Weight loss advice

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Permalink Reply by Walt Potter on November 25, 2009 at 9:52am

All,

This is an interesting thread for me as I need to lose around 80 pounds.

I've been using a cd program from someone I know and respect. It has helped me lose 20 pounds. After 3 months of daily practice with the program I started to dislike using it. It became annoying. My weight loss leveled out. Then my use dropped to once a week. Weight loss....????

However, I think using a cd is like using a standard script. It does/can not take the individual into account. Reading your comments makes me believe that I need to work with a real, live hypnotherapist. I think I know what the underlying issues are(I've been asking).

Thanks, Walt

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Permalink Reply by Roy Hunter on November 25, 2009 at 3:14pm

Scripts might be good for a STARTING point...but many clients wishing to reduce need more than just scripts.

Based on the client's situation, I will either use regression to discover the core cause, OR I will use parts therapy to help the client resolve the inner conflict. Note that I have two free articles posted on my website regarding parts therapy, as well as an important article that explains why hypnotic scrips are often not enough. (That article is: "The Four Cornerstones of Successful Hypnotherapy".)

If I'm not certain which technique to use, then I'll use finger response questions (called ideomotor responding) to ask various questions about the cause. (I also have an article about ideomotor response signals.) Note that if the cause is from a PRESENT unresolved issue, the client might need a referral to another professional. (Actual examples from former clients: abusive spouse, abusive employer, parent who blatantly interferes with client's life, etc.) If the cause is ongoing, the client needs more than what we are qualified to do with hypnosis.

The articles on my website are at:
http://www.royhunter.com/hypnosis_articles.htm

Best wishes,
Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP
www.royhunter.com

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Permalink Reply by Roy Hunter on November 25, 2009 at 3:26pm

Hi Kathleen,

Your response to this thread grabbed me because there is NO technique that is so good that it will work for all the people all the time.

As others have mentioned, rapport building is important, which is part of the reason why I use suggestion and imagery (and/or scripts) on a client's first two visits for weight reduction.

I almost never do regression on a first visit for someone wishing to reduce, because of (1) the need for building rapport, and (2) regression is appropriate for only some of the people some of the time. The same is true for parts therapy. Even though I'm recognized as an authority on parts therapy, less than half of my clients over 26 years have ever experienced it. (I do make an exception for hypnosis professionals, as some have traveled many hundreds of miles - or even across the country - specifically for a parts therapy session.)

Some clients overeat because of past events that can be discovered and released during regression. Other clients have secondary gain issues (and/or other inner conflicts) that are more easily cleared through parts therapy. It isn't always apparent which of those techniques to use until the 3rd or 4th session.

With a highly analytical client, I might even employ motivation mapping to help empower that person to guard the gateways of the subconscious. (That is an original technique, described in Chapters 15 and 16 of THE ART OF HYPNOTHERAPY.)

In short, I practice client-centered hypnotherapy, which means that we fit the technique to the client instead of vice versa. Additionally, the benefit of competent regression and/or parts therapy is that these techniques can not only help the client's inner mind to discover and release the cause, the client can also come up with his or her ideal resolution!

This is why I believe every certified hypnotherapist needs to be trained in regression and parts therapy (or one of the variations of parts, such as ego state therapy or voice dialogue).

Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP
www.royhunter.com

Kathleen Hanover said:

As a client, I find it fascinating to watch hypnotherapists debate these things. Most of the time I don't understand what you're talking about, but I still find the philosophical differences very interesting. :)
I can very much relate to the client in this scenario...at first I thought I wanted to work with a hypnotherapist to lose weight. And at first, I did lose weight. I was a compulsive eater and when I was growing up, food was a reward and a weapon that always had some kind of emotional content. It was never just food. Working with the hypnotherapist allowed me to remove the emotional content from food, so I stopped eating compulsively, and I lost some weight. And then I gained it back plus more, because I stopped exercising. My subconscious is no fool.
I was working on other things along the way, and discovered I have big-time secondary gain from being fat. I am consciously very aware of what my secondary gain is. I don't know exactly where it originates. If it's true that I have to relive the potentially really bad things I've forgotten in order to finally lose this weight, then I'm probably going to choose to stay fat, to be honest. I'm not happy about it, but I'm used to it.

