Weight-Freedom Coaching Package …
… the physical, psychological & spiritual habits of
healthy sustainable weight-loss
The Weight Freedom Coaching Package may be for you if you:
- are sick of struggling with unwanted weight
- feel you’ve tried everything and nothing works
- feel your weight is holding you back
- feel ashamed of your weight
- have lost weight only to regain it – along with additional weight
- can’t break emotional eating habits
- feel (at least somewhat) ready to lose the weight
To learn more about the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package scroll down or click the links below … Please note; this information page contains many powerful weight-loss tips – so even if you have no intention of working with me, I hope you read it anyway for more empowerment on your health journey.
4 little-known, power-tips for weight loss
What IS the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package? (and how much does it cost?)
A bit about my own food struggles
What’s in each of the four Weight-Freedom sessions?
* Session 1: What’s REALLY stopping you losing weight (and how you can) plus four metabolism-boosting tactics.
* Session 2: Removing the most important block to weight loss (‘parts’ hypnotherapy)
* Session 3: Learning how to change any habit (including emotional eating)
* Session 4: Embedding your new habits (plus relapse-resilience and fun!)
My general background
Unsure? How to tell if the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package is (or isn’t) for you
FAQ
How to book and pay for your Weight-Freedom sessions.
Don’t think I’m for you? Here’s some other personally recommended coaches & therapists
4 little-known, power-tips for weight loss
- 1. Most people don’t know the REAL cause of unwanted weight – which, as you might imagine, makes losing weight kindof tricky. If you haven’t already seen my short 3-minute video on the REAL cause of unwanted weight, then you can watch it below (Spoilers: unwanted weight is NOT your fault, unwanted weight is NOTHING to do with laziness [in fact, not only does laziness doesn’t even exist as a psychological construct – people wanting to lose excess weight are typically extremely high in motivation], the role of genetics in excess weight, and, of course, the REAL cause of unwanted weight – and what to do about it)
- 2. The only diet that may help with weight loss? A trusted colleague and therapist has helped 100’s of people lose weight over the years. She has seen people try all the diets under the sun, and the only one that seems to consistently help with health and weight loss is the blood-type diet. I’ll link to more info here shortly, although it’s easy enough to find information on the blood-type diet.
HOWEVER, please don’t go to extremes with this, or anything (and it ALMOST goes without saying that not only does extreme calorie cutting not work – in the long term it usually makes things worse). - 3. Forbid forbidden foods – having forbidden foods usually just increases food cravings and binge eating. I explain the psychology underpinning this paradox – and what to do instead – in this short article: Emo-eating? A simple psychology strategy for busting emotional eating habits
In support of the benefits of ‘no forbidden foods,’ some quite famous people have noted that eating our way to health includes enjoying foods that may never feature in a ‘healthy’ diet. You may have heard of Oprah? And Shonda Rhimes? Shonda’s production company ‘Shondaland’ has produced hit shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, How to get away with murder, and Bridgerton. In an Oprah interview, Shonda said she lost 117 lbs (53 kg), simply by taking better care of herself.
Importantly, Shonda was NOT trying to lose weight. It does sounds like she ate more healthily – as part of the self-care concept. But she didn’t deprive herself of anything. If she felt like a chocolate brownie, she went and found the most delicious, moistest, chocolate brownie she could, and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
Oprah laughed when she heard this, saying she couldn’t tell you how many times she’d eaten ten ‘health bars’ trying not to eat one chocolate brownie.
- 4. A little-known biggie – SLEEP – Sleep is really important for weight loss. It’s important for several reasons, but one is to do with hormones. The hormone ghrelin is closely related to hunger, while leptin is tied to feeling full. A lack of sleep has been found to trigger increased levels of ghrelin and decreased levels of leptin, leading to increased hunger and appetite.
To summarize, lack of sleep can lead to higher levels of hormones that make us feel hungry, while simultaneously lowering levels of the hormones that tell us when we’ve eaten enough. I don’t need to explain the consequences of this.
Some people don’t sleep enough due to ‘sleep procrastination.’ They keep working and/or want ‘me time’ after work and/or finally getting the kids to bed. They often kid themselves that they are coping fine with less sleep. But the research would suggest otherwise – sleep debt can lead to impaired decision making, as well as impaired mental and physical health.
If ‘sleep procrastination’ sounds like you, and you really want to lose weight, you may wish to rebrand ‘me time’ as ‘sleep time,’ rather than staying up late on social media or watching TV.
However, another kind of sleep debt is unwanted insomnia caused by stress and anxiety. This, I can help you with. We can reduce the stress and anxiety with a combination of coaching and hypnotherapy.
What IS the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package? (& what does it cost?)
