30/01/2010 by Cathy.

Last weekend (23^rd and 24^th January 2010) I had the privilege of  representing SlimQuest at the Diet and Fitness Show at Olympia. For those who have not come across it, SlimQuest is a 6 week course run by Quest Trained therapists, using Hypnotherapy and NLP techniques to help to gain control over our relationship with food - especially over the emotions and beliefs about ourselves that drive us to eat more than we want and when we don’t want to.

We had a really good couple of days where we met many great people with very genuine and sensible questions.  We also had an opportunity to offer 15 minute taster sessions of both hypnotherapy and EFT, and many people walked away amazed at what can be achieved in such a short space of time!

Thank you to all of you who were willing to give this a go.

So many people have tried so many diets and approaches and yet, still seem to put on weight. It can be a real surprise to realise that it can be the dieting itself that causes the weight gain. The more we restrict ourselves, the more our minds and bodies learn to store fat even more efficiently.  In times of famine, this would be a very good approach to keep us alive when times are hard – however now, it is only serving to perpetuate the yo-yo dieting cycle.

So – what a freedom to know that one of the things we need to do in order to lose weight and maintain it is to stop dieting!!

If you would like to know more about the SlimQuest approach and to find out about courses near you, have a look at the SlimQuest website http://www.slimquest.co.uk  or you can contact me for more information.

07792 312 465

cathy@cathysimmons.co.uk

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01/10/2009 by Cathy.

A recent article in the Daily Express tells the story of a lady who has been dieting since the age of 12. Pressures from teachers and family at that young age instilled the idea that she needed to be thinner leading to a lifetime of dieting, guilt and worry about weight.

Read the article here

The whole cycle of yo-yo dieting that is so easy to get into, ends up doing far more harm than good. By constantly restricting foods (maybe the overall amount or maybe just certain types of food) your body and mind are tricked into thinking that food is scarce and therefore kicks your body into ‘fat storage’ mode.

How many of us have fallen into that trap?
Are we a little bit afraid to stop dieting because we think we might put on even more weight?

But it is the dieting that causes us to gain weight!
If we turn this around it is actually good news, because it mean that it is possible to
stop dieting and lose weight!

By applying a straight forward approach to eating, understanding more about our relationship to food and learning some simple techniques for helping  when we are tempted to eat more than we should, techniques that can help with cravings and motivation to exercise, for example, then it becomes easy to change our approach to eating (without dieting), allowing us to gently and naturally achieve the weight loss that we want and to maintain it.

This approach is taught in a low-cost course called SlimQuest, for one hour a week over a period of six weeks, and the next weight loss course starts on Tuesday 13th October.  If you would like to know more you can contact Cathy on 07792 312 465, http://www.cathysimmons.co.uk/LoseWeight.html or http://www.slimquest.co.uk

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12/09/2009 by Cathy.

Recent research undertaken at King’s College, London found that children with lower self-esteem tend to gain weight as they grow up and be larger as adults.

They talk about how early intervention, in childhood, is key and quote Dr Ian Campbell of the charity Weight Concern as saying “Many of the adults we work with have identifiable underlying emotional and self esteem issues and are often resistant to treatment.”

See the BBC article here

However, it is possible to identify these factors at any age, with the gentle use of hypnotherapy, and to undo the effects of childhood low self-esteem, installing a new confidence and realisation of self-worth. This is itself can make a significant difference to a person’s relationship with food and, together with a new approach to eating (involving NO dieting!!) can be the start of the permanent weight loss they are looking for.

http://www.cathysimmons.co.uk

07792 312 465

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26/08/2009 by Cathy.

An anti-obesity drug went on sale in the UK in April, under the brand name Alli, without the need for a prescription.

There are concerns in the US about its safety regarding liver damage and these are currently being investigated. You might be interested to read a bit more on the BBC News website.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8221313.stm

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