I can't think of a situation in which I'd agree to relive a buried and forgotten trauma in order to lose weight. Speaking as a client, that is a really, really hard sell. I've been this way my whole adult life, I'm used to it, and can't visualize being any different. And what if you do make me relive the trauma and then can't make it go away again? So then I'd be fat AND traumatized? No thanks, I'd rather be fat than take that chance.

So I guess I'm hoping that the "regression to cause" advocates are wrong, and there's something else I can do to deal with my primary/secondary gain without having to know exactly where it came from!

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on November 25, 2009 at 7:00pm

Hi Kathleen,
I can understand not wanting to revivify a past trauma to lose weight. I don't feel as if that is necessary at all. In fact. remind me to talk to you about words and labels the next time we talk directly. To your unconcious mind, It is not really about "losing". It's about "managing". What would it be like if you were to manage your Body as skillfully as you manage your mind? I was impressed at how carefully you honed in on my image, and when you write .. copy,, carefully selecting sensory words .. adjectives and adverbs make up the picture you really need now to convey to your client. who needs your help to have .. the image perfectly in mind conveying harmony .. goals and images meshing powerfully as you ply your craft.. Could it be that instead of losing ...the words that convey the wrong meaning you really refine the image you desire to portray and the superfluous words melt away by themselves. Finding clarity in the image is just what you do.. It is really about managing the image of who you are Now and in the future ... is it not? Take all the time you need to make sense of it all really. because that's just what you do Now.

Hugh

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Permalink Reply by Roy Hunter on November 26, 2009 at 9:55am

I notice that many hypnotists either avoid the use of hypnotic regression themselves, or in some cases even criticize the use of regression. That reluctance has been mentioned on this thread.

Let me start my response to regression critics by stating that I do not use regression for all the clients all the time…only for some of the clients some of the time. Those who criticize the use of regression are entitled to their own opinions; but my own professional opinion regarding regression, stated below, is based on 26 years of professional experience…

When there is a primary core cause rooted in the past, regression to discover and release the ISE (initial sensitizing event) has a high probability of providing lasting benefits for the client.

The late Charles Tebbetts (my original teacher) taught a very important concept when he stated: “If the problem is removed by suggestion or some other quick fix, but the cause still remains buried in the subconscious, then the subconscious is perfectly capable of either returning the same problem…or something worse.” Whether or not regression is employed, simply suggesting away a problem is like taking an aspirin to temporarily remove pain. Until the cause of that pain is healed, the pain will return.

Years ago a man saw a hypnotist to get a quick “phobia cure” for fear of flying when his employer sent him to Sydney. Although he was OK on the outbound flight, his subconscious bought back the problem before the return flight. He told me that he had 17 of the most terrifying hours of his life flying over the Pacific Ocean, and thought he was going to have a heart attack.

Anyone using hypnotic regression needs to be competently trained first. When you are competently trained in regression techniques, you WILL get results by employing it properly. So let me end this comment with another quote from my late mentor:

"Results speak louder than words." Tebbetts got results with regression, as have I over the years.

You might consider reading REGRESSION THERAPY by Randal Churchill, a book that should be in the library of every practicing hypnotherapist. You can get it directly from his website at:
http://www.transformingpress.com/

Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP
www.royhunter.com

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Permalink Reply by Richard Whitbread C.Ht on November 26, 2009 at 10:09am

It would seem to me there another problem behind the weight issue but as a diabetic who know about weight loss and training and what is good to eat and all that if she does work out she will eventually reach a plateau where she will replace fay with muscle tone but in this case if she crawls into bed could just be water retention and that could add up to 5 or 6 pounds.Get her out of bed and walking because to loose weight in a healthy way she should loose no more then 3 to 6 pounds a week so she doesn't send her body into survival mode.

