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| Photo courtesy of Microsoft |
According to Hypnosis Motivation
Institute founder John Kappas,
Ph.D., the most important component of a successful weight-loss program is
the hypnotherapy client’s active participation in the process. For example, the
person must consistently, regularly write down in a ledger what he or she eats
during the day—including the quantity of food ingested. To control eating
behaviors, the client should be instructed to always leave 25 percent of the
food on the plate.
As long as the person recording these details it is working—even if the
weight is not coming off during a plateau stage. “This process is something
you’re conscious that you’re going to do,” Dr. Kappas said. “You choose [to do
or] not do the ledger.” If the person does not record this information in the
ledger and/or does not control eating behaviors, he or she is not ready to do
the process and lose weight, he explained.
Another indication that the individual may not be ready to lose the
weight is by not showing up for appointments. In this case, it is worthwhile to
do a Systems Approach evaluation to find out if relationship or family
pressures are inhibiting the weight loss. This may reveal that the client may
be gaining weight to preserve the status quo of the marriage or relationship
that he or she is already in. When one partner or family member loses weight,
the status quo in that relationship naturally undergoes a shift in relation to
the client’s perceptions about him- or herself. For example, the client’s
spouse may feel subconsciously threatened by the partner’s physical change and
concomitant increase in self-confidence, and fear that the client will leave
the relationship. The partner’s subconscious goal would be to keep the current
“system” in place. To do this the person may try to (again, subconsciously)
sabotage the client’s diet by eating forbidden foods (e.g., sweets, pizza,
etc.) in front of the person or even offering some to him or her. The spouse’s
perception of the client and the “new” relationship is also likely to shift,
and the client may even worry that the partner will leave. In an attempt to
keep the relationship intact, the client may abandon the weight-loss program,
Dr. Kappas explained.
Alternatively, the client may abandon the weight-loss program and gain,
or regain, weight as a way to end the relationship with the spouse without
feeling guilt. In this case, the client may use weight to “get back at” a
partner who says he or she will only return to the relationship once the client
loses the weight.
Another possibility is that the client may be trying to make him- or
herself unattractive to the partner because there is no sexual activity between
them. This is a form of emotional blackmail; in this case, the hypnotherapist
must deal with the client in terms of just the weight and not the person’s
relationship with the spouse.
Food may also fulfill (gratify) a need that the client has, which the
partner is not meeting in the relationship. Finally, weight-gain is also often
related to problems or hang-ups with sexuality, which also leads to low
self-esteem, Dr. Kappas said.
Emotional issues cause 20-percent of weight problems, said the HMI
founder. “Weight is a glue that holds together a style of emotions, and by
removing that glue the emotions are likely to fall apart.” Therefore, in these
cases, the client must be emotionally ready and motivated to resolve the
problem in order to lose the weight.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based
in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in 2005. For more
information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an
appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2016
