Weight Loss: "I Can Make You Thin: Paul McKenna"

Has anyone seen Paul McKenna's show on TLC? I recorded it on the DVR and watched it at my leasure. He has several points he makes:

1) Eat what you want (do not deprive yourself on something or you will obsess over it)
2) Eat Consciously (don't scarf and wonder where it all went)
3) Stop when you are full

He has some things he has people do to "reprogram" their thought processes during emotional eating times. It involved tapping below your eyes, on your collar bone, on your wrist, and on top of your hand. Then pressing your middle finger and thumb together, closing your eyes, opeining your eyes, looking to the right, and then the left, and then circling your eyes one way and then another. The thought behind this "craziness" is that is reprograms your brain when you have a certain association with a certain food.

Another exercise was associating something gross with the food you love. First he had the negative association based on the left hand (middle finder an thumb pressed together). You envision your favorite food mixed with hair, and other gross things or foods which make you feel almost like barfing. Then he has you do the same thing with the right hand and envision something extremely pleasurable.

It worked for a lady who had a 5 pound a day chocolate habit. I couldn't believe the amount of chocolate she consumed, and was still below 200 pounds. She should have weighed 500 IMHO, but she kicked her habit using that method.

It seems crazy. I'm thinking about trying it. I don't have anything to lose. I like the idea of associating your mind in different ways when you recognize cravings or emotional eating.

[Edited to correct a mistake.]

Treesap,

I'm all for whatever helps that doesn't just pad somebody's pocket. Maybe 30 years ago I was dragged by a friend to a weight loss hypnotist (at all of maybe 135 lbs). It was really wierd that for about 3 weeks I had no cravings or desire for lots of food. No way I could afford to go regularly, so that was the end of my seeking "alternative" means to lose weight. But some of the things you've quoted are no cost and if it works - yippee.

People with sleep disorders may have a problem with stopping when they are full as the appetite hormones are likely out of whack. Now that my sleep is improved, my self control has improved. Went to brunch with a friend yesterday, and I really wanted some bisquit and gravy, but knew it would be so bad for me. In a moment of strength (that I feared would pass) I broke a piece off the bisquit to eat and poured icewater over the rest. My friend cracked up laughing. But a year ago I couldn't have done that. Whatever works.

Kathy

The hyponist story is interesting. I'm interested in knowing why hypnotism works. Previously I would have been completely close-minded to being hypnotized. I now understand it must "wake up" something in your subconcious which some believe holds the key to understanding emotional issues. Oprah recently did a show on past life regression and how people went back to past lives and overcame fears and emotional issues in their current life. I don't know if I believe the past life thing, but I do think there is "something" with hypnotism.

How much does/did it cost? I am sure I don't have any hypnotists in my podunk town. If there are, I'm not sure I would trust them.

kteague wrote: I really wanted some bisquit and gravy, but knew it would be so bad for me. In a moment of strength (that I feared would pass) I broke a piece off the bisquit to eat and poured icewater over the rest. My friend cracked up laughing. But a year ago I couldn't have done that. Whatever works.

Kathy

You learn something every day, I didn't realize bisquit and gravy soaked in ice water was better for you. I'd eat it that way, wouldn't even slow me down. Jim

I am familiar with McKenna's program. It looks fine and if it works for you, great. It hasn't helped me.

I saw a nutritionist, who did NOT have a book out, interviewed on a national news show. What she said stuck with me. ANY diet/eating plan/weight loss program out there will work if:

1) It causes you to burn more calories than you take in.

2) You will follow it long term.

That's the "secret" to all of these programs, no matter what they tell you. Some of them disguise the "burn more calories than you take in" in a lot of rhetoric and hocus pocus, but it still comes down to calorie balance. Some are better than others at keeping you from feeling hungry, and that can help.

There is a third factor people need to consider:

3. How healthy is the program long term?

Unfortunately, some of the ones that make you feel less hungry are also ones that are not as healthy long term, no matter what they tell you. What I find disappointing is that all of these programs (and I have tried at a lot of them) are not balanced. By that I mean they only work on one part of the problem. Some are focused on what you should eat, but are light on the behavioral side. Others, like McKenna's are all behavioral, but contain no sound nutritional guidance.

We will lose weight on whatever program that is right for us individually, or our own programs, or no program at all, when we each truly decide to do so.

I did watch that series on TV recently and of course everything he did made sense and really is common sense. If we all ate consciously we wouldn't be obese in the first place!
When I do eat consciously I definitely eat less. The tapping thing doesn't work so well for me and probably because I am embarrassed to sit in public and do it.

I think there are a lot of "money making" programs out there just interested in making a quick buck. I didn't catch any of the Paul McKenna shows but have heard really good things about the program on other sites

I've just used ONE of his tricks...chewing my food and putting the fork down. That's all I've done and I've lost 20 pounds, just chewing my food. It does turn off the hunger signal.