32 DIary Of a HypnOtIst
I can resist everything except temptation
When we first arrived in Marlborough from the cold
climes of North Yorkshire, I remember well that
Marlborough was called the Gourmet Province…
mussels, salmon, wine, luxury foods.
But now every second building seems to house fast
food, fatty food, unhealthy temptations. And wine is
now ever more available.
This has become a battle of the bulge for many.
How easy is it now to pop into a dairy, a café, even
a petrol station to grab a pie, or a sandwich or a bar
of chocolate? What about the profusion of fast food
takeaways to grab at the end of a long and tiring
day?
Bridget was a typical client who felt uncomfortable,
frumpy and desperately wanted to regain control
over her eating, in fact, over her life. She would
have loved to go into a shop and buy some lovely
clothes, but had lost all confidence. While she was
phoning me to make an appointment, she had just
polished off a bar of chocolate.
The first time I met her, I explained to her that,
while she was sitting in my super comfortable chair,
she would feel more relaxed than she had ever felt.
And during this time, I would be able to address
the bad eating and lifestyle habits she has got into
by using a wonderfully successful technique called
Virtual Gastric Banding
After asking her many questions, including
what she felt had contributed to her weight-
gain, I felt I had a clear picture. For many
clients, weight gain could be caused by
emotional trauma, stress, anxiety, boredom,
loneliness, so this was an important
consideration for me. In Bridget’s case, it was
what she called ‘sugar addiction.’
Having found out so much about her, her
life, and her background, I explained what
we would be doing over the four sessions. I
told her emphatically that this was not about
dieting, or depriving herself, but just about
controlling the amount of food, and the type
of food she was eating. I would do this by
getting her to use her imagination so she
would no longer be interested at all in eating
any sugary and fatty foods.
By doing this, she would start to crave a
healthier lifestyle and begin taking exercise
on a daily basis. This would happen
automatically. (Of course, she was fortunate
in that she was physically able to take
exercise. For those who can’t for some
reason, we come up with alternatives.) We
laid out some very simple rules, she agreed
readily and we went ahead with the first
session.
Many clients are really puzzled at this point.
They walk out of my door feeling super
relaxed, but otherwise feeling that nothing
has changed. However, when they return the
following week, the most common remark is
“Wow, Chris, the week was weird, what did
you do?” In Bridget’s case, she told me that
I had ruined her life! She had not only had
no sugary stuff all week, but even chocolate
had totally lost its appeal. She no longer even
thought about it – it had the appeal of soap
powder. Some clients drink a little too much
wine – and suddenly, wine no longer has the
appeal it used to.
So, what happens with weight loss? Simply, it
happens, sometimes slowly, sometime fast.
But providing people follow the simple rules,
which include listening to an MP3 recording
every day, they feel better, have more energy,
are more motivated and excited about life.
So go ahead, appreciate all the wonderful
food and wine Marlborough has to offer – but
do so in moderation, in a way that becomes
easy and automatic.
Give Chris a call today to take control and change your life.
Owing to client privacy and confidentiality, the client’s name/s in these articles are changed.