People Building
Weight Loss Articles
Here are some articles we have written that you can find published on the web. If you would like to have one of your NLP or hypnotherapy articles published on our site, please submit it to articles@peoplebuilding.co.uk for the attention of Gemma.
Hypnotherapy and NLP for Eating Disorders
Eating disorders can take on many different disguises and have a variety of symptoms. The 3 most commonly identified eating disorders are Anorexia, Bulimia and Binge Eating.
The symptoms of Anorexia tend to be that the sufferer will eat very little, or not eat at all for a number of days, for fear of gaining weight. This obviously has a dangerous impact on general health as the body is not receiving all of the nutrients it requires. In some cases Anorexia is fatal, so it is important to get this condition treated as soon as possible. Sufferers of this condition have a distorted perception of their body when they look in the mirror. This may lead you to think that the problem is just with their body image, but the problem is really with their need to feel in control. Quite often, sufferers of anorexia are constantly seeking perfection, but rarely find it.
Hypnotherapy can help to alleviate the anxiety that comes from the pressure an anorexic puts themselves under. It can also be used to explore any unresolved negative emotions from events in the past, which may have contributed to the condition arising. NLP and Hypnotherapy can be used to increase self esteem, which is probably very low and this can be done by focusing on solutions for how the anorexic is feeling instead of creating more pressure by focusing on food and weight gain, which, certainly at the early stages is not what the anorexic wants to have to think about.
With Bulimia, the symptoms of the eating disorder are different. The Bulimic will eat large amounts of food (possibly because they have starved themselves), usually very quickly and will then make themselves sick. Sometimes they may also use laxatives which force the food they have eaten, out of their body. The person may go through phases of this behaviour every few weeks or months or even daily. They may also be binging in private.
As with anorexia, bulimia is largely linked to self esteem and other emotional problems however, despite being more common than anorexia, it is more difficult to detect because the bulimic will probably maintain a normal body weight (or just above normal) but the condition is still just as dangerous and will have a detrimental effect on overall health.
Hypnotherapy and NLP can also be used in this instance to overcome the emotional challenges the bulimic faces. Hypnotic suggestions for more positive behaviours can be given and early relationships and emotional events can be explored. It is also worthwhile using hypnotic suggestions to recognise the body’s own queues for fullness.
Not all eating disorder cause severe weight loss, obesity is a growing problem and within the next few years, it is expected that a third of the UK population will be obese. Whilst obesity is commonly linked with unhealthy diet, there is also the issue of binge eating to consider. Binge eating is when the person binges throughout the day and/or continues to eat when their stomach is already full. There are many long term health issues to consider here- such as heart problems, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Binge eating is often triggered by negative emotions. Eating when bored or to feel comfort can lead to a negative pattern being created, so that later when the feelings of boredom, or need for comfort occur, the person feels drawn to food. Hypnotherapy and NLP techniques can help to refocus the mind on what needs it is seeking to fulfil. Motivation to fulfil these needs in more positive ways can be created using hypnotic suggestions. When these suggestions are followed consistently, new habits will begin to be created.
Weight Loss with NLP
NLP can be useful for people struggling to lose weight. In fact, wanting to lose weight is a fairly common reason for why people seek NLP. Whilst NLP is by no means a magic diet pill, it can be very useful in addressing the issues associated with over-eating such as confidence, self-esteem, motivation and negative coping strategies.This article discusses seven NLP tools, which can help you in being slim and healthy.
1. NLP Communication Model – This model underlies any change work in NLP and a good therapist will explain this model to you.It is very important as it tells us how people use language in specific patterns, during thinking.Depending on the nature of the way you talk to yourself when thinking, you could be undermining the efforts you make to eat healthily and be slim.The NLP communication model can help you to begin to be much more aware of the language you use during thinking, in order that you can develop positive thinking habits.Since how you think has a massive effect on how you feel, it also effects how you behave.Change your thinking patterns and you will get different behavioural results.In the case of weight loss, this can be a change in your eating or exercise habits.
2. NLP Presuppositions – These are a set of convenient beliefs which if you subscribe to them, can lead to you feeling much more empowered.For example, one of the presuppositions is that all behaviour has a positive intention.This does not mean that everything a person does it morally good or good for society.It means that each person,only always carry out behaviours that are positive for them in some way, i.e. meet some higher human need.So, if you feel frustrated at yourself for overeating when you feel you really shouldn't, its time to begin to think about what needs you meet through food.Only, then can you acknowledge that you have been doing the best with the resources available to you at the time and begin to plan how to meet the need met by food in a more positive way.
