Hypnotherapy weight loss programs can be very effective. Especially when combined with the Havening Techniques for overcoming anxiety, stress and emotional eating.
In this blog I will share how our hypnotherapy weight loss program can help you achieve and maintain your ideal healthy weight.
In any effective weight loss program one of the main aims will be to help you feel satisfied with lesser amounts of food and when you start to feel full to stop eating
What makes our hypnotherapy weight loss program different is that we also help you create clear, specific and realistic weight loss goals. As well as addressing and resolving the root causes of emotional eating.
“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your time running up and down the field of life and never score” Bill Copeland
Goal Setting for Weight Loss Hypnotherapy
Before I wrote this blog I was thinking about goals. And I was asking myself, ‘How effective is goal setting in producing the results that we want in our lives ?
Interestingly nearly every self-help and personal development book has a chapter about the importance and psychology of goal setting.
So I decided to look at some of the latest academic research on the subject and came across an enlightening study by Dr. Gail Matthews
Dr Matthews is the psychology professor at the Dominican University of California.
She did research back in 2014-15 on the art and science of goal setting.
She took 267 people from all walks of life; business people, lawyers, doctors, and housewives from ages mid-20s up to age 70.
She broke them into two groups; those who wrote down their goals and those who didn’t.
What she found at the end of the study was those people who regularly wrote down their goals had a 42% increase in achieving them.
In my sessions I also ask my clients to write down their weight loss goals. Because this alone increases their probability of success.
Then we use hypnosis to help the client vividly visualize achieving the goal. This can be very powerful in creating a positive mindset and in producing healthier weight loss habits.
One of my favorite quotes about goal setting really captures the essence of the hypnotic goal setting process I use. The quote is…
“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down in the steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true”.
Before I actually go into the goal setting process I will give you a brief overview of what happens in my hypnotherapy weight loss sessions.
Firstly, the Think Yourself Thin program is a four session one to one session tailored approach.
It is designed to address the root causes of weight gain, emotional eating and to help you achieve and maintain you’re ideal weight without ever dieting.
In session one I often start with using the Havening Techniques to help clients quickly overcome emotional eating and to release trauma, anxiety, stress or any other negative emotions that have been causing them to overeat and/or holding them back.
I like then to help my clients to begin imagining losing the weight too when applying Havening.
For example, I ask them to imagine walking on the beach or through a park, or up or down a flight of stairs feeling lighter, healthier, and thinner.
This helps to start integrating in those positive hypnotherapy weight loss visualizations and ideas deeper into their unconscious mind.
I also let them know that in session two we will be setting an inspiring weight loss goal. That we are going to put down a specific day, date with a very clear weight loss target.
I introduce this idea in session one to get them ready for session two.
I often find that most clients feel excited about this as they know they are actually coming back to focus on achieving attainable and realistic weight loss results.
The goal setting process itself involves two steps.
The first is to define the goal.
CREATE your desired weight!
There is an acronym called CREATE that I use with my clients to design the goal as follows:
The C stands for a Clear, Concise, and Compelling Written Goal.
What I mean by clear and concise is that we’re going to write the goal in one nutshell statement or in one sentence.
We also want goal to feel as positively compelling as possible for the client to achieve. There are a few different approaches in how we do that.
Number one, focusing on the actual weight loss result. So if I’m working with a client fro example and their weight is 15 stone 13 pounds
We will explore a weight loss goal from there that feels highly motivating for them to achieve.
For instance, If we set the first goal from 15 stone 13 pounds to 15 stone 2 pounds that might not be compelling enough for them. As they may still feel stuck in the 15 stone zone.
So we may want to bring it into the 14 stone zone. We may then make the goal 14 stone 12 pounds for example if that feel more compelling for them as a first step goal.
The purpose of achieving this goal is to also create momentum to continue losing weight afterwards until they are at their ideal healthy weight.
Generally we aim for at least one to two’s pounds on average of weight loss per week as it is realistic and sustainable to keep achieving.
The second way to help make the goal more compelling is to ask the client to imagine how great they will look and feel. In the hypnosis I guide them to clearly imagine this and feel how good this feels.
The third way of making the goal compelling is by connecting the goal to some other areas of their life that are really important to them.
