Weight Loss (Slimming) 

Diets

Diets don't work. If you are reading this you probably already have experienced a plethora of different diets and know that diets just don't work: they don't produce sustainable change. By repeately eating less food in a contrived, unnatural or forced way, your mind and body believe you are short of food, in famine, and slows down your metabolism. Fat is then more easily stored.

Diets encourage "short termism" - "when I reach my goal weight I can get myself down to the chip shop again". Or even - "I've been good this week I'll have a chocolate bar as a reward".

Long Term Solution?

In simple terms, in order to maintain your weight, your metabolic rate must be such that is converts what you eat into useable energy that you actually burn. In other words, what goes in, must come out.

To lose weight, there must be a temporary imbalance in this equation - more energy must come out than goes in, in the short term, and the difference must be small, in order to avoid starvation or famine response.

The long term solution must permanently balance the equation. This means - a reduction in intake of food. An increase in physical work expenditure, and a metabolism that supports the newer, slightly healthier "set point" of body mass.

How can this be achieved?

Firstly, it is important to appreciate that you are going to change the way you perceive food. You are going to make changes that must be acceptable to you for the rest of your life, or for as long as you wish to remain at your healthy weight. There is no short term answer or quick fix. But that doesn't mean it is difficult, and you should note;

If you are not serious about losing weight or are not prepared to allow permanent changes to the way you live - please don't contact me about this. Your time is as important as mine!

Secondly, OK now we got the challenge out of the way.

Hypnotherapy is really good at helping us to change the way we feel, think and behave, providing these changes are acceptible to our subconscious AND conscious minds. Assuming no deeper cause for eating too much exists, the following modifications to behaviour are relatively easily achieved; some of them in only one or two sessions!

1. Automatically eating slower - this makes it possible to actually notice when we are full.
2. Listening to the full signal produced by our stomach and STOPPING eating when we are full. Only possible through modification 1.
3. Enjoying each and every mouthful fully and completely. (Good!)
4. Eat when you are hungry - no putting off until the next meal time (sounds good ?)
5. No processed sugars. This is the ONLY no go area. All other foods are allowed with no other exceptions.
6. You will naturally eat less at meals times but still feel satisfied.
7. You will think far less about food generally.
8. When you snack (IF!) you will enjoy foods that are better for you.

So far so good. All of the above are possible providing no compulsive psychological driver is present. If it is, then deeper methods, sometimes taking a few more sessions, are needed. However the next stage is to increase the metabolism. This is achieved through imagery and suggestions to perform normal tasks with more vigour or for longer. For the client, when these tasks are performed, more fuel is burnt and the mind is rewarded with feelings of satisfaction, improved control and personal power - it feels great. And the better it feels the more you do it!.

Finally, the set point of the body image needs to be reset. The method to do this is not covered here.

What About Cravings?

A craving is a powerful, often uncontrollable desire for something, in this case a specific food substance or sub-class of food. This is accompanied by a powerful notion that the satisfaction of the craving will feel powerfully good and that the satisfaction will change the way you feels (see below). These uncontrollable impulses can be modified by certain techniques that you will be taught very early on in therapy, thus releasing you from the slavery of cravings and enabling you to control food, rather than the other way around.

Eating to change the way you feel

People with eating problems have, at some time in the past, discovered that eating changes the way you feel. If you feel unhappy or angry or fearful or guilty, these feelings may trigger the need to eat in an attempt to mitigate the negative emotion. There are better ways to feel good about yourself and further, reduce the impact of negative circumstances on the way you feel. You will discover these for yourself in therapy.

Conclusion

I hope this provides enough detail to show the approach I take with clients who become successful "slimmers". If you would like more information or just wish to get on with this process, call me now on 0845 222 0280. Success!