Core You Hypnotherapy

Core You Hypnotherapy Jacquie Whur MSc Psychology
Clinical Hypnotherapist, specialising in weight loss, anxiety & self esteem. Habit - Behaviour & Mindset Change

Take back control, banish sugar cravings, build a new relationship with food. Core You Hypnotherapy is about helping you to become the person that you want to be. It’s about helping you to find peace, calm, acceptance, change, happiness at your very Core. Along with being a Hypnotherapist, I am a lowcarb/keto Nutritional Advisor with Nutrition Network and an Ambassador with the Public Health Collaboration, working to change obesity, type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes with weight loss and diet changes. I have a full weight loss program. My aim is to help my clients not only lose weight but to change their relationship with food, change habits and behaviour and build self esteem.

I know it doesn’t look that great…but it actually tasted really good.But here’s the interesting part about the visuals…W...
21/01/2026

I know it doesn’t look that great…
but it actually tasted really good.

But here’s the interesting part about the visuals…

What your eyes see when you look at food is perception.

And perception isn’t just visual — it’s shaped by your nervous system and gut microbiome.

Many of us eat with our eyes first.
But that only becomes important when the brain is relying on external stimulation for reward.

When we ask ‘What do I feel like eating’

That answer is strongly influenced by how regulated your nervous system is
and by the quality of your gut microbiome.

Different foods feed different bacteria.
Those bacteria influence digestion, inflammation, satiety signals,
and even cravings via the gut–brain axis.

When ultra-processed foods dominate, microbes that thrive on them increase, 
and they send louder ‘feed me’ signals.

When the gut is supported and blood sugar is stable,
the brain doesn’t need visual excitement to justify eating.

Satiety hormones signal safety.
Dopamine quiets.
Perception shifts.

The eyes still see the same food,
but the nervous system isn’t asking, ‘Is this exciting enough’

This isn’t forcing yourself to like “boring” food.

It isn’t pretending.
It isn’t discipline.

It’s biology adapting.

A system that no longer needs overstimulation to feel satisfied.

Food doesn’t have to look impressive to be enough. #

🧠💕

If you want to increase your chances of success by 43%, no matter what your goal is, you need to writing it down.Not jus...
19/01/2026

If you want to increase your chances of success by 43%, no matter what your goal is,

you need to writing it down.

Not just once…you need to put it on your ‘To Do’ list every day!

If your goal is weight loss, don’t just write ‘lose weight’.

Write how you’re going to do it.
Break it down:

* Will you intermittent fast?
* Increase protein?
* Walk a certain number of steps each day?
* Plan meals in advance?

Your brain needs specific instructions.
Think of it like writing a shopping list.

You wouldn’t write:

* “Go shopping”
* “Don’t buy biscuits”
* “Don’t get chocolate”
* “I don’t need wine”

You’d write what you do want.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you may forget to take the list with you 🙈 but because you wrote it, you can still visualise it and end up buying most of what you need.

That’s how the mind works.

We have to tell it what we do want and give it the “shopping list” every day. Otherwise, the brain filters it out, not because you lack willpower, and not because of your personality, but because your brain is designed to optimise cognitive function.

If your goal isn’t clearly at the top of the list, it gets deprioritised.

That’s why most resolutions are forgotten.

Neuroscience shows that the simple act of writing your goal down daily increases your chances of success by 43%. You can amplify this even further with pictures, visualisation, and mental rehearsal.

Some people call this manifestation.
What you’re really doing is training your mind to work with you, not against you.
Through repetition, writing, doing, and imagining, the behaviour becomes familiar.

Familiarity becomes habit.
Habits shape identity.

You start to identify as someone who eats a certain way, moves daily, and follows through. That identity creates a powerful feedback loop.

So get yourself a planner, and give your brain its daily shopping list.

You’ll thank yourself 💕

15/01/2026

The more ultra processed foods you eat, the more your mental health suffers. The research is clear, eating rubbish isn’t just about putting weight on, it literally changes your brain.
Anxiety and obesity have long been correlated, switching to real food, changes not just your body but also your thoughts.

