by Meredith Locher
Welcome back to my column bringing you the information you need to be more effective in using hypnosis for weight release and athletic enhancement. Sure, getting stronger and faster would be terrific, but before we can get there, we need to get leaner. And don’t we ever! Obesity is at an all-time high in the United States and rising both in the US and internationally. It has been estimated that Americans spend about $61 billion per year in weight loss products, procedures, and services. In spite of a dwindling economy, the number of people choosing to undergo life-threatening surgeries such as the Gastric Bypass continues to increase. People are understandably desperate, and as Hypnotists, we have answers.
In spite of our successful techniques, weight release will be one of the hardest issues we will confront. I say this not to discourage, but to encourage proper preparation and development of a weight loss game plan that is sure to succeed. There are several reasons weight loss is difficult to achieve, the most basic being that we require food to live. Unlike alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, we cannot abstain from food when trying to resolve our emotions and while gaining our equilibrium with proper intake. Additionally, healthy food is not readily available when living life at today’s fast pace. The wrong foods are always around and fast food tempts at every corner. Furthermore, slow metabolism, medical issues, toxicity in the environment, and cultural/societal pressures to celebrate with food, complicate matters and can make change more of a battle. There is even recent news that an obesity virus exists which starts as a common flu then leads to fat cells multiplying. Of course, as Hypnotists who care about improving quality of life and our profession, we are willing to take on that battle, knowing that changing thinking can change anyone’s life and we can effect that change using our specialized knowledge and tools. In order to be prepared appropriately, it is important to understand in what ways weight loss cases should be treated like any other case and the ways in which they should be specialized.
How is working with weight loss the same as working with any other issue? For the 5-PATH® practitioner, the process at the basic level remains the same. Just as we would for any other case, we use the five phases of 5-PATH® to prepare the client for hypnosis, resolve feelings not based in reality, facilitate forgiveness of others and self as needed to take back control and if necessary, work through any secondary gain issues. As it is with substance abuse or severe depression, scheduling your first two sessions close together will decrease the likelihood of lapses as it will allow you to more quickly relieve excess emotions driving the distracting and will, therefore, serve to increase the client’s confidence that they can succeed. For more information on 5-PATH®, please visit: http://www.5-path.com.
From the very first contact with the client, we present ourselves confidently and professionally. The extent to which we are able to convey belief in our ability to help the client is of utmost importance in paving the way for a successful process with weight loss as well as any other issue.
As professional Hypnotists, we understand feelings, what they mean and that they are our guidance system. We are able to teach our clients about “The Feel Bad/Distract Cycle” and that overeating is just a defense mechanism or coping skill developed to distract from feelings inside they don’t like. For more information, please visit: http://www.thesecretlanguageoffeelings.com.
Lastly, as with any presenting issue, integrating the teaching of self-hypnosis into your process will foster success by reinforcing the work you do while the client is back in the reality of their world. It is important that we help the client develop a list of healthy distractors to turn to in the event they have a feeling they don’t like so they aren’t tempted to return to the presenting unhealthy distractor. Self-hypnosis along with meditation not only serves to distract, but also can work along with the Hypnotist to resolve the issues driving the distracting in the first place. I successfully use and teach a form of Self-Hypnosis which is also a form of meditation called 7th Path Self-Hypnosis®. 7th Path is such a simple way to support my client on a daily basis, to speed up the one-on-one hypnosis process, to help the client work through additional issues on their “laundry list”, and to insure long-term success. Of course, the more efficiently and effectively I treat my clients, the more they respect my services and hypnosis in general which translates into more referrals. For more information: http://www.the7thpath.com/.
Now, down to the nitty gritty…what do we need to do differently for our weight loss clients?
