Emma’s case study
Are you prepared to do the internal work to make lasting changes and lose weight for the last time?
Emma came to see me because she found that her weight kept going up every year even though she was constantly on a “diet”.
After years of trying the latest diets and fitness programmes, she realised that maybe it is time to stop looking for a quick fix. Like most of my clients, Emma wanted a different approach to weight loss other than another “diet”.
Like so many of my clients, after the first session with me, they are puzzled, as they expected specific guidelines, structure and instructions on how to follow this “diet”.
Instead, I give my clients challenging emotional assignments, I ask them to reflect on emotions and triggers, I teach them mindfulness, help them to distinguish between emotional and physical hunger, and how to tune into their thoughts around their relationship with food.
In our first session I asked Emma, what are her reasons for wanting to lose weight. Straight away she said, “I want to fit into a size 12 by the time I go on holidays”. I asked her, “what happens then, once you have achieved that goal?’ She said, that this has always been her goal in the past. I asked her, how did that work for her. She told me that once or twice she achieved that goal, but as soon as she did, she went back to old habits and regained all the weight and some more. On other occasions, she would give up before reaching her goal, as she was fed up of depriving herself.
So, we explored what other reasons she might have to lose weight. She found this really challenging. To help her along, I asked her, what would your future look like if you don’t lose weight and what things will you be able to do once you lost weight that you can’t do right now, in your personal life, work life etc.
And this was only session one, the start of the internal work that was to come for Emma.
The way I work with my clients is not to give them an external cue by telling them what to do and what not to do, but rather help them work through internal issues. This will help to solve the underlying issues and allows for change to take place. I believe everyone has their own wisdom and their answers of what works for them. It is not up to me to tell every client what they need to do, but rather explore what they think will work for them.
During the programme, Emma worked on reconnecting with her physical body. During this process she started to understand the difference between emotional and physical hunger and how she deals with them. She also started to do some exercise, but that was her choice at the time and not something that is prescribed to her. Every client is different, and I help and support each one of them to find their own answers to what it is they need. This builds confidence and allows for regaining control over their actions as many of my clients feel they are out of control and have lost confidence in their ability to ever gain control back.
After connecting to the physical body, Emma and I started to work on her emotions. This can be quite challenging as many people who struggle with weight, suppress their emotions by eating. It is a new skill for many to really tune in and feel their emotions and not be scared of them. I give my clients the tools and support to help them in this process, and those tools are not just for weight loss, but they teach you how to handle your emotions in a healthy and life changing way.
All of this is hard work and Emma told me after she completed the 8-week programme, that had she known at the start of the programme where it would take her and the internal work she completed, she might not have signed up for it. But she also said, this would have been the biggest mistake of her life. She told me, not only has she lost weight and feels full of energy, she has also found her mental wellbeing has drastically improved using the tools from the programme.
As you can see, the Mind over Body Weight Management Programme™ is not a diet that tells you what to do and not do. It is much more than that and requires you to do some work on yourself. The process will give you confidence, take away any guilt you may have and show you how to take control over your life and lose weight for the last time.
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