosis is somewhat different, resulting from damage to the diencephalon, hypothalamus, and hippocampal formation, all areas of the brain important to memory function, and is often associated with damage to peripheral nerve tissue as well. This can have a sudden, rapid onset. Unlike the previously discussed disease, the individual with Korsakoff's psychosis remains cognitively functional, being alert, responsive, and able to attend to and comprehend the written and spoken word. Short and long term memory impairment is greatly out of proportion to other cognitive dysfunctions, in that the individual cannot process and store new information. The person often engages in tale-telling without regard to facts (known as confabulation), to fill in memory gaps. He is not trying to lie; being incapable of remembering the facts as they really are, even 5 minutes after an event has occurred. Characteristic of this disease is an awkward gait, with feet spread apart to assist in walking. Overall, this disease responds much slower and is less likely to improve-probably requiring nursing home or custodial care. "Alcoholic dementia" or "cerebral atrophy”, generalized loss of brain tissue, often occurs in chronic alcoholism, especially with people in their 50's and 60's. Although irreversible, treatment can be quite successful for Wernicke's syndrome with thiamine, a well-balanced diet, and discontinuation of alcohol. Following this, the problem will most likely stabilize and not progress further. Recovery of persons with Korsakoff's psychosis is only about 20%. The mortality rate of both diseases is about 15%. "Alcoholic cerebellar degeneration" is a complication that comes after 10 to 20 years of heavy drinking and nutritional deficiencies. The result is damage to the cerebellum, the area that coordinates complex motor activity (shown by a gradual development of a long slow lurching gait). Cognitive skills remain intact and there is no mental dysfunction, but signs of peripheral neuropathy and malnutrition may be present. Other CNS enemies include "acute" and "chronic portosystemic encephalopathy" (PSE), two forms of organic brain dysfunction caused by the diseased liver's diminished ability to prevent naturally occurring toxic substances (e.9. ammonia and glutamine) from getting into the general circulation of the body. These may result in cognitive and memory disturbances, changes in levels of consciousness - the extreme being hepatic coma - a flap-like tremor, and a foul, musty odor to the breath. Abstinence from alcohol and aggressive medical management is required to reduce the body's production of these toxic nitrogen-containing substances. An even more severe form of PSE, "chronic hepatocerebral disease", can be the result of complications of long-standing liver disease. In this case, the brain is adversely affected because toxins are consistently circulating throughout the bloodstream. In this case, the brain experiences areas of cell death and a proliferation of scar-like CNS cells, yielding loss of function, with dementia, ataxia, speech impairment (dysarthria), and sometimes bizarre movements. Because scarred or damaged brain tissue cannot be repaired, losses are permanent. Chronic care facilities are


often the only recourse for this condition. Two more rather obscure organic brain diseases are related to alcohol abuse and nutritional deficiencies. They are 1) "central pontine myelinolysis", affecting the pons that control respiration among other things, and 2) "Marchiafava-Bignami disease", affecting the nerve tracts connecting the frontal areas on the two sides of the brain leading to diminished language and motor skills, gait disorders, incontinence, seizures, dementia, hallucinations, and often eventually death. Finally, alcoholics are more susceptible to bacterial meningitis, seizures following head trauma and concussive syndrome, strokes (cerebrovascular accidents), and brain hemorrhages. Prevention of all of the CNS malfunctions related to alcohol is abstinence or at the very least moderation of dangerous amounts - depending on the size of the person - and general life style including nutritional requirements. With onset of these diseases, full abstinence, a well-balanced diet, and vitamin therapy is the best treatment currently available. In advanced diseases, medical intervention, nursing home, or custodial care will also be required. Resources: 1) Kinney, Jean and Leaton, Gwen, Loosening the Grip, 4th Ed., Mosby Year Book, St. Louis, MO, 1991. 2) Marieb, Elain N., RN, PhD, Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology, 3rd Ed., The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Redwood City, CA, 1991. 3) Neurosci Lett. 2003 Jan 2;335(3):179-82.


HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA AS A NEW RISK FACTOR FOR BRAIN SHRINKAGE IN

PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOLISM

Bleich S, Bandelow B, Javaheripour K, Müller A, Degner D, Wilhelm J, Havemann-Reinecke U,

Sperling W, Rüther E, Kornhuber J.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-

Nuremberg, Schwabachanlage 6-10, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany.

Chronic alcohol consumption can induce brain atrophy, whereby the exact mechanism of

brain damage in alcoholics remains unknown. There is evidence that chronic alcoholism is

associated with hyperhomocysteinemia. Homocysteine is an excitatory amino acid which markedly

enhances the vulnerability of neuronal cells to excitotoxic and oxidative injury in vitro and in vivo.

The present volumetric magnetic resonance imaging study included 52 chronic alcoholics and 30

non-drinking healthy controls. Patients were active drinkers and had an established diagnosis of

alcohol dependence. We investigated the influence of different variables on the hippocampal volume

of patients suffering from chronic alcoholism. We observed that pathological raised levels of plasma

homocysteine showed the most significant correlation to hippocampal volume reduction (P<0.001,

multiple regression analysis). Raised plasma levels of homocysteine are associated with

hippocampal (brain) atrophy in alcoholism.


National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism No. 46 December 1999

ARE WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO ALCOHOL'S EFFECTS?

Women appear to be more vulnerable than men to many adverse consequences of alcohol use.

Women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood and become more impaired than men

after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol. Research also suggests that women are more

susceptible than men to alcohol-related organ damage and to trauma resulting from traffic crashes

and interpersonal violence. This Alcohol Alert examines gender differences in alcohol's effects and

considers some factors that may place women at risk for alcohol-related problems.

Prevalence of Women's Drinking

Household surveys indicate that alcohol use is more prevalent among men than women in the United

States (1,2). In one survey, 34 percent of women reported consuming at least 12 standard drinks1

during the previous year compared with 56 percent of men (1). Among drinkers surveyed, 10 percent

of women and 22 percent of men consumed two or more drinks per day on average (1). Men are also

more likely than women to become alcohol dependent (3).2

Women's drinking is most common between ages 26 and 34 and among women who are divorced or

separated (2). Binge drinking (i.e., consumption of five or more drinks per occasion on 5 or more

days in the past month) is most common among women ages 18 to 25 (2). Among racial groups,

women's drinking is more prevalent among whites, although black women are more likely to drink

heavily (1).

Metabolism

Women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently than men. In general, women have less body

water than men of similar body weight, so that women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in

the blood after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol (5,6). In addition, women appear to eliminate

alcohol from the blood faster than men. This finding may be explained by women's higher liver

volume per unit lean body mass (7,8), because alcohol is metabolized almost entirely in the liver (9).


Consequences of Alcohol Use

Research suggests that women are more vulnerable than men to alcohol-related organ damage,

trauma, and legal and interpersonal difficulties.

Liver Damage. Compared with men, women develop alcohol-induced liver disease over a shorter

period of time and after consuming less alcohol (10,11). In addition, women are more likely than

men to develop alcoholic hepatitis and to die from cirrhosis (12). Animal research suggests that

women's increased risk for liver damage may be linked to physiological effects of the female

reproductive hormone estrogen (13).

Brain Damage. Views of the brain obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggest that

women may be more vulnerable than men to alcohol-induced brain damage. Using MRI, researchers

found that a brain region involved in coordinating multiple brain functions was significantly smaller

among alcoholic women compared with both nonalcoholic women and alcoholic men. These

differences remained significant after measurements were adjusted for head size (14). Conversely, a

study measuring metabolic energy utilization in selected brain regions found a significant difference

between alcoholic and nonalcoholic men but no significant difference between alcoholic and

nonalcoholic women (15). These results are not consistent with a greater vulnerability to alcoholic

brain damage in women. However, the female alcoholics reported less severe alcohol use compared

with the male alcoholics studied (15).

Heart Disease. Men and women who consume one or two alcoholic drinks per day have a lower

death rate from coronary heart disease (e.g., heart attacks) than do heavier drinkers and abstainers, as

discussed in Alcohol Alert No. 45, "Alcohol and Coronary Heart Disease" (16). Among heavier

drinkers, research shows similar rates of alcohol-associated heart muscle disease (i.e.,

cardiomyopathy) for both men and women, despite women's 60 percent lower lifetime alcohol use

(17).

Breast Cancer. Many studies report that moderate to heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk

for breast cancer (18), although one recent study found no increased breast cancer risk associated

with consumption of up to one drink per day, the maximum drinking level reported by most women

(19).

Violent Victimization. A survey of female college students found a significant relationship between


the amount of alcohol the women reported drinking each week and their experiences of sexual

victimization (20). Another study found that female high school students who used alcohol in the

past year were more likely than nondrinking students to be the victims of dating violence (e.g.,

shoving, kicking, or punching) (21).

A history of heavy premarital drinking by both partners has been found to predict first-year

aggression among newlyweds (22). In some studies, problem drinking by wives has been linked to

husband-to-wife aggression regardless of the husbands' drinking levels (23).

Traffic Crashes. Although women are less likely than men to drive after drinking (1,24) and to be

involved in fatal alcohol-related crashes (25), women have a higher relative risk of driver fatality

than men at similar blood alcohol concentrations (26). Laboratory studies of the effects of alcohol on

responding to visual cues and other tasks suggest that there may be gender differences in how

alcohol affects the performance of driving tasks (27).

Women's lower rates of drinking and driving may be attributed to their lower tendency toward risk

taking compared with men (28,29). Women are also less likely to view drinking and driving as

acceptable behavior. In a 1990 national household survey, 17 percent of women, compared with 27

percent of men, agreed that it was acceptable for a person to drink one or two drinks before driving

(30). Nevertheless, the proportion of female drivers involved in fatal crashes is increasing. In 1996,

16 percent of all drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes were women, compared with 13

percent in 1986 and 12 percent in 1980 (25).

Risk Factors for Women's Alcohol Use

Factors that may increase women's risk for alcohol abuse or dependence include genetic influences,

early initiation of drinking, and victimization.

Genetic Factors. The relative contribution of genetic factors to women's risk for alcoholism has

been debated. A survey of 2,163 female twins revealed greater similarity between identical twins

compared with fraternal twins on measures of alcohol consumption (31). Similar studies including

more than 12,000 twin pairs from the general population have confirmed that among both male and

female twin pairs, identical twins are more likely than fraternal twins to have similar rates of alcohol

dependence, alcohol abuse, and heavy alcohol consumption (32,33).


Studies of women who had been adopted at birth have shown a significant association between

alcoholism in adoptees and their biological parents (34). In addition, antisocial personality (e.g.,

aggressiveness) in biological parents may predict alcoholism in both male and female adoptees (35).

However, potential interactions between genetic and environmental influences require further study.

Using laboratory animals, researchers are currently attempting to identify gender-specific genetic

factors whose interactions might contribute to differential sensitivity to alcohol's effects (36).

Age of Initiating Drinking. Results of a large nationwide survey show that more than 40 percent of

persons who initiated drinking before age 15 were diagnosed as alcohol dependent at some point in

their lives (37). Rates of lifetime dependence declined to approximately 10 percent among those who

began drinking at age 20 or older. The annual rate of this decline was similar for both genders (37).

Although in the past women generally started drinking at later ages than men, more recent survey

data show that this difference has nearly disappeared (2).

Victimization. Using data collected in a large general population survey, Wilsnack and colleagues

(38) found that women who reported being sexually abused in childhood were more likely than other

women to have experienced alcohol-related problems (e.g., family discord or household accidents)

and to have one or more symptoms of alcohol dependence. Another study found that women in

alcoholism treatment were significantly more likely to report childhood sexual abuse and father-to-

daughter verbal aggression or physical violence compared with women in the general population

(39).

