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Largo Times

Relax. Relax. 10,9,8…lose weight

By Theresa Blackwell
Times Correspondent
(Edited & Reprinted)

She considered herself a skeptic, wary of weight-loss promises and resigned to her size after too many diets.

Then Lucy McAtee of New Port Richey, who was 63, looked in the mirror.

“No,” she said. “I am not going to be that chubby, little old grandmother.”

McAtee attended a weight-loss session given by Wellness Seminars of Bradenton a year ago. She listened as the leader described a program that uses hypnosis and behavior modification, and decided to try one more time.

A year later and 64 pounds lighter, McAtee is a convert. Her doctor has taken her off her blood medication and reduced her arthritis medication. She walks and rides her bike daily, and no longer feels the lure of the cookie jar. And the best part is that she feels no deprivation.

“I really have a lot of faith in this program,” she said. “I wish more people knew about it.”

The word “hypnosis” may conjure up visions of bizarre reactions at the utterance of a certain word. But Rena Greenberg, president of Wellness Seminars, Inc., said that hypnosis is really a state of deep relaxation and concentration and that participants are in control at all times.

A crowd of roughly 70 gathered at Tampa General Hospital to hear Greenberg’s free orientation earlier this month, and most decided to stay for the hypnosis.

Patti Burns of Brandon sat eagerly in the first row.

“Each year, I seem to put on a few pounds,” she said. “I want to stop it now.”

“Most of you could probably write a book on how to lose weight,” said Greenberg, a biofeedback therapist and hypnotherapist who has given Wellness Seminars since 1990.

“Most would agree that people should eat less, eat more healthful foods and exercise more,” Greenberg said. “So, why aren’t they doing it?”

“Bad habits,” the audience answered.

Greenberg said that children who clean their plates get more food: dessert. A cookie quiets cries from bumps and bruises. We learned to turn to food in distress and in celebration.

The plan suggests the slow and steady approach: losing about one pound a week, eating sensibly and increasing exercise. Greenberg said that hypnosis increases the desire for slenderness and reduces the pool of emotional eating habits.

Participants closed their eyes and listened to Greenberg’s soothing voice as she asked them to breathe deeply and relax their bodies. She counted down from 10, asking them to relax more with each number.

“In this state of deep relaxation, your mind becomes more sensitive,” she said. “My suggestions will go into your subconscious, allowing you to achieve permanent slenderness without ever feeling deprived.”

Greenberg then went through a list of motivational affirmations and weight reducing behaviors:

“The thought of taking charge of your body is a challenge for you, and you are absolutely determined to succeed.”

“You have little or no desire to eat between meals.”

“You find yourself becoming more active and alive.”

At the count of seven, the group was called back from the relaxed state and given a tape to play daily with a hypnosis session on one side, affirmations on the other side and a booklet of weight reducing suggestions.

Sandra Gourdine, the Director of Marketing at Largo Medical Center, went through the stop smoking seminar and no longer smokes.

“I think if you are in the right place at the right time and you accept the approach, it can work,” she said.

On Thursday, five days after the seminar, Burns was hopeful.

“Who knows? Maybe it’s a subliminal thing, but I do have more energy,” she said. “Yet, at the same time, I’m much more relaxed.”

“I’m feeling good about it so far,” she said. “We’ll see.”