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23.
January
2018.
Trying to lose weight? Dieting is the last thing you should do!

NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday January 23, 2018

 

 

TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT?

DIETING IS THELASTTHING YOU SHOULD DO, SAYS WORLD-RENOWNED CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPIST SHEILA GRANGER

 

 

Most recent NHS statistics suggest that 58 per cent of UK women and 68 per cent of men are overweight or obese.

 

Other figures suggest that one in four UK adults are trying to lose weight, most of the time, and British women go on diets an average of 2.7 times a year.

 

But professional clinical hypnotherapist Sheila Granger has one simple and clear message about all of this: STOP!

 

That's because her experience with such clients has shown dieting to be pointless, until they can tackle the root cause of their problematic relationship with food.

 

"There's a reason that the plethora of fad diets that are available these days don't work long-term," she said.

 

"That's because mind really does matter when it comes to conquering bad habits like over-eating and what people actually need is a mental reboot."

 

January is the month when good intentions are most in focus, but Sheila said what's really important is tackling the root causes of dependencies on food and other things, no matter what the time of year.

 

Very often, these ‘triggers' go as far back as our childhood experiences, according to Sheila.

 

She said: "When we're born, our clever little bodies are kitted out with everything they need to sense when we are hungry. Babies cry because they need nutrition, not because they want to over-indulge. They don't yet have any awareness of what that even means.

 

"Then, as we grow, experiences form habits. For example, maybe our parents offer us sweets or chocolate as a treat and we start to associate such things with feeling happy, content and safe.

 

"In this way, food becomes more of a habit and lifestyle choice than a means to keep us alive and healthy, which is what it's ultimately there for."

 

And the reverse psychology involved in dieting is potentially damaging too.

 

"The trouble with diets is that they focus us on the negatives, like depriving ourselves, from the outset. They also accentuate an obsession with food - while they might push us to replace ‘bad' foods with good ones, they still have us focusing on eating all the time, which is counterproductive," said Sheila.

 

"In my opinion, this is why most diets aren't sustainable in the long term. While the most successful ones might see us achieving our weight loss goals initially, nine times out of 10 we'll fall back into our old ways eventually. This is because they don't address the fundamental causes of our tendency towards over-eating."

 

So, the first step towards developing a long term better relationship with food is to re-set our subconscious to do away with such ingrained behaviour. It is this focus that makes her Virtual Gastric Band (VGB) programme so successful.

 

"A lot of people have stereotypical images of hypnotherapy, fuelled by stage hypnosis routines, placing people into trances to make them perform tricks for the audience's amusement," continued Sheila.

 

"The reality, though, is that we spend a significant proportion of our waking life in a state of hypnosis. Many of our fears, phobias and anxieties, for example, are our subconscious mind seeping through to influence our conscious life.

 

"Hypnotherapy is actually about breaking these patterns that negatively affect our lives, and re-setting our thinking.

 

"Our attitudes to food are an example of this."

 

VGB has achieved worldwide recognition since Sheila first developed it seven years ago. Thousands of people all over the globe now benefit from the programme, delivered by Sheila's network of 2,500 subscribing practitioners in over nine countries globally. She cites among her own greatest successes a lorry driver who lost 12 stones in just nine months. Most participants in the programme lose between one and two pounds a week, by following her simple advice coupled with the programme's hypnotherapy techniques.

 

"The VGB programme doesn't work by making people think they have a gastric band fitted," explained Sheila. "That wouldn't work.

 

"What it does is to get to the root of where their attitudes to food come from, so that they can start to change them.

 

"For example, I had one lady for whom it was linked to feelings around not being good enough. She was a very intelligent and successful woman, with significant standing in the community. Anyone who knew her would wonder how she could ever feel like that, and fall prey to an eating disorder.

 

"However, it emerged that it went right back to her days at primary school. She'd been in a situation where she had to blow up a balloon and climb up a rope and she was the only one in the class who couldn't do it, and the embarrassment of that one incident had led to her not feeling good enough in other areas of her life.

 

"In situations like this, I often find that people subconsciously put on weight almost as an extra, protective layer, as well as seeking the short-lived highs that often come from eating the wrong things.

 

"This particular lady was worried that if she lost weight, she would also lose that psychological protective barrier, leaving her feeling exposed and suffering more accusations of not being good enough."

 

Sheila added that the human mind is a more powerful machine than most of us give it credit for.

 

"In many ways, our minds don't understand what's real and what's pretend. When someone has the wrong kind of relationship with food, their subconscious might tell them ‘you deserve a reward' or ‘if you eat that piece of chocolate you'll feel better'. So, changing that mindset is a way of re-setting, just like updating the old software systems in a computer.

