Over the last few months the national media have been hot on referring to me as the Simon Cowell of Slimming and at first I was a little confused as to why. But when you get underneath it I guess I see where they are coming from. Mr Cowell for me is a straight talker, he sees through the waffle, and he doesn't suffer fools gladly, something we share in common. And to be likened to a man that is massively talented is of course an honour. But I am left wondering how this aligns to weight loss. Well I guess given I am the first to make it clear that overweight folk need to own their body, ditch every excuse from the cookbook as well and take action without whinging, makes it all pretty honest and to the point. I have no time for allowing my own clients to drown their sorrows in platefuls of chocolate fondants and to be frank I think that the pink and fluffy approach to weight loss actually encourages people to stay fat.
Therapists need to get more direct
My opinion is that one of the biggest problems of the therapy world is that all too often they love to sit fat clients who are desperately looking for support to lose weight in a therapy chair, and analyse why they choose to eat platefuls of junk and let the comfort of the sofa feed their backside. It has all got far too analytical! Don't get me wrong, this is balanced by those therapist who want to help the client get a result fast without spending endless time talking childhood, and they do get fabulous results. Plus to be fair when I qualified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist I tried to do all that analytical baloney and it's not surprising that the clients often remained fat. Yes, the old analytical pink and fluffy, let's look into your childhood piffle, did nothing but depress the client even more and stroke their fat. I soon found what was needed was a stronger, more direct, motivational, let's sort it right now kind of approach. That is when I founded the Authoritarian & Motivational Hypnotic Weight Loss System that is now bleaching out fat excuses, and driving clients to lose weight week after week by driving their motivation through the roof.
What every fat person needs
So what does years of experience tell me about how best to help unhappy, overweight, desperate folk? Well, one thing that is for sure is that the vast majority do not want to be wrapped in cotton wool and taken on some psycho analytical journey. Far from it! In fact I often think it can be the therapist themselves that needs a bit of that stuff. No, being a fat person (and I used to be one of them), means the therapist needs to deliver five elements of support:
1. An immediate injection of inspiration and optimism so the client feels they are instantly motivated. Overweight clients are looking for therapists that are radiators, not drains!
2. A range of practical motivational tools that ensure the client is kept on track, remains enthused and continues to lose the unwanted weight week after week.
3. A therapist that is themselves practicing what they preach rather than driving the do as I say, not what I do. Therapists treating weight loss clients, in my opinion, should not be fat themselves.
4. Strong powerful and motivational suggestions that inspire the clients mind unconsciously so that they feel in control of food as opposed to encouraging a client to stay relaxed.
5. Bags of laughter and fun along the way as well as a bit of finger wagging to ensure the client stays on track. Who wants to pay for a dull therapeutic process?
So, I wonder if Simon would agree. That, is for another day.