Widom and colleagues (40) reached a different conclusion from that of Miller and colleagues.

Instead of relying on women's recall of their pasts, Widom and colleagues consulted court records to

identify cases of childhood physical or sexual abuse. These researchers found that for women, a

history of childhood neglect, but not abuse, significantly predicted the number of alcohol-related

symptoms experienced, independent of parental alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems, childhood

poverty, race, and age.

Physical abuse during adulthood has also been associated with women's alcohol use and related

problems. One study found that significantly more women undergoing alcoholism treatment

experienced severe partner violence (e.g., kicking, punching, or threatening with a weapon)

compared with other women in the community. In addition, among women in the community group,


those with AOD-related problems reported significantly higher rates of severe partner violence than

women without such problems. Although the findings indicate that partner violence and AOD

problems co-occur among women, the data do not indicate whether the association is causal (41).

Are Women More Vulnerable to Alcohol's Effects?

A Commentary by NIAAA Director Enoch Gordis, M.D.

As can be seen by the varied types of information reported on in this Alcohol Alert, the alcohol

research field has begun to recognize the importance of understanding gender differences in how

alcohol is used, in the consequences of alcohol use, and in the development of alcohol dependence.

For example, where women and men drink at the same rate, women continue to be at higher risk

than are men for certain serious medical consequences of alcohol use, including liver, brain, and

heart damage. We know that some of this risk is due to gender differences in metabolism; it also

could quite possibly be due to gender-related differences in brain chemistry, in genetic risk factors,

or to entirely different factors that are currently unknown. The more science can tell us about

gender-related aspects of alcohol-related problems-not only what they are but why-the better job we

will be able to do to prevent and treat those problems in all populations.

References

(1) NIAAA. Drinking in the United States: Main Findings From the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey (NLAES). U.S. Alcohol Epidemiologic Data Reference Manual. Vol. 6. 1st ed. Bethesda, MD: The Institute, 1998. (2) Su, S.S.; Larison, C.; Ghadialy, R.; et al. Substance Use Among Women in the United States. SAMHSA Analytic Series A-3. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1997. (3) Grant, B.F. Prevalence and correlates of alcohol use and DSM-IV alcohol dependence in the United States: Results of the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. J Stud Alcohol 58(5):464-473, 1997. (4) American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC: the Association, 1994. (5) Frezza, M.; Di Padova, C.; Pozzato, G.; et al. High blood alcohol levels in women: The role of decreased gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity and first-pass metabolism. N Engl J Med 322(2):95-99, 1990. (6) Taylor, J.L.; Dolhert, N.; Friedman, L.; et al. Alcohol elimination and simulator performance of male and female aviators: A preliminary report. Aviat Space Environ Med 67(5):407-413, 1996. (7) Li, T.K.; Beard, J.D.; Orr, W.E.; et al. Gender and ethnic differences in alcohol metabolism. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 22(3):771-772, 1998. (8) Kwo, P.Y.; Ramchandani, V.A.; O'Connor, S.; et al. Gender differences in alcohol metabolism: Relationship to liver volume and effect of adjusting for body mass. Gastroenterology 115(6):1552-1557, 1998. (9) Levitt, M.D.; Li, R.; DeMaster, E.G.; et al. Use of measurements of ethanol absorption from stomach and intestine to assess human ethanol metabolism. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 3 (4):G951-G957, 1997. (10) Tuyns, A.J., and Pequignot, G. Greater risk of ascitic cirrhosis in females in relation to alcohol consumption. Int J Epidemiol 13(1):53-57, 1984. (11) Gavaler, J.S., and Arria, A.M. Increased susceptibility of women to alcoholic liver disease: Artifactual or real? In: Hall, P., ed. Alcoholic Liver Disease: Pathology and Pathogenesis. 2d ed. London, UK: Edward Arnold, 1995. pp. 123-133. (12) Hall, P.M. Factors influencing individual susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease. In: Hall, P.M., ed., Alcoholic Liver Disease: Pathology and Pathogenesis. 2d. ed. London, UK: Edward Arnold, 1995. pp. 299-316. (13) Ikejima, K.; Enomoto, N.; Iimuro, Y.; et al. Estrogen increases sensitivity of kupffer cells to endotoxin. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 22(3):768-769, 1998. (14) Hommer, D.; Momenan, R.; Rawlings, R.; et al. Decreased corpus callosum size among alcoholic women. Arch Neurol 53(4):359-363, 1996. (15) Wang, G.J.; Volkow, N.D.; Fowler, J.S.; et al. Regional cerebral metabolism in female alcoholics of moderate severity does not differ from that of controls. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 22(8):1850-1854, 1998. (16) NIAAA. Alcohol Alert No. 45: Alcohol and Coronary Heart Disease. Rockville, MD: the Institute, 1999. (17) Urbano-Marquez, A.; Estruch, R.; Fernández-Solá, J.; et al. The greater risk of alcoholic cardiomyopathy and myopathy in women compared with men. JAMA 274(2):149-154, 1995. (18) Smith-Warner, S.A.; Spiegelman, D.; Yaun, S.S.; et al. Alcohol and breast cancer in women: A pooled analysis of cohort studies. JAMA 279(7):535-540, 1998. (19) Zhang, Y.; Kreger, B.E.; Dorgan, J.F.; et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of breast cancer: The Framingham Study revisited. Am J Epidemiol 149(2):93-101, 1999. (20) Gross, W.C., and Billingham, R.E. Alcohol consumption and sexual victimization among college women. Psychol Rep 82(1):80-82, 1998. (21) Malik, S.; Sorenson, S.B.; and Aneshensel, C.S. Community and dating violence among adolescents: Perpetration and victimization. J Adolesc Health 21(5):291-302, 1997. (22) Leonard, K.E., and Roberts, L.J. Marital aggression, quality, and stability in the first year of marriage: Findings from the Buffalo Newlywed Study. In: Bradbury, T.N., ed. The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. pp. 44-73. (23) Leonard, K.E., and Senchak, M. Alcohol and premarital aggression among newlywed couples. J Stud Alcohol/Suppl 11:96-108, 1993. (24) Kann, L.; Kinchen, S.A.; Williams, B.I.; et al. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: United States, 1997. MMWR 47(SS-3):1-89, 1998. (25) Yi, H.; Stinson, F.S.; Williams, G.D.; et al. Trends in Alcohol-Related Fatal Traffic Crashes, United States,


1977-96. Surveillance Report No. 46. Bethesda, MD: NIAAA, 1998. (26) Zador, P.L. Alcohol-related relative risk of fatal driver injuries in relation to driver age and sex. J Stud Alcohol 52(4):302-310, 1991. (27) Waller, P.F., and Blow, F.C. Women, alcohol, and driving. In: Galanter, M., ed. Recent Developments in Alcoholism. Vol. 12. New York: Plenum Press, 1995. pp. 103-123. (28) Wells-Parker, E.; Popkin, C.L.; and Ashley, M. Drinking and driving among women: Gender trends, gender differences. In: Howard, J.M.; Martin, S.E.; Mail, P.D.; et al., eds. Women and Alcohol: Issues for Prevention Research. NIAAA Research Monograph No. 32. Bethesda, MD: NIAAA, 1996. (29) Arnett, J.J.; Offer, D.; and Fine, M.A. Reckless driving in adolescence: 'State' and 'trait' factors. Accid Anal Prev 29(1):57-63, 1997. (30) Greenfield, T.K., and Room, R. Situational norms for drinking and drunkenness: Trends in the US adult population, 1979-1990. Addiction 92(1):33-47, 1997. (31) Prescott, C.A., and Kendler, K.S. Longitudinal stability and change in alcohol consumption among female twins: Contributions of genetics. Development Psychopathology 8(4):849-866, 1996. (32) Kendler, K.S., and Prescott, C.A. Population-based twin study of alcohol abuse and dependence: Modeling gender differences. Am J Med Genet 74(6):574, 1997. (33) Prescott, C.A.; Aggen, S.H.; and Kendler, K.S. Sex differences in the sources of genetic liability to alcohol abuse and dependence in a population-based sample of U.S. twins. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 23(7):1136-1144, 1999. (34) Bohman, M.; Sigvardsson, S.; and Cloninger, C.R. Maternal inheritance of alcohol abuse: Cross-fostering analysis of adopted women. Arch Gen Psychiatry 38(9):965-969, 1981. (35) Cadoret, R.J.; Yates, W.R.; Troughton, E.; et al. An adoption study of drug abuse/dependency in females. Compr Psychiatry 37(2):88-94, 1996. (36) Fernandez, J.R.; Vogler, G.; Tarantino, L.M.; et al. Sex-specific QTL influences in alcohol-related phenotypes: Analysis of an F2 population. Behav Genet 27(6):589, 1997. (37) Grant, B.F., and Dawson, D.A. Age at onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. J Sub Abuse 9:103-110, 1997. (38) Wilsnack, S.C.; Vogeltanz, N.D.; Klassen, A.D.; et al. Childhood sexual abuse and women's substance abuse: National survey findings. J Stud Alcohol 58(3):264-271, 1997. (39) Miller, B.A.; Downs, W.R.; and Testa, M. Interrelationships between victimization experiences and women's alcohol use. J Stud Alcohol/Suppl 11:109-117, 1993. (40) Widom, C.S.; Ireland, T.; and Glynn, P.J. Alcohol abuse in abuse and neglected children followed-up: Are they at increased risk? J Stud Alcohol 56(2):207-217, 1995. (41) Miller, B.A. Partner violence experiences and women's drug use: Exploring the connections. In: Wetherington, C.L., and Roman, A.B., eds. Drug Addiction Research and the Health of Women. Rockville, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1998. pp. 407-416.

1A standard drink is 12 grams of pure alcohol, which is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.

2Alcohol dependence was defined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (4).

All material contained in the Alcohol Alert is in the public domain and may be used or reproduced

without permission from NIAAA. Citation of the source is appreciated.

Copies of the Alcohol Alert are available free of charge from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Publications Distribution Center,

P.O. Box 10686, Rockville, MD 20849-0686.

Full text of this publication is available on NIAAA's World Wide Web site at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service * National Institutes of Health

Updated: October 2000


SPECIAL REPORT: FERTILE MINDS

by J. Madeline Nash, Time, February 3, 1997

From birth, a baby’s brain cells proliferate wildly, making connections that may shape a lifetime of

experience. The first three years are critical.

Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. If scientists could eaves drop on the brain of a

human embryo 10, maybe 12 weeks after conception, they would hear an astonishing racket. Inside

the womb, long before light first strikes the retina of the eye or the earliest dreamy images flicker

through the cortex, nerve cells are calling their friends, and they keep calling one another over and

over again, “almost,” says neurologist Carla Shatz of the University of California, Berkeley, “as if

they were autodialing.”

But these neurons – as the long wiry cells that carry electrical messages through the nervous

system and the brain are called – are not transmitting signals in scattershot fashion. That would

produce a featureless static, the sort of noise picked up by a radio tuned between stations. On the

contrary, evidence is growing that the staccato bursts of electricity that form those distinctive rat-a-

tat-tats arise from coordinated waves of neural activity, and that those pulsing waves, like currents

shifting sand on the ocean floor, actually change the shape of the brain, carving mental circuits into

patterns that over time will enable the newborn infant to perceive a father's voice, a mother's touch, a

shiny mobile twirling over the crib.

