The Complex Matter of Weight

One phrase I hear often that I tend not to correct people on is when they ask me about losing weight. The phrase itself is a bit of an oxymoron after all if you lost the weight, why would you ever want to find it again? To be more correct I like to think of it as “Releasing stored excess energy” as far as I remember (per the anatomy classes I took in school) this is a more apt description. Generally people that come seeking weight loss are either two kinds of clients;

They are seeking to lose a small amount of weight, such as a dress size, or I would say within 20-30 lbs. often small amounts of weight like this can be attributed to habits that can easily be addressed with the client’s assistance within 1 to 2 sessions.

Are folks that have a more sever weight problem they have been struggling with an (and I personally hate this word) obesity problem for many years. Weight release for obese clients is one of the most complex issue’s hypnotist’s works with. To best assist these clients we must explore how the client responds to the complex issues that ultimately attract the weight they wish to release.

It is estimated 64.5% of the Northern American population is over weight and of this 30.5% are obese (American Obesity Association). This increase as compare to previous years, is attributed to many know factors, and alarmingly this type of weight problem is appearing earlier and earlier in life for those that are being affected by it. With all available data I have seen I can only deduce this is caused by two possible reasons.

The first is that we now live in a “food environment,” in the last 50 years the availability and variety of fast foods had increased drastically; add to that the increased amount of food additives, drugs, and other toxic chemicals now found in fat cells stored in the body. I recently read a study that showed that over 500 toxic chemicals unknown prior to 1950 stored in human fat cells, and these toxins actually are responsible for making it difficult for the body to process fat naturally. I was unable to find a reference as to where this study was conducted, but if it is true then it is no wonder why weight is becoming such an increasing problem. A doctor I spoke to recently told me about an article he read about scientists in Alaska, while studying glaciers had melted some samples they had taken from glaciers and found that the water contained birth control chemicals that had been frozen in the glacial waters. Never so harshly have I ever been reminded that the earth always gives back witch we give it in the most unexpected ways.

The second reason is something that is a very touch subject at times and that is the messages we received about our bodies in very early childhood. With mothers and increasingly fathers suffering from low body image and low self image related to their physical bodies. Body image is often confused with self image and the end result of with is low self esteem. The media emphasizes thinness as ultimate beauty; anything that deviates from the “perfect” (thin) body is thus “imperfect” or abnormal. Just walk into just about any child clothing store, and on its racks you can find clothes that would normally be reserved for adults like; sequined midriffs, crop tops, bras for 5 year olds, low cut jeans to increase the distance between their tops and bottoms. Now how exactly does a small child’s tummy behave in such clothing? As it should, jutting roundly and proudly. Yet today little girls who once grinned and smacked their bellies when asked to point out where their belly button at age 3, are now sucking in their stomachs at age nine so that they “do not look so fat.”

It makes me wonder why the messages our children hear these days affect their minds in such a complex way. The answer is that the unconscious mind takes its job very seriously, and it takes to heart things that are often said off handed when the child is present but we believe they wont understand. Did you know that your memory from before birth till today is stored intact inside of this powerful store house of resources we all posses? With this being said these off handed comment like “she is going to be a big girl” or “He is going be so huge!” although the child may not understand it at the time its said, their unconscious records theses things and even thought the child many not understand the language at that time, they will understand it once they are taught and the unconscious will translate these messages back to the child at another time when they will understand them, and all of the myriad of messages, supporting or limiting, create the adult the child will become.

A child’s mind is so beautifully wide open to suggestions in the first few years and messages from parents, caregivers, role models, and even television hero’s are often taken as absolute authority. Messages received in childhood that contribute to obesity are at best complicated by the continuing experiences of being a teen and into adulthood.

One of the most common misconceptions is that a person that anyone that is overweight must eat too much. In this people often overlook the incredible power of the unconscious mind and how it plays a part in controlling a person’s weight. If the unconscious has decided that being overweight will solve a problem for them it will find a way to create the fat needed, regardless of how much one eats. Then if the individual goes on a sever diet that gives their body no choice but to release the fat, then the unconscious will respond by finding ways to sabotage that diet. To complicate this, once the unconscious finds successful ways of handling traumatic issues, it will apply this solution to many other issues that the person may face.

I think the best way to illustrate this is by an example;

The following is a case I have read about of a client that grew up in a family with 3 siblings. Her family were overweight whom use the words “stocky, chunky, chubby” to describe themselves. She had a seemingly typical upbringing and at first report a happy healthy childhood. When the client was three her youngest brother was born with a physical issue that made eating for him an issue. Suddenly all of the adults in the family were spending all of their time and attention (time that used to belong to the client) to get food into this child. Of course the more he ate, the happier they were. What did the client learn at this point? In order to be loved, you must eat. The client unconscious stepped in to fulfill the clients desires to get attention causing her to eat when ever they felt unloved.

At 4 or 5 the client was eating popcorn with an aunt they idolized that called them a “piggy” and told the client that “nice people do not eat popcorn by the handful and should eat it one piece at a time.” Now we have a child that believes they have to eat to be loved but are also called a “piggy” for doing so, and is criticized in their method of eating. A new part of their unconscious now makes them self conscious about eating and the way they eat and thusly solves the problem by having them eat in secret.

Problems in the family cause them to stay with their grandmother for a time, where they are fed cake each time they were upset. Now they learn that when they go to grandma’s house they get loved with food. Therefore if someone loves you, or you love someone, you will cook, bake, and eat with them.

As a teen the client develops breasts early and is teased often by boys about having such a great body. They are stopped on the street one day and taunted to the point they felt physically threatened. They now understand that to have a body that attracted too much attention from men was unsafe and if they were not as physically attractive they would be safer. A new part of the unconscious decides that food worked well for the other two problems and applies fat to the problem; after all if they are fat they are safe.

As a young adult they get married, has a child, and then goes on a strict diet and loses weight. Then they find themselves in an extra marital affair with their new “hot” body. That again doesn’t feel safe, so the subconscious decides if she is fat that will not happen again.

In their career, they are “hit on” by a boss that causes them tremendous stress. They are accused of sleeping their way up the corporate ladder because of how attractive they are. Again, the unconscious is reminded that if they are fat they will not have this problem and so on and son on. By now their self esteem and self image are entirely affected by their obesity. Their self confidence has taken a beating through out their entire life.

With all of these potential pitfalls that can contribute to obesity it is no wonder why in our world today that maintaining a healthy weight is so difficult for so many. Not to mention a great lack of understanding over all pervades the prevailing philosophies of our society that being over weight should be a problem that can be easily cured by a simple diet and a few encouraging words, when the truth is that our weight is a very complicated matter that can be changed but it takes dedication and commitment to change not only our perceptions of food and how much we eat, but how we view ourselves and our perceptions of what the weight we seek to release is truly a product of. Even with the assistance it is not light matter, but with the open mindedness and the willingness to change, the goal that clients seek when they ask “can you help me lose weight” can be achieved, and the results can only last for the rest of their lives.