People Building

Weight loss clients are by far the trickiest clients to help (in my opinion) because no matter what work you do to change their attitude and feelings towards food, they still have to wait to see the real results- the decrease in their size and shape.

The fact that this doesn’t occur over night, can for some clients lead to a decrease in their levels of motivation, even though logically they know that the results will not occur quickly. Often this lack of motivation will lead to the client turning to food to comfort the feelings of disappointment, and the weight loss becomes even less possible to achieve.

Here are some ideas to help maintain the motivation to lose weight, which can be implemented for your own use, or with your clients.

Firstly, having a role model can be extremely beneficial. In NLP when setting goals, quite often the Keys to Achievable Outcomes really come in handy for ensuring all of the little details have been taken care of and considered. For example, one question in the Keys to Achievable Outcomes is “Do you know anyone who has/have you done this before.”

When I recently completed the London to Brighton bike ride (if you hadn’t heard me mention that yet you must have been living under a rock!) And a great source of motivation was that my cousin had completed it last year. Knowing this was not just a source of inspiration, it also made me think, “If he can do it, I can do it too.”

So knowing someone who has managed to achieve weight loss (or having done it yourself in the past) can be a great motivator, as not only can you ask for advice about how best to achieve it, by you can also measure your success against theirs.

Competitiveness can be a brilliant motivator- proving that you can or just to get fitter and healthier than another can be a great source of motivation that can really last.

Another motivator, is knowing that as a person, you are offering yourself the best hope of health and that you are really taking good care of yourself. Quite often people think of avoiding sugary and fatty foods as if it is a punishment. Well of course that will make the weight loss process uncomfortable and or course this will just make you think if what you can’t have all the time.

When you see the action you are taking as a reward instead of a punishment, suddenly avoiding chocolate cake seems much easier. Not having chocolate cake “because I can’t- I’m trying to lose weight” has a very different feel to “I won’t because I want the best for myself, I want what’s good for me.”

Health can also be a great motivator. Obviously most people know about the health benefits of getting their body to the correct weight. There are of course worrying symptoms that accompany being overweight and these are symptoms that are kept subdued whilst snacking on the “wrong” foods. Sometimes remembering what we want to avoid in life can be just as great a motivator as knowing what we want to achieve. Whilst is it not at all comforting to consider the negative consequences of eating unhealthy foods, it can prevent us from taking action that will later be regretted.

Other motivating factors to look out for can include:

Improving energy levels
Setting a good example to other family members
To look better and buy nicer clothes
To feel more confident and less embarrassed
To improve your sex life or relationship.

Of course it is important to consider a clients own reasons, but it’s worth asking about the quality of life they currently experience with some of the suggestions above, as realizing the greater impact that the weight is having on their lives could provide that much needed motivation to keep going, even when the pounds are not falling off every week.

By Gemma Bailey
www.gemmabailey.co.uk