In brief, you get four sessions – all dedicated to supporting your healthy, sustained weight loss – for the price of three. Which is a saving of $NZ 350.
To break it down: the normal fee for a single 90-minute session is $NZ 350, four sessions would normally be $1,400. With the package, the four sessions are $1,050, which is the saving of $350.
Click here to read more about what is covered in each of the four sessions.
PLUS – people who choose the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package, also have the option of having a discounted 2.5 hour Past Life Regression (PLR) session. The package discount is $NZ 225 off the full PLR-session price – that’s 50% off. And I almost never discount Past Life Regression (PLR) sessions – although I love doing them, they are energy intensive for me (but usually deeply relaxing for the client) in a way that my ‘regular’ sessions aren’t.
Past Life Regression (PLR) sessions are hardly essential. BUT, as well as being fascinating, they can provide unique insights into our recurring challenges, including stubborn weight. Click here to learn more about Past Life Regression sessions. And, to help give some idea of what a PLR session involves, below is feedback from a PLR client.
LILI MESESAN, ROMANIA, PAST LIFE REGRESSION (PLR) SESSION
“My Past Life Regression (PLR) session with Rebecca was a very special experience, thanks to her gifts of presence and kindness, her ability to listen beyond words, to connect and capture pieces which turn on valuable insights.
Although there is a structure for the session, I appreciated her flexibility to address my current concerns. The night before having our conversation I had a nightmare, that made me reflect about seemingly unrelated events. Therefore, I was even more curious to find out what this experience would bring me.
The PLR journey itself felt a bit like a deep guided meditation combined with dreaming. It was wonderful to just let myself float and receive, without judging, whatever comes. The information that I received seemed somehow weird but felt so natural and peaceful. The debriefing afterwards and my overall conversation with Rebecca helped me to shift the focus from lack to abundance, from resistance to acceptance and from doubt to faith. She also provided valuable resources, which support me further on my continued exploration and life adventures. From the other side of this world, so far and feeling so close – THANK YOU, REBECCA!
P.S. Even if you aren’t currently interested in the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package, you are still welcome to experience a past life regression (PLR) session with me – it’s just that the 2.5 hour session will be the full price of $NZ 450, rather than the discounted $NZ 225 that comes with the package.
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
Want to read more testimonials? Click here.
TESTIMONIAL: TERESA AHERNE, AUCKLAND, NZ
“I’ve tried everything over the years to stop smoking, and then, a month ago, Rebecca fixed my brain (well, the part that wants to smoke) in 10 minutes. I haven’t smoked since.”
(Note: although Teresa’s above testimonial relates to smoking, the psychology technique I used to help her quit smoking is the exact same one I use to help people quit emotional eating habits).
Want to read more testimonials? Click here.
A bit about my own food struggles
I narrowly dodged an eating disorder in my teens. I always enjoyed food. Sometimes gorging. But I also wanted to be skinny. In the mid-80s models were stick-thin. I remember studying a photo of Christie Brinkley in a cutaway swimsuit. FYI: Christie was the model – and later wife – in Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown girl’ music video. She also appeared in three issues of Swimsuit Illustrated. She also appeared to have no body fat.
Maybe the super-slim look was Christie Brinkley’s natural starvation (!) or maybe any residual body fat was airbrushed away. Regardless, her image had me contemplating ways to starve myself. Throwing up after binging didn’t work for me. So I did, periodically, starve myself.
It wasn’t just the media. Like many, I received impossible messages from my family. My brother would tease me about the size of my perfectly normal butt. My mother was vigilant about her own weight as well as ours. Strangely, she would reprimand us kids for consuming pears (we had a pear tree in the back yard) and (regular) milk, telling us they could make us fat.
As a child, if I wanted a second serving at dinner, she would ask me if I really needed more food. To which I always replied yes. I didn’t tell her the truth, which was I didn’t want more food because I was still hungry. I wanted more food because it just tasted really good.
My parents divorced when I was 10, and my father left the country 3 years later. I didn’t see him much after that. As an adult, I discovered my father, who sports a beer belly in his later years, is quite ‘fatist’ with a blatant, and hypocritical, preference for slim women.
I hope my family never reads this. However, I don’t blame them. They are just uncritically embedded in a culture than measures a person’s worth by external qualities. It’s also a culture that profits from the desperation and misery of people trying to achieve and maintain impossible standards.
Like many people, I tend to put on weight in relationships. It’s harder to control my food intake. Or, to be more accurate, it’s harder to starve myself. Living by myself, I developed a bad habit of binging earlier in the day – to the point of discomfort – and not eating for the rest of the day. I found I could eat what I wanted and not put on weight. I discovered this trick in my teens, and carried it to excess. Regularly eating to discomfort is not a kind thing to do to my stomach or my self.