Of all the discoveries that have poured out of neuroscience labs in recent years, the finding

that the electrical activity of brain cells changes the physical structure of the brain is perhaps the

most breathtaking. For the rhythmic firing of neurons is no longer assumed to be a by-product of

building the brain but essential to the process, and it begins, scientists have established, well before

birth. A brain is not a computer. Nature does not cobble it together, then turn it on. No, the brain

begins working long before it is finished. And the same processes that wire the brain before birth,

neuroscientists are finding, also drive the explosion of learning that occur immediately afterward.

At birth a baby's brain contains 100 billion neurons, roughly as many nerve cells as there are

stars in the Milky Way. Also in place are a trillion glial cells, named after the Greek word for glue,

which form a kind of honeycomb that protects and nourishes the neurons. But while the brain

contains virtually all the nerve cells it will ever have, the pattern of wiring between them has yet to

stabilize. Up to this point, says Shatz, "what the brain has done is lay out circuits that are its best

guess about what's required for vision, for language, for whatever." And now it is up to neural

activity - no longer spontaneous, but driven by a flood of sensory experiences – to take this rough

blueprint and progressively refine it.


During the first years of life, the brain undergoes a series of extraordinary changes. Starting

shortly after birth, a baby's brain, in a display of biological exuberance, produces trillions more

connections between neurons than it can possibly use. Then, through a process that resembles

Darwinian competition, the brain eliminates connections, or synapses, that are seldom or never used.

The excess synapses in a child's brain undergo a draconian pruning, starting around the age of 10 or

earlier, leaving behind a mind whose patterns of emotion and thought are, for better or worse,

unique.

Wiring the Brain

1. An embryo’s brain produces many more neurons, or nerve cells, than it needs, then eliminates the

excess.

2. The surviving neurons spin out axons, the long-distance transmission lines of the nervous system.

At their ends the axons spin out multiple branches that temporarily connect with many targets.

3. Spontaneous bursts of electrical activity strengthen some of these connections, while others (the

connections that are not reinforced by activity) atrophy.

4. After birth, the brain experiences a second growth sport, as the axons (which send signals) and

dendrites (which receive them) explode with new connections. Electrical activity, triggered by a

flood of sensory experiences, fine-tunes the brain’s circuitry – determining which connections will

be retained and which will be pruned.

Deprived of a stimulating environment, a child's brain suffers. Researchers at Baylor College

of Medicine, for example, have found that children who don't play much or are rarely touched

develop brains 20% to 30% smaller than normal for their age. Laboratory animals provide another

provocative parallel. Not only do young rats reared in toy-strewn cages exhibit more complex

behavior than rats confined sterile, uninteresting boxes, researchers at the University of Illinois at

Urbana - Champaign have found, but the brains of these rats contain as many as 25% more synapses

per neuron. Rich experiences, in other words, really do produce rich brains.

The new insights into brain development are more than just interesting science. They have

profound implications for parents and policymakers. In an age when mothers and fathers are.

increasingly pressed for time - and may already be feeling guilty about how many hours they spend

away from their children - the results coming out of the labs ale likely to increase concerns about

leaving very young children in tie care of others. For the data underscore the importance of hands-on


parenting, of finding the time to cuddle a baby, talk with a toddler and provide infants with

stimulating experiences.

The new insights have begun to infuse new passion into the political debate over early

education and day care. There is an urgent need, say child-development experts, for preschool

programs designed to boost the brain power of youngsters born into impoverished rural and inner-

city households. Without such programs, they warn, the current drive to curtail welfare costs by

pushing mothers with infants and toddlers into the work force may well backfire. "There is a time

scale to brain development, and the most important year is the first," notes Frank Newman, president

of the Education Commission of the States. By the age of three, a child who is neglected or abused

bears marks that, if not indelible, are exceedingly difficult to erase.

But the new research offers hope as well. Scientists have found that the brain during the first

years of life is so malleable that very young children who suffer strokes or injuries that wipe out an

entire hemisphere can still mature into highly functional adults. Moreover, it is becoming

increasingly clear that well-designed preschool programs can help many children overcome glaring

deficits in their home environment. With appropriate therapy, say researchers, even serious disorders

like dyslexia may be treatable. While inherited problems may place certain children at greater risk

than others, says Dr. Harry Chugani, a pediatric neurologist at Wayne State University in Detroit,

that is no excuse for ignoring the environment's power to remodel the brain. "We may not do much

to change what happens before birth, but we can change what happens after a baby is born," he

observes.

Strong evidence that activity changes the brain began accumulating in the 1970s. But only

recently have researchers had tools powerful enough to reveal the precise mechanisms by which

those changes are brought about. Neural activity triggers a biochemical cascade that reaches all the

way to the nucleus of cells and the coils of DNA that encode specific genes. In fact, two of the genes

affected by neural activity in embryonic fruit flies, neurobiologist Corey Goodman and his

colleagues at Berkeley reported late last year, are identical to those that other studies have linked to

learning and memory. How thrilling, exclaims Goodman, how intellectually satisfying that the

snippets of DNA that embryos use to build their brains are the very same ones that will later allow

adult organisms to process and store new information.

As researchers explore the once hidden links between brain activity and brain structure, they

are beginning to construct a sturdy bridge over the chasm that previously separated genes from the

environment. Experts now agree that a baby does not come into the world as a genetically

preprogrammed automaton or a blank slate at the mercy of the environment, but arrives as something


much more interesting. For this reason the debate that engaged countless generations of philosophers

– whether nature or nurture calls the shots – no longer interests most scientists. They are much too

busy chronicling the myriad ways in which genes and the environment interact. “It’s not a

competition,” says Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a psychiatrist at George Washington University. “It’s a

dance.”

Wiring Vision

What’s Going On: Babies can see at birth, but not in fine-grained detail. They have not yet

acquired the knack of focusing both eyes on a single object or developed more sophisticated visual

skills like depth perception. They also lack hand-eye coordination.

What Parents Can Do: There is no need to buy high-contrast black-and-white toys to stimulate

vision. But regular eye exams, starting as early as two weeks of age, can detect problems that, if left

uncorrected, can cause a weak or unused eye to lose its functional connections to the brain.

Window of Learning: Unless it is exercised early on, the visual system will not develop.

The Importance of Genes

That dance begins at around the third week of gestation, when a thin layer of cells in the

developing embryo performs an origami-like trick, folding inward to give rise to a fluid-filled

cylinder known as the neural tube. As cells in the neural tube proliferate at the astonishing rate of

250,000 a minute, the brain and spinal cord assemble themselves in a series of tightly choreographed

steps. Nature is the dominant partner during this phase of development, but nurture plays a vital

supportive role. Changes in the environment of the womb – whether caused by maternal

malnutrition, drug abuse or a viral infection – can wreck the clockwork precision of the neural

assembly line. Some forms of epilepsy, mental retardation, autism and schizophrenia appear to be

the results of developmental processes gone awry.

But what awes scientists who study the brain, what still stuns them, is not that things

occasionally go wrong in the developing brain but that so much of the time they go right. This is all

the more remarkable, says Berkeley's Shatz, as the central nervous system of an embryo is not a

miniature of the adult system but more like a tadpole that gives rise to a frog. Among other things,

the cells produced in the neural tube must migrate to distant locations and accurately lay down the

connections that link one part of the brain to another. In addition, the embryonic brain must construct

a variety of temporary structures, 'including the neural tube, that will like a tadpole's tail, eventually


disappear.

What biochemical magic underlies this incredible metamorphosis? Tire instructions

programmed into the genes, of course, Scientists have recently discovered, for instance, that a gene

nicknamed 'sonic hedgehog" (after the popular video game Sonic the Hedgehog) determines the fate

of neurons in the spinal cord and the brain. Like a strong scent carried by the wind, the protein

encoded by the hedgehog gene (so called because in its absence, fruit-fly embryos sprout a coat of

prickles) diffuses outward from the cells that produce it, becoming fainter and fainter. Columbia

University neurobiologist Thomas Jessell has found that it takes middling concentrations of this

potent morphing factor to produce a motor neuron and lower concentrations to make an interneuron

(a cell that relays signals to other neurons, instead of to muscle fibers, as motor neurons do).

Scientists are also beginning to identify some of the genes that guide neurons in their long

migrations. Consider the problem faced by neurons destined to become part of the cerebral cortex.

Because they arise relatively late in the development of the mammalian brain, billions of these cells

must push and shove their way through dense colonies established by earlier migrants. “It’s as if the

entire population of the East Coast decided to move en masse to the West Coast,” marvels Yale

University neuroscientist Dr. Pasko Rakic, and marched through Cleveland, Chicago and Denver to

get there.

But of all the problems the growing nervous system must solve, the most daunting is posed

by the wiring itself. After birth, when the number of connections explodes, each of the brain's

billions of neurons will forge links to thousands of others. First they must spin out a web of wire-like

fibers known as axons (which transmit signals) and dendrites (which receive them). The objective is

to form a synapse, the gap-like structure over which the axon of one neuron beams a signal to the

dendrites of another. Before this can happen, axons and dendrites must almost touch. And while the

short, bushy dendrites don't have to travel very far, axons - the heavy-duty cables of the nervous

system - must traverse distances that are the microscopic equivalent of miles.

What guides an axon on its incredible voyage is a "growth cone," a creepy crawly sprout that

looks something like an amoeba. Scientists have known about growth cones since the turn of the

century. What they didn't know until recently was that growth cones come equipped with the

molecular equivalent of sonar and radar. Just as instruments in a submarine or airplane scan the

environment for signals, so molecules arrayed on the surface of growth cones search their

surroundings for the presence of certain proteins. Some of these proteins, it turns out, are attractants

that pull the growth cones toward them, while others are repellents that push them away.


Wiring Feelings

What’s Going On: Among the first circuits the brain constructs are those that govern the emotions.

Beginning around two months of age, the distress and contentment experienced by newborns start to

evolve into more complex feelings: joy and sadness, envy and empathy, pride and shame.

What Parents Can Do: Loving care provides a baby’s brain with the right kind of emotional

stimulation. Neglecting a baby can produce brain-wave patterns that dampen happy feelings. Abuse

can produce heightened anxiety and abnormal stress responses.

Window of Learning: Emotions develop in layers, each more complex than the last.

The First Stirrings

Up to this point, genes have controlled the unfolding of the brain. As soon as axons make

their first connections, however, the nerves begin to fire, and what they do starts to matter more and

more. In essence, say scientists, the developing nervous system has strung the equivalent of

telephone trunk lines between the right neighborhoods in the right cities. Now it has to sort out

which wires belong to which house, a problem that cannot be solved by genes alone for reasons that

boil down to simple arithmetic. Eventually, Berkeley’s Goodman estimates, a human brain must

forge quadrillions of connections. But there are only 100,000 genes in human DNA. Even though

half these genes-some 50,000-appear to be dedicated to constructing and maintaining the nervous

system, he observes, that's not enough to specify more than a tiny fraction of the connections

required by a fully functioning brain.

In adult mammals, for example, the axons that connect the brain's visual system arrange

themselves in striking layers and columns that reflect the division between the left eye and the right.

But these axons start out as scrambled as a bowl of spaghetti, according to Michael Stryker,

chairman of the physiology department at the University of California at San Francisco. What sorts

out the mess, scientists have established, is neural activity. In a series of experiments viewed as

classics by scientists in the field, Berkeley's Shatz chemically blocked neural activity in embryonic

cats. The result? The axons that connect neurons in the retina of the eye to the brain never formed

the left eye-right eye geometry needed to support vision.

