I had my hypno gastric band 'fitted' by Paul McKenna last night...

[lynniep]

...so far so good! Admittedly its not even 11am yet, but I havent eaten my snacks which are sitting on my desk and not even tempting me! Normally I don't allow myself anything till 10am, then I pounce!

I am doing this in conjunction with weightwatchers, which Paul McKenna would not approve of, since he despises 'diet clubs' (boy does this come through loud and clear in his book).

However since I don't know the man personally, and I feel I need the WW sessions for support, I am carrying on with pro- pointing and hoping that my gastric band will provide the backup I need to not binge and eat more than my body needs.

I've been (back) on weightwatchers for several months now and failed miserably because I am both a compulsive eater and a (hopefully) reformed bulimic.

I'd like to think this will help me - and I'm willing to try it because I am now as heavy as I was just after I gave birth to DS2 3 years ago (my heaviest, unless you count when I was 40 weeks pg!)

If anyone is interested I will report back :)

[angelabbie]

Can I ask how often you are supposed to listen to the CD, cannot seem to find the answer in the book. I read on the internet you listen to it for five days straight but I have not done that.
x

[ledkr]

I've been using the free app on my I phone. Have to listen to it once a day which is hard as its half an hour which I find hard to find but if I do it at bedtime I fall asleep
So actually I've not listened to it much but I too am doing better with food. Eating slowly and stopping when full. I have eaten really well today. Going to keep it up and ill let you know if its working.
I love it though its soooo relaxing.

[chinhealer]

I will add to the chorus of approval for the Golden Rules, at least. I bought the Hypnotic Gastric Band book on a whim in ASDA last Monday. Pretty much the best seven quid I've ever spent!
I read the book very quickly, but didn't listen to the CD for a few days. As soon as I started to follow the Four Golden Rules, there was a transformation in my eating.
I have always been overweight as an adult and have had many years of very poor food choices on top of the healthy ones! And I have always exercised a fair amount. Recently, I have exercised more than ever as an adult. (Swimming, walking, gym and chi kung.) But that has never been enough. I was, basically, addicted to chocolates and crisps and puddings and etc. And my portion sizes were huge. These were the main reasons for my weight.
All of that had led me to being my heaviest ever as of a week ago. But as soon as I began to follow the Golden Rules to the letter, I instantly eliminated crisps and chocolates and snacks and almost all ready meals from my diet. My portion size took a nosedive and has, for a week, been - without exception - a third of what it had been previously. The amazing thing is that all of this has been completely effortless! I've not craved anything. I've not suffered from excessive hunger. I don't feel as if I've used any willpower at all. I haven't needed to! I've just stuck religiously to the rules. I eat when I'm hungry. I eat exactly what I want. I focus on my food exclusively. (By eating either alone or in near-silence when with others. And away from all distractions such as TV and radio and reading material etc. And by savouring every single mouthful, by chewing a minimum of 20 times.) And when I am full, I stop eating. (Actually, the vast majority of the time, I've stopped when I was pleasantly satisfied on McKenna's Hunger Scale.) Almost immediately, by following these no-brainer rules, I have learned how to listen to my body's satiety signals and have found immediate improvements in my health and wellbeing and energy levels.
For me, this has been miraculous. And I believe it is totally sustainable in the long-term, which 'diets' just aren't - at least, they aren't for me. I haven't felt the need to use the Havening technique beyond the initial instruction when reading the book. I've listened to the hypnosis a couple of times, but I had already transformed my eating by the time I got to that.
I'm not obsessively weighing myself. I have a meeting with my weightloss consultant at my GP's surgery in a week's time. I'll get the proof of the no-pudding then!
But I really don't need scales to tell me what I already know. That my attitude to food has changed beyond all recognition, that my body is already changing dramatically and that I have found what is, for me, the Holy Grail that will lead me to a healthy weight and healthy diet for the rest of my life.
I hope my experience will encourage some of you to take this book seriously. Do read it from cover to cover. And do implement the Four Golden Rules. For me, the hypnosis has been (almost) irrelevant. Some of you may benefit more from that. But I truly believe that the vast majority of people can achieve healthy, permanent weightloss just by sticking to the rules.

[angelabbie]

Hi chinhealer,
Wow what an amazing post and really inspiring. I am on my second week and had what I would term as a hungry day yesterday. I had a cheese and salad sandwich, some bran flakes, a small portion of fish and oven chips at teatime with the kids and a peanut butter sandwich in the evening at 8pm. I ate with my eyes shut and ate mindfully. I was def hungry and stopped when I was full. Does that sound like a lot of food?? The other days prior to that I was not hungry and three small meals was enough for me. I listened to the CD again last night so maybe that will help.
x

[NotHerRealname]

Hi everyone. How are you all getting on ? I am day 4.
I must say I am quite amazed at the results of this so far. I fitted mine on Sat, and since then I have really struggled to use all of my 26 WW points. I get comfortably full so much quicker than before. This morning I had to force down one and a half slices of toast. I do wonder if I need to eat a bit more though as after walking the school run this morning I felt a little weak. So I have just had a lovely hot chocolate and I feel fine again. Its the big weigh in tonight so I will let you all know.
I think one of the nicest things about this system is the fact that no-one need know you are doing it. I am very conscious to never let my young Ds know that I am watching my weight as I worry it might affect her body image later on! With this way, she does not have a clue!