It’s also not the wisest way of clawing back a sense of autonomy – a sense of self- from my family, or anyone.
These days I’m pretty sorted. I enjoy an occasional splurge on chips and dip (the classic kiwi dip made with reduced cream and onion soup mix – SO good!). I watch the alcohol intake. I like alcohol a bit too much, but it’s unrequited. Alcohol doesn’t love my liver or brain. Even a moderate amount is likely to trigger a hangover. But I enjoy gardening and cooking and I like to eat well, so having delicious, nutritious meals the majority of the time isn’t difficult.
And these days, when I overindulge because the food tastes too good and I don’t want to resist it and it’s THERE, I’m much kinder to myself.
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
What’s covered in each of the 4 Weight-Freedom sessions?
Please note this overall structure of the sessions described below is approximate only. The actual structure is personalized to each client.
Session 1 – What’s REALLY stopping you losing weight (and how you can) plus 4 metabolism-boosting tactics
A key goal of this session is a deep dive into understanding the origins of your struggles with weight, food and health. While this session informs the following sessions – indicating where and how I can best support you – it’s also therapeutic in it’s own right.
You can expect some emotions to be triggered (that’s a good thing!) and a sense of release and relief.
We will also introduce FOUR clinically-proven metabolism boosting tactics. These are super-simple but, sadly, NOT super-easy. Which isn’t too surprising. If they were easy, you’d already be doing them!
They are hard as they are somewhat counter-intuitive. And that’s because they are counter-cultural. And that’s because our dominant culture is punitive and shame – (and – obesity!) based. (Which is why you are helping me to change our culture – thank you.)
As these simple but counter-intuitive metabolism-boosters can be a bit tricksy, this is why they are introduced at the start. We will use the following sessions to help embed these metabolism-boosters. In other words, we will turn them into habits.
Even though it may take you a few weeks to master these tricksy metabolism-boosters, another reason I’m including them at the start, is so you can get stuck right in.
We’ll also do a deep dive into the relationship between a certain type of stress and excess weight – and how to reverse this (for more detail on the stress-obesity link, watch my 3-minute video on the topic if you haven’t already).
To make a point about stress and goals, I’ve put a testimonial below this paragraph from ‘Sue.’ Please note that Sue’s testimonial is not directly related to excess weight (rather my lovely client was a workaholic). But the paradoxical principles are the same: specifically, not only can we achieve our dreams without stress or deprivation BUT once we remove the stress and deprivation, achieving our dreams becomes SO much easier.
TESTIMONIAL: ‘SUE’, PART-TIME UNIVERSITY STUDENT, BUSINESS OWNER, WIFE, MOTHER, TAURANGA
“A+! I’m pretty chuffed with that!!!!! I am very proud of getting more life balance along with study and getting an amazing result! Thank you Rebecca, understanding what was behind my procrastination and self-sabotaging behaviors was like turning the light on.
I am now able to move forward with confidence (and less fear) knowing that I have an amazing toolkit of learnings and techniques to help keep me on track. You’re a star!”
Return to top
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
Session 2- Removing the most important block to weight loss (‘Parts’ hypnotherapy)
‘Parts hypnotherapy’ may be one of the most important tools in the weight-loss tool kit.
To explain, have you ever been invited to a party on a cold winter’s evening, and felt conflicted about going out or staying home? Maybe part of you wants to party, and is willing to brave the cold weather. But another part of you wants to stay at home by the warm fire, watching your favorite Netflix special?
This is a simple example of the concept underpinning parts therapy. It refers to the common situation where different parts of us have the same common goal (typically the common goal is our safety or, in the above example, having a nice time) but have very different ideas about how to achieve our goal.
And problems occur when these different ideas clash. In relation to weight, often our more-conscious parts wants us to lose weight – maybe for our health, maybe for our looks. However, often our more-SUBconscious parts wish to keep the weight for protection and safety – perhaps to ward off unwanted attention, and/or to claw back some autonomy from a controlling parent(s). Sometimes we want our excess weight as an ‘excuse’ to beat ourselves up, etc. etc.
The goal of parts therapy is to get all our parts aligned, so they are all pulling in the same direction.
This develops true inner safety. It also removes the internal conflict and need to self-sabotage. Our parts learn how to keep us safe, in healthier ways that don’t involve emotional eating or binging or starving or excess weight.
Parts therapy can be done without hypnosis. However the hypnosis helps relax the conscious mind, allowing you to access – and work with – some deeper, more subconscious parts.
Below is feedback from a client who used parts therapy. Although her primary issue wasn’t weight, again, the principles are the same …
KATE HOMMELHOFF, MT GAMBIER, AUSTRALIA
“Hi Rebecca, I wanted to thank you and let you know what happened to me after our session.
