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We have a hefty problem with obesity in this part of the world. More and more people are trying to lose weight and more are finding it harder and harder to achieve lasting results.

Too Many Diets

There are so many diets or regimes to chose from and of course all of them promise fantastic results. The willing but hapless dieter, who switches from one to another looking for quick and easy results can soon feel a failure when all the weight invariably piles back on or never disappears in the first place.

The plain truth is that many diets do little more than make money for the people who invented them. The real reason why most diets lead to failure is that they rely solely on restricting food intake. As anyone knows who's embarked on a diet or breaking a habit the moment that you know you can't have a certain food or something that becomes the only thing on your mind.

Dieting Frustration

Very soon a sense of panic or irritation ensues and your thoughts centre entirely on the very thing you want to avoid. Not much fun. Studies show that in fact around 95% of all people who lose weight through dieting alone subsequently put it all back on.

Successful weight loss.

So what is the right way to succeed?

Well my clients all receive the same advice from me. That is to use their mind to create the ideal future version of their lighter self. That's the key to create lasting motivation to get what you want especially if you want to be slimmer and lighter.

For example I worked with a client recently who was a professional in her mid-thirties. On the outside she had everything going for her. A loving relationship, a great career and social life. But on the inside her mind was focussed on her failure to lose weight permanently. She was in a trap of yo-yo dieting and trying every slimming fad or diet in the news, only to lose weight and then put it back on plus extra. She felt at her wits end.So when she came to me I asked her to tell me what was it going to be like for her to have lost weight and be exactly how she want to be. Well this threw her for a few moments and she sat in silence. Then rattled off all the things that she'd avoid; such as not having to go to out-sized clothes stores; not having to struggle with which food to eat or not, not having to eat secretly etc, etc.

I explained to her that this thinking meant her mind had to focus on the negative scenario first and that meant that's where her mind would go whenever she launched on a new diet. I taught her how to train her mind to support her goal. First of all I showed her how to really let her imagination go and see and feel in her mind's eye just what she'd be like when she had succeeded with her dream. To make sure it was working for her I asked her to include all her senses so that she'd know what she'd be doing, with whom, what will others would be saying to her.

This is a very useful NLP (neuro linguistic programming) strategy that I use and it really helps the mind create the right mental pathways and self-images that means clients begin to positively enjoy the task of losing weight. Then with hypnotherapy we further embed these images and new self beliefs so that new habits around food, eating and exercise can take root and become the norm.

Using this approach means clients usually see me for an initial three sessions and then depending on how much weight they want to lose, only need to see me for monthly back up sessions.

If you want to try this method start by writing out what you want positively as an outcome. By that I mean don't focus on what you don't want to happen. Use the above description to guide you. It's important that you get this bit right because you're giving your mind instructions to carry out.

Keep this written outcome handy so that you can refer to it and build on it. It can become a symbol for your mind to use to help you get what you want.

Using this method and some other strategies that we worked on together my client has lost over three stone. See what you can do when you put your mind to it.