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Permalink Reply by Kent Fullarton on November 26, 2009 at 12:26pm

HI Karen. There is a simple way that is quicker and gentler than finding the ISE. It also requires somnambulism. Ask the higher mind if there is a reason to stay heavy. If yes, is there another way of fulfilling this reason that allows you to be slim and is good and comfortable for your mind and body. After the block is gone: exercise? metabolism? and the most important, body image, future pacing. Use the language of the client. Use scripts for ideas perhaps. Fit your session to the client not, fit the client to the session. I agree that the style you suggest is effective and powerful. I use the gentle approach and work up to the level the client needs. I don't believe I take any longer and I do just as well. Please reference Tom Silver for "Emotion Replacement Therapy". It works.

Karen Lockman said:

Doreen:

You say, "the more information you have the better you can help your client." And how are you going to find this information that is not known to the conscious mind without "regress to cause?" Using emotional regression will help you find this information. As you know, if the conscious mind was aware of the cause, it would have already changed it, so we use techniques to access this information in the subconscious.

I have great success with "regress to cause" as I was taught by Jerry Kein just as he learned from Dave Elman. This is what he teaches all his students to do, and some are the most successful in the world. Unfortunately, most hypnotists have not been trained in regression techniques, do not know how to deal with an abreaction, or how to change perception of the found event, so they should probably avoid regression.

It is unfortunate that there are no standards of training for hypnotism.

A good analogy is... driving down the freeway and you hear "thump, thump" coming from the front of your car and it's hard to steer. Pretty scary. You pull into an auto shop, the attendant looks at your car and says you have a hole in your tire. He puts air in the tire and sends you on your way. Now you're always scared because you are aware of the hole but don't know when it's going to go flat and scare you again. But if the attendant says, "You have a hole in your tire," takes the tire off, fixes the hole with a sturdy patch so it's like new, and then fills the tire with air and sends you on your way... now you drive off self confident that all is well and you enjoy the ride... Change in perception.

But... if the hole is in the tire, you are NOT aware of it, and it's never fixed but just temporarily inflated from time to time, then it may affect you adversely at different intervals in your journey of life, just like the temporary fixes with only direct suggestion and visualization work.

Just my two cents. Karen

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Permalink Reply by Kent Fullarton on November 26, 2009 at 12:37pm

I did not read Roy Hunter as carefully as I should the first time. I would have just wrote, "Ditto".

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Permalink Reply by Craig Homonnay on November 26, 2009 at 2:25pm

There is more here than just weight loss "Client has many issues...fyi" This is the key .
"Client states she crawls in to bed because she is so unmotivated, cries uncontrollably, and is a basket case"
You need to release some of her emotional pressure ....then follow the feeling back to earlier times she felt this way .....with each event the subconscious takes you to ....do some release work to take the pressure off ....compound how much better she feels having released those negative feelings ...do forgiveness work if it is needed ......including forgiving herself .help her to find the good in the event ...then when she has confidence in your ability to take the pain of past events away she will go much deeper into herself and find the core issue that is making her seek security /protection by distracting herself from her feelings with her drug of choice ...ie food .........remove her negative feelings and replace them with positive feelings of love and security re inner child work ..and compound .....this will not happen in one session ....it takes as long as it takes .....explain to her that bad feelings that are left trapped in your body fester and grow ...the more you try to suppress them the stronger they become over time ....but when you release them ...let them out ..the universe absorbs them and you find clarity ..and begin to feel so much better ......a feeling released is generally short lived ...but a feeling held inside lasts forever and creates dis-ease stress and tension in your body .....
teach her how to let go of all of the negative events in her life ...forgive everyone that hurt her ...including herself and you will have a new ,motivated, happy loving person that accepts and respects herself ....and you will find that her weight will return to a normal range with out having to obsess over food ...because you will have removed the emotional reasons that she used food for to distract from
At least thats how I do it



Craig

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Permalink Reply by Margaret on November 26, 2009 at 3:49pm

First off, hypnosis is not the cause of her weight gain. Plus, you said it yourself, this client has many issues. These issues or issue could be the source of her weight gain.

