The psychology of weight loss. Blog #3

Weight loss is probably one of the most regularly covered topic by the medias since the 1980s. That industry is worth 66 billion dollars in the USA alone in 2017 apparently. Paradoxically we see obesity rising in all the parts of the world that spend the most money trying to address it. There are magazines, blogs, podcasts, YouTube tutorials, gyms, personal trainers, training protocols, nutrition gurus, apps, gadgets, supplements and armies of specialists promoting the latest health related researches…and yet people are still overweight. How is that even possible ? 

Everyone is looking at the wrong place

As with all things in life the solution to any question lies within the bigger picture, not in random details taken out of context and blown out of proportion for attention seeking sensationalist marketing strategies. In fact the reason why the secret to weight loss is a secret is because it does not even exist on the fitness world’s radar. They teach us about nutrition, training, lifestyle and sometime stress management, but no one mentions the emotional connection between people and food, and if a minority ever owns a notion of this they have no clues as to how to address it. 

Everything starts in the emotional mind 

As with everything it is our habit of thought that triggers our habit of emotion that dictates our habit of action which in turn shapes our life. Instead of slapping the hand that reaches out to the cookies, we want to understand why we find those cookies so irresistibly appealing at the first place. Only addressing the habit of action would be the equivalent to only concentrating on mopping the floor without ever fixing the leaking pipe. And this is where most fitness pros fail to provide long term sustainability to their clients. At some point we get tired of mopping and the dirty water comes back with a vengeance. And that explains years of yo yo dieting, seasonal gym attendance fluctuations and the epidemic of obesity despite the increase of money generated in that industry. 

For results to last permanently we must fix the problem at the root of it. Before focusing on our habit of action we must master our habit of thought first, or more precisely our habit of emotion because no matter how hard we try to rationalise everything from our analytical mind, at the end of the day we are creatures of emotions and feelings... 

All of our imbalances come between the discrepancy between the conscious and the subconscious mind  

When the conscious mind takes a decision (to eat a healthy salad for instance) but the subconscious (emotional) mind disagrees (and believe that burger+ milkshake+ cake= solace from stress) we experience an internal conflict. Because the subconscious mind is much vaster and quicker than the conscious one, it will always win thanks to an elaborate mind trick: self sabotage. A real and perfect example of self sabotage in that scope is secret eating. Despite our best endeavours to go to the gym and control our diet we FORGET those biscuits and crisps we ate secretly out of sight of everyone in the office. Our very own mind incites us to quickly pop in the pub after work for a couple of pints and a cheeky visit at the local kebab perhaps and then ERASE those actions from our memory. And we wonder at the end of the week why all our conscious efforts to loose weight amount to no progress… because we forgot about the subconscious pre-emptive and counter attacks. 

A handful of RTT examples for weight loss

Susan, Henri and Claire have come to see me for weight loss. We found out in Susan’s regression many scenes conditioning her from a young age for helplessness. She remembered her overweight mother and aunties all trying to lose weight in vain, blaming the family genes for it and prophesying the same fate for Susan. 

We found out in Henri’s regression that as a young boy he often witnessed domestic violence at home, and clearly remembering saying to himself then “if only I was bigger I could protect Mum...”

We found out in Claire’s regression that she has felt very vulnerable and uncomfortable every time her step dad stared at her developing body making lewd comments, triggering in her a safety mechanism, an intense wish to look unappealing to men. Claire not only has been overweight but also suffered from eczema all her life. 

In each example a command has been installed into the subconscious mind like an automatic pilot and kept on self sabotaging any attempts at loosing weight. RTT removes the disempowering beliefs in hypnosis and replace them with new, better and constructive ones instead in the shape of a recording they play everyday for a month. 

Results 

All my weight loss clients eventually admit and let go of their secret eating and self sabotage habits within days and are not only steadily and healthily finally loosing weight as they don’t believe there is any need for them to be overweight as a part of their sense of identity anymore, but they also are rediscovering a new healthy relationship with food and their body. The therapy ultimately helps them find clarity and balance over different aspects of their past as an added bonus. 

Conclusion 

If you or someone that you know, like many of my clients have been battling with body weight over the years unsuccessfully, it may be time to come and see me and address those emotional associations we even forget live within the subconscious mind and limit our life.