I see this time and time again with my clients.

Stop and understand just how much processed food you eat, from cereals and bread full of emulsifiers, to the mid morning biscuits, lunch that’s a sandwich, crisps, fizzy drinks, chocolate, snacks, the list is endless.

It’s hard to change, but you have to keep reminding your mind of the why.
Yes it might be more time consuming to have to make different choices, but as that old saying goes, if you don’t make time for your health, you will be forced into making time for your illness.

Ultra processed food drives inflamation, it drives insulin resistance, it drives a plethora of diseases.

Neuroscience has made one thing clear:
lasting health behaviour doesn’t come from control, it comes from how safe, calm,...
14/01/2026

Neuroscience has made one thing clear:
lasting health behaviour doesn’t come from control, it comes from how safe, calm, and supported the nervous system feels.

When we address emotional regulation, food noise softens.

When food noise softens, behaviour changes naturally.

This is the work I do with clients every day. This was the basis of my MSc. Hypnosis, emotion regulation & emotional eating.

And it’s why willpower was never the problem.

💕

I was chatting with a friend the other day, when the topic of gout came up. Which lead me to explain about insulin resis...
09/01/2026

I was chatting with a friend the other day, when the topic of gout came up.

Which lead me to explain about insulin resistance and how gout becomes a marker of pre-diabetes/diabetes.

Most people think that it’s a diet of red meat, shellfish & red wine that’s the culprit. The old fashioned notion of the rich man’s diet, and yes several generations ago, this may have been the case.

What we now have though, and what most people don’t realise is that fructose (simple sugars/simple carbs) are converted into uric acid, the crystals that form in the joints. Our diets are awash with sugar/carbs and this is the main driver of insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is the umbrella term that is given to metabolic syndromes. It is in effect the culprit that opens the door for all of the above ⬆️⬆️

This is why understanding insulin is the way forward, so that you can take steps to address your health both physically and mentally.

Cutting calories doesn’t address this, you can be slim and still be insulin resistant.

Insulin resistance is driven through poor diet, chronic stress and high cortisol,
poor sleep, & frequent blood sugar spikes.

Menopause becomes a significant factor that raises the risk of insulin resistance, as the decline in estrogen impacts insulin and cortisol. This is why it’s so important to address insulin. When you do, you find that menopausal symptoms also reduce.

Your health matters, calories aren’t the answer, insulin is !

I’m not a trump fan, but this is a significant move forward in nutritional guidelines. The food pyramid has been flipped...
08/01/2026

I’m not a trump fan, but this is a significant move forward in nutritional guidelines. The food pyramid has been flipped on its head. 🙌

Real food, protein, veg, full fat, & a huge reduction in carbohydrates!

I wonder how long it will take NICE to follow. Our NHS eatwell guideline plate, drives obesity, metabolic syndrome, & insulin resistance.

If you haven’t yet felt the energy to move forward or, if January blues are settling in, then let your mind ponder the C...
08/01/2026

If you haven’t yet felt the energy to move forward or, if January blues are settling in, then let your mind ponder the Chinese new year. As we approach February 17, we begin to close out the Year of the Snake.

The Snake year has been about awareness.
noticing patterns. Recognising what no longer works, in habits, thinking, and the way we respond to stress and change.

It’s been a year of internal shifts, even if the outside didn’t always reflect it.

A year of listening more closely to what your body and inner world have been trying to tell you.

It has been the metaphorical shedding of the skin.

As we move into the Year of the Horse we turn towards movement and momentum.

The Horse brings confidence, forward motion, and a renewed sense of trust, guided by inner knowing.

This is the energy of taking what you’ve learned and allowing yourself to move before everything feels perfect.

Of letting intuition support practical decisions.

Of choosing progress over overthinking.

If the past year helped you understand yourself more deeply, the year ahead invites you to act from that understanding, with trust in yourself and the direction you’re being pulled.

Steady steps.
Clear intention.
Forward movement.

What makes this coming year even more special, is that it’s paired with the fire element, which is passion, courage and energy. This combination only happens once every 60 years.