If the client for example most values their business. We could ask them how achieving their ideal weight and feeling healthier will help them grow their business.
If they are a family person we could clarify how will losing weight benefit their family. And then make a list of about 10 to 20 clear benefits.
This can be a powerful and positive exercise to do for inspiration and motivation.
Realistic Hypnotherapy Weight Loss Goals
Being realistic can be a challenging part. Some clients want to set unrealistic goals.
My approach is to help them consistently lose one to two pounds per week on average every week.
Sometimes I’ll say to a client ‘how much weight do you think you can lose in a month?’
Sometimes a client may say, ’14 pounds’ or even more.
I then ask them. ‘when was the last time you lost 14 pounds in a month.’
Most say, ‘Never’
Ecological Goals
The next aspect of goal-setting is ‘ecology’.
Ecology is about the study of consequences.
For example, I remember someone asking me to help them get ready to run a marathon within two months.
And wanted me to use hypnosis to help them do that. But there were some problems.
They were very overweight and smoked 20 cigarettes a day. I wouldn’t set that goal with them because it’s not ecological.
It could of been really unsafe and do more harm than good. If they had tried to run a full marathon within two months they could of collapsed from a heart attack or seriously injured themselves.
When setting a weight loss goal with any vigorous exercise it is important to take into account the current state of a persons health or any underlying health issues.
Creating Accountability
When the client has created the goal and the amount of weight that they would like to shift in a specific time frame. I then ask them, ‘are you to committed to achieving this goal?’
For example, what lifestyle changes are they willing to make? This creates accountability.
At this point I also ask the client to write down three action steps or new behaviours they’re going to implement that are in alignment with achieving the goal.
Then I integrate these actions steps into their hypnotherapy weight loss session.
Let me give you some examples of new behaviours that can help you achieve weight loss.
- Decide to not eat when you are watching the television. But instead focus on eating more mindfully and slowly. This will help you to eat less each day.
- Action step number two could be to buy mostly healthy and nutritious foods and avoid the processed and junk foods.
- The third step is to engage in some sort of exercise. For example going for at least a 20 minute walk everyday.
- Simply carrying a bottle of water around and drinking more of it throughout the day can have a positive impact on weight loss, your energy levels and health too.
- Listen to my weight loss hypnotherapy hypnosis audio track everyday
I recommend at least three to five daily actions steps that are relatively easy to implement to do.
Factoring in the Duration of Time
We also want to set a time frame on when the goal will be achieved.
The day and date of the goal has to be very specific. Over the years with most weight loss clients I have worked if I ask them, ‘when where you planning to achieve your ideal weight?’
Its has surprised me to hear that many people don’t know, even though they have spent years in weight loss clubs or doing diets.
A lot of people have never created or have wrote down a clear, compelling goal to lose weight.
The End Result
The E stands for the end results or the end outcome meaning what the client will see and experience on the day when they achieve the goal. It generally tends to be one of two things.
Number one, standing on the scales and seeing a very specific weight loss result.
Or it could be fitting into a certain outfit or clothes size.
We choose the one that the client feels most compelled, motivated and inspired by.
Here are a couple of examples below of what your written goal will look like when complete:
It is Saturday 1st September and I’m standing on my scales seeing 9 stone 11 pounds feeling absolutely delighted.
It is Saturday 1st September and I am wearing my size 12 blue dress that fits me perfectly and feeling a wonderful sense of achievement.
It is very important that we add in positive emotion here as well.
How is the client actually going to feel when they achieve their goal in that moment?
I add in those positive emotions and associations within their hypnosis session too.
I also ask the client to sign the goal with their signature. This creates even more accountability and commitment.
You can also use this goal setting process for anything, such as career, relationship or financial goals.
To recap the CREATE goal setting acronym stands for:
C – Clear, concise, compelling written goal
R – Realistic
E – Ecological
A – Accountability
T – Time-bound
E – End or Outcome
For more information about our weight loss hypnotherapy sessions please see https://stravershypnosis.com/services/think-yourself-thin/
For a free phone consultation please email [email protected] with your name and number for a call back or call 086 178 6809.
We look forward to helping you achieve & maintain your ideal weight.