Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, is a psychotherapy technique that is gaining credibility and adherents in recent years. It focuses on the habits, skills, and thinking processes of people who have successfully changed their habits. It is a very result oriented therapeutic system that many people find to be much more successful than traditional psychotherapy. NLP is a very broad system that can address a huge array of potential problems such as phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, peak performance, and stress reduction. One of the most popular uses for NLP is in changing the thinking and habits involved with weight loss.
NLP is a very successful course of action for people seeking to lose weight because it addresses the underlying issues that often lie at the base of a weight problem; confidence, self-esteem, motivation, and negative coping strategies. Focusing on and changing these underlying issues often unlocks the door to successful weight loss for an NLP therapy client. The rest of this article will summarize a few of the NLP tools that will help you lose that extra weights.
NLP presuppositions are the beliefs about how the world works that, if you truly believe, will make you feel much more empowered. For example, one of the key NLP presuppositions is that everybody already has the tools and resources they need to succeed. A good NLP therapist will help you uncover and learn how to use those resources to help you along. When it comes to weight loss, everybody knows the very simple principles that are required to be healthy; eat healthy food and get exercise. When it boils down to the basics, that is what living a healthy life consists of. Getting back to basics is a simple way to jump start your weight loss efforts.
The idea of NLP frames is that everybody has frames of reference that guide them towards taking responsibility for themselves. Many people who struggle with their weight feel that they have no control over their environment or actions. NLP therapy encourages people to “be the cause.” In other words, things happen in your life because of what you do, not to you. Taking responsibility for your level of physical activity or for the pieces of food that you put in your mouth is a powerful step toward gaining control over your weight. NLP will help you realize that you are the cause of what happens to you. Having a sense of control is extremely powerful.
NLP is very focused on creating and setting well formed goals. There are specific criteria that well formed goals must meet. Using the NLP method for creating weight loss goals makes it much more likely that they will be reached. Many people are very unclear about what exactly they are trying to do. For many, “Get healthy,” is the furthest they have developed their thinking.
NLP therapy is filled with copious formal change techniques that have shown to be very successful for people trying to lose weight. The specific techniques that your therapist will use will depend on your specific problems. For that reason, NLP is a highly individualized and unique treatment option. NLP practitioners realize that habit change requires very basic changes in thinking and action, but also that people are very unique. Because NLP focuses on results and not what should theoretically work, your treatment may be very different from somebody else, even if you’re receiving treatment for the same issue.
NLP therapy and techniques can be a powerful tool set in your quest to lose weight. If you’re having trouble losing weight on your own, it may be worth considering a consultation with a skilled NLP practitioner.