[chinhealer]

Hi angelabbie,
That's very kind of you! I'm more astonished than anyone (apart from my open-jawed nearest and dearest!) at how simple and how game-changing McKenna's approach has been for me.
I'm surprised that you classify Monday as a 'hungry day'! What you ate seems like a very modest toll of food! Of course, much depends on one's own size and metabolism and activity levels etc, but I don't think what you ate could be seen as excessive. And, anyway, the whole point of McKenna's rules is not to prescribe how many calories or how much food you are 'allowed to get away with' on any particular day. You eat (consciously and in a focused way) when you are hungry, you stop when you're full, you learn to tell the difference between the two and Bob's your uncle!
I've been blogging about my newfound diet-that-isn't-a-diet on wordpress

cheeriofatty.wordpress.com/

and taking pictures of every single meal (actually, every single thing I consume apart from water and a few cups of coffee/tea.) I find I am able to have a very clear perspective on what it is I've eaten that way. And, even though I don't feel I need this incentive, I am aware that anything I eat is going to be staring me - and the world - in the face on the blog come the end of the day. And I'm averse to providing major multinational food manufacturers of choccie bars and crisps with any free publicity!
It sounds like you've done very well indeed already if you're having a guilt-trip about a modest amount of food in a single day! But, actually, I'd encourage you not to feel any guilt at all. Half of McKenna's point is that diets and the diet and slimming industry's MO is to make you feel guilty and fearful and unhappy with your food choices and body etc. But his approach is to make you feel great about yourself and what you are doing. Without banning any foods at all. Happy people make happy and sensible food-and-portion choices. So it becomes a virtuous cycle.
As for the hypnosis CD, by all means listen to it whenever you feel the need. But I reckon you're strong enough to stick to the rules without worrying about it too much.
Good luck!

[chinhealer]

Hi NotHerRealname,
I understand your eagerness to avoid passing on any body-image/dieting issues to your daughter. But I'd say that with McKenna's approach, you are not really watching your weight so much as being mindful of how you eat and mindful of your body's communications with you. And synchronizing with your body's natural feelings of hunger and satiety. And surely these are lessons worth passing on to your daughter?
It's a little concerning that you have been feeling weak. Again, as I understand it, the whole point of McKenna's way is that you should eat when you are fairly hungry and well before you are ravenous or feeling faint/weak.
And I'm not sure we should ever be at a stage where we have to 'force down' any food at all. I could be wrong, but that suggests that you were not hungry at breakfast time, but felt you should eat toast anyway?
I've never been to Weight Watchers or any other such club. So I can't comment on their benefits. But I wonder whether McKenna might well be spot-on in denouncing them for not only failing, but actually making things worse for people by making them obsess about points and calories and treats and pounds and kilograms etc?
At any rate, I hope you do stick to the Four Golden Rules. They are so simple, yet so magically effective!

[Dottiespots]

Hi Chinhealer.... come over to our thread Happy New Year Happy New Paul Mckenna Thread Number 11....we are all about the four golden rules and the ladies have been doing this since seeing PM on stage two years ago. Were on thread number 11 and the ladies all live by the "Rules" and we dont do the Gastric Band. In fact I myself strongly disagree with it as Paul McKenna originally was against Gastric Bypass Hypnosis and he believed it was a gimick that didnt deal with the causes of overeating and was ultimately doomed to failure. But as you say with the Rules you really cant ever go wrong and it is a common sense way of eating that is the way slim people eat automatically. Hope to see you on the thread.

[angelabbie]

hi chinhealer, you are right of course but I have been so used to a diet that I feel as if I am going backwards a little as my old diet was much healthier food wise. I am taking Paul literally and eating what I fancy but strangely have not been at all interested in chocolate, sweets or cakes etc which is unlike me lol. I have about a stone and a half to lose. I have to say I like eating this way, being mindful, its quite relaxing in itself. Its just getting used to not being on a diet.
Thanks for the encouragement.

[angelabbie]

oh I have just taken a look at your blog, can I come and live with you?? Food looks amazing lol.

[AnnieLobeseder]

angelabbie - the book says to listen to the CD once a month until you've been at your target weight for 6 months.

And your "hungry day" food sounds very light - not a lot of food at all. Be sure to eat enough - under-eating is as unhealthy as overeating and can make you lose weight more slowly, ironically.