I have to say you were like a dog with a bone and as much as I was trying to ‘only play with the surface stuff’, you really forced me to look and go next level during our session. As uncomfortable as that was … you changed my life with that session.
Within 3 months I had left the worst job of my life, left the most toxic relationship I’ve ever had and then continued to look and work deep with how and why had I let myself get into those situations. This beginning a real journey of positive self discovery and healing …
My transformation has been mind blowing and our session was definitely the beginning of it all for me.”
I would just like to add that, if I was like a dog with a bone, I was a very gentle dog with a very precious bone.
‘JANE M,’ AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
“Rebecca has a wealth of knowledge and understanding and is great to work with. She has great insight and has many tools to help work through old habits and help with self esteem and weight loss.”
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
Session 3 – Learn to change any habit (including emotional eating)
Here’s where you get the equivalent of a behavior science PhD in one session. You will learn the widely misunderstood but powerful basics of the science of behavior modification.
Not only will you learn the fundamental strategies that can be used to change any habit, you will learn how to customize those strategies to make or break any habit!
In this session, after you learn the fundamentals of habit change, you then pick a habit you wish to change. It may be emotional eating habits or something completely different. And I’ll show you how to customize the fundamentals to your chosen habit. While this is valuable in itself, you will be able to apply the same principles to any habit.
Below are testimonials from people who have used the same principles I will teach you, to change longstanding, unwanted habits. Again, while the below testimonials are not directly weight-related, the principles are the same. Habit change doesn’t need to be hard, when you know how.
SABRINA GREGORIAN, WRITER, LOS ANGELES
“Within a few minutes of talking with Rebecca, my puzzling, frustrating behaviors made much more sense to me. She provided me with enlightening information as well as with the tools to apply the information to my life, and with her help I’ve made some great changes.
One of which I know many people struggle with… exercising. This had been a struggle of mine for years, but within a month of working with Rebecca I now exercise one hour a day, at least five days a week.. and I absolutely love it. This has impacted the quality of my life in ways I can’t put into words. I’ve also become more efficient overall – in time management and work productivity.
But what I believe made all my progress possible is Rebecca’s kind, humane, empathetic approach. She taught me the importance of self-compassion and celebrating my own successes, no matter how small they might seem – and it’s this new learned attitude that has paved an expedited path for growth.
And Rebecca did this all while making the process of learning enjoyable, personalized, and funny”.
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
Want to read more testimonials? Click here.
ROBYN, AUDIENCE MEMBER
“Hi Rebecca, I really loved your talk and was totally inspired. My procrastination level had been over the top for quite a while. I was getting through each day just spending half my time thinking about what I should be doing next. I used [the psychology technique] religiously for a week and was totally stunned by how much I achieved!!
I was having problems filling up the day with tasks as I had never structured myself so well before.
I was achieving lots and ‘getting things done’ so well it felt like magic. Then I had a month where the wheels fell off … and I noticed by not using [the psychological technique] I was falling back into old habits again. So I am back on to it and can’t thank you enough for the wisdom you shared. It works really well for me and has changed my life. Keep up the great work.”
Session 4 – Embedding your new habits & bringing it all together
By session 4, we’ve covered a lot. And by now clients have usually hit a few snags with the simple but counter-intuitive metabolism-boosters. And/or some self-sabotage may have sneaked through. It’s all good. This is an opportunity to do some trouble-shooting and strengthen these new metabolism-boosting habits.
You’ll also learn ‘resilience alchemy’ – how to transform any back-sliding into rapid progress. Nothing need be wasted.
And, if you want, we’ll look at creating some new diet and exercise habits. While I don’t believe diet and exercise are the most important thing for weight loss, the research suggests that a few small changes may help you feel better mentally and physically, as well as making weight loss easier.
DON’T PANIC!!!!
I’m not suggesting any drastic, difficult diet changes. Quite the reverse. My suggestion is if you haven’t already seen a professional nutritionist, dietitian or naturopath, I suggest you do. I also suggest you cross reference any dietary advice with your intuition.
But if you are having any difficulty making healthy dietary changes, we can help you do it the easy way, by building a habit around it.
As mentioned in the above section on ‘4 little-known, power-tips for weight loss’ on ‘4 little-known, power-tips for weight loss’, my only – and extremely important – contribution to dietary advice is to absolutely forbid forbidden foods.
And re exercise; again don’t panic. I’ll likely suggest a tiny amount of gentle exercise, if you aren’t already doing it.
FYI I’m NOT a fan of strenuous exercise. I believe for most people trying to lose or stabilize their weight, a little gentle exercise is more helpful that lots of vigorous exercise. One reason is because, perhaps counter-intuitively, compared with strenuous exercise, gentle exercise is more likely to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system.
