Has anyone lost weight through counselling?

[PrincessFabian]

Has anyone lost weight through weight loss counselling, coaching, NLP or similar? Or by seeing a dietitian or personal trainer?

I have tried to lose weight so many times and I can't do it. I think I need help in a number of areas:

• believing I can lose weight (hard to find any motivation when I don't believe I can succeed)
  
• cutting through conflicting advice and understanding what a healthy way of eating looks like
  
• practicle help to identify what changes I need to make and implementing them into my life
  
• accepting that I need to make changes and cutting through all the excuses I find to justify not doing certain things
  
• help to overcome self sabotage
  

I am not sure what type of professional I need to look for and how to find someone with the appropriate qualifications. I just wondered if anyone else has tried this and had any advice or recommendations.

I am so unhappy with the way my life is at the moment but can't seem to make changes by myself

[PrincessFabian]

Probably should have mentioned that I weight 20 stones +

I need to make massive lifestyle changes and I just find it completely overwhelming and don't know where to start so bury my head in the sand instead

[creampie]

CBT would be good for the negative thoughts aspect.

Dietitian and PT would be good for the food and exercise parts. A lot of good PTs do both.

[SlinkyB]

I've asked this on here recently, didn't get many replies so watching this with interest.

I'd love to be able to afford a therapist who could help me with my food issues. I reckon they'd be fab.

[PrincessFabian]

Thanks for replying
I will look at the national councilling society website for CBT practicers in my area and maybe email a few tomorrow to see if they think they can help me.

[PrincessFabian]

Hi Slinky. I am lucky that I just got a bonus for completing it a project at work so I can afford it at the moment (although the stress due to working on this project probably added at least a stone to my weight problem).
But I don't want to waste my money and I am worried that there is a bit of wanting someone else to do it for me about this desire to look for a counsellor to help. I think that I am secretly hoping that I can find a magical person who can solve all my problems without me having to do any hard work

[SlinkyB]

@PrincessFabian haha! Ditto! I recently had some gastro issues and a colonoscopy and was secretly hoping I'd have to give up wheat or something to help me lose weight. Like, if a Dr said "you must cut out this whole food group from now on" I'd do it.

Well done on your bonus, and good luck with the emails. One of my friends recently had a counsellor for depression and she said everyone should have one as they are amazing.

[sheepsheep]

I have been thinking about this recently too, but don't really know where to start.

I had counselling in the past which worked wonders for the issues it was addressing, but it was expensive. I know that my weight and issues with food are habitual and strongly emotional, which is why I feel that some kind of therapy would help, but I do beat myself up and get very frustrated with myself. I have worked incredibly hard over the last 3 years to improve my mental health, I have been successful in some other areas in my life in that time too, but the weight is holding me back. It is just the one thing I can't seem to make any progress on.

And I also worry that I am somehow shying away from hard work, but I know I have been hard working in other aspects, so logically that can't be it, and I don't think that is it for you either. It is daunting, and I think those thoughts are just another symptom of the underlying problems.

[SlinkyB]

Just found my thread with a whole one reply on it

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3263959-Anyone-tried-CBT-therapy-for-food-addiction

And it reminded me that I've paid £6.99 for the Virtual Gastric Band app the other day and not used it yet ! So going to get my headphones and start it tonight

[PrincessFabian]

Thanks, I will update and let you know if I find someone and how it goes.

[evilharpy]

I haven't tried counselling but I have downloaded and used the Virtual Gastric Band app. It's made an amazing change to my whole way of thinking and attitude to food, and I've stopped snacking, am eating smaller portions and no longer obsessing about when my next meal is and what I should or shouldn't eat. I've lost about a stone so far without ever really trying.

I've also been having a good think about why I have food issues and have realised a few things that might have triggered it, but I think it's taken me losing interest in food to work out why the problem existed in the first place.

I listen every night when I go to bed. I fall asleep quite quickly and rarely hear it all the way through but it doesn't seem to matter.