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Permalink Reply by Beverly Lieb, C.Ht. on November 26, 2009 at 9:42pm

Sue, how long have you been working with this client, and has she had a steady weight loss up until the 4 pound weight gain? If so, I would find out anything significant that might have happened in her life that week, suspend the weight loss therapy temporarily, and use whatever hypnodiagnostic tools you decide are most effective to work on the new presenting issue.

I do not treat weight loss symptomatically (with diet and exercise alone), because it doesn't work. We have to go for cause. You mentioned that she has many issues. I suggest you speak to her in the cognitive portion of your session, identify the issues if you haven't already, ask her which issue she feels is causing her the most problems, and work exclusively on that issue until it is resolved, then go to the next one, etc. Be very supportive and work on self- acceptance and self esteem at the weight she is presently at. If you don't address the "many issues" she has, your entire weight loss program will be for naught anyway. Even if she gets to her goal weight, she will not keep it off.

Feel free to visit my website and click on the link, "Weight Loss/Compulsive Overeating" for some suggestions that might be helpful to you.

www.aronyaspiritenterprises.com

"Client states she crawls in to bed because she is so unmotivated, cries uncontrollably, and is a basket case."

This is a red flag that the client might be out of our scope of vocational/avocational self improvement. I would give her a medical referral and refer her out to a Mental Health Professional and have the Practitioner decide if hypnotherapy is contraindicated. You want to protect yourself.

"Client wonders if it could be the hypnosis."

I don't know what type of suggestions you are giving her while she is in state. Is she experiencing any abreactions to your suggestions? I would say, it's probably not the hypnosis. Not having the food to anethesize her, she probably is experiencing very intense feelings, going through withdrawals, and does not know how to cope with life without her "drug of choice", food. As I mentioned before, you should probably refer her to a Mental Health professional for proper diagnosis and treatment and not see her until you get the signed medical referral back.

I hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Beverly Lieb, C.Ht. on November 26, 2009 at 9:44pm

This is very good advice, Craig!

Craig Homonnay said:

There is more here than just weight loss "Client has many issues...fyi" This is the key .
"Client states she crawls in to bed because she is so unmotivated, cries uncontrollably, and is a basket case"
You need to release some of her emotional pressure ....then follow the feeling back to earlier times she felt this way .....with each event the subconscious takes you to ....do some release work to take the pressure off ....compound how much better she feels having released those negative feelings ...do forgiveness work if it is needed ......including forgiving herself .help her to find the good in the event ...then when she has confidence in your ability to take the pain of past events away she will go much deeper into herself and find the core issue that is making her seek security /protection by distracting herself from her feelings with her drug of choice ...ie food .........remove her negative feelings and replace them with positive feelings of love and security re inner child work ..and compound .....this will not happen in one session ....it takes as long as it takes .....explain to her that bad feelings that are left trapped in your body fester and grow ...the more you try to suppress them the stronger they become over time ....but when you release them ...let them out ..the universe absorbs them and you find clarity ..and begin to feel so much better ......a feeling released is generally short lived ...but a feeling held inside lasts forever and creates dis-ease stress and tension in your body .....
teach her how to let go of all of the negative events in her life ...forgive everyone that hurt her ...including herself and you will have a new ,motivated, happy loving person that accepts and respects herself ....and you will find that her weight will return to a normal range with out having to obsess over food ...because you will have removed the emotional reasons that she used food for to distract from
At least thats how I do it



Craig

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