The parasympathetic nervous system calms the stress response. This matters because lowered stress boosts the metabolism, which encourages burning of body fat stores as fuel. In contrast, lots of strenuous exercise may stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, which may aggravate the stress response, thus slowing the metabolism and triggering conservation of body fat.
Physical abilities allowing, gentle yoga is great. A friend of mine raves about Janine Tiede’s ‘Win with yoga.’ Janine meets the ‘gentle’ criteria and has free short yoga videos on Youtube as well as some purchase plans. My friend also likes ‘ Yoga with Adrienne’ – which are also free on Youtube.
And while walking outdoors has to be one of best all-round, gentle exercises (I’m biased – I love walking), in our sessions I will share with you the VERY BEST exercise for wellbeing – as shared with me by clinical exercise physiologist Yolanda van Vugt
A reminder: NOTHING is compulsory. But if you choose to make any diet or exercise changes, we can then use the behavior modification science covered in the previous session to help create easy metabolism-boosting habits the easy way.
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, we’ll make sure to embed the habits of rest, creativity and fun into your life – aka ‘life balance.’ This will make your life easier (and, of course, less stressful and more fun) as well as making weight loss easier.
As a recovering workaholic, I know there can be internal resistance to rest and fun. That’s common, but it’s not a problem, we can work with that. For example, in the below testimonial ‘Sue,’ achieved her dream academic goal by working less AND scheduling rest and fun.
This meant – in addition to Sue’s terrific academic results – she worked far more effectively and got her life back.
You can do the same. You can achieve more joy, along with your weight-loss goals.
‘SUE’, PART-TIME UNIVERSITY STUDENT, BUSINESS OWNER, WIFE, MOTHER, TAURANGA
“A+! I’m pretty chuffed with that!!!!! I am very proud of getting more life balance along with study and getting an amazing result! Thank you Rebecca, understanding what was behind my procrastination and self-sabotaging behaviors was like turning the light on.
I am now able to move forward with confidence (and less fear) knowing that I have an amazing toolkit of learnings and techniques to help keep me on track. You’re a star!”
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
My general background
I graduated with a PhD in health psychology in 2014 from the University of Auckland, NZ. Health psychology is the study of the interaction between mental and physical health. An example I commonly give is the impact of chronic stress on our immune systems. But the impact of chronic stress on our metabolisms – and weight – is just as important.
In fact, I became obsessed with habit change when I needed to get myself from university dropout (at the age of 19) to PhD (at the age of 44).
Returning to uni as a mature student was rough. I knew I wasn’t completely stupid, but that I needed to find a way to overcome my poor study habits ( BTW procrastination = trouble starting, and perfectionism = fancy procrastination = trouble finishing). I needed better study habits if I wasn’t going to have a hideous repeat of my earlier university experience. It helped majoring in psychology.
And it worked. I got my PhD. It wasn’t exactly easy. But the psychology tools I developed made my PhD possible. While at uni, I helped many other students overcome painful habits of anxiety and procrastination. Since then I’ve had a private practice helping people free themselves from a range of, sometimes debilitating, unwanted habits.
There was something else that changed the course of my life. Concurrently with my university study, I volunteered for eight years as a Lifeline telephone counselor. It was incredible. I miss the callers. If interested, you can read a little about my Lifeline experience in my article: I decided not to kill myself after talking to you.
And then there’s the spirituality – or the woo! Until around 2007, I was all about the science and psychology. Frankly, I’d slowly back away from anyone who talked about spirituality the way I do now – silently questioning their intelligence! Which was discombobulating when I discovered highly intelligent people who I highly respected, such as Brene Brown and Elizabeth Gilbert, were into spirituality.
In my defense, I have a secular background, and the few people I personally knew who were into woo – such as ‘energy medicine’, and ‘the law of attraction’ – were some of the angriest, low-self-awareness people I knew.
I also didn’t appreciate the distinction between the human experience of non-denominational spirituality and the cultural experience of organized religion. I was neutral about religion until I had two sequential relationships with men who claimed to be Christian, yet who had many abusive behaviors (sadly, abuse is widely misunderstood and all too common – you can read more above my experience in my Huffington Post article New Zealand’s dirty secret).
Insult to injury, these exes also weaponized their religion against me. Of course, I have met religious people who are truly lovely and I have met non-religious people who have less than desirable behaviors. But you can probably see how my experience left me feeling wary of organized religion.
However, stuff happened. You can read a little of that stuff in My encounter with the clairvoyant dominatrix and What REALLY happened at the tantra workshop. On a practical note, I’ve trained in level-2 Reiki, and had a number of personal sessions with (highly effective!) therapists who combine secular and spiritual modalities.
