VIRTUAL GASTRIC BAND - Hypnotherapy NowVIRTUAL GASTRIC BAND METAPHOR UPDATES 2015 By Sheila Granger Clinical Hypnotherapist (UK) DHP, GHR Reg. Virtual Gastric Band Training Course

VIRTUAL GASTRIC BAND METAPHOR UPDATES 2015

By Sheila Granger Clinical Hypnotherapist (UK) DHP, GHR Reg.

Virtual Gastric Band Training Course Updates 2015

Sheila Granger

‘Think Differently’ The Beverley & Molescroft Surgery

30 Lockwood Road Beverley

East Yorkshire United Kingdom HU17 9GQ

Tel +44 1482 863659

www.sheilagranger.com Email [email protected]

http://www.sheilagranger.com/

mailto:[email protected]


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Simple Metaphoric Approaches and Suggestions to Help

Your Weight Loss Client

Welcome to the latest updates for using metaphoric approaches to help your

weight loss clients achieve their goals.

I’ve put together these complementary updates for all my Virtual Gastric Band

practitioners to help you enjoy even better success when working with your

weight loss client.

As we know, the more tailored the therapy is to the individual client, the

better the outcome. And the more tools we have in our tool box to help with

all the different aspects that the client may present with, the better.



What is a Metaphor?

Metaphor is a very creative way of helping our client to solve a problem.

Generally speaking, it's a story or an idea that parallels another pattern or

situation.

A metaphor is a way of describing someone, or something, by showing their

similarity with something else.

Metaphor was popularised by the grandfather of hypnotherapy, Milton H

Erickson, who recognised that helping a client see their situation in a new way

had a profound effect on their ability to resolve problems.

In therapy, approaching a problem metaphorically is helpful on several levels.

A metaphor seems different from the conscious concern or problem

preoccupying the client, which allows the conscious mind to relax… however,

at the same time, the pattern perceiving subconscious mind can make the

match and use the metaphor for therapeutic change.



I have yet to find a book that focuses purely on weight loss metaphors, so I’m

sure that you will find all of these examples helpful with every client you see.

I’ve adapted some creative metaphors that I have come across, and tested

their effectiveness with hundreds of clients to come up with the finished

scripts. The key is now for you to adapt them to suit your clients mind map of

the world, things they already do or can relate to in their own lives.

We all have the ability to fix our own problems, so a metaphoric approach is

often the best way to get your client to access their own inner resources to fix

their own problem. Metaphors can form an important role in helping the

‘stuck’ client view their habits in an entirely new light.

Keep making a difference.

Sheila x



Why Use Metaphors for Weight Loss?

Most of our habits surrounding food have their foundations in our childhood,

suggestions that have been made to us from a very young age.

“Eat it all up you’ll be a big boy’’

“Don’t waste food, there are children dying in Africa”.

These suggestions have been reinforced many times over, to then form part of

our belief system.

Our client needs to recognise, challenge and then adapt their belief system in

order to bring about lasting change.



Each time the client attempts a sustained change in the way they eat, they are

working against the core beliefs that have been planted and reinforced

throughout their lives.

It is often then necessary throughout our sessions to help the client become

aware of this core belief system, so that they can begin to develop new, more

helpful beliefs that will lead to a more healthy eating habit and subsequently

the weight loss they are seeking.

Metaphors need not be long and drawn out. Sometimes metaphors can be

simple phrases, repeated, to allow that repetition of suggestion to become the

client’s reality.



1. Encourage Your Client to Feel Good About Leaving Food

If the client has always been encouraged to “clear their plate” or not to

“waste” food, they can almost feel it is a bad thing to leave it, and it can be

deeply ingrained in them to continue with this behaviour. However, this

doesn’t help the client with their resolution to become slimmer and healthier.

A lot of clients have, of course, already been through all the traditional dieting

clubs, some of which encourage to eat “as much as you like” of certain foods

which only serves to reinforce those belief systems of “eating it all up”.

A lot of hypnosis weight loss programmes, including my Virtual Gastric Band

programme, are based around encouraging the client to be aware of their own

bodies instinctual signals and, more precisely the instinctual signals their

digestive system gives, when they are full so they are then able to leave the

food that they no longer need. However, if the client has a deep rooted belief

system that leaving food may be a bad thing, or to overcome the client’s



feelings that they may be being deprived or denied by doing this, a metaphoric

approach which encourages the client to feel satisfied about leaving food, can

only be a good thing.

Enjoy The Feeling Of The Leave Metaphor/Suggestion:

“There comes a point when we are eating, that our body says we’ve had

enough……. that we are comfortable….. that we don’t need anymore…….. and you

can begin to enjoy this wonderful feeling of leaving the food you no longer need…..

enjoy this wonderful feeling of leaving the food you no longer need….enjoy the

feeling of the leave.”



2. Using Your Body Like a Tired Worker

The following is a great way of relating eating habits to a client’s job, for the

client who snacks throughout the day, or a night time eater.

