WEIGHT LOSS, FITNESS & EMOTIONAL EATING

For all of you who’ve written in to ask if our guided imagery for Weight Loss is the silver bullet you’ve been looking for your whole life long (and we do get a surprising number of these queries), I have to sadly reply, no, a silver bullet, it’s not.

It’s true that some people have lost a lot of weight with this imagery, often in conjunction with a behavioral weight loss program, and sometimes just by itself. In fact, a small pilot study at Canyon Ranch showed that those who added this imagery to their regular program doubled their weight loss, when compared to a control group that just listened to music. And the legendary Green Mountain at Fox Run fitness program uses our Weight Loss imagery as a matter of course.

But it’s highly variable from person to person, and others don't lose weight. Some achieve weight loss plus a bonus of greater self-esteem; some don’t lose much weight but gain a much more positive body image and feel much more energized, focused and strong.

The Weight Loss imagery is one of our best, if I do say so myself. It includes some dynamic imagery on the biochemistry of converting fat into energy, and it addresses the emotional eating and addictive eating issues, too. But it won't make weight loss happen automatically - you have to be involved - mind, body and spirit, as they say.

So it's still going to have to be you setting your intention to be more fit and healthy; drinking a lot more water than you’re used to; and getting your gym shoes on and getting out there, even though the imagery can and probably will help you feel more motivated to get moving and feel the pleasure of your muscles working.

The weight loss audio can also make you feel less interested in eating unhealthy foods. Several people have reported that their usual delight in fatty food was gone, and instead, it felt unpleasant and greasy on their tongues. They'd never noticed that yucky coating of fat in their mouths before using the imagery. But that takes paying attention - eating consciously.

Others became much more aware of sensations of fullness, because the imagery encourages much greater body awareness and a deeper, more collaborative relationship with the body. But again, you have to be mindful enough to notice.

The Weight Loss imagery definitely has a track record for decreasing the impulse to eat compulsively, out of anxiety or depression, because it's a calming, uplifting and empowering experience for most people. But you can't expect to become a calm, uplifted person after listening just once or twice - this is a kind of "therapeutic brainwashing" that cumulatively reprograms your thinking and attitudes with repeated use. You get better and better able to "self-regulate" over time - i.e., soothe yourself quickly and easily when you get anxious or depressed - with internal images. It won't eliminate anxiety or depression - just give you the tools to handle it when it shows up. And those tools will get more and more automatic over time.

Some people get rolling right away. Others might spend weeks listening once a day to this imagery before they feel ready to start losing weight in earnest. Then they get on board with a behavioral program that suits them, and the imagery fuels the desire and willingness to stay with it. That's a great use for this weight loss imagery – to supply continuing motivation in the context of a whole fitness or weight loss program.

The weight loss imagery helps with self esteem and in reducing depression, too. That's what we hear the most... even from severely obese people who still might have trouble losing weight (it's harder to lose after the first 25 pounds – it’s a different kind of metabolic issue, once you've reached a certain mass of weight), but find themselves more confident, energized and loving toward themselves.

But when all is said and done, it's still you who will need to shift some of your behaviors and habits; you'll be the one who will have to make good use of the hope, energy and esteem that's been kicked loose.

In fact, what we found when working with a women's weight loss group for a 20/20 segment years ago, was that the imagery did help with all of that. But perversely, some of the participants who were doing well with it just got the urge to sabotage their progress and wanted to stop listening - I believe that was after about 3-4 months, once a day (probably something called the "saturation effect" was taking place - you get sick of listening - along with some psychological resistance to the weight loss). They had to force themselves to continue listening daily (and probably only because they were being taped for national TV and they knew they'd be busted on videotape if they bailed!). Interestingly, when they forced themselves to listen, it continued to help them. So again, the tape helps, but you have to stay on top of your own inner sabotageur!

Other resources that complement the Health Journeys Weight Loss audio beautifully: Martha Howard’s superb Freeing Yourself of Excess Weight, David Illig’s skillfully rendered Ericksonian Hypnosis plus subliminal suggestions, also called Weight Loss, and Barbara Holtzman’s Conscious Eating, Conscious Living: A Practical Guide to Making Peace with Food and Your Body, which is an excellent workbook and guided meditation CD. In addition, our Healthful Sleep imagery, is a boost here – did you know that the more tired you are, the more your body wants to conserve its stores of energy? So catch those zzzzz’s!

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