But no recent finding has intrigued researchers more than the results reported in October by


Corey Goodman and his Berkeley colleagues. In studying a deceptively simple problem - how axons

from motor neurons in the fly's central nerve cord establish connections with muscle cells in its

limbs - the Berkeley researchers made an unexpected discovery. They knew there was a gene that

keeps bundles of axons together as they race toward their muscle-cell targets. What they discovered

was that the electrical activity produced by neurons inhibited this gene, dramatically increasing the

number of connections the axons made. Even more intriguing, the signals amplified the activity of a

second gene - a gene called CREB.

The discovery of the CREB amplifier, more than any other, links the developmental

processes that occur before birth to those that continue long after. For the twin processes of memory

and learning in adult animals, Columbia University neurophysiologist Eric Kandel has shown, rely

on the CREB molecule. When Kandel blocked the activity of CREB in giant snails, their brains

changed in ways that suggested that they could still learn but could remember what they learned for

only a short period of time. Without CREB, it seems, snails - and by extension, more developed

animals like humans - can form no long-term memories. And without long-term memories, it is hard

to imagine that infant brains could ever master more than rudimentary skills. "Nurture is important,"

says Kandel. "But nurture works through nature."

Wiring Language

What’s Going On: Even before birth, an infant is tuning in to the melody of its mother’s voice.

Over the next six years, its brain will set up the circuitry needed to decipher – and reproduce – the

lyrics. A six-month old can recognize the vowel sounds that are the basic building blocks of speech.

What Parents Can Do: Talking to a baby a lot, researchers have found, significantly speeds up the

process of learning new words. The high-pitched, singsong speech style known as Parentese helps

babies connect objects with words.

Window of Learning: Language skills are sharpest early on but grow throughout life.

Experience Kicks In

When a baby is born, it can see and hear and smell and respond to touch, but only dimly. The

brain stem, a primitive region that controls vital functions like heartbeat and breathing, has

completed its wiring. Elsewhere the connections between neurons are wispy and weak. But over the

first few months of life, the brain’s higher centers explode with new synapses. And as dendrites and

axons swell with buds and branches like trees in spring, metabolism soars. By the age of two, a


child’s brain contains twice as many synapses and consumes twice as much energy as the brain of a

normal adult.

University of Chicago pediatric neurologist Dr. Peter Huttenlocher has chronicled this

extraordinary epoch in brain development by autopsying the brains of infants and young children

who have died unexpectedly. The number of synapses in one layer of the visual cortex, Huttenlocher

reports, rises from around 2,500 per neuron at birth to as many as 18,000 about six months later.

Other regions of the cortex score similarly spectacular increases but on slightly different schedules.

And while these microscopic connections between nerve fibers continue to form throughout life,

they reach their highest average densities (15,000 synapses per neuron) at around the age of two and

remain at that level until the age of 10 or 11.

This profusion of connections lends the growing brain exceptional flexibility and resilience.

Consider the case of 13-year-old Brandi Binder, who developed such severe epilepsy that surgeons

at UCLA had to remove the entire right side of her cortex when she was six. Binder lost virtually all

the control she had established over muscles on the left side of her body, the side controlled by the

right side of the brain. Yet today, after years of therapy ranging from leg lifts to math and music

drills, Binder is an A student at the Holmes Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She loves

music, math and art - skills usually associated with the right half of the brain. And while Binder's

recuperation is not 100% - for example, she has never regained the use of her left arm - it comes

close. Says UCLA pediatric neurologist Dr. Donald Shields: “If there’s a way to compensate, the

developing brain will find it.”

What wires a child’s brain, says neuroscientists – or rewires it after physical trauma – is

repeated experience. Each time a baby tries to touch a tantalizing object or gazes intently at a face or

listens to a lullaby, tiny bursts of electricity shoot through the brain, knitting neurons into circuits –

as well defined as those etched onto silicon chips. The results are those behavioral mileposts that

never cease to delight and awe parents. Around the age of two months, for example, the motor-

control centers of the brain develop to the point that infants can suddenly reach out and grab a

nearby object. Around the age of four months, the cortex begins to refine the connections needed for

depth perception and binocular vision. And around the age of 12 months, the speech centers of the

brain are poised to produce what is perhaps the most magical moment of childhood: the first word

that marks the flowering of language.

When the brain does not receive the right information – or shuts it out - the result can be

devastating. Some children who display early signs of autism, for example, retreat from the world

because they are hypersensitive to sensory stimulation, others because their senses are under active


and provide them with too little information. To be effective, then, says George Washington

University's Greenspan, treatment must target the underlying condition, protecting some children

from disorienting noises and lights, providing others with attention-grabbing stimulation. But when

parents and therapists collaborate in an intensive effort to reach these abnormal brains, writes

Greenspan in a new book, The Growth of the Mind (Addison-Wesley, 1997), three-year-olds who

begin the descent into the autistic's limited universe can sometimes be snatched back.

Indeed parents are the brain's first and most important teachers. Among other things, they

appear to help babies learn by adopting the rhythmic, high-pitched speaking style known as

Parentese, When speaking to babies, Stanford University psychologist Anne Fernald has found,

mothers and fathers from many cultures change their speech patterns in the same peculiar ways.

"They put their faces very close to the child," she reports, "They use shorter utterances, and they

speak in an unusually melodious fashion." The heart rate of infants increases while listening to

Parentese, even Parentese delivered in foreign language. Moreover, Fernald says, Parentese appears

to hasten the process of connecting words to the objects they denote. Twelve-month-olds, directed to

"look at the ball" in Parentese, direct their eyes to the correct picture more frequently than when the

instruction is delivered in normal English.

In some ways, the exaggerated, vowel-rich sounds of Parentese appear to resemble the choice

morsels fed to hatchlings by adult birds. The University of Washington’s Patricia Kuhl and her

colleagues have conditioned dozens of newborns to turn their heads when they detect the ee sound

emitted by American parents, vs. the eu favored by doting Swedes. Very young babies, says Kuhl,

invariable perceive slight variations in pronunciation as totally different sounds. But by the age of

six months, American babies no longer react when they hear variants of ee, and Swedish babies have

become impervious to differences in eu. “It’s as if their brains have formed magnets,” says Kuhl,

“and all the sounds in the vicinity are swept in.”

Wiring Movement

What’s Going On: At birth, babies can move their limbs, but in a jerky, uncontrolled fashion.

Over the next four years, the brain progressively refines the circuits for reaching, grabbing, sitting,

crawling, walking and running.

What Parents Can Do: Give babies as much freedom to explore as safety permits. Just reaching

for an object helps the brain develop hand-eye coordination. As soon as children are ready for them,

activities like drawing and playing a violin or piano encourage the development of fine motor skills.

Window of Learning: Motor-skill development moves from gross to increasingly fine.


Tuned To Danger

Even more fundamental, says Dr. Bruce Perry of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is

the role parents play in setting up the neural circuitry that helps children regulate their responses to

stress. Children who are physically abused early in life, he observes, develop brains that are

exquisitely tuned to danger. At the slightest threat, their hearts race, their stress hormones surge and

their brains anxiously track the nonverbal cues that might signal the next attack. Because the brain

develops in sequence, with more primitive structures stabilizing their connections first, early abuse is

particularly damaging. Says Perry: “Experience is the chief architect of the brain.” And because

these early experiences of stress form a kind of template around which later brain development is

organized, they are all the more pervasive.

Emotional deprivation early in life has a similar effect. For six years University of

Washington psychologist Geraldine Dawson and her colleagues have monitored the brain-wave

patterns of children born to mothers who were diagnosed as suffering from depression. As infants,

these children showed markedly reduced activity in the left frontal lobe, an area of the brain that

serves as a center for joy and other lighthearted emotions. Even more telling, the patterns of brain

activity displayed by these children closely tracked the ups and downs of their mother’s depression.

At the age of three, children whose mothers were more severely depressed or whose depression

lasted longer continued to show abnormally low readings.

Strikingly, not all the children born to depressed mothers develop these aberrant brain-wave

patterns, Dawson has found. What accounts for the difference appears to be the emotional tone of the

exchanges between mother and child. By scrutinizing hours of videotape that show depressed

mothers interacting with their babies, Dawson has attempted to identify the links between maternal

behavior and children's brains. She found that mothers who were disengaged, irritable or impatient

had babies with sad brains. But depressed mothers who managed to rise above their melancholy,

lavishing their babies with attention and indulging in playful games, had children with brain activity

of a considerably more cheerful cast.

When is it too late to repair the damage wrought by physical and emotional abuse or neglect?

For a time, at least a child's brain is extremely forgiving. If a mother snaps out of her depression

before her child is a year old, Dawson has found, brain activity in the left frontal lobe quickly picks

up. However, the ability to rebound declines markedly as a child grows older. Many scientists

believe that in the first few years of childhood there are a number of critical or sensitive periods, or

“windows," when the brain demands certain types of input in order to create or stabilize certain long-

lasting structures.


For example, children who are born with a cataract will become permanently blind in that

eye if the clouded lens is not promptly removed. Why? The brain’s visual centers require sensory

stimulus – in this case the stimulus provided by light hitting the retina of the eye – to maintain their

still tentative connections. More controversially, many linguists believe that language skills unfold

according to a strict, biologically defined timetable. Children, in their view, resemble certain species

of birds that cannot master their song unless they hear it sung at an early age. In zebra finches the

window for acquiring the appropriate song opens 25 to 30 days after hatching and shuts some 50

days later.

Windows of Opportunity

With a few exceptions, the windows of opportunity in the human brain do not close quite so

abruptly. There appears to be a series of windows for developing language. The window for

acquiring syntax may close as early as five or six years of age while the window for adding new

words may never close. The ability to learn a second language is highest between birth and the age

of six, then undergoes a steady and inexorable decline. Many adults still manage to learn new

languages, but usually only after great struggle.

The brain's greatest growth spurt, neuroscientists have now confirmed, draws to a close

around the age of 10, when the balance between synapse creation and atrophy abruptly shift. Over

the next several years, the brain will ruthlessly destroy its weakest synapses, preserving only those

that have been magically transformed by experience. This magic, once again, seems to be encoded in

the genes. The ephemeral bursts of electricity that travel through the brain, creating everything from

visual images and pleasurable sensations to dark dreams and wild thoughts, ensure the survival of

synapses by stimulating genes that promote the release of powerful growth factors and suppressing

genes that encode for synapse-destroying enzymes.

By the end of adolescence, around the age of 18, the brain has declined in plasticity but

increased in power. Talents and latent tendencies that have been nurtured are ready to blossom. The

experiences that drive neural activity, says Yale’s Rakic, are like a sculptor's chisel or a

dressmaker’s shears, conjuring up form from a lump of stone or a length of cloth. The presence of

extra material expands the range of possibilities, but cutting away the extraneous is what makes art.

"It is the overproduction of synaptic connections followed by their loss that leads to patterns in the

brain,” says neuroscientist William Greenough of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Potential for greatness may be encoded in the genes, but whether that potential is realized as a gift


for mathematics, say, or a brilliant criminal mind depends on patterns etched by experience in those

critical early years.

Psychiatrists and educators have long recognized the value of early experience. But their

observations have until now been largely anecdotal. What’s so exciting, says Matthew Melmed,

executive director of Zero to Three, a nonprofit organization devoted to highlighting the importance

of the first three years of life, is that modern neuroscience is providing the hard, quantifiable

evidence that was missing earlier. "Because you can see the results under a microscope or in a PET

scan,” he observes, "it’s become that much more convincing.”

