Discussion about the week’s challenges (I’m sure you can empathize) and guided work on motivation.
Week 2 Report – Motivation
This week we started off having everyone talk about that new piece of clothing in their target size that they purchased. Lots of great new outfits were described and several people had set target dates to be in the outfits – on an upcoming birthday or a holiday. This was a timely discussion as this week was all about motivation.
In fact Week 2 is often a tough week – the elation of the first week is gone and the concept of the long-term comes back into play. Almost 50% reported some significant barrier popping up this week
- 2 talked about difficulties in social situations (wanting not to be rude or just finding the outlay of food too tempting)
- 4 felt they lost momentum or just felt they were having to “fight it” more
- others mentioned snacking, stress and pain as being triggers or issues.
The real positives were that people also reported that their motivation really helped support them through the issues and they noticed their behaviour but “beat themselves up less”. This is actually FABULOUS in two ways – because it is easier to change what we notice and it is easier to sustain the change if we don’t let our lapse discourage us.
There is a well-known model of behavioural change which has primarily been used in developing programs for changing health habits. It is called the Transtheoretical Model of Change, or more commonly “the Cycle of Change”. ( Click here if you want to read a technical article on this model.) The model is best applied to INTENTIONAL CHANGE, such as this program, and it includes the steps of Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance and (Re)Lapse. As such it makes it clear that lapses are a natural part of the cycle “do not infer failure. It simply means that change is difficult, and it is unreasonable to expect anyone to be able to modify a habit perfectly without any slips. When relapse occurs, several trips through the stages may be necessary to make lasting changes. Each time the person is encouraged to review, reflect and learn from their slips.” In other words, we may need to go around the cycle a few times to make a lasting change. In my experience this is PARTICULARLY true in the case of losing weight, due to the complexity of our relationship with food (and , to a lesser extent, exercise.)
Or as Dr. Bentham put it, much more simply “there are 21 meals in the week, if 17 or 18 were the way you wanted them, you should be very happy with yourself.” Dr. Bentham went on to cover some motivation related topics helping people think through the underlying pain and pleasure aspects of this change. And then, of course, a the hypnosis for the week followed.
Video from this session will be posted soon !
Week 1 Report
We had 10 intrepid participants arrive despite snow and snowy forecasts – one even made it over the Malahat.
The reports were GREAT - although weighing is not required until the end of the month, two people reported losing 7 lbs in the first week !! Other success reported include eating smaller meals, eating 3 meals ( some of the particpants were meal skippers), not eating snacks, really feeling that gastric band ( even to the extent of food feeling like it was riding higher) and avoiding having to finish everything, jsut becasue it was there. Here is a video of one of the participants reporting on her first week in the program:
This is wonderful – this program is all about habit changes, but it is not an overnight phenomena… so at this session ( the 2nd of 7 sessioins included in the trial) we discussed blocks and barriers and Dr. Bentham lead the group in an exploration of Cognitive Distortions and how to reframe them. Next session will be about motivation !
The Trial Has Started
Thirteen people (a baker’s dozen) meet last night and had their VIRTUAL surgery. Very exciting. They all also have a CD with a 15 minute audio to listen to twice a day.
These people are now committed to NO LONGER USING THEIR BODY AS A GARBAGE BIN.
This is the first step on the journey. And it is a journey, not a rapid weight loss program.
Read Dr. Bentham’s Report on the first session here – Surgical Success !!
Applications to be cut off at noon today
The response has been GREAT. We will be meeting early this afternoon to go through all the applications. Everyone who has applied will receive an email later this afternoon or evening. As we move through the program we will be posting impressions and results here – so if you have a continuing interest pleases stop by. You may find a special offer or two !
Application
This is the application for the Free Trial of the Virtual Gastric Band and Healthy Lifestyle program that starts January 9th, 2012.
If you have any questions please check the Home Page for more information. If your questions are not answered there, use the Contact Form – just click the bar on the bottom right and the form will open.
All information you provide is completely confidential.
— Thank you for your interest. We had to discontinue taking applications for the current progarm at noon on Friday, January 6th. However, if you are interested in furture programs, you can use the form below.—-
Fill out my online form.
Starting Off the New Year Right
Will you be one of the Lucky 12 to Participate in the
FREE Virtual Gastric Band & Healthy Life Weight Loss Program?
Dr. Bryn Bentham and Julia Anderson are SO excited to announce this free trial of our Healthy Life Weight Loss Program based on the Virtual Gastric Band . You can read our press release on this site or as distributed HERE
But probably you are here because you have already heard there is a program and now you want DETAILS. So here they are:
1. You have to apply to get into the program. The application form is on this site (use the menu option above.). The first 12 applicants that can meet our basic criteria will form the group. As soon as the program is full we will post that information here.
2. The free program runs from January 9th to March 12th, meeting 7 times in that period. All sessions are on Monday nights. The first session will run long because we have a lot to do. We anticipate 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. The last session may also run long. The rest of them will be 7:00pm to 8:30 or 9:00 pm. All meetings will be at Dr. Bentham’s office at 125 – 1555 McKenzie, between Shelbourne and Cedar Hill. There is plenty of free parking. The dates are Jan 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Feb 13 and 20 and March 12.
3. In addition to attending all the treatment sessions, participants will be expected to
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listen to an audio tape at least once ( preferably twice) DAILY for the first 28 days and then at least twice a week for the next two months. These tapes do contain hypnotic material and may not be listened to while operating machinery. The daily one is 15 minutes long and the weekly one is slightly longer.
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consent to videotaping at of expectations and results and agree to allow said videotape be used by the program sponsors on their websites and in nay other way as related to the results fo this study
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sign a Virtual Gastric Band agreement
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to be honest and up front about challenges encountered as they occur
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purchase one article of clothing that will fit them at their desired healthy weight. This the only expense associated with the program. This requirement will be discussed more at the first session.
FAQ’s
I’m not sure about hypnosis.. can you tell me more?
A: Hypnosis is as ancient as the human mind itself and just takes advantage of a completely natural state of mind that you go into many times each day, already.
You can read more here and/or Watch Julia’s video about hypnosis here..
Will I be on a restricted diet?
A: We will introduce some food choices that may deviate from your normal diet, however we will not be counting or limiting calories.
I have food allergies, will that be a problem?
A: If anything, through the program you will likely uncover some adverse food reactions you may not have known about. One of the main goals is avoidance of food allergies and sensitivities, as these can result in health problems beyond the classic anaphylactic reactions.
Tell me more about this virtual gastric band thing.
Check out this post at Julia’s website
I have a question for you
A: You can use the Contact Form – just click the bar on the bottom right and the form will open.