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What happens when you stop focusing on weight

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Hypnosis can help overcome the willpower issues that many face during weight reduction efforts

I can only really speak about fatness in British culture, as that is the culture which I’ve been part of, for the last 47 years. However, I do feel that identical outcomes could be expected for any Western civilised society.

In British culture, fatness is classed as something which is easy to obtain, ‘if only you tried hard enough’. It’s often a difficult life, being fat in the UK. It can certainly be a lonely existence, living at the junction of fat bias and fat phobia, in the context of a capitalist society.

This is even more apparent at the beginning of a new year, where it almost feels obligatory to tackle habits which impact our health – and life in general. And it is at this time of year that the ‘capitalist machine’ gets going full-fury, with the (predictable) increase in fat-reduction advertising from the likes of gyms, Weightwatchers, Slimming World, Mindful Chef…the list goes on.

It doesn’t matter which way you look at it, many companies are lurking there in the shadows, just waiting to pounce on your vulnerability, come 1st January.

So, what happens when fatness is treated with a model which applies a ‘health at every size’ rule? Read on the find out.

  1. We end the annual obsession with weight and size versus health.
  2. We turn our back on the dangers of ‘fat bias’.
  3. We start to allow ‘health at every size’. In the same way that people can have a healthy BMI, yet have disorders of health which are viewed as affecting mainly fat people (such as Type 2 Diabetes), people can have an unhealthy BMI, but be free of disorders viewed as affecting mostly fat people.
  4. We refuse to perpetuate dangerous obsessions.
    Such as thin-ness being the ONLY way to achieve health and fat-ness being a sure route to self-destruction.
  5. We stop telling people that their body isn’t good enough. Therefore, we reduce people’s shame and they feel better about themselves.
  6. We stop hiding our anti-fat bias as body positivity, health and wellness.
  7. We send out a message that losing weight is not just about self-discipline and poor choices made by individuals, but also involve concepts such as racism, classism and sexism.
  8. We turn our back on the racial origins of fat phobia. Fat phobia is just one more tool which can be leveraged to exert yet more vitriol towards non-white people. If you’re wondering about the link between race and size/weight, check out these statistics from the UK government https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/health/diet-and-exercise/overweight-adults/latest.
  9. We stop making assumptions, such as fat people don’t take exercise. Fact is exercise also does not lead to a healthy BMI, in the same way that people who have achieved a healthy BMI do not necessarily take any exercise. I personally know of a person who swam 5 days a week, was overweight and attended a health assessment. Only to open the completed report and find that the nurse had stated ‘rarely takes exercise’. Imagine that! I personally have seen written in my medical records that my diet is poor, with little fruit and veg. Whereas, I eat a minimum of 5 fruit and veg a day – probably more than the person who wrote that comment in my medical notes! I hadn’t even been asked any questions about my diet…assumptions were based just on my appearance.
  10. We stop setting health goals that set us up for failure. Research shows that 95% of people who lose weight, regain that weight (and often more). It is better to focus on elements of our lives which could be expected to lead to an increase in nutrition and which have health benefits we can control. Such as:
    – Taking ‘x’ amount of exercise.
    -Cooking ‘y’ number of healthy meals a week.
  11. You stop sending your metabolism on a brutal rollercoaster ride. When you diet, your body enters a restrictive state, whereby it ‘holds onto’ the calories that it does receive, making the person re-gain the weight that was lost. Sometimes, the person ends up even heavier than they were before they dieted.
  12. We release ourselves from the stress response that was induced by starvation. Dieting can cause your body to mount a stress response, because it is preparing you to deal with a potentially life-threatening situation. This stress response can lead to issues such as reduced pain-tolerance.
  13. We acknowledge that although people can make healthy choices, weight and health is determined by more than a person’s lifestyle choices.

A better way forward?

So, does this mean that we shouldn’t set new year’s resolutions? Well yes, and no. While resolutions typically involve setting unachievable goals, which will never be realised, it is possible to set better, more achievable goals. For example:

  • By the end of January, I will be making a nutritious meal from scratch, once a week.
  • By the end of March, I will learn how to make one new meal each week.
  • By the end of January, I will have committed to an exercise routine which is sustainable and affordable.
  • By the end of March, I will be drinking a minimum of 1.5 litres of water a day.
  • By the end of January, I will be eating vegan one day a week.
  • By the end of February, I will do some guided meditation for 30 minutes a day.

The key to setting achievable goals, is to first consider what healthy looks like, to you and identify your priorities. Some people will feel the need to include mental health in that picture, some people will not include that in their plan and therefore will not prioritise it. And that’s ok!

But I still want to lose weight…

And if you still want to commit to losing weight, that is ok too – but make a commitment to following a weight loss plan which is sustainable in the long term.

We’re obviously biased, but we believe it is best to follow a weight loss plan that works with your body, not one which sees you constantly battling with it and trying to make it fit your life. Weight loss via hypnosis sees you using your body’s natural hunger-fulness signals to eat just the right amount of food that is right for you. And why wouldn’t that work, because it bases your eating on the same skills method that a newborn baby uses to achieve and maintain a healthy body size.

Click here to find out more about The Slimming Guru, our weight loss hypnosis programme which we developed to re-set your own natural weight management tool.

Next steps

We offer hypnotherapy both online and face to face, as well as in your own home, if you’re a blue badge holder living within approx’ 10 miles of WF14 9ED.

To book, just send us your availability over the next 10 to 14 days and we’ll set up an initial consultation, to see how we can help you move on with your life:

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About us

We are Hypnotic Universe (formerly Mirfield Hypnotherapy Centre) and we help you use the power of your own mind to achieve your goals, and live the life that you want.

Disclaimer

We do our best to provide suggestions based on our experience as hypnotherapists and using nationally recognised good quality health education material, such as that provided by the NHS (UK). Information contained on our site does not constitute medical advice and is not intended to replace medical advice. You should speak to your doctor about any health concerns that you have and before making any radical changes to your lifestyle and health and fitness goals, including your quest to reach those goals.