What lessons can be drawn from the new findings? Among other things, it is clear that

foreign languages should be taught in elementary school, if not before. That remedial education may

be more effective at the age of three or four than at nine or 10. That good, affordable day care is not

a luxury or a fringe benefit for welfare mothers and working parents but essential brain food for the

next generation. For while new synapses continue to form throughout life, and even adults

continually refurbish their minds through reading and learning, never again will the brain be able to

master new skills so readily or rebound from setbacks so easily.

Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Just last week, in the U.S. alone, some 77,000

newborns began the miraculous process of wiring their brains for a lifetime of learning. If parents

and policymakers don't pay attention to the conditions under which this delicate process takes place,

we will all suffer the consequences – starting around the year 2010.


TOMMY BANGS HIS HEAD NLP SCRIPT/SESSION OUTLINE

Ron Soderquist, an NLP-trained therapist in the Los Angeles area sent Steve Andreas this report:

The mother, Julie, called me and related: “Our Tommy is five years old and we are worried

about him.”

“What does he do that worries you?”

“Whenever he spills milk at the table or makes any mistake, he gets out of his chair and

bangs his head against the wall while saying ‘You are stupid. You are dumb.’” I invited them to

come in as a family.

It appeared that the parents were a normal couple. There were no red flags in their

relationship with Tommy. Nor was there anything of note in Tommy’s body language. Julie

reported her son enjoyed kindergarten and played well with friends. He had no other strange

behaviors. However, Tommy would bang his head a few times a week on average. This behavior

had been going on for at least several months.

I first considered recommending testing for autism. But in my experience, behaviors can

often be addressed by simple, self-hypnotic suggestions. I looked directly into Tommy’s eyes and

began telling a story…

“Once upon a time there was a little boy squirrel named Timmy who felt bad because he

couldn’t do anything right.” Tommy nodded his head.

“When Timmy climbed trees with his friends he would slip and fall down.” Tommy nodded

his head again.

“When Timmy hid nuts he would forget where he hid them. He felt dumb.” Tommy nodded

his head again. I embellished the story in great detail so Tommy would fully identify with Timmy

the squirrel.

“Timmy the squirrel’s parents finally bring their little boy to visit the Wise Old Owl who

lives in the big oak tree. Because owls have wonderful eyesight he saw them coming from afar, and

said, ‘I see you are a squirrel family, how can I help you?’ Mommy and Daddy told the owl that

Timmy banged his head against trees and called himself names when he made a mistake.

“The Wise Old Owl thought for a moment, and then he looked right at little Timmy and said,

‘Little Timmy the Squirrel, do you have a belly button? Let me see your belly button.’ At his

command, Tommy pulled up his shirt and looked at his belly button.

“The Wise old Owl continued, ‘Little Timmy, take a good look at your belly button because

everyone who has a belly button makes mistakes. From now on, whenever you make a mistake, just

look at your belly button and say, It’s ok. Everyone who has a belly button makes mistakes.’”


“Then I told him, ‘Now you and your Mommy and Daddy go home and enjoy being a part of

a loving family.’” At that, I ended the session.

Julie called the following week to report Tommy had stopped banging his head.

(Note from Steve. I’d like to point out the importance of the instruction to look at his belly

button. If Ron had instead said something like, “Everyone makes mistakes,” it wouldn’t have had

nearly as much impact, because it would be too vague and general, and it would not have a specific

cue to trigger the thought. But by starting with the specific visual sight – or image – of his belly

button, and then connecting the generalization to that, it made it much more concrete. Every time

Tommy looks at his belly button, he will think of the instruction, “It’s ok. Everyone who has a belly

button makes mistakes.”)


INSIDE THE TEEN BRAIN

Shannon Brownlee, U.S. News & World Report, August 9, 1999

One day, your child is a beautiful, charming 12-year-old, a kid who pops out of bed full of

good cheer, clears the table without being asked, and brings home good grades from school. The

next day, your child bursts into tears when you ask for the salt and listens to electronic music at

maximum volume for hours on end. Chores? Forget it. Homework? There's little time, after talking

to friends on the phone for five hours every night. Mornings? Your bluebird of happiness is flown,

replaced by a groaning lump that can scarcely be roused for school. In short, your home is now

inhabited by a teenager.

The shootings in Littleton, Colo., focused the nation's attention on aberrant adolescent

behavior, but most teens never come close to committing violent acts. Still, even the most easygoing

teenagers often confound their elders with behavior that seems odd by adult standards.

For most of this century, the assumption has been that teenage sturm und drang, the

insolence and the rages, are all directed at parents. Teens turn against authority figures, went the

conventional wisdom, in an effort to define who they are and to assert their independence--a view

that spawned the teenage rebel, that quintessential American icon. The alternative explanation was

that hormones, those glandular bringers of sexual stirrings and pimples, were to blame.

The true source of teenage behavior lies north of the gonads. It's that 3-pound blob of gray

and white matter known as the brain.

Yes, teenagers do have brains, but theirs don't yet function like an adult's. With the advent of

technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging, neuroscientists have discovered that the

adolescent brain is far from mature. "The teenage brain is a work in progress," says Sandra Witelson,

a neuroscientist at McMaster University in Ontario, and it's a work that develops in fits and starts.

Until the past decade, neuroscientists believed that the brain was fully developed by the time

a child reached puberty and that the 100 billion neurons, or nerves, inside an adult's skull--the

hardware of the brain--were already in place by the time pimples began to sprout. The supposition

was that a teenager could think like an adult if only he or she would cram in the necessary software--

a little algebra here, some Civil War history there, capped by proficiency in balancing a checkbook.

But the neural circuitry, or hardware, it turns out, isn't completely installed in most people until their

early 20s.

And just as a teenager is all legs one day and all nose and ears the next, different regions of

his brain are developing on different timetables. For instance, one of the last parts to mature is in

charge of making sound judgments and calming unruly emotions. And the emotional centers in the


teenage brain have already been revving up, probably under the influence of sex hormones.

This imbalance may explain why your intelligent 16-year-old doesn't think twice about

getting into a car driven by a friend who is drunk, or why your formerly equable 13-year-old can be

hugging you one minute and then flying off the handle the next.

Indeed, the brain inside a teenager's skull is in some ways closer to a child's brain than to an

adult's. Still being forged are the connections between neurons that affect not only emotional skills

but also physical and mental abilities. That means that it might be unreasonable to expect young

teenagers to organize multiple tasks or grasp abstract ideas. And these still-developing neural links

leave a teenager vulnerable: Depression in adolescence may set up circuits in the brain that will

make it much harder to treat the illness later in life.

But these changes aren't all for the worse. The brain's capacity for growth through

adolescence may also indicate that even troubled teenagers can still learn restraint, judgment, and

empathy. "Adolescence is a time of tumultuous change in the brain," says Jay Giedd, a child

psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. "Teenagers are choosing

what their brains are going to be good at--learning right from wrong, responsibility or impulsiveness,

thinking or video games."

If there's one thing that drives parents nuts about their teenagers, it's moodiness. "It's hot and

cold, nasty and nice," says Vicki Sasso, 34, the mother of 13-year-old Angelo, a ninth grader from

Staten Island, N.Y. "One minute loving me, one minute hating me." Don't blame Angelo; blame the

parts of his brain that process emotions and make decisions. His prefrontal cortex, where judgments

are formed, is practically asleep at the wheel. At the same time, his limbic system, where raw

emotions such as anger are generated, is entering a stage of development in which it goes into

hyperdrive.

Brain police. The limbic system, located deep in the brain's interior, is associated with gut

reactions, sparking instant waves of fear at the sight of a large snake or elation at a high SAT score.

In adults, such emotional responses are modulated by the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that

lies just behind the forehead and that acts as a sort of mental traffic cop, keeping tabs on many other

parts of the brain, including the limbic system.

Indeed, the brain works something like a loosely organized team, with various parts carrying

out different tasks and more or less cooperating with one another. The prefrontal cortex, says Karl

Pribram, director of the Center for Brain Research and Informational Sciences at Radford University

in Virginia, is in charge of "executive functions."

These include the brain's ability to handle ambiguous information and make decisions, to


coordinate signals in different regions of the brain, and to tamp down or prolong emotions generated

in the limbic system. In an adult, for instance, an overheard insult might arouse a murderous rage,

until the prefrontal cortex figures out that the comment was meant for somebody else and tells the

limbic system to pipe down. As Pribram puts it, "The prefrontal cortex is the seat of civilization."

Something very different happens in teenagers, according to Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, a

neuropsychologist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. In recent experiments, Yurgelun-Todd and

graduate student Abigail Baird showed adults and teenagers photographs of people's faces contorted

in fear. When the researcher asked her subjects to identify the emotion being expressed, all of the

adults got it right. Many of the teens, however, were unable to correctly identify the expression.

Then the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging, a technology that takes a

picture of brain activity every three seconds or so in order to see which parts are being used during

processing. Adult brains, the scientists discovered, light up in both the limbic areas and the

prefrontal cortex when looking at expressions of fright. In teenagers, however, the prefrontal cortex

was almost dark while the limbic system lit up.

These results suggest to Yurgelun-Todd that kids may not be as good as we think they are at

interpreting facial expressions, in part because the prefrontal cortex is not yet lending the limbic

system a hand. Teenagers are not adept readers of social signals, such as facial expressions, even if

they seem to do nothing but socialize. "You have to actually learn how to read emotions," says

Yurgelun-Todd. "We may think anger is pretty obvious to our kids, but they may not."

Map makers. Yurgelun-Todd's research reinforces other new findings suggesting that the

average teenager's prefrontal cortex isn't ready to take on the role of brain CEO. At NIMH, Giedd

and colleagues are using another type of MRI, which captures brain structure rather than activity, to

chart for the first time normal brain development from childhood through adolescence.

Since 1991, Giedd and his colleagues have mapped the brains of nearly 1,000 healthy

children and adolescents ranging in age from 3 to 18. Each child must lie inside a claustrophobically

narrow tube surrounded by the giant, humming machine, holding perfectly still for 10 minutes at a

stretch while a computerized brain image is built.

The researchers expected to find that after puberty, the brain looks like an adult's. Instead,

they found that the prefrontal cortex undergoes a growth spurt at around age 9 or 10, when neurons

begin sprouting new connections, or synapses. Most of these connections subsequently die off,

starting at about age 12, in a process called pruning--a sort of "use it or lose it" system for ensuring

that the brain nourishes only the neurons and synapses that are useful. Pruning, which occurs in

different parts of the brain at different times, also appears to allow the brain to think more


efficiently.

Until the prefrontal cortex has been pruned, most young teenagers don't yet have all the brain

power they need to make good judgments. Researchers suspect that the excess of synapses means the

young adolescent mind can't easily keep track of multiple thoughts, and it can't gain instant access to

critical memories and emotions that allow grown-ups to make judicious decisions.

"Good judgment is learned, but you can't learn it if you don't have the necessary hardware,"

says Yurgelun-Todd. An unfinished prefrontal cortex also means that young teenagers may also have

trouble organizing several tasks, deciding, for example, which to do first: call a friend, wash the

dishes, or read the book for a report that's due in the morning.

The teenage tendency to leap before looking is compounded by the fact that adolescence is a

time for seeking out new experiences, including some that are dangerous. "I think all people do

stupid things sometimes. It just seems like teenagers do it more often," says Rachael Fisher, an 18-

year-old senior from Lakewood, Colo. That's an understatement. Driving without a seat belt, getting

tattooed, smoking cigarettes, shoplifting--the list of foolish things kids do is longer than most parents

really want to know.

