weight loss diet

A client wrote
Help me! I thought I was finally getting a handle on my weight issue but the sugar is killing me. I had an awful day. I won't even tell you what I ate today because it is just so unbelievable. All I will say is that 90% of my food today consisted of sugar! I really, really need some help getting past these cravings. I am no doubt a sugar addict. If I could get past this there is no doubt that I will reach my goal.


If you see a little of yourself in this message
you're not alone. Many describe themselves as sugar addicts. They believe if it were only for that one thing
then they could reach their weight loss goals. If you believe only one thing stands in your way of losing weight
consider this: What if that one thing (an addiction to sugar for instance) were gone? Do you really believe
If I could get past this, there is no doubt that I will reach my goal,
or is it an easy excuse to stay stuck?

If I told you I could show you a way to stop craving sugar
would you want me to show you how?

Think about that for a moment. Close your eyes and really think it through. You've said if only you didn't crave sugar
then you could lose weight
but is that really true for you? Ask yourself these questions:

Would you eat differently
and if so how?

Would you act differently
and if so how?

What else would change
and what would stay the same?

What would you lose?

What would you gain?

Until you know what you want
know you can achieve it
and know what else will change (i.e. how your life may be different)
you can't discover any obstacles that first must be considered. For instance
you may want to stop eating anything after 7 PM yet your husband doesn't come home from work until 8 and he wants you to join him for dinner. That's an obstacle.

If you've got a habit of watching your favorite TV show with a bowl of ice cream
then breaking that habit is another obstacle.

If you don't work out ways to overcome your obstacles perhaps through discussion and compromise with your husband
or habit breaking exercises for your ice cream habit
there's bound to be a problem. Just saying you're not going to do something any mroe rarely works. Instead determine what might stand in the way of achieving your goals
find a way around them
and you're much more likely to actually achieve those goals once and for all.

The statement
if this one thing were handled, then everything else would fall into place
is an "If Then" statement and gets people into trouble. They want a fairy godmother to make it all better. A strong belief that one single thing such as
eating sugar is my problem,
sets you up to fail
especially if you really like eating sugary foods.

Getting a handle on your cravings is not an all-or-nothing proposition. You must leave room for occasional deviations. It's not the occasional side trip that causes weight trouble
it's the road we usually travel.

In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) a good starting point is the exercise called Establishing a Well Formed Outcome. "Well formed" means it meets all criteria of a well thought-out end result.

NLP: How to Create a Well Formed Outcome & Get What You Want

Here are the steps to creating a well formed outcome:

1) State what you want (not what you do not want). "I want to weigh 135 pounds."

2) Determine whether you can achieve it (do you believe it is possible?).

3) What resources do you have and what do you need (time
money
gear
clothes
equipment
coaching
whatever).

4) Check whether anyone else is involved and any potential obstacles that may come up regarding others. Think of everyone involved in your day-to-day life.

5) Picture yourself "as if" you've obtained what you say you want and see if that picture fits. Do you like what you see?

6) Put together a plan of action for the achievement of your outcome.

While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want
going through these steps at the beginning helps you find potential obstacles which previously stopped you from moving forward. For example
if you decide you want to join a gym and start exercising every day but you've forgotten you don't even own a car and just lost your job
that exercise plan might not work out right now. If you did join a gym
you'd end up not going and then you'd think you'd failed
yet it was the plan that failed
not you. You didn't think it through.

A better plan in this instance may be doing exercises at home
or within walking distance (or simply walking for exercise). Later
when you do have transportation
you can rethink the plan and perhaps join a gym then. There are always options.

It's better to look at what you want from every angle
then put together a plan you know can and will work. Then when you know what you want
you'll also know you can make it happen and begin by taking that first step toward making it a reality.

"Achieving a Well Formed Outcome" is one of the sessions in the Ending Emotional Eating 8-Week Workshop. You can also find more information on this popular and well known NLP process by searching for "NLP Well Formed Outcome" in your favorite search engine.