AN innovative weight management course in being brought to Perth in March.
Shrinking Thinking is the brain child of Caroline Winn and Martin Lawson, whose company, Ascent NLP, is based in Scotland, and who were so appalled at what they perceived as a lack of emotional support available for people who are continuously struggling with their weight that they decided to do something about it.
Building on their understanding of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), both coaches had a deep understanding of how effective simple behavioural changes could mean the difference between success and failure when it came to long-term weight loss.
Caroline Winn commented: “We are so used to the boom-and-bust approach to weight management – diet today, binge tomorrow – that is has become a miserable cycle for so many people who have just simply piled on the pound after successive attempts to shed some weight.
“We felt there was a big gap in how people were supported through this weight loss process and, for many people, their approach to eating can be entirely emotional so no amount of dieting, no matter how restrictive, would help in the long-term.
“We were keen to see if we could help address that gap and the feedback from our participants is, quite simply, astounding.”
The courses, which have been running in Edinburgh since 2011, are already producing multiple case studies of individuals, with long-established weight control issues, shedding those unwanted pounds with little or no requirement to embark on what would traditionally be considered a ‘diet’.
Anna (name changed), one of the course participants, commented: “Since signing up for Shrinking Thinking in September, I have seen a great improvement in my addictive eating.
“I even have a name for it! Before the changes that Shrinking Thinking has brought about in my outlook. I felt powerless, a 44 year-old sinking ship! Couldn’t get myself and my health on my own agenda – I put my kids, husband, family, friends, the pets, the house… first.
“I think I might even have been waiting for someone to do it for me! That’s a bit crazy, but it’s almost what the investment in Shrinking Thinking has meant. I’m physically lighter!
“Fewer biscuit binges have led to weight loss. My target is to rediscover a healthy appetite for nutritious foods – to have eating behaviour optimal for my body needs – not because of cravings and external events and inner emotional turmoil!”
Linda (name changed), another participant, also commented: “I was fed up of dieting and failing to sustain a healthy weight and aware at some level that I hold my own key but I was having trouble connecting it to the lock!
“I now feel more hopeful of my waistline shrinking; that’s only part of it for me though, to identify and address my emotional relationship with food underpins my success.”
Running for six months, the course represents a sizable time commitment for both the participants and coaches; however, it’s this investment which the team at Shrinking Thinking believe makes all the difference.
Adds Caroline: “During those six months we run two full day workshops and follow them up with six one-to-one coaching sessions for each of the participants and we focus on helping them set and meet their goals individually.
“Compare that to an hour invested every week in just weighing yourself in public at a meeting and it undoubtedly delivers excellent value for money.”
The longer-term goal is to roll out the weight control programme nationwide, and with obesity levels in the UK on the rise, it will be welcomed into the growing mix of weight loss programmes already in existence, particularly when the long=term results are so effective.
Shrinking Thinking has a limited number of places, each costing £360, on their Perth course which starts on 31st March.
To register, call 0843 330 8729 or visit www.shrinking-thinking.co.uk
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