Curing Cravings Hypnosis could be key to weight loss, expert says Gene O’Dowd didn’t believe that only one session of hypnosis could reduce his ballooning waist line, but that was 10 years ago before he attended a weight loss seminar with Rena Greenberg.  Back then the Livonia man weighed nearly 289 pounds.  The $59 he spent on learning self-hypnosis enabled him to change his life.  O’Dowd has maintained a weight around 196 pounds ever since.  In fact, over the years he’s encouraged several of his family members and friends to attend Wellness Seminars with Greenberg who returns to the area in January. I blew $59 at McDonald’s every week,” said Gene O’Dowd.  “At the seminar you had the opportunity to leave before you pay.  I decided to stay after the orientation.  What you thought was 10 minutes was probably 45 minutes (under hypnosis).  I heard chairs moving and Rena talking about making better decisions.  After I would go to the refrigerator 15 times and unwrap a chocolate Easter egg.  I was so guilt ridden I walked away from the fridge.  Two weeks later the scale is moving left, not right anymore.  That was almost like a drug to me.” For the next 30 days O’Dowd listened to Greenberg’s cassette to refresh his memory about the hypnosis session. “since then I transferred it to my iPod.  I went from a pant size 42 to 26,” said O’Dowd.  “I swore to myself I’d never go back.  I know what to do.  I listen to the tape and it will help.  She made it known this is a lifetime commitment.” Greenberg was determined to change her eating habits after going through a health crisis in 1990.  She admits to having a sugar addiction back then.  In her new book, The Craving Cure: Break the Hold Carbs and Sweeets Have on Your Life, Greenberg shares the knowledge that helped regain her health. “I know what it’s like to crave food.  I started to exercise excessively to not gain weight” said Greenberg, who doctors eventually diagnosed with an irregular heart beat.  She had a permanent pacemaker implanted at age 26.  “When I got sick I basically had to go to bed.  I had to learn about nutrition and balance, learn to exercise in moderation.  What changed my life even more was when I learned about hypnosis.  I began reading everything I could about the power of the mind.” Greenberg used hypnosis to reprogram her thoughts.  Previously she had swung from diet to diet. “The purpose of self-hypnosis is to make it automatic so it becomes second nature.  A behavior modification booklet comes with the seminar and has a lot of tips to help,” said Greenberg.  “At the seminar they like the hypnosis to break old habits and plant new behaviors.  Everyone who comes to the seminar already knows what healthy food is.  The hypnosis helps change the self-programming.  When thoughts change our behavior naturally changes.” The book includes self-hypnosis techniques that can be used at home along with breathing exercises and recipes for juices.  Greenberg began juicing after becoming sick.   “I wanted to give an easy way to eliminate the cravings with a two-week cleanse.  I found juicing to be incredibly helpful to get those nutrients into the body so you’re not always looking to eat something else,” said Greenberg. “We’re being hypnotized all the time by the environment, ads, media, what we’ve learned from parents.  We subconsciously have habits and pleasurable associations with the wrong food.  It’s the emotional eating.  Those foods remind us of comfort.  We associate them with love.  Mom didn’t give us broccoli when we were sick or needed comforting.  She gave us cookies and milk.” The Craving Cure is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, easywillpower.com, or by calling 1-800-848-2822.