3. NLP Frame – Cause is greater then effect.NLP frames are frames of reference that guide the individual towards taking responsibility for themselves, how they feel and what happens in their lives.During NLP therapy you will be encouraged to BE at CAUSE.This means that things happen in your life because of you, not too you.NLP does not claim this to always be the case, it asks you to try to live your life guided by the frames. Being at cause means you get the credit for all the great things you achieve, of course, it also means that you have to take responsibility for outcomes that your not so proud of.How does this relate to dieting?Well as a person who used to smoke and who tried to stop for several years before I was successful, I know that I felt much more comfortable about lighting up, if I had a reason (excuse). So, it was the fault of my stressful day, argument with boyfriend, because I'd had a glass of wine, because I needed to relax and not because I was choosing to smoke over other behavioural options.This can be the case, with bingeing or snacking.Once you begin to stop kidding yourself during thinking and actually begin to stop and say, actually I don't have to eat this, I can act in a different way, I take responsibility, you have taken a big step towards the slimmer you.
4. NLP Formal Change Techniques – There are several formal change techniques, which are useful for helping with weight-loss.The most appropriate technique will depend on your unique problem. Here are a few: 1) The Swish Technique can be used if you wish to replace a highly contextualised problem behaviour with a more positive behaviour.It works to eliminate behaviours that occur in specific situations after specific triggers. 2) Parts Integration is very useful at uncovering the positive intention of your unhelpful eating habits and dealing with incongruent behaviour and feelings.If you've had the experience of thinking ‘how have I just eaten that, I've been doing so well', this technique could help you! 3) Like To Dislike – This technique is based on information about how we code memories in our brain.We tend to code things we like in a different way to things we don't like.So, if you have a particularly problematic food type, its possible to change the memory of the problematic food type into the memory of a food you can't stand.This technique works really well if you have a food that you really hate! 4) Hypnosis with positive suggestion – many NLP therapists will have studied hypnotic techniques based on the Ericksonian model, during NLP training and will utilise these techniques during therapy sessions.
5. Getting Leverage – NLP therapists are skilled at getting leverage.This basically means helping the client to recognise and experience the impact of the problem behaviour, such as overeating, on themselves and those around them.It will help you find your motivation and will identify those who are not motivated.
6. Setting well formed goals.NLP takes goals setting seriously and has developed criteria for goal setting that results in the goals being much more achievable and likely to be reached.Your therapist can support you in working towards your weight loss goals.
7. Developing positive coping strategies.Acknowledge that your problematic eating has served a purpose in the past, in that it has likely been a method for coping.Now you want to develop positive coping strategies that serve you in the present and future.When would now be the right time to be good to yourself?
These are just a few of the ways that NLP can help you develop new options in thinking and behaviour.I have found these techniques effective during NLP, at my NLP practice, when supporting clients in losing weight.
The Challenges When Loosing Weight
Loosing weight can be a real battle, and until I became a hypnotherapist, I didn't realise there were so many different reasons why people have challenges loosing weight. Some of the reason I have discovered are far from the obvious eating too much, eating the wrong foods, eating the wrong quantities and lack of exercise. There is also comfort eating, self sabotage, limiting beliefs, poor self esteem and bad self image to consider.
What I have done to make my weight loss programme as effective as possible is to initially provide a free consultation. It seems to me that if you're going to share your true thoughts and feelings with someone, you need to be completely comfortable with that person first. So the free consultation give people the option to meet me and then say, yes, I can work with you (which mostly they do) or no thanks, you're just not my cup of tea.
Between that appointment and the next time I see them, I ask them to do a food diary. Far being from me to patronise, generally people know what's good for them, however, sometimes seeing it in black and white gives them the nudge that reminds them, they're not really doing themselves any favours in their diet. If it is the case that their diet is poor, I remind them of the health problems that arise as a result of an unhealthy diet.
Then it gets very individual, for example, there are NLP and Hypnotherapy techniques that would be more appropriate for some rather than others. For those that have an internal conflict (I can loose weight, no I can't) there is a process called a parts integration that I may use. For those with disempowering beliefs, I may use a belief change. For those with a bad habit, I may use hypnosis…the list goes on. And I think it's pleasant for people to know that the therapy is very much tailored to meet their individual needs.
Now, people do not keep coming to see me until they've reached their desired weight, that simply isn't necessary. They just need to get to the stage where they know exactly what to do to loose the weight and they know like they know their own name that it is absolutely going to happen, that they will keep going until they do. For most people, that's anything between 2 and 6 sessions, each lasting 1 hour.
So if you're not happy with your figure, why not book an appointment to come along and see me in my therapy room in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire?