Results of the Field Testing

The sixty volunteers who participated in the field testing of My True Body were trained in groups of six to eight. The volunteers were seen in two locations: The Institute for Restorative Health, under the medical direction of Dr. Eric Hasside, and the Sacramento Obesity Treatment Center, under the direction of Dr. John Hernreid.

Ninety percent of the volunteers were women. Three of the original group of sixty-three volunteers did not complete the training and did not respond to inquiries regarding their reasons for leaving, but even these three were able to activate the mind-body feedback systems required for success.

Summary of the Results

All but two of the volunteers who completed the training were able to activate the mind-body processes required for this work, yielding an activation rate of 96.6 percent. This is the same success rate seen among the more than 1200 patients who have participated in the NeuroBehavioral Pain Management Program.

Both objective and subjective measures of results were obtained from the volunteers during the weekly group check-in. [The field study used a six week program] Participants were asked to report on their weight loss or size and their exercise habits, and to rate their feelings of hopelessness/helplessness about weight management, their general sense of well-being, and how strongly they felt their true body blueprint.

  • Weight loss experienced by participants over the five-week program ranged from 3 to 25 pounds.
  • Uniformly, participants felt that their desire for exercise had strongly increased, and this was reflected in the frequency and duration of their exercise routines. Many participants reported that they had experienced a desire for exercise that they had never felt before. Interestingly, when the trainer asked for the desire for exercise to increase in the group, participants often spontaneously tapped their feet, wiggled in their chairs, or wanted to stand up and move.
  • Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness about dieting and weight loss, rated on a 0-to-10 scale with 10 indicating "completely helpless and hopeless," decreased for all participants. Uniformly, participants who had felt moderately to completely helpless and hopeless moved to 0 and 1 within the first week of the program, and these ratings remained constant over the five-week intervention. Participants reported great enthusiasm for this aspect of the program and said that based on this outcome they would recommend My True Body to their friends.
  • Participants' general sense of well-being, also rated week to week on a 0-to-10 scale with 10 being best, increased. Uniformly, participants rated their sense of well-being at 7 to 10 at the end of the program.
  • How strongly participants felt their true body blueprint, also rated on a 0-to-10 scale with 10 being most strongly, dramatically increased. Beginning ratings of 0, 1, or 2 increased to an average of 7. In the weekly check-ins, participants often reported that they could feel a strong inner core that equated with a feeling of confidence and power. An image suggested by participants was that they were simply wearing a "fat suit" that could be unzipped and taken off to expose their lean strong bodies.

Other results reported by participants included the following:

  • Improved self-confidence. Many participants felt that the skills they learned in the program had improved their self-confidence in aspects of their lives other than weight management—in work and interpersonal relationships.
  • Generally decreased appetite. This outcome wasn't expected based on the protocols but was widely experienced by participants, perhaps due to the emotional control tools they learned in the program to reduce stress and feelings of anger, sadness, and fear.
  • Automatic healthy food selection. Participants reported that they had begun to automatically select healthy fruits and vegetables when dining, shopping, or snacking.
  • Reduction of cravings. Participants reported a reduction in previous snack and food preoccupations, including spontaneous changes in food imagery. One volunteer who had previously craved oatmeal cookies found that he could no longer go down the cookie aisle in the local store without becoming mildly nauseated, a completely spontaneous change. Another client reported that when she imagined herself eating in a fine restaurant she could no longer see the dessert cart. Asked in the group to attempt to imagine the dessert cart, she reported that she could see the handles of the cart but that the cart itself was hidden behind a palm tree.
  • More mindful and less mindless eating out of boredom or distraction. A common outcome among the participants was a slower and more studied approach to eating, which included a greater appreciation of food textures and flavors. Many participants reported dreaming of healthy foods during the course of the training. In one session, a participant reported humorously that she been daydreaming during the week about eating a shaved Parmesan Caesar salad.
  • Decreased frustration with current body size. Another common outcome reported by participants was a reduction in and often elimination of self-recrimination and depression related to current body size while dressing or shopping or being in public.
  • Increased interest in movement, dance, or exercise. During the program, participants exercised no less than twice a week and often seven days a week. Participants who had previously not enjoyed physical activity often reported on the simple joy of walking and going to the gym. A number of participants began dance lessons.

Representative Remarks:

The following remarks from participants in the field testing illustrate the effectiveness and appeal of the My True Body program:

“Because of the True Body program, I'm very optimistic about losing weight.” —Ilene, an attorney

“The True Body program treats the “disease” of weight control instead of focusing on the symptoms…” —Robin, a physician's assistant

“This has helped me in very subtle ways to understand my barriers that I wasn't totally aware of.” —Dean, an attorney

“The True Body program is really helping me deal with stress and anxiety.” —Jill, a commercial artist

Case Study 1

Ilene, a successful attorney, participated in the My True Body program at the Sacramento Obesity Treatment Center. She had regularly returned to the treatment center over the last nine years before volunteering for the program and already had an aggressive exercise program in place. She was frustrated with her pattern of repeatedly returning to the obesity treatment program after initially losing weight and then slowly regaining it over time. She reported that she was tired of what she described as a "daily battle" with binge eating and snacking. Her temptation of choice was Doritos with ranch dressing, which she would buy weekly in large amounts and snack on at home.

Ilene's resistances to weight loss included a fear of regaining weight that made her feel like it was futile to lose weight in the first place and a fear that she would lose some of her "large presence" in the courtroom if she lost weight. These resistances were uncovered and dissolved using a process of inclusion: "I can lose all the weight I want to without regaining it and I can maintain a powerful presence in the courtroom." Her craving for Doritos was eliminated in the first session.

Several weeks into the program, while she was feeling successful, Ilene reported to the group that she had fully consciously walked over to the refrigerator, opened the freezer, and eaten a carton of ice cream—all the time wondering why she was doing so. Investigation in the group showed that what had emerged was a need to periodically re-enter "the battle" to keep her motivation to lose weight high. The hidden cost of this need was that she periodically fell off the diet wagon.

This barrier to weight loss was addressed by giving Ilene permission to find another method for ensuring her continued weight control. She was encouraged to develop the image of having planned a perfect vacation for herself. On this vacation she would stop at restaurants where there was only healthy food on the menu, which would eliminate the temptation to make unhealthy food choices. This metaphor for weight management eliminated all of the previous patterns and was still working effectively for her when she was contacted in an eight-month follow-up telephone call.

Case Study 2

Pam had gained 70 pounds over a four-year period. She associated her weight gain with the stress of her job as an administrator at a health care system. Her case was unusual in that she had only one of the fifteen common resistances to weight management identified in the My True Body program, while most participants discover that they have three or four of these.

Pam's resistance was a fusion of weight loss with a fear of dating: "If I lose all this weight then I'll have to date and I'm afraid of meeting someone new!" Once this resistance was brought into her awareness, it was dissolved by a process of inclusion: "I can lose all the weight I want to and I can date when I feel ready or not at all." A review of her records shows regular use of the program and a weight loss of 42 pounds after four months. She automatically selects healthy foods, loves to exercise, and is dating casually.

Conclusion

Based on the results of field testing, the My True Body program appears to offer an effective alternative or complement to behavioral weight management programs. By taking a neurobehavioral approach that establishes a mind-body communication system, the program enables participants to experience immediate positive outcomes, which in turn fuels their confidence and enthusiasm.

If you'd like to find out about training opportunities in your area, please contact us.