Parents can relax a little, says Lynn Ponton, a child psychiatrist at the University of

California-San Francisco and author of The Romance of Risk. "Risk taking is normal." But not all of

it, she adds, is safe. Other research suggests that about 60 percent of a teenager's tendency to act

impulsively and misjudge potential danger is genetic, a trait that is shared with other family

members and is probably the result of differences in brain chemicals among individuals.

The teen brain – a work in progress: Researchers once thought that brain development was

complete by puberty. Now they know that it continues during the teenage years.

Prefrontal cortex: This area acts as the brain’s traffic cop, coordinating processing among its

component parts and modulating emotional responses. In teens, the prefrontal cortex isn’t yet

equipped to control emotions and make good judgments.

Limbic System: This ring-shaped area deep within the brain generates primal emotions such as fear

and rage. During puberty surging hormones cause the amygdala to swell, particularly in boys. This

may intensify aggression.

Mental mosh pit. Researchers also think that new experiences, especially those with a frisson

of danger or the thrill of the new, tap into a teenager's so-called reward system, a set of neurons that

link emotional centers to many other parts of the brain and that can produce feelings of intense


pleasure. This is the same set of neurons affected by certain illicit drugs, such as cocaine, that release

dopamine, one of the brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, that are responsible for arousal and

motivation.

Marvin Zuckerman, a professor of psychology at the University of Delaware, and others

suspect that thrills--like sneaking out at night or jumping into the mosh pit at a heavy-metal concert--

stimulate the teenage brain's dopamine system, for reasons that are not yet fully understood. The

result, however, is clear: Teenagers are far more interested in novelty than children or adults are,

probably because it makes them feel good. Other research has shown that at the same time, levels of

another neurotransmitter, serotonin, appear to decline temporarily in most adolescents, making them

more likely to act impulsively.

Added to this brew of neurotransmitters are the sex hormones, which not only turn on an

interest in sex but also change the brain's architecture. Giedd and his colleagues recently reported for

the first time that, in both sexes, surges of testosterone at puberty swell the amygdala, an almond-

shaped part of the limbic system that generates feelings of fear and anger. (Girls' bodies make

testosterone by breaking down estrogen, while boys' bodies transform testosterone into an estrogen-

like hormone called estradiol.) This blossoming of the amygdala is especially pronounced in boys,

but it may account for the rise in aggressiveness and irritability seen in both sexes at adolescence.

Increased levels of estrogen at puberty are responsible for the sudden growth of the hippocampus,

the part of the brain that processes memory. The larger the hippocampus, the better the memory, at

least in animals. The hippocampus in girls grows proportionally larger than it does in boys, a finding

that may help explain why women are better than men are at remembering complex social

relationships and are likely to suffer less from the memory loss that accompanies Alzheimer's.

Estrogen and testosterone may not alter the brain at puberty so much as flip neurological

switches, which were set by hormonal levels while a child was still in his mother's womb. Once

flipped, these switches have a profound effect on a teenager's sex drive and moodiness.

Shifts in prenatal hormones also affect mental skills in ways that may not become apparent

until later in life. Testosterone, for example, appears to shape centers in the brain that process spatial

information. Evidence for this comes from a study of girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or

CAH, a condition that causes their adrenal glands to pump out excess androgen, a testosterone-like

hormone, during prenatal development. Once the girls are born, they are given cortisone, to keep the

body from producing too much androgen.

Their brains, however, have already been molded. Sheri Berenbaum, a psychologist at

Southern Illinois University medical school, and others have found that as teenagers, girls with CAH


report they are more aggressive than their sisters, and they have better spatial skills--the ability to

rotate an object in their minds, for instance, or to imagine how pieces of a shape fit together. They

are also more interested than their sisters in becoming engineers and pilots, traditionally masculine

professions. But researchers don't yet know precisely how testosterone molds the brain's ability to

imagine all the facets of an object, or why it would make girls (or boys, for that matter) want to

become engineers.

One of the last steps in making an adult brain is the coating of nerves in white matter, fatty

cells that spiral around the shaft of nerves like vines around a tree. The white matter, also known as

myelin, acts like the insulation on an electric cord, allowing electrical impulses to travel down a

nerve faster and more efficiently. This is one reason a toddler is less coordinated than a 10-year-old.

It now appears that many of the nerves connecting different processing centers in the brain don't

finish myelinating until the early 20s.

Some of the nerves that become sheathed during adolescence connect areas of the brain that

regulate emotion, judgment, and impulse control. Francine Benes, a neuroscientist at McLean

Hospital, says that these nerves myelinate in girls earlier than in boys, which may help explain why

teenage girls seem more emotionally mature than boys, whose myelin levels may not equal girls'

until age 30.

The myelination process also has been implicated in schizophrenia, which often becomes

apparent in late adolescence. Benes believes the faster transmissions overload defective nerves in

schizophrenics. "If the circuit starts to have too much information coming in too rapidly, it may

become overwhelmed."

Laying foundations. Researchers feel they have only begun to probe the workings of the

adolescent brain, but their findings already offer some new ways for parents to deal with teenagers.

During adolescence, many higher mental skills will become automatic, just the way playing tennis

and driving do. Kids who exercise their brains, in effect, by learning to marshal their thoughts, to

measure their impulses, and to understand abstract concepts, are laying the neural foundations that

will serve them for the rest of their lives.

"This argues for doing a lot of things as a teenager," says the NIMH's Giedd. "You are hard-

wiring your brain in adolescence. Do you want to hard-wire it for sports and playing music and

doing mathematics--or for lying on the couch in front of the television?" This hard-wiring also

provides yet another reason for teens not to take drugs or alcohol, because they may permanently

alter the balance of chemicals in their brains.

Parents can take comfort in knowing that searching for new experiences is a normal part of


growing up. The trick, say experts, is helping kids find healthy sources of stimulation. For one child,

being in the school play or volunteering in the community may provide plenty of excitement. For

another, it could take hang-gliding lessons. The problem, of course, is that safe risks are not always

available to the kids who need them. "Middle-class kids can go skiing and scuba diving," says the

University of Delaware's Zuckerman. "But for many kids, there's just crime, sex, drugs, and rock-

and-roll."

The best news for parents is that the vast majority of kids will make it through adolescence

with few permanent scars, except perhaps the occasional hole through a bellybutton. New research

shows that most children emerge from adolescence physically and emotionally intact--although their

parents will probably never be the same. Mary Scott, 48, of Port Jefferson, N.Y., is a veteran of

teenage wars: She's the mother of two adolescents and a 22-year-old. "Occasionally they do things

that are so incredibly selfish, it's unbelievable," she says. On the other hand, Scott adds, "If they

didn't drive you crazy, they'd never leave [the nest]." Maybe adolescence is nature's way of forcing

children to grow up.

With Roberta Hotinski, Bellamy Pailthorp, Erin Ragan and Kathleen Wong


MISSED SIGNALS: YOU WERE ANGRY?

by Roberta Hotinski

When grown-ups and teens don’t see eye to eye, the problem might be in the brain.

Neuropsychologists studying brain development showed standardized pictures of fearful faces to l5

adults and 15 teenagers. All the adults correctly identified the emotion, but 11 of the teens guessed

wrong at least once, picking emotions such as anger or discomfort instead. The researchers at

McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., say teenagers relied more on the primitive emotion center of

the brain and less on the region tied to judgment than adults did. Teens literally think differently than

adults, so their baffling behavior may reflect cluelessness, not stubbornness.


WHY TEENS NEED MORE SNOOZE TIME

It's only 9:30 at night, but 15-year old Ryan O. is already snuggling into bed, pulling a quilt

decorated with dolphins and killer whales up over his ears. He tosses and turns for several minutes

before drifting off - possibly because there are 12 electrodes fixed to his scalp and face and an

infrared video camera is recoding his every move for researchers watching a video monitor in

another room.

Ryan is one of several hundred teenagers who over the past decade have entered the twilight

world of Brown University's Bradley Hospital sleep lab, allowing sleep psychologist Mary

Carskadon to record their brain waves and eye movements in slumber and to test how lack of sleep

affects their mental and physical skills. Carskadon's research has shown that teenagers who want to

sleep all day are not lazy; they are simply following the dictates of their biological clocks.

Sleep is influenced by the circadian timing system, a bundle of neurons, embedded deep in

the brain, that regulates production of a sleep-inducing chemical called melatonin and sets natural

bedtime and rise time. Carskadon has shown that teenagers need more sleep than they did as

children, and their biological clocks tell them to catch those extra winks in the morning. Most teens,

she says, need 8 hours and 15 minutes of sleep a night, possibly because hormones that are critical to

growth and sexual maturation are released mostly during slumber.

Cop some z's. That means that the average teenager's brain isn't ready to wake up until 8 or 9

in the morning, well past the first bell at most high schools. When Carskadon and colleagues

surveyed more than 3,000 Rhode Island high school students, they found that the majority were

sleeping only about seven hours a night. More than a quarter of the students averaged 6 1/2 hours or

less on school nights. In another study, when students were asked to fall asleep in the lab during the

day, many conked out within three or four minutes, a sure sign they were sleep deprived. Carskadon

also discovered that the students' melatonin levels were still elevated into the school day. "Their

brains are telling them it's nighttime," she says, "and the rest of the world is saying it's time to go to

school."

Kids who have to get up before their biological clocks have buzzed miss out on the phase of

sleep that boosts memory and learning. Periodically during slumber, the brain enters rapid eye

movement (REM) sleep, so called because the eyes dart back and forth under the lids. During REM


sleep, the brain resets chemicals in the emotional centers and clears short-term memory banks, where

the day's events are stored temporarily. Without enough REM sleep, Carskadon and others have

discovered, people become cranky and depressed, their memory and judgment are impaired, and

they perform poorly on tests of reaction time. Carskadon has found that teens who get the least sleep

earn C's and D's, while those who get the most tend to get A's and B's.

One solution is to push back the time high schools start, something many schools are

reluctant to do. Barring that, Carskadon and other experts say you should emphasize sleep's

importance and help your teenager get more through biology:

To encourage your teen to go to bed at a reasonable hour, keep lights low in the evening and

open curtains in the morning. Light absorbed through the eyes can reset the biological clock.

Kids can catch up on sleep on weekends - up to a point. Going to bed in the wee hours and

snoozing until noon only disrupts the brain's clock further. It's better to go to bed within about an

hour of usual bedtime and then sleep an hour or two later.


NOTES FROM THE WORLD OF HYPNOTISM

Billy Casper had won fifty-one golf tournaments and more than 1.6 million dollars during

three decades on the pro circuit. “But starting in nineteen seventy-five,” he says, “I didn’t know

where I was going to hit the ball.” In 1980, he didn’t win a penny.

He went to Rugh Welti and Cliff Webb in Provo, Utah for hypnosis treatment. “It enables

me to relax. I do it in the morning to start my day,” he says. “First I relax each part of my body;

then I concentrate on what I’m going to do that day. It puts me totally at peace.” In 1984, a

rejuvenated Casper won $170,796 on the Professional Golf Association’s Senior’s Tour. “I found

that a lot of athletes have been using hypnosis,” says Casper.

RESOURCES

www.IntentionExperiment.com


INTO THE ZONE

Jay Tolson, U.S. News & World Report, July 3, 2000

The kind of mental conditioning that makes athletes into superstars also helps ordinary folks

become extraordinary.