However, between my secular science background and negative experiences with so-called religion and spirituality, it’s been really tough coming out of the closet about my own emerging spirituality
The thing is, I fought so bludy hard for my science PhD. And – although it’s improving – there’s still much stigma against spirituality. It’s seen by many as flakey as well as incompatible with science. However, I’ve come to realize that spirituality is completely compatible with both psychology and science.
There’s many important reasons for shoving myself out of the woo-closet – there are many important reasons to publicly acknowledge the importance of spirituality to my personal and work practices. And a critical reason is authenticity – one of my key values. And, to coin the words of (spiritual) Brene Brown, authenticity requires us to be willing to let go of who we think we should be and embrace who we are here to be.
While I was pretty sure ‘they’ couldn’t take away my PhD!, I was so scared of what people would think about my spirituality. But the funny thing is, I’ve been astonished by how – after my initial disclosure of my spiritual interests- so many of the unlikeliest people ‘confess’ to me they are also into spirituality. Some haven’t even told their closest friends.
And I’ve realized the only stigma and judgement I’m scared of is … my own.
To learn more about my general background, you can check out ‘goss about me,‘ also ‘work with me.’ If you are really keen, you can check out my Linkedin profile.
(Of course we will be working to release your own negative self-judgement – that’s what releases unwanted weight)
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
Want to read more testimonials? Click here.
Unsure? How to tell if the Weight-Freedom Coaching Package is (or isn’t) for you
I believe the coach-client fit is important. This section explains some key aspects of how I work and helps you assess if I might be a good fit for you.
I want you to know we will be dealing with some simple (when you know how) but tough concepts. As mentioned, the reason they are so tough is they are counter-intuitive. And the reason they are counter-intuitive is they are counter-cultural. And it can be hard going against everything you’ve been told your whole life.
I’m not asking you to LOVE the idea of these concepts (again, if you loved them you’d probably already be doing them) , but I do need you to be at least the tiniest bit open to exploring them:
- I’m going to ask you to consider releasing things that – consciously or subconsciously – you feel have kept you safe. This could include: excess weight, self-loathing, self-criticism, forbidden foods, obsessing about ‘clean eating’ (hate is a strong word, but I really hate that term), anxiety, worry, stress, overwhelm, anger, resentment and blame.
And, for good measure, being ‘nice.’ Don’t worry, I’ll show you ways to develop TRUE inner safety. - You probably won’t like this, but I don’t care about your weight. Well, I do care, but only as much as it’s a useful ‘telltale’ symptom of a serious problem, but not the problem itself. My goal is your health and contentment. If you lose weight as a by-product of peace of mind, as people tend to do, then great. But if you don’t lose weight, but gain health and contentment, then great too.
You’ve probably lost weight before and noticed it didn’t exactly make you happy. Not for long anyway. And maybe you worried about regaining the weight. And then you did. Alternately, you may have successfully lost some weight, but then hit a plateau where the remainder doesn’t seem to want to budge.
That’s because it’s not about the weight. I’ll show you ways to release the self-loathing and fall in love with beautiful you – regardless of your weight.
This may sound mad, but that’s exactly what shifts weight and keeps it off. I explain more in our sessions, of course, but the concept (and power) of unconditional self-love is based on Dr Carl Roger’s client or person-centered therapy. This concept can be summarized in his famous quote:
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself as I am – then I change
Rogers, C.R., On Becoming A Person: A Therapists View Of Psychotherapy, 1967 (2004 ed.) Constable, p. 17.
And it works. This simple but tough technique – of accepting yourself just as you are – helped the below client, Teresa, quit smoking after, in her words, she had tried everything (n.b. while Teresa immediately understood the power of unconditional self-acceptance, we did spend a bit longer discussing the tactics – the how – of practicing this counter-cultural concept).
TESTIMONIAL: TERESA AHERNE, AUCKLAND, NZ
“I’ve tried everything over the years to stop smoking, and then, a month ago, Rebecca fixed my brain (well, the part that wants to smoke) in 10 minutes. I haven’t smoked since.”
- This Weight Freedom Coaching Package many be easy and fun in some ways – but bludy hard in others. As well as (very gently!) dredging and releasing some deep emotional stuff you’ve suppressed for a long time, I’ll suggest you do some journalling. Nothing is compulsory, but journalling will help you ‘ground’ the information that is coming to light, deliver epiphanies, and generally get the most out of your sessions.
There may be tears – which is good! Emotional tears contain the stress-hormone cortisol in a way that onion-tears don’t. So cry lots and drink lots of water! - Regardless of whether you work with me or not – I suggest you get a blood test to check for nutritional deficiencies – unless you’ve had a recent one, of course. The test can be a mainstream medical one or a homeopath (I didn’t used to believe in homeopathy … sigh).