As we move through these final weeks let it become a powerful time for awareness.

Noticing what’s ready to be released.
Listening to the signals beneath the surface.

Hypnotherapy creates the space for awareness, to hear what the subconscious has been communicating, so change can happen naturally, not through force.

Awareness first.
Movement follows.

A decent article in the BBC news today. Weight loss is not will power! I keep beating that drum, and fat shaming and tel...
05/01/2026

A decent article in the BBC news today.
Weight loss is not will power!

I keep beating that drum, and fat shaming and telling someone to just eat less and move more isn’t helpful.

As the article states ignoring hunger signals is as hard as ignoring thirst. If your body thinks you are starving it will ramp the hunger signals up, just like turning the volume up on a radio. This is why food noise is so hard to avoid. Food noise is hormonal, it’s not a lack of will power!

Leptin resistance tricks the brain into thinking you are starving. When you address insulin resistance you also address leptin resistance. This is biology, not willpower.

Cutting calories is not the same as addressing insulin. Yes you will lose weight, but your body will then fight against the weight loss because of the set point theory, and it will strive to gain the weight back again.

When you are insulin resistant you are more likely to be experiencing chronic fatigue or lacking in energy. Insulin resistance causes dysfunction to the mitochondria, which are our tiny cells that produce ATP (energy) this leaves you fatigued and with the feeling of muscle weakness. This is where the eat less and move more completely fails. Your body already thinks you’re starving and it has no energy.

Addressing insulin & leptin resistance, also requires addressing sleep, the stress response, getting adequate daylight and movement. This is the lifestyle aspect of weight loss.

When you address insulin resistance, food noise quiets, sleep naturally starts to get better, then the feeling of energy starts to return, so you find you can then start to move more. If you can then move more, you can then starts to use your muscles, muscle is imperative. This then becomes the cycle where weight loss then starts to happen naturally without any battle over hunger.

If you’re ready to find out more and start moving forward with weight loss or your health, send me a message.

Inflammation doesn’t just live in your joints or your gut. It changes how your brain makes and uses serotonin.Serotonin...
04/01/2026

Inflammation doesn’t just live in your joints or your gut. It changes how your brain makes and uses serotonin.

Serotonin is the chemical that helps you feel:
• calm
• emotionally steady
• satisfied after eating
• less driven by urges

When inflammation is present, a few things happen:

First, inflammation diverts tryptophan (the raw material for serotonin) into immune and stress pathways. Even if you’re eating well, less serotonin gets made.

Second, inflammatory chemicals cause serotonin to break down faster. So the serotonin you do produce doesn’t last as long or work as effectively.

Third, inflammation makes the brain less responsive to serotonin. Receptors become less sensitive, similar to insulin resistance, so signals of calm and fullness don’t land properly.

At the same time, inflammation creates byproducts that overstimulate the nervous system. This increases rumination, anxiety, irritability, and the urge to self-soothe—often with food.

This is why inflammation can feels like:
• constant food thoughts
• emotional eating that feels automatic
• anxiety without a clear reason
• low motivation or a flat mood

So what actually drives inflammation in the first place?

Most of the time, it’s not one thing. It’s a combination of:
• Blood sugar instability and insulin resistance
• Chronic stress or nervous system overload
• Gut irritation or imbalance, even without digestive symptoms
• Poor or disrupted sleep
• Highly processed foods and frequent grazing
• Hormonal shifts, especially around cycles or perimenopause
• Long-term emotional suppression or unresolved stress

None of these are failures.
They’re signals that the system has been under strain for a long time.
When inflammation comes down, serotonin can recover.
And when serotonin recovers, food noise quiets, mood stabilizes, and self-control stops feeling forced.

If this sounds familiar to you or resonates. Awareness can be the first step towards change.

💕

Review what you didn’t achieve last year. Ask yourself why, what could you have done differently in order to make progre...
03/01/2026

Review what you didn’t achieve last year. Ask yourself why, what could you have done differently in order to make progress, don’t let yourself off the hook. Growth requires truth and accountability.

