Do you want to lose weight and stay thin?

Let me ask you something..

You are not alone; Millions of people accross the planet spend their lives focussing on losing weight, experiencing a little success and then slipping right back to where they started. Does that describe you too?

I bet that you are probably totally fed up with how you look and feel. Whatever you have tried so far has not worked! Its time to look seriously at what you have been trying so far.

I don't work with weight loss any more, but when I did, I didn't focus on weight loss, instead I focussed on....

• the reasons behind why you overeat and finding ways to address these
• the reasons why you fixate about food and dealing with them

• getting conscious awareness of any unhelpful habits you have relating to food and changing them

• in certain cases, looking at your current knowledge about eating properly and providing education about the way to eat properly. This is NOT about some new and latest fad diet; this is about going back to basics and eating properly and removing diets from your life
• consider your basic needs and check whether they are being met appropriately and then work with you to find ways to meet them more appropriately. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

In order for you to lose your weight and stay thin, I strongly recommend you find a therapist who can address the above issues in conjunction with helping you get your needs appropriately met. This is a much more effective way of dealing with the real reaons you overeat.

There are enough books and web sites that offer copious hints and tips, diets and routines to lose weight, so I am certainly not going to re-invent the wheel here. Instead I ask you to consider the following questions in the context of your life. If you struggle to recall the last time you did any of these, then they may start to help to build a picture of why you tend to eat unnecessarily

When was the last time

• I ate a proper healthy breakfast? (read this recent article from the BBC (Big breakfast aids weight loss)
• I ate a healthy snack between meals?

• I drank enough water during the day?

• I remember actually feeling full?

• I stopped eating when I actually felt full, instead of just finishing everything that was on the plate (see this latest research on the BBC: Speed of eating related to obesity.) 

• I sat down and just focused solely on eating, rather than in front of the TV or while doing something else?

• I ate something, really enjoyed it,  and then didn’t feel guilty about it afterwards

• I proactively ate to avoid hunger, rather than waited until I was starving and then ate the first things I could lay my hands on?

• I was at my ideal weight and can recall what happened in my life around that time?

• I listened to what my own body suggests instead of trying to fit into some new general dieting fad’s view of the world

• I thought about happens immediately before I indulge in unnecessary eating? What am I feeling, thinking and doing?

• I thought about what happens after I have indulged in unnecessary eating? What is the predominant thought, feeling or emotion? What do I tell myself?

If you do nothing more, I urge you to sit down and think about these in the context of your own life. It can be helpful to keep a log of the details from the last two bullet points for 7-10 days to really help you understand these in more detail. You can then identify ways to change where they need to be made. When you have identified the patterns that pertain to you, then find a therapist who can help you change it for the better.

I can highly recommend buying and reading this book to help you understand more about why you crave food when your blood sugars (energy levels) are low. You only need to read the first 40 pages to get a good understanding of how important this concept is to getting control of your health and weight. Don’t be put off by the title, it is NOT a diet. You can pick it up pretty cheaply on Amazon market place.

The food doctor every day diet - by Ian Marber

I strongly recommend that you find yourself a therapist who works from a Human Givens Approach and deal with your issue for good.

Nick Meredith

I normally work from my office in Wansford, just outside Peterborough in the Cambridgeshire region. I also practice from the Barns at Wansford Surgery.

I am accessible from Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire and places like Peterborough, Cambridge, Oundle, Stamford, Rutland, Wisbech, Oakham, Market Deeping, Huntingdon, March, Bourne, Corby, Whittlesey, Ramsey, Spalding and Kettering. I work with clients from across the UK.