Sometimes you have to kill the thing you love. Pop-psych 101? To be sure. But Tiger

Woods's Shermanesque march through the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach gave new force and

meaning to the phrase. It's not just that Woods mowed down some of his nearest and dearest

competitors, though that he certainly did. Nor is it only that he brought one of his favorite courses--

and one of golf's hardest--to its knees. He also seemed to subdue the game itself: to beat it into

submission.

"Kill them," Kultida Woods used to say when her young son went off to face the

competition. It was oddly predatory counsel coming from a Thai-born mother who at other times

imparted Buddhist wisdom about inner peace. But if Woods was ever confused by these seemingly

dissonant messages, he didn't show it at the Open. He killed 'em, every one, with almost

transcendent calm, posting the biggest margin of victory in the history of golf's four "major" annual

tournaments. "He's so focused every time," said an amazed Ernie Els, who tied for a distant second

place. "That hunger for winning a major championship, it's like 110 percent. To be honest with you,

I don't feel like that every week when I'm playing. He's just different. I'm not sure there's a lot of

players out here like that."

Focus. Control. Flow. In the zone. Think of any other synonym for mental mastery, and it

applies to the level of play that Woods achieved in the Open. And while this state of internal calm

and power has different names, it boils down to this: When the body is brought to peak condition

and the mind is completely focused, even unaware of what it's doing, an individual can achieve the

extraordinary.

But this is not a game of chance. Psychologists and physiologists say ordinary people can

achieve this state by inducing changes in physiology, including brain-wave patterns and even heart

rates, through focusing and relaxation techniques. These might include breathing exercises or using

verbal cues or developing rituals (bouncing the ball exactly three times before you take the foul

shot). It also might involve visualizing successful outcomes before you make the swing or jump

shot, without thinking about the mechanics of the action. The "stay in the present" focus that enables

Woods to sink almost routinely those deadly 8- and 10-foot putts for par came in part from what his

father, Earl Woods--his best personal sports psychologist--taught him about having a mental picture


of the ball rolling into the hole.

Today, Americans of all stripes are using mental conditioning not just as a means to a better

golf swing but also to make them better corporate competitors, more creative artists, and, some

argue, better human beings. "When you're in the zone, it's so quiet, it's so peaceful," says Harriet

Ross, a potter from Hartsdale, N,Y., who uses the lessons of Zen to relax and focus. Julio Bocca,

who has been a ballet prodigy since he was 4 years old in Argentina, worried about a decline as his

30s approached. Instead, he has been dancing to acclaim around the world--an achievement reached,

he believes, through mental focus.

Winning a high-speed car race or coming out on top in a corporate takeover isn't just a matter

of skill; it's also about how people handle pressure. The intangible factor, not knowing who's going

to buckle or who's going to hit the last-second field goal, is what makes these pursuits exciting--or

terrifying. The same week that Woods breezed through the Open, for example, Yankee second

baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who has become phobic about routine throws, made three errors in a

single game. Golfer John Daly, whose physical gifts nearly match Woods's, took 14 strokes on

Pebble Beach's 18th hole and quit the Open after the first round.

Many athletes speak of choking as a failure to be "in the zone." That state is not unlike the

"flow" defined by the Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He began his

career-long interest in the early 1960s studying a group of artists for his thesis on creativity. Struck

by how so many became oblivious to their surroundings while they worked, he went on to

investigate whether other activities and even jobs produced such absorption, such flow. What he

found was that any pursuit was an "autotelic activity" if the doing, and not the goal, was the end in

itself and if it involved such things as intense concentration, clarity of goals, quick feedback, and a

fine balance of skills and challenges. Which is what works for Bocca. "When I do a solo--that's the

moment you have to be 100 percent there--my mind is just in the character. I've been doing this for

so many years, I don't have to think about what to do with my body. I don't think `now is my

pirouette, now is my jump.' "

Practitioners of Zen, yoga, and many Eastern forms of martial arts have experienced the truth

behind these principles without having had them explained scientifically, as Csikszentmihalyi and

other proponents of flow-and-peak states well realize. Indeed, the scientists have learned a great deal

from those and other premodern disciplines. Folklore about the mental dimension of sport is as old

as the games themselves, but the scientific study of that dimension did not begin until the late 19th

century, primarily in Germany and France. Throughout most of the first half of the 20th century,

researchers concentrated on the description of the character types and personalities of athletes and


paid almost no attention to performance. A rare exception was German psychiatrist Johannes

Heinrich Schultz (1884-1970), who developed "autogenic training," a form of self-hypnosis that was

supposed to boost relaxation. Yet not even Schultz believed that his research into the links between

emotional and bodily states should serve to enhance athletic performance.

The coaches of the East bloc nations, including East Germany, are often credited with being

the first to use psychology to supercharge their athletes. (Sports historian John Hoberman contends

this is largely a Cold War myth, based partly on a desire of Western observers to see athletes from

communist countries as programmed robots.) The perception that psychology lay behind the success

of East bloc athletes prompted curiosity in the West--and even, according to some leading American

sports psychologists, a desire to venture into the field themselves.

Such was at least partly the case with Jim Loehr. Founder of a leading sports and

motivational training center, LGE Performance Systems, in Orlando, Fla., Loehr began his career in

the early 1970s as the head of a mental health center in southern Colorado. But the experience of

successfully treating two professional athletes--albeit "under the cover of darkness"--changed his

plans. It was not long before he decided to launch his own sports psychology practice in Denver, a

decision greeted by derision from his peers.

Holy Grail. Some of the challenges he faced continue to plague the field. Prominent among

them was Americans' tendency to associate psychology with the treatment of weakness or disorders,

even though Loehr was concerned with improving performance, not in administering therapy.

Undaunted, Loehr developed his own version of the peak performance state that has come to be the

Holy Grail of the larger American sports psychology industry--the "ideal performance state" (IPS),

he prefers to call it, or "mental toughness."

"The mind and the body are one," says Loehr. "Mental toughness is not just something you

can sit in a room and visualize and all of a sudden you're mentally tough. The ability to handle

physical stress takes us right into the ability to handle mental and emotional stress."

The center that he founded in Orlando in the early 1990s quickly became a mecca for a wide

assortment of people who have one thing in common: the desire to be the best they can possibly be.

Last week, for example, you could find retired tennis champ Jim Courier (getting in shape for his

new career as a commentator), a dozen executives from Macy's department store, a 600-pound sumo

wrestler, and various amateur athletes wandering the LGE grounds (box, Page 43). They came to

improve their performance on the playing field, in the boardroom, or in life in general--and what

they got is an intense workout for both the mind and the muscles.

"When there's no time left on the clock, you're 2 points down and on the foul line, what is


that person thinking about before they shoot the shot? If they have one mental thought that says, `If I

miss this shot we lose' . . . within moments, they are secreting negative brain chemistry," says Terry

Lyles, LGE psychologist. It's all about taking yourself out of the moment, he explains, about using

rituals to transport yourself before the shot or point. "They have to go from the mental side to tap

into the emotional side next, which takes them to the physical part, which will be to shoot the foul

shot. They've shot thousands of foul shots, but the issue is not shooting the foul shot, the issue is

screaming fans, no time on the clock, and your whole team is looking for you to perform. The issue

is focus."

"All of corporate America has its own form of stress, the same way the athlete has stress,"

says Rudy Borneo, vice chairman of Macy's West, who was visiting LGE last week. "It's really how

you use that stress, how you build a format to make it positive rather than negative, how you can

turn it into a growth factor."

Tony DiCicco became head of the U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team in 1994; a year

later, he hired sports psychologist Colleen Hacker. He knew that coaches often talk about the

importance of the mental game but rarely give it time commensurate with its importance. He is

certain that hiring Hacker strengthened both individual and team performance. DiCicco points out

that he is not alone in a growing appreciation of the value of sports psychologists: The U.S. Olympic

team had only one in 1988, but it had 100 by 1996. There are now over 100 academic programs

specializing in sports psychology, at least three academic journals, and over 1,000 members listed by

the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sports Psychology. And elite professional and

amateur teams and athletes seem to be increasingly using their services.

The business. These specialists are taking the lessons of great athletes and coaches and

shaping them into techniques that aspiring peak performers can learn to use. Sports Publishing Inc.

of Champaign, Ill., whose books discuss how athletes get in the zone, plans to release 112 titles this

year, about double last year's number. In the past few years, Simon & Schuster has published and

reissued such titles as Golf is a Game of Confidence and Executive Trap: How to Play Your

Personal Best on the Golf Course and On the Job. Many professional sports teams have

psychologists on call, but that's a largely reactive, therapeutic approach. But another approach is

spreading. Baseball's Cleveland Indians have a three-man performance-enhancement program that

costs about $300,000 a year and deserves some credit for five straight American League Central

Division titles since 1995, two of which led to World Series appearances.

Bob Troutwine, a psychologist in Liberty, Mo., has helped 18 NFL teams decide which

players to recruit and how to use them. In 1998, Troutwine urged the Indianapolis Colts to draft


Tennessee's Peyton Manning over another quarterback with similar statistics, Washington State's

Ryan Leaf. A personality test showed that Manning was confident, but not brash, and Troutwine

liked the fact that he was the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning. Troutwine was

vindicated: Manning did well with the Colts, and Leaf, who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers,

has flailed as a quarterback, insulted fans, and wants to leave the team. "In general you want

competitive players," says Troutwine, who also consults for such corporate clients as Ford Motor

Co. and Sprint Co., "but if a team is in a building phase, a hypercompetitive player may not handle

losing very well."

The trend in hiring sports psychologists has yet to trickle down to the lower levels of sport,

according to Albert J. Figone of California's Humboldt State University. But that's in large part

because coaches view motivation and the mental game as their prerogative, even if they usually give

it too little attention. Stanford University's Jim Thompson, director of the Positive Coaching

Alliance, thinks it's absurd to use this stuff on kids. "All the sports psychology in the world isn't

going to help the average kid unless he has tremendous skills as well," Thompson points out. "The

danger is that parents might think, gee, if I could get my kid a good sports psychologist, he could be

Tiger Woods. Well, no."

Kid stuff. But back in Orlando, Neil Clausen is on the court for his daily tennis lesson,

nailing one perfect backhand after another. Just 10 years old, this pint-size player already has a clear

idea of his goals ("I'm here because I'm trying to go to Wimbledon") and an even more pronounced

conception of what it's going to take to get there: "I need to work on my racket preparation, but

things like concentration are very important [too]. I see players throwing their racket around . . . and

I just don't think it really works, I don't think it’s very nice." His mother brings him to LGE six days

a week. "We will go to matches and whether it's professionals or 12-year-olds, you have some

incredible athletes, physically blessed people, who are just not able to pull it off during a match, all

because their mental strength lets them down, or they couldn't focus, or they got distracted," she

says. Neil is a quick study. In a pretend match, in between points, he quietly, solemnly goes through

his own rituals: He adjusts strings on his racket, for one thing, and works on his breathing.

In an interview last year with Psychology Today, Richard Suinn, who in 1972 became the

first sports psychologist to serve on the U.S. Olympic sports medicine team, listed the mental skills

that modern sports psychology focuses on, including "stress management, self-regulation,

visualization, goal setting, concentration, focus, even relaxation." Sound good? It's clear why so

many who are outside sports respond to what sports psychology offers. "If you attack work, family,

spiritual life the way you attack a game, it all works the same way," says Peter Cathey, chief


operating officer of XPO Network Inc., a start-up interactive marketing company. Cathey has faced

several challenges recently--moving across the country to start a new company, dealing with his

mother's death, and putting his father in the hospital. But he says he's never felt more mentally fit,

thanks to skills acquired at LGE. "There's no emotional hit in the face I can't deal with."