As mentioned, your weight struggles are likely caused by chronic stress. And being constantly in flight, fight or freeze mode makes heavy demands on the body. While we’ll be working to resolve the chronic stress – the source of the deficiencies – it’s helpful to simultaneously address existing deficiencies. Your health professional should be able to suggest some supplements and/or dietary changes to support your metabolism.
If you are interested in alternative (versus mainstream) nutritional testing, I highly recommend my frolleague (friend + colleague) Caroline Cranshaw. As well as being a highly skilled hypnotherapist, Caroline is also a medical intuitive: a nutritional therapist trained in identifying imbalances. I saw her (remotely) for help with my infuriating adult acne. She identified liver inflammation and nutrient deficiencies. To support my body, she suggested a break from alcohol (I wasn’t drinking much, but for me, at that time, it was too much) and also suggested some vitamin and mineral supplements. And some essential oils for my eczema.
And I couldn’t believe how fast the results were. Within four days my skin was the clearest it had been in years. You can read more about Caroline under ‘recommended therapists’.
BTW I DON”T recommend hair follicle tests from health stores. I based this on advice from one of the best therapists I know, who worked for many years in health stores.
- My techniques are a blend of science, psychology and spirituality. Most people are comfortable with the science of weight-loss, some understand the psychology involved, but not many realize the role of spirituality. For many of the spiritual concepts, such as MSC (mindful self-compassion) and forgiveness, I can – and often do – provide scientific evidence for their metabolic benefits (e.g. if interested, you can watch a short video I made on the clinical evidence of metabolic benefits of forgiveness).
However, some spiritual concepts I may not be able to currently provide scientific support for.
My clients tend to be comfortable with science AND open to spirituality and/or spiritual concepts. However, I’m not asking you to be deep into ‘woo’. Heck, I get it. I was all about science and deeply anti-woo until around 2017. You may be deep into the woo, which is great (but please don’t be anti-science!). But the minimum I ask for is that you be ‘woo-curious.’ Maybe you read your horoscopes when no ones looking. I’ll accept that.
I ask for one more thing. I ask that you be open to the idea of discovering you believe in things you don’t currently believe in. Which, if you feel you’ve tried everything to lose weight and nothing has worked, is probably a good idea. You’ll be fine. I now believe in things I didn’t used to, and I’m much better off – mentally and physically and spiritually – for it.
Of course for Teresa, the client I mentioned above, her challenge was smoking, not weight loss. But the principles are the same. And for Marcia, whose client testimonial is below, her challenge was weight loss and she did use those exact principles of unconditional self-worth, aka self-acceptance, aka self-love, to help her lose excess weight.
MARCIA KAPUVAI, HANMER SPRINGS, NZ
“I’ve lost 20 kgs by exercising more and eating better. It really helps remembering what Rebecca says about weight-loss: that it’s not the most important thing in life.. yes I will get skinnier but does that mean that it would make me happier?
No, it will make me healthier and fitter, which will make things easier physically, but weight-loss is not the main thing that would make me happier – if that makes sense. It also helps remembering that weight-loss is more bearable if you are happier, love yourself and remember your self worth”
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
FAQ
- Q. Is weight loss guaranteed?
- A. No, sorry. I have helped people lose weight, but it’s a combined effort. My part is to help remove blocks to weight loss.
- Q. Assuming I lose weight, how soon can I expect to see results?
- A. Again, sorry, I can’t give any certainty around that. However, generally speaking, slow weight loss is more sustainable weight loss. I believe no more than 1 kg a week is a safe, sustainable weight loss. However, that may vary a little from week to week.
- Q. Will the four sessions fix me?
- A. Maybe. I don’t know. At this stage, I have no way of knowing if I’m the final step in your weight & food challenges, or ‘just’ a step closer to the final step. I do know that you will progress. Also, my clients leave our sessions with resources to support their achievements and continued progress. However, most importantly, you don’t need fixing. You aren’t broken. My job is helping you remember that.
- Q. Everyone’s talking about ‘virtual gastric band’ hypnosis – do you do that?
- A. I can do it, if you really want. But I’m not a fan of gastric band hypnosis for the same reason I’m not a fan of actual gastric band surgery. I’m lucky to have one of the world’s leading experts in bariatric (weight loss) surgery as a colleague. While I talk more about Kate Berridge in my ‘recommended therapists‘ section, I’ll tell you here that Kate has noticed there is a high proportion of poor outcomes from weight loss surgery.
Kate has also noticed that people do best with bariatric surgery when they have the correct psychological preparation and support – which is what she provides.
However, I’ve noticed, that when people have the correct psychological support, they often don’t need the gastric band surgery – whether ‘real’ or virtual/hypnotic.