[chinhealer]

angelabbie - I'm also taking McKenna literally, but what I fancy is home-cooked meals on the whole. A few days ago I had a ready meal for logistical/convenience reasons. And even though I stuck to all the rules perfectly, I found that I didn't enjoy every single mouthful in the way that I have done with all of the home cooking. I actually felt as if I had cheated myself and had settled for second best! If anything, I wished I had gone for a cobbled-together salad or somesuch instead! And I know, instinctively, that I will get the same, disappointed feeling if I eat a Bounty or a Caramac or whatever instead of the absolutely gorgeous and sensual (!) and endorphin-releasing persimmons (and other fruit) that I have been savouring so happily!
In other words, I believe my body (and yours!) wants and needs the healthier stuff anyway. It does not truly want and need the rubbish that it has been taught to 'like' over decades of bad habits.
And in terms of diets, I think one of the problems with them is that they encourage us to defer to an external authority regarding what is good and bad for us and what is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of healthy eating. Whereas, by following the Golden Rules, I think we can teach our bodies to become the ultimate authorities on what to eat and when. I know this process has begun very well for me and it looks like your own body is getting into the swing of things too! (By showing a lack of interest in the chocs and sweets and cakes.)

[chinhealer]

Oh, and thanks for the compliments on the food I've been lucky enough to consume this past week, angelabbie! I have a talented Mother and friends and etc. Nearest and dearest is also a very talented cook, but
a. She hasn't actually cooked any of the meals of mine that you've seen and
b. She might have something to say about your moving in!

[chinhealer]

Hi awsangel! Thank you for the invite! Sounds like a thread with its head screwed on properly! (Although nobody seems to be around much today.) I'll have a proper read later.

[TheMaskedHorror]

I listened to the cd 2 nights ago.
I'm not sure its working for me but I am bfing a 3 month old who seems to be going through a growth spurt at the moment. I've been up pretty much every couple of hrs at night and am wrecked during the day.

Yesterday I ate a bowl of porridge for breakfast and I was full. Normally I'd have toast too.
I had 2 little samosas as a friend bought them round and they were delicious ( I ate them very mindfully!), 2 home made biscuits and a banana when I was hungry but didn't have time to make any food due to clingy baby.
Then I had 2 thick slices of toast with almond butter and a bowl of miso soup with mushrooms and spinach for dinner.
I was hungry again later so had another banana, still hungry so had a mango sorbet.
Er I don't think I made very good choices but it wasn't a normal day where I could do proper cooking.

I can't tell if the cd worked or not.

[angelabbie]

Hi chinhealer and Annie

Tell your wife not to worry my hubby seems to think I am a good cook too but I would not have a clue where to start with the sort of food you are eating. It really does look delicious so I am going to find some interesting recipes online today. I think Annie you and chinhealer are also right in that I am not eating very much food. I am still confused as to when I am full up so I am going to have a bigger portion of food with each meal today and see if I can recognise the feeling correctly.

[chinhealer]

@angelabbie - Phew!

In terms of vegetarian Indian recipes (and a fair number of other cuisines too) ... Tarla Dalal is very good and pretty comprehensive.

www.tarladalal.com/

She also has videos to help you get started. Practically all supermarkets these days have a decent selection of spices and other specialized ingredients.

Happy cooking!

[angelabbie]

Thanks for the link, I will have a good look later. I had my first weigh since starting (this is my second week) and have lost 1 kilo so am very pleased with that. No cravings for anything as yet which is so nice and I seem to be enjoying food again. Hope everyone is doing well.

[AnneEyhtMeyer]

Hi all, can I join?

I was lucky enough to get the book free from Mumsnet, as I was one of the women in the Google Hangout.

I read the book a few days ago but have actually been really nervous about starting, so only installed the band this morning.

I am a bit concerned I might have fallen asleep during the installation, or maybe I was just really hypnotised, because I came round when he did the wake up countdown. I suppose I'll have to see if it works or if I have to listen again.

[angelabbie]

Hi Anne and welcome.
I dont think it matters if you fall asleep, I did the both times I listened to it and for me it is working. See how you feel after the next few days.
Good luck.

[AnneEyhtMeyer]

Thanks angel. Well so far today I have eaten less than I ever have, I think! I have just not been hungry, and yet on a normal day I would have eaten loads by now and have been constantly thinking about food.

[BabyRoger]

Hi Everyone

Can I join in?

I just ordered the book so waiting for it to arrive :)

[ledkr]

anne I fall asleep during mine too but it seems to work still.

[AnneEyhtMeyer]

That's good to know, ledkr, thanks. Have you been doing it long?

[ledkr]

About a week. Mine is an app on my I phone. Meant to listen to it everyday and its half N hour so must admit I find it hard to fit in but defo making better food choices and eating consciously.
Will do it tonight for def I bet I fall asleep it's very relaxing.