(Behaviour change needs both the carrot and the stick)

If you’ve not already made a commitment to yourself, then let this coming Monday be your turning point.

Make the goal concise, if it’s to improve health, that’s too vague. What are you going to do to achieve better health.

If the aim is to lose weight, how are you going to do it, nail it down, get specific.

Your goal needs to be approach orientated, not avoidant! meaning what you are going to do. NOT, what you’re not going to do.
You may want to eat less chocolate or drink less alcohol, but what are you going to do, to ensure this happens.

Break the goal down, if it’s weight loss, chunk it down into manageable amounts. What can you realistically achieve within 3 months. Keep reviewing your goal every 3 months. A year is too big, the mind loses track and it will wander off course.

The aim every 3 months, is just to keep getting a little bit better at whatever your goal is. Progress not perfection.

Know your ‘why’
Why is this goal or commitment important to you. Again, get specific.

If you can’t do it alone, then get support.

Remember, if you want different results you have to do something different.

If you are stuck in the same pattern each year, or you find that you keep sabotaging yourself year after year.

This isn’t lack of will power. It’s your thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back and they can be changed!

💕

You can’t change what you’re not aware of.If there’s a behaviour you want to change this coming new year, the first step...
31/12/2025

You can’t change what you’re not aware of.

If there’s a behaviour you want to change this coming new year, the first step is understanding that the behaviour is not the problem.
It’s the solution that you once adopted to calm a feeling that you didn’t want to feel. The behaviour is your safety net.

This is why it’s so hard to simply stop the emotional eating, the alcohol, smoking, the scrolling, the spending, or the constant busyness or whatever strategy it is that you’ve employed, that numbs, comforts, or allows you to avoid, escape or suppress.

Our behaviours exist because they make us feel better.
Real change doesn’t come from removing the behaviour.
It comes from addressing the underlying emotion.

For many of us, these patterns are so automatic that we don’t even notice what we’re feeling.

We don’t pause — we reach for the food, the wine, the scrolling, the shopping.

So pause.
Look for the feeling.
Notice where it lives in your body.
Name it.

Listen to the story that comes with it.
What beliefs are attached?

No shame.
Just awareness.
Just curiosity.

This is your very first step toward lasting change. 🤍

Appetite is controlled by a network of signals between the gut, fat tissue, pancreas, and brain, with insulin acting as ...
28/12/2025

Appetite is controlled by a network of signals between the gut, fat tissue, pancreas, and brain, with insulin acting as a master regulator.

Insulin isn’t just a blood sugar hormone, it also acts in the brain, in the areas involved in appetite and reward.

When insulin sensitivity is high:

* Insulin signals are received clearly by the brain
* Satiety cues are stronger
* Hunger rises and falls appropriately
* Cravings feel less urgent

Insulin sensitivity isn’t just about appetite either, it also affects other reward-driven behaviours, such as alcohol use. Emerging research also links it to other impulsive non-substance behaviours. This is where metabolic health and mental health intersect.

When insulin resistance is present:

* The brain doesn’t register insulin’s satiety signals well
* Hunger can persist even after eating
* Cravings — especially for quick carbs — increase
* Appetite feels louder and harder to regulate

But insulin isn’t the only hormone involved. Appetite also depends on:

* Leptin – signals long-term energy sufficiency (often impaired in chronic dieting)
* Ghrelin – drives hunger and meal initiation
* GLP-1, PYY, CCK – gut hormones promoting fullness
* Cortisol & stress hormones – can override satiety
* The nervous system – stress increases appetite and cravings
* Sleep – poor sleep disrupts hunger hormones

This is why someone can eat “correctly” and still feel out of control around food.

Chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation can reduce insulin sensitivity while simultaneously increasing appetite, especially for high-energy foods. That’s why regulation-based approaches are so effective for calming food noise.

Appetite isn’t just about food or willpower — it’s a conversation between the brain and body.

Improving insulin sensitivity and calming the nervous system is what ultimately quiets hunger and cravings.

💕

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