This is a long way of saying, if you really want to do the virtual gastric band hypnotherapy with me, we can do it. But it will not be standalone – it will be added to and embedded within the other supportive therapies provided in the Weight Freedom coaching package.
There’s another option. You can purchase a complete virtual gastric band hypnotherapy recorded audio program from my hypnotherapist colleague Caroline Cranshaw. You can learn more about this here. - Q. What if I want a refund?
- A. Refunds will only be available after the first session. Refunds are the package price ($NZ 1,050) less the full (non-discounted) price of any remaining sessions (@ $NZ 350 each) less any credit card processing fees (if any).
This means there will be no refunds after the 3rd session (this is because the package price is the same price as three full, non-discounted sessions).
However, if a refund is requested after the first session, the refund will be $NZ 700 ($1,050 – NZ $350) minus any processing fees.
If a refund is requested after two sessions, the refund will be $NZ 350 ($1,050 – (NZ $350 x 2) minus any processing fees.
As previously mentioned, there are no refunds after three sessions.
Please note: the only other refund exception is if I decide I’m not the right coach to help you (and I’ve listed a few other personally recommended therapists and coaches here)
How to book and pay for your Weight-Freedom sessions.
When you’ve decided the weight freedom sessions are for you, send me a message on my contact form with ‘weight freedom’ in the subject line.
I’ll reply with two things: 1/ a Calendly link so you can book your sessions (sessions approximately a week apart are advised), 2/ a Stripe invoice for credit card payments (although to my Kiwi clients, direct bank payment is appreciated – it means I don’t pay credit card fees – but you are welcome to pay by credit card if you prefer). Please note that pre-payment is required to secure the sessions.
Once you’ve booked on Calendly, you will be automatically emailed the link for our Zoom sessions. Check your junk/spam folder if nothing turns up.
Of course, feel free to ask me any questions on the contact form (after you’ve checked the FAQ).
Want to read more testimonials? Click here.
Don’t think I’m for you? Here’s some other personally recommended coaches & therapists
I’m good, but no therapist or coach is right for everyone all of the time. If you want support, but feel I’m not the one for you, There’s details below of a few other therapists that I personally recommend.
1. CAROLINE CRANSHAW – HYPNOTHERAPIST, HYPNOTHERAPY TRAINER & FOUNDER OF IMDHA CERTIFIED INTEGRATIVE HYPNOTHERAPY COURSE
Caroline is super-smart, funny and highly-effective. What she doesn’t know about hypnotherapy probably isn’t worth knowing. She cured me of a potentially life-threatening food allergy and has helped me with some tricky relationship issues (and I am finally in the – still challenging at times – healthy relationship of my dreams). As I’ve already mentioned, Caroline is also a medical intuitive: a nutritional therapist trained in identifying imbalances. You can learn more about Caroline, or book a session on her website here.
Plus, if you have any interest in learning hypnotherapy – whether for personal or clinical use – I suggest checking out Caroline’s INTEGRATIVE HYPNOTHERAPY COURSE I suspect that if it’s not the best, it’s at least one of the best international hypnotherapy courses available.
2. Ute Frerichs – is a classically trained Homeopath, a Reiki Master, and holds a degree in Psychology and Ethics from the University of Auckland. Do NOT see Ute if you can’t handle the truth. DO go and see her if you want someone very direct, very intuitive, very kind, and very affirming. I see Ute regularly (remotely now) and highly recommend her for help with the BIG life stuff. You can learn more about Ute here. And you can book a session with her here.
3. Paula Denan – clinical psychologist and sex therapist
I’ve met Paula both socially and as a colleague. While she impresses as a deeply knowledgeable and empathic clinician (I wish that was more common than it is), she is also good fun. She’s the subject of my article” What the sex therapist told me en route to the burlesque show.“. You can also learn more about Paula and book a session here.
4. Kate Berridge – Clinical Nurse Specialist in Bariatrics RNcP MN (Hons) and Founder of Beyond Obesity
Honestly, I’m not a fan of bariatric (weight loss) surgery. But many people are, and it’s not about me. I do know that for the best results from bariatric surgery, you need proper emotional and practical support and preparation – something the mainstream medical system does not excel at. Therefore, if you are considering bariatric surgery – or are struggling post-surgery (or don’t want surgery – but wish to discuss other options) – you should talk to Kate. As well as Kate’s passion for health and helping people, her combined psychology, health and surgical experience may make her the world’s leading bariatrics expert.
Lastly, please remember, ‘it’ isn’t really about your weight or food struggles. Those are ‘just’ (very painful) symptoms of the underlying problem. However, your weight and food struggles have gifted you the opportunity to address those underlying problems – those unhealed wounds. In healing those wounds, along with your health, you may just get your life back.
Ready to book your Weight Freedom Coaching Package? Click here.
Want to read more testimonials? Click here.