 

"It's about snapping out of ‘trance eating' - while driving or sitting at your desk, for example - to eat the right things, at the right times, consciously throughout your day.

 

"The lightbulb things people have said to me as a result of this kind of re-adjustment are ‘for the first time in 45 years, I'm no longer constantly thinking about food'."

 

People undergoing the VGB programme participate in a series of hypnotherapy sessions - delivered either in person or via recording - going through the latest mind management techniques used to help people change habits and, in this case, develop a new relationship with food.

 

Sheila's five routes to long term weight control

 

  1. Buy yourself something new

There is a powerful psychological technique called the law of concentrated attention - the idea that if there is something in life you really want, if you behave as though you already have it, you are likely to actually get it.

 

So, go out and buy yourself an item of clothing you really like, in the size you want to be. It doesn't have to be expensive, but must be something attractive and new to you, that will motivate you.

 

When you get it, hang it on the outside of your wardrobe, in a place where you'll see it often, to help you focus all your attention on being that person.

 

  1. Eat slowly and consciously

Enjoy every mouthful of food and slow your eating down, chewing your food thoroughly (around 15-20 times per mouthful). Put your knife and fork, or sandwich, down between mouthfuls.

 

Don't do other things, like watching TV or reading, while you are eating. You need to be fully conscious of what you are eating, so sit down and focus purely on the food in front of you.

 

  1. Stop eating as soon as you feel comfortable

Listen to your body. Modern life, where we can have more or less what we want, when we want, has conditioned us to eat what we fancy rather than what our bodies are telling us we need.

 

Not only that, but many of us have been brought up with messages like ‘you must clear your plate because otherwise it's a waste and there are people in third world countries that would be glad of that food'.

 

Try reversing this habit and when you feel full, accept that you are full and stop eating, even if you still have food on your plate.

 

  1. Eat only three small meals a day

Regularity and routine is one key to reforming your habits, so try to eat three meals, at set times, each day. Invest in smaller plates and bowls to help you control your portion sizes.

Planning your meals will help you avoid snacking on less healthy items when you're busy or out and about, because you can get your body used to eating at certain times and make sure you have the right kinds of food with you when you need them, wherever you are.

As you progress, you'll want to start considering carefully the content of each of those meals, with the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit. However, simple regularity is the first key to getting your diet under control and you'll be amazed what this increased focus on eating responsibly will make to your food choices. Then, as you start to make progress and feel better, you'll naturally start substituting bad food for healthier options, not under duress but because you want to.

  1. Drink plenty of water

Again, this can have a dramatic impact on how alert and well you feel as well as suppressing hunger pangs, and these two combined effects will help you to make healthier choices or leave foods out that are not so good for you.

  1. Exercise regularly

Building at least 30 minutes of daily exercise into your routine can have a dramatic impact on your overall sense of wellbeing, as well as your size. This could be as simple as going for a walk. As you will be eating less, exercising will help you to burn your fat reserves. Whatever you feel like doing, dancing, skipping or running is all good, but above all, move!

  1. Dealing with head hunger

Head hunger refers to those times when you think you need food but it's not actually your body that's demanding energy. Something else is triggering you to eat. Ways of staving this off include taking a sip of water, waiting it out (such pangs will often pass within 10 minutes), exercising, concentrating on deep, slow breathing, telling yourself the feeling will pass and eating a little bit of something healthy and nutritious, like an apple or a handful of nuts.

  1. Give yourself support

Going the distance with any lifestyle change requires focus and determination, and you will need to eke out ways of spurring yourself on. Be positive about what you are doing, take pride in it and celebrate it when you achieve a short or long-term goal. Set yourself some, such as eventually wearing that new outfit and, in the shorter term, completing three 30-minute walks in a week, as a stepping stone to that longer-term aim. Discuss with yourself your strengths and weaknesses and what you are going to do to manage or make the most of those. For example, if you know you have aweakness for chocolate, make sure you don't keep any in the house to ensure you have less likelihood of being tempted. Reward yourself with a facial or other treat for every half stone you manage to lose.

 

Statistical sources:

  • NHS Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet - England (relating to 2015/16)

  • Mintel

  • Splenda - sugar substitute manufacturer

 

For more information about Sheila, her hypnotherapy and the Virtual Gastric Band programme in particular, visit her website at www.sheilagranger.com

 

For further information, and to arrange photographs or further interviews, please contact Tracy Fletcher of By Tracy Fletcher Limited PR on 07983 633385, or via bytracyfletcher@gmail.com