Tired Worker Metaphor/Suggestion:

“Perhaps in the past you’ve been using your body like some tired old

worker……..you know the feeling when your daily to do list is endless…….. and it

just goes on and on……but you work hard all day working your way through

everything…….. and you look forward to that down time at the end of the day…….

that time when all your work is done and you can just relax for a while,………so you

work hard all day……. getting through everything……… looking forward to that time

off at the end of the day,…….when everything on your to do list is done……………….

and you just about reach that point when you’re about to relax and switch

off………. when someone gives you the next thing to do……..somebody wants

something else from you………… the next demand is placed upon you……… another

job to do never getting any real time off……… and your body………. your digestive



system has been a little bit like that worker……….. never getting any real time

off……… before there is another job to do…..something else to do………another

thing to process……never getting any down time……never getting any real time

off……..and if your digestive system had a voice of its own…… I wonder what it

would say about its heavy workload…..of never getting any real time off……but you

can begin to enjoy a feeling of the spaces in between each meal……. how wonderful

it would be to have real time off…… to just enjoy that time off……. that chance to

relax, unwind………you can really begin to enjoy the feeling of giving your digestive

system real time off…….. and enjoy a feeling of the spaces in between each

meal……. giving your digestive system real time off. Enjoy this wonderful feeling of

the spaces…….in between each meal…….enjoy the feeling of the spaces……”



3. Becoming an Expert

As human beings we strive to be good at things, we don’t want to be rubbish

at something we want to be good at it, so do encourage your client to become

really good at the new habits.… to become almost an expert, a specialist. Think

about how good do we feel if we are an expert at a certain skill set? We all

want to feel special and good when we’ve worked at something, and this can

help your client feel special too.

Expert Metaphor/Suggestion

“How fantastic would it be if you could become a real expert……… a specialist at

knowing at just what point to leave the food….. because there comes a point when

we are sitting down and eating…….no matter how healthy….. tasty that food there

on the plate is……. when our bodies say that we are comfortable……that we are

full….. that really that food there on the plate just turns to fat….. fluids….. sludge…..

but you can become a real expert at just having a knowing at just what point to



leave the food…….. just before that food there on the plate turns to fat……. and

you can become that real expert, that specialist at just having that knowing.”

(It is useful at this point to get the client to mentally rehearse this

scenario in their own mind).

So I’d like you to take a moment to see yourself in your mind’s eye…… over the next

few days….. sitting down at the table…… and eating your meal,….your enjoying

every mouthful……eating slowly and consciously…… but see that you there…… just

getting that sense of having a knowing at just what point to leave the food…… see

that you there…….. and get a sense of stopping eating just as soon as you feel

comfortable……..just before that food there turns to fat…… pushing the plate away

when you feel comfortable…… and feeling so pleased with yourself……noticing how

good at this you become,……you the expert at having that knowing, and enjoying

that feeling of leaving the food you no longer need.”



4. Encouraging Listening & Responding to Instinctual Signals

Baby:

A lot of theories relate back to a new born baby having the perfect weight

control system. A new born baby only feeds to satisfy hunger, for no other

reason, but over time, we are often encouraged by parenting and social

situations to eat more than we need. So we switch off to the instinctual

signals that we responded to before we were influenced by suggestions given

by our parents. It sometimes can be useful to relay this to your client in

hypnosis, especially if they have children/grandchildren of their own.

Baby Metaphor/Suggestion

“A baby has a perfect weight control system…….. I am sure you can remember your

children when they were babies……… a baby cries when its hungry……. you give it a

bottle and when its full….. it stops feeding and spits the bottle out……. just having

what it needs……… and just like that baby you only need to put into your body just

what it needs………. stopping eating just as soon as you feel comfortable……. Really



beginning to listen and respond to those instinctual signals you did respond to as a

child……… and you can find this so easy to do……….. An instinctual signal your

body can honestly remember.”

5. Linking To Other People in Their Life They Do Respond

to Appropriately

Linking to Appropriate Other People Metaphor/Suggestion

“All the people in your life that you listen and respond to appropriately………

friends…..family……..work colleagues…… you listen to their needs and respond

appropriately…..even when you don’t really feel like it…… you do it anyway….. and

you can begin to listen and respond to that voice of your digestive system………

that is their all for your own good….. and sometimes just like when your

family……friend……..work colleagues…….. ask for something and we don’t really

feel like doing it…… you just do it anyway.”



6. Dealing with Cravings and Snacking

Cravings & Snacking Metaphor/Suggestion

“These cravings that you’ve been experiencing for chocolate…..snacking…. It’s

almost like you’ve been in a bad relationship…….. in a relationship with a bully…..

or in relationship with someone who merely poses as your friend….. Perhaps the

chocolate/snacking etc. has promised to make you feel better…. give you

comfort……. reward you for a hard day at work….. posed as your friend….. But

what friend would really reward you with bad health……. feeling uncomfortable in

your clothes…………..what friend would really reward you with that.

If one of your friends or family or children were being bullied by someone,…….or

were in a bad relationship……..or had someone who you knew was just posing as

their friend…… I wonder what you would tell them to do…… I’m sure you’d tell

them to stand up to that bully…….. tell that bully to ‘get lost’…… because each and

every time you stand up to that bully……. the weaker their hold on you

becomes……..



Each and every time you stand up to those bullying cravings…… the weaker their

hold on you becomes……. Each and every time you stand up to those bullying

cravings……… the weaker their hold on you becomes. You can become really good

at standing up to those cravings….. get good at enjoying the pleasure of saying

no……. feel good and relaxed about saying no.”



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VIRTUAL GASTRIC BAND - Hypnotherapy NowVIRTUAL GASTRIC BAND METAPHOR UPDATES 2015 By Sheila Granger Clinical Hypnotherapist (UK) DHP, GHR Reg. Virtual Gastric Band Training Course