This case study involves a weight loss client named “Marsha”. Marsha came to see me because she had been attempting to lose “the same twenty-five pounds” for many years with limited success. She would lose the weight but then gain it back again over the next few weeks or months. When I asked her what she had done in the past to solve this problem, she said that she had “tried EVERYTHING.”

Treatment

“Hmmm, ” I thought to myself, noting her generalizations and the word “try” but chose not to comment upon them, at least not yet. What I was more interested in that point early point in our meeting was her motivation. “Why do you want to lose weight,” I queried. Marsha had a long list… feeling uncomfortable in her clothes, lack of energy, her fear of diabetes and constant joint pain. What was becoming clear was that she had an “away from” motivational meta-program. (No wonder she wasn’t having lasting success with weight loss: her mind was always focused on exactly what she didn’t want!!)

Noting this, I decided that an important part of our work that day would be to change the direction of her strategy so that it would be “towards” her goal. After gathering more information, I asked if she be willing to play an imagination game. She agreed. I asked her to close her eyes and imagine what it would be like to actually weigh 25 pounds less. “Where would there be less of you on your body? How would it feel? What are you saying to yourself? What are others saying to you?” I wanted her to really experience what it would be like to actually BE in that thinner, healthier body.

At first, it was very difficult for Marsha to do this. Eventually, she was able to imagine having a flatter, more toned belly. With more prodding, she reported feeling lighter and more flexible. She also said that her mind was quiet and less self-critical when she imagined herself thin. I did the swish pattern over and over again, each time allowing Marsha to fully associate into that thinner, healthier body. Once there, I anchored that state, saying “And perhaps each time you do this, you are becoming more aware of just how easy this (purposefully ambiguous) is to achieve.”

I spent our remaining time together, explaining how the subconscious mind works and why it was so important to get her imagination excited about her new, “towards” goal. I could tell that she was “getting it” because her posture perked up and there was a nice color change in her face. I then suggested that she visualize herself walking thin, talking thin and acting thin at least 15 times a day for the next two weeks. I added, “And because you now understand all these things… you’re going to find it natural, almost effortless, to incorporate this visualization into your daily routine.”

When I next saw Marsha she was oozing with excitement and pride. She reported that she dutifully did her visualizations fifteen, sometimes twenty times a day. The result: she was eating slower, finding herself feeling fuller faster and now drinking more water (instead of soda).

I asked her if she wanted more success. Having already lost five pounds, she was eager to learn more. Nodding my own head, up and down, I said “So then naturally you are going to keep doing what I ask you to do… right?”

I asked her if she was exercising. Her response, “No, I don’t have time. “Hmmm, that’s an interesting response ” I thought to myself. Over the next several minutes I elicited her values hierarchy and discovered why “having no time” was the case. “Family” and “Career” were at the top of her list of priorities but “Health and Fitness” was number six! The job of our second session together was now clear: change her priority meta-program so that physical activity would be higher on her list. Over the next twenty minutes, I asked Marsha to consider how taking better care of her physical body, would allow her to be a better mother and role model for her girls as well as more effective at work. I seized every opportunity I could to re-emphasize that point, repeatedly saying something like, “So you have a lot of good reasons exercise… don’t you?”

I saw Marsha two more times over the next three months and by our last visit together she was close to reaching her goal. More importantly, she felt empowered and confident that she had solved this challenge for good, for her, her career and her family’s good!

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