"If Tiger goes out to play and doesn't take a good relaxing breath or relax once in two hours,

then that tension shows up as a bogey," explains stay-at-home mother Caryn Rohrbaugh, of

Lemoyne, Pa. Rohrbaugh went though LGE so that she could perform better in the home and enjoy

her time there. "For me, two hours of not taking a breath, not eating right, not being in the right

mind-set turns up as impatience, forgetting to schedule something, a general feeling of being

overwhelmed. It's still a bogey, though."

There is no question that the mental toughness developed by world-class athletes has pulled

them through trials off the playing field as well as on--another reason why so many people are drawn

to the peak performance ideal. Perhaps no sport is more mentally demanding than competitive

cycling, and champion Lance Armstrong demonstrated some of the mental grit he acquired over

years of fierce competitive racing by struggling back from testicular cancer. Diagnosed with the

disease in 1996, he not only survived the surgery and debilitating chemo treatments but came back to

win the Tour de France in 1999, a story recounted in his book, It's Not About the Bike.

The most honest, articulate, and (not coincidentally) influential specialists will tell you

forthrightly that they are drawing on the collective wisdom of the best proven minds in the field--the

great coaches of past and present. Many of them are or have been coaches themselves, and most are

athletes, former or active. Bob Rotella, former director of the sports psychology program at the

University of Virginia and now a full-time consultant to golf professionals and other athletes, says

that so much of the formal psychology that he read in graduate school focused on dysfunction and

problems that he "turned to people like Vince Lombardi or [UCLA's] John Wooden and studied their

philosophies."

Rotella has taught what he calls "learned effectiveness" for years, which means, he says,

"teaching about being in the best state of mind, basing your thinking on where you want to go, not

where you've been." Doing so, Rotella found himself in strong sympathy with the work of at least

one theoretical psychologist, the great turn-of-the-century thinker William James. James, whose

work is making a strong comeback these days because of its emphasis on the conscious mind and the

will, spoke clearly to Rotella. "He seemed to fit with what I learned from the coaches." That might

sound like a dubious distinction to some intellectuals, but James probably would have taken it as a

compliment. The power of the mind to shape reality was one of his lasting beliefs.


Just as James is the quintessential American thinker for having created a serious philosophy

of human potential, so the best sports psychologists, and not just Rotella, extend that philosophy in

popular form, often in an eloquent popular literature that includes books by Rotella himself (many

written with Bob Cullen) and such modern classics as Michael Murphy's Golf in the Kingdom.

Obsession. Proponents of peak performance see it as laudably consistent with the American

dream of self-betterment and the pursuit of happiness. "To me, pursuing excellence is why we came

to America," says Rotella. But John Hoberman, a University of Texas professor who has written

often about the dehumanization of sports, sees the emphasis on performance as part of the

contemporary obsession with competitiveness, an obsession that crowds out other human and

civilized values, "including," he says, "moderation and balance."

But do critics like Hoberman ignore the possibility that peak performance might entail

leading a richer, more balanced life, one that can allow more attention to others, including family,

friends, and community? Being in the zone or the flow may be in fact a supremely human value,

particularly if it is, as many sports psychologists contend, a state in which our peak capacities are

exercised almost without thinking. After all, competition is a reality that cannot be wished away;

why not learn to manage it as best as one can? As Woods commented after he'd won, "I had a--a

weird feeling this week--it's hard to describe--a feeling of tranquillity, calmness."

Csikszentmihalyi, who now directs the Quality of Life Research Center at Claremont

Graduate University, sees peak performance state as a concept or ideal that can approach his notion

of flow, but only with difficulty. "In my work," he explains, "I'm trying to understand how to make

life better as it goes. The question is, why are you experiencing the peak performance state--for its

own sake or in order to win? If winning, the goal, takes over, the pleasure of the doing fades."

In other words, if the peak performance state becomes merely an instrument, its resemblance

to true flow will vanish. But there is no guarantee, of course, that this will not happen in any

discipline or undertaking that one pursues, whether it be the making of pottery in the spirit of Zen or

the playing of the piano in the spirit of the heck of it. When and if peak performance ceases to be the

kind of activity that another quintessential American, Robert Frost, writes about in his poem "Two

Tramps in Mud Time," then it might well become a lesser thing. Listen to the poet describe the state

that he aimed for, and consider its possible relevance to our peak performance culture:


But yield who will to their separation,

my object in living is to unite my avocation and my vocation

As my two eyes make one in sight.

Only where love and need are one,

and the work is play for mortal stakes,

is the deed ever really done

for Heaven and the future's sakes.

With Carolyn Kleiner and David L. Marcus


BRAVING THE “BOD POD”

by Carolyn Kleiner

Orlando – At LGE Performance Systems, the road to an “ideal performance state” starts with

a 75-question survey. Are you pessimistic? Competitive? Do you think “me” or “we”? Self-

introspection alone isn’t enough. The questionnaire must also be completed by five people who

know you best – a coach, say, or a secretary.

That heavy navel-gazing comes before you even arrive at the sprawling training camp.

Which is good, because at LGE, it doesn't matter who you are - fine physical specimen of a

professional football player, flabby Fortune 500 executive, or hard-bodied housewife. Everyone here

is poked, prodded, and rebuilt from the outside in by an infuriatingly ht, impossibly relaxed team of

psychologists, physiologists, trainers, and nutritionists. The three-day program, which runs around

$4000, begins with a battery of high-tech exams, including the terrifying “bod pod,” an egg-shaped

contraption that gauges body-fat percentage.

The goals here come straight from basic psychology: to unearth who you really are, and to

decide who you want to be, and to take action. Clients are taught to alternate periods of intense stress

with periods of relaxation or release, in fitness and in life. "In the corporate world, people are trained

to be linear," says Terry Lyles, a resident clinical psychologist. "They start the day and don't take

breaks." He explains that an emotional and mental shift down - a rolling pattern as opposed to a

straight line - will allow executives to come back and be totally refreshed.

"Last year, my mind was a barrier; it was holding me back," says Adrienne Johnson, 26, a

guard for the Orlando Miracle, the local WNBA team, who found herself warming the bench all last

season. She started working with LGE, and this season she's a starter, averaging 30 minutes a game -

and double-digit points.


10 TIPS FOR THE FEARFUL FLIER

How many times have you boarded a flight and noticed one or two passengers who are acting a bit peculiar?

You might pass it off as stressful flight conditions or dissatisfaction with the airline, but they could be suffering from fear of flying. It becomes more evident as takeoff approaches. The wide-eyes, clenched fists, profuse sweating, and rocking motions are among its symptoms.

I remember a middle-aged man who once boarded the aircraft, took his seat next to the window exit, and stuffed a rather large backpack under his seat. He smiled contently during the exit row briefing, and when we hit turbulence in flight he clutched his backpack as if it were a teddy bear. But the smile never left his face.

When I asked him how he was, he told me that he used to be a fearful flier but had overcome his phobia. When I asked how, he told me that he carried a parachute on every flight.

Everyone has some degree of flying fear. You put yourself in a small cylindrical tube, loaded with flammable liquid, trust your life with some unseen pilot who, if media reports are to be believed, probably has a drinking problem. To make matters worse, you’ve been bombarded with graphic details of previous air fatalities.

Who wouldn’t be scared?

Did you know that at least one out of every six adults has a fear of flying, also known as aviophobia or aerophobia? It is estimated that 35 percent of all airline crews, flight attendants and pilots, also have either a fear of heights or flying. We do this for a living, so don’t worry if you do too. The key is recognizing it and getting it under control.

The fear of flying has many different components, many of them stemming from other fears such as enclosed spaces, heights, strange sounds, sitting in stale air, crowded situations, lack of control, and the latest fear - terrorism.

Here are some statistics that may or may not be helpful.

Air travel is the second-safest mode of mass transportation in the world. This is second only to the escalator and elevator. Your chances of being involved in an aircraft accident are approximately 1 in 11 million. Your chances of being killed in an automobile accident are 1 in 5000. The most dangerous part of your flight is the drive to the airport.

All airplanes are designed and built to withstand far more stress than occurs in normal flight, including ordinary and extraordinary turbulence. While it is true that a severe storm could damage an aircraft, this is why flights will divert around or cancel due to thunderstorms.

Ninety-nine percent of turbulence injuries are from unfastened seatbelts, or falling luggage.

You have more of a chance of dying from the food onboard than being involved in an accident.


Here are my top ten tips for the fearful flier.

1. Don’t conceal it. Tell the gate agent when you check in, the flight attendant when you board, and the passengers around you when you sit down. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, and what you need is support, not added frustrations by suffering in silence. I know I make a special effort to check in on my fearful fliers several times during a flight.

2. Treat the turbulence like bumps in the road. Don’t tense up or fight it, but instead, let your body sway with the aircraft movements.

3. At check-in, ask for a seat at the very front of the cabin as possible. Turbulence is usually much greater in the back of the aircraft. If you have an extreme dread of flying, don’t try to overcome your fears on a long flight. Take the shortest flight you can and preferably in the biggest plane possible.

4. Keep distracted. Watch the movie even if it’s bad or you have seen it already. Read a book or do a crossword puzzle. Do anything that keeps your mind occupied and not dwelling on morbid possibilities.

5. There are various classes for those who are afraid to fly. In some cases the final test is an actual airplane flight. The courses used to be quite expensive, but now with fares being at an all-time low, I am sure the classes are less expensive as well.

6. Avoid coffee or other caffeine products as an overly hyper state of mind will only exacerbate your anxiety. But drink other liquids, as dehydration only contributes to the fear process. Some people recommend a glass of wine to calm the nerves, but don’t overdo it.

7. Listen to peaceful and calming music. Your mind tends to wander and hear sounds that either don’t exist or are perfectly normal flight noises.

8. The rubber band technique. Wear a rubber band around your wrist and if you feel yourself becoming agitated, snap the rubber band against your skin. Apparently, the pain is a reality bite, and takes the mind off the turbulence.

9. Avoid gory details. When an air disaster does occur, avoid the graphic details and overplay in the news media. It is important to be informed, but too much is too much.

10. Breathe deeply as often as you can, and remember that the sick bag in front of you can be used as an anti-hyperventilating device as well.

There is a free self-help audio assistance program that can be purchased and taken onboard with you. I have not heard it myself, but quite a few passengers I know swear by its effectiveness. For more information go to www.fearofflyinghelp.com.

For obvious reasons, there are quite a few more fearful fliers in America now than there were before 9/11. I have seen and dealt with some of the major cases onboard ranging from crying, screaming, loss of bladder and bowel control, tremors, pulled muscles from tension, to broken fingers and fingernails from gripping the armrest too tightly.

The inspiration to write on this subject came while flying in extreme turbulence. A female passenger


started screaming at the top of her lungs, “We’re all going to die, make it stop, make it stop.” This set off two other fearful fliers, where a man broke out in hysterical tears and another female yelled back, “No we’re not, no we’re not, somebody kill her now!”

Fear is the number one enemy.

Kind of like during a heart attack, the fear of dying only makes the situation worse. I guess the saying is true, “You have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” So accept the fear, treat it with common sense, and please, leave your parachutes at home.

Or, as Jane Ann Covington says, “Try hypnosis! It offers a great success rate.”


The Grace of God

Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, thank God.

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed

feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed

forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect

himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for

food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had

happened - everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this

to me?" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was

approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged sometimes when things appear to be going badly. But we shouldn't lose

heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next

time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of

God. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.