Specialized Questionnaire
Be prepared with a specialized questionnaire for weight release clients to complete upon arrival for their first session. This form should ask about what clients would like to change, what they have tried in the past, and the benefits of losing weight. I find that offering specific options in sentence or bullet format for clients to check or circle helps them not to leave anything out as they might with a fill in the blank format. Such a resource helps you to quickly note whether the issue is with snacking, overall quantity of food, quality of food, lack of exercise, or all of the above. Armed with this information, a savvy Hypnotist will be able to develop a successful game plan and will know what to focus on during Direct Suggestion.
Have a timeline clients can use to indicate their weight gain journey. This will come in handy during Age Regression (AR) work and will help you to understand whether their weight issue is new, old and/or situational.
Come Up With a Game Plan
Due to the many factors involved in weight gain and loss, it is imperative that the Hypnotist act as a weight release coach from the very first meeting, working to establish new client-specific habits and eliminate blocks to success. Hypnosis will only be effective if the client knows how to eat for success. The great news is that most people with a weight problem have tried at least a few weight loss plans before they decided to try hypnosis. As their coach, we will use that information to determine what has worked and what hasn’t and will work with the client to agree on a meal plan. It is very important that we do not act as a Nutritionist for our clients (unless trained to do so), but we can work with the client to determine what meal plans they are familiar with and of these, which they are willing to commit to following. I am the distributor of a simple and effective nutritional system that I recommend to my weight loss clients to give them the edge they need to be successful. Providing a proven system to my clients not only supports my success, but also allows me to earn some extra income rather than letting companies such as Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem earn the profit.
Suggesting increased water consumption is very important to your success with weight release clients. Dehydration can mimic hunger and therefore can easily interfere with even the best weight loss program. There are many theories about determining appropriate water intake such as:
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8 glasses 8 times per day (64 oz)
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Half the body weight in ounces (ie. a client weighing 200 lbs would drink 100 ounces per day),
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Other than the first urination of the day, urine should be light to clear and relatively odorless and if it isn’t, drink more water until it is.
The truth is that any of the above will probably be an improvement over what your client is currently ingesting, but the half weight in ounces is my personal favorite.
Recommending that your clients discontinue eating in front of the TV, the computer, and while reading is imperative. Since we go into a hypnotic state while watching TV, surfing the net, and reading, we are less in control of how much we eat and less in touch with our satiety (fullness indicator) than we would be if we sit at the dining table to eat. Encouraging clients to choose one place at home and one place at the office to eat will serve to decrease snacking as well as needless overeating.
Eating slowly is another great recommendation to make. It does take time for the stomach to tell the brain it has had enough, so a person could easily overeat by hundreds of calories before their brain even registers that they are full.
Measureable Data
Having clients weight AND measure is necessary to proving success. Without the details of weighing and measuring, it is possible that clients will be losing weight without realizing it. I always ask my clients to weight AND measure themselves on a weekly basis starting the very first day we work together so we can track whether progress is being made. If I have a client who seems unmotivated or at all oppositional, I will weigh and measure them myself during the first session. Body composition is complicated so some people will show progress on the scale first while others will show it on a measuring tape. Whether it is inches lost or pounds, a client will be motivated by seeing their progress which will support success and increase confidence in the entire process.
For clients I suspect are out of touch with how often or how much they are eating, I will ask that they keep a food and water diary in which they can keep track of their intake. This assignment can be given during the very first session or later in the hypnosis process if desired progress is not being achieved. Most clients will doctor such a log in little ways.
Summing It All Up
Since we cover a lot of material during the first session, I find it helpful to provide all of my suggestions to clients in print via handout so they can refer to the information later. On my handout, I have a few lines ready for write in suggestions for those cases I recommend special assignments such as the daily food/water diary. Once the recommendations have been made in the awake state, and I have determined specifics for the clients I am working with (ie. meal plan, places to eat at home/ work and trouble areas such as excess snacking, etc.), I reinforce everything including the benefits of weight loss during each session in hypnosis via Direct Suggestion.
Thanks so much for giving me a chance to share. Stay tuned for a whole lot more weight release details as well as detailed information on successfully working with athletes in my next installments.
You can find more information about Meredith on her website for Hypnosis in Los Angeles.
