Page 30Mind & body
Weight loss: it's all in the mind
Hypnotherapy tackles the reasons for overeating, re-programmes attitudes to food and is virtually effortless, say fans of the latest way of slimming.
We all know how to lose weight — cut back on fat and burn more calories. But if it's so simple, why are 65 per cent of us still overweight and 27 per cent obese, according to figures from the Weight Loss Foundation? Most weight-loss experts believe the key to successful slimming is ditching diets in favour of long-term healthy eating habits.
Clinical hypnotherapist Georgia Foster runs workshops helping people tackle the psychological reasons for overeating. Diets, she says, can be bad for emotional health because they make unrealistic demands, leave people feeling deprived and can reinforce the belief that they'll never succeed.
“Diets are overwhelming because they're restrictive and make unrealistic demands on us,” says Georgia. “We feel deprived and then overeat, which reinforces the belief that we'll never succeed. This explains why diets can be bad for emotional health.”
Georgia struggled with these problems for 16 years before studying psychology and specialising in hypnosis in the mid-Nineties. After seeing how hypnotherapy helped people build self-esteem and break habits such as smoking, she devised self-hypnosis techniques to combat overeating, and went from 11st 7lb to nine stone in 18 months.
“The subconscious can't tell the difference between reality and imagination.”
According to Georgia, hypnotherapy works by reprogramming the mind to overcome such negative thinking. “The subconscious can't tell the difference between reality and imagination, so visualising yourself as a slim person who eats healthily fools it into believing you've already achieved that goal,” she explains. The subconscious then acts accordingly and stops trying to ‘protect' you from failure by sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
Georgia says that during her eight-week Weight Less Mind workshop (one day a week), clients lose on average between seven and 18lb. But most importantly, she says, six-month follow-ups have revealed continued weight loss and a more permanent change in their behaviour.
For more information on Georgia's workshops or to buy a copy of her book The Weight Less Mind: Why Diets Fail (£14.99, plus £2.50 p&p), which includes a hypnotherapy CD, log on to www.georgiafoster.com or call 0845 660 4396.
Reader story
“I went from size 20 to a size 14 without feeling that I was stuck on a diet”
Diane Berry, 39, a part-time office manager, lives in Leeds with her husband Michael, also 39, an operations manager for a logistics company. They have two sons, Alexander, 10, and Christopher, seven.
“Throughout my teens I felt too fat. I had short-term success at slimming clubs but soon gave up. I married Michael at 24 and became pregnant. That's when I lost control. I ate all the wrong things, such as takeaways, because I was often too tired to cook. Also I knew I wanted more than one child and thought, ‘Why lose weight?'”
“I went from a size 14 to a size 20. When I went out to dinner I'd think, ‘I've been good all week, I can have a blowout.' When I went shopping I was worried I wouldn't like to see my children grow up the way I was. Then I heard about a two-day workshop in Manchester with Georgia Foster.”
“At the first session it was as though a light went on in my brain. Georgia explained why diets don't work for perfectionists — one meal can feel like failure, which becomes a reason to give up. Georgia helped us visualise ourselves as slim people making healthy food choices. The following week I felt full after my main course and stopped wanting dessert. That was a big breakthrough and it was effortless.”
“I also started eating fruit and nuts instead of chocolate, and lean meat and salads instead of takeaways. After a couple of months I was down to a size 18 and since then the weight has come off gradually. I've lost the diet mentality now. I have the odd piece of chocolate but it's no longer a big deal because I don't want to get hung up on it.”
“I also threw out my scales. Georgia explained that as your weight fluctuates day to day, it's easy to feel that you've failed if you gain a few pounds. I don't know what I weigh because I don't want to get hung up on it. I'm between sizes 12 and 14 now and would like to be a definite 12.”
“I'm enjoying fashion again. Instead of baggy T-shirts and long skirts, I wear jeans and fitted T-shirts. When I wore my size 14 jeans for the first time, Alexander said: ‘Wow, Mum, your legs look so slim!' The boys have been sweet and Michael is pleased for me because I'm happier and healthier.”
“I'm really looking forward to our holiday to Disney World in Florida this year. Before, I would have avoided all the rides because I wouldn't have fitted into the seats. Now I can't wait.”
