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I think it
would be fair to say that most people at some time in their lives have tried
to lose weight, wouldn’t you?
Long ago I
realised that for most people, dieting does not work. It creates a loop of
deprivation and failure which then leads to over-eating.
This has led
me, over the years, to devise a programme consisting of
Coaching,
Hypnosis
and Education (e.g. on what fats really are and what they do to the body).
This, as well
as some other strategies, too numerous to mention here, help
change people’s lifestyle and relationship
to food. Being healthy and slimmer starts in the mind and with
the emotions, not in a packet of slimming product or a set of scales.
Re-programming in a subtle but profound way has lasting benefits. Today I
thought I’d share with you a case study of a client I worked with, maybe you
can pick out some tips that may be beneficial to you or someone you know.
JANE
Note: The name
of the real person has been changed
Jane had
dieted most of her life and at the age of 52 decided enough was enough. She
came to me because she was beginning to feel difficulty in walking and was
worried generally about her health. What attracted her to me was losing
weight without dieting or drugs.
She weighed
at that time over 17 stone.
DOWN THE
BEVERLY HILLS
The
1st session was a full case
history as well as setting her goal.
(Please note: this is an extremely condensed version I am relating here.)
The first
thing I did with Jane was to get her to become aware of her language i.e. ‘I
want to lose weight.’ This
language implies she may find
it again. It may sound trivial but what we tell ourselves matters.
Jane’s
relationship with her parents and family in general was not the easiest and
she felt she never really had a childhood. She had slowly put on weight as
she got older and at the age of 29 she weighed 2 stone over her ideal
weight. So she decided to try the ‘Beverly Hills’ which was the current
popular diet at that time. She managed to reduce her weight down to 8 stone
but slowly put even more back on and ended up at 17 stone!
Jane used
food as a comfort. Working in a business that was quite demanding and in a
responsible position meant she often ate when she could and would snack on
muffins and sweet stuff in general. In the evening she would cook freshly
prepared food, however it was often the likes of pasta and quite large
portions. She would also eat late in the evening.
Her goal,
when she came to me, was to reduce weight to 10 stone and be able to walk
easier and feel lighter in body and mind. We also obtained a vision of her
dressed in the clothes that she really wanted to be able to fit into again.
Our first
task together was to negotiate foods that she felt she would really like to
cut down on, if not give up. It’s quite important that
I make sure the client knows s/he is not
dieting but changing lifestyle habits slowly and getting these
into the nervous system so they become a way of life.
I also
explain about the ‘fats that heal and fats that kill’ (there is a
fantastic book
by Udo Eramus with this title) as most people are totally unaware of the
kind of fats that are useful and healthy to the body. We are a culture of
low fat and nothing but low fat, but not good fat! So there is usually some
education involved.
Next we
looked at triggers that made her over-eat, e.g. anxiety, anger and
frustration. The type of areas that come up here are critically important as
they underlie the psychological reasons people over-eat. There are also
often negative patterns from the past which need to be surfaced and changed
to something more empowering.
We then
decided on the types of foods she would like to eat at each meal.
We discussed
portions and how to know what was enough and satisfying. It’s quite
important to feel satisfied otherwise bingeing and feelings of deprivation
can occur.
I obtained
Jane’s agreement that she was happy for the first week just to cut down a
little on portion size and the time of her last meal of the day. This should
be at least 3 hours before bedtime.
This first
session contained coaching and hypnosis on general ego boosting and eating
healthier.
GUILT
The
2nd session (1 week later),
Jane reported that she already felt better even though she had not lost
weight. The best thing, she informed me, was not feeling bloated before she
went to bed. I was surprised she hadn’t lost any weight but not unduly
concerned.
We then
looked at eating really slowly and drinking more water (water was something
she had an aversion too) and beginning to take some exercise during the
week. At this point she thought walking was the best thing and she was
committed to making time in her busy schedule for herself.
Some coaching
needed here on her underlying guilt about not working as long as she used
to. She recognised it was her health at stake and agreed to take time out.
After
coaching on these points we did hypnosis to install healthy choices of food,
smaller portions and eating very slowly as well as the walking.
3rd
session
Jane reported
to me that she had indeed lost 5lbs and was feeling much better. She had
started the walking and bike riding too. The thing that made the biggest
difference to her was eating slowly. She could not believe how full she felt
when she did this.
She also
reported that after each session of hypnosis she only ever ate half her
supper that evening.
She had also
begun drinking more water and that helped her feel full as well as flush out
toxins.
She said she
never missed the muffins or the Danish pastries and generally felt more
confident and in control.
She also
began wearing make up after an absence of many years and began buying
clothes in shops where she previously had problems in finding anything to
fit her.
THYROID
ISSUE?
Although Jane
was starting to lose inches (which is usually better than weight) I was
still concerned that she was not losing as much weight as she really should
have been on average.
When I was
assured by her that she really wasn’t eating anything extra, I became
concerned that she could have an under active thyroid. I asked her if she
would go and see her GP.
4th
session
Jane saw her
GP and reported back at the next session that she did indeed have an under
active thyroid.
What was
really amazing was that she continued to make these very small lifestyle
changes along with mental and emotional changes, and even with the thyroid
problem, still continued to lose weight.
The last
session was about re-inforcing the goal and visualising it as well as
hypnotic suggestions about continuing the healthy eating and feeling higher
self esteem and so becoming even more confident about herself and her
future. I also introduced her to the concept of
intuitive
eating.
Jane
continues to reduce her weight and using the strategies I gave her. She
really was a star client, especially given her thyroid problem and because
she was very motivated to a) never diet again and b) have a lifestyle
where eating healthily and enjoying food is normal, the behaviour changes
will be deeply embedded and are already becoming second nature.
She deserves
full respect and admiration for her healthy, confident and fun future she
has set up for herself.
Contact Denise
Bosque For Your Free Assessment
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