Like it or not, but with diets and other ways of restricting your food intake you can’t attain lasting results for three main reasons:

1. These programs force you to live and eat by “external rules”.
   To find out why this is counterproductive, see FAQ 3-7
2. Unfortunately, these well-meant attempts to change behaviors are not in alignment with how your brain works.
   To find out why having your emotional brain on board is key, see FAQ 8.
3. “Classical” approaches don’t deal with your unique reasons that have led to overeating in the first place.
   To find out why this is crucial for lasting results, see FAQ 9.

In our experience, repeating (or slightly changing) previous attempts to solve a weight issue that haven’t worked long-term, in the hopes that this time they finally do, is completely understandable – but also pointless. That’s why in the TRULY SLIM program, we rather focus on what actually does provide sustainable results for many.

HERE’S OUR MOTTO IN A NUTSHELL: Stop doing what hasn’t worked long-term, deal with your underlying motives for overeating, learn how to use your emotional brain, integrate the strategies of naturally slim people – and become one yourself.

No doubt, everyone can follow external eating guidelines for a while and thus reduce their weight. But only very few are able to keep that weight off so that the success ends up being just temporary – and everything starts all over again.

That’s why we rather teach clients the thinking and behavior patterns of naturally slim people, step by step. Even though many naturally slim people can’t even consciously tell what it is that they are doing around food and eating that keeps them slender, they still know best how “being and staying naturally slim” really works.

The good news is that we can identify their subconscious thinking and behavior patterns and chunk them down into doable steps. You can gradually learn these patterns just like a foreign language, a new sport or a musical instrument and then transfer them into your life in your unique way – until you live by them just instinctively.

After all, doesn’t it make sense to employ the proven innate success strategies of people who already are where you want to be in a way that does you justice?

Constantly controlling yourself around food and suppressing the desire to eat what you really want in order to stick to certain external rules or diets consumes a lot of energy and results in stress – which often triggers the desire to overeat. It’s a vicious cycle that is difficult to exit, but definitely possible to stop for good with a proven strategy.

Most people know that drastically lowering their calorie intake gets their body to slow down its metabolism to get more miles out of every calorie in an intelligent attempt to survive what their body perceives as famine.

Nevertheless many understandably continue hoping that such a program will help them solve their weight issue and put themselves through it.

But think about it: have you ever met anybody who has lost weight with a diet and kept the pounds off permanently without “white knuckle willpower” but rather with a relaxed and self-indulgent attitude towards food?

By their very nature, one-size-fit-all programs simply don’t take into account that every body is unique in the true sense of the word. After all, your body is not like a coffee machine that can be fixed by following the same instruction for all models of a series.

And unlike a coffee machine, you have a unique metabolism, particular food preferences and a personality – as well as individual reasons that got you to overeat and put on extra pounds in the first place. Also see FAQ 10.

With regards to eating restrictions and external rules, just think about them from this perspective: Who at the bottom of their heart wants to be told by anyone or any program what, when and how much to eat and what to forgo?

As children, most of us didn’t like being told what to eat by our parents and other adults. And still, many continue putting themselves in situations that bear strong resemblance to what they detested in childhood. That this does not yield the desired results should not come as a surprise.

How would you react if in another context someone constantly interfered in your personal preferences, stipulating everything?

Would you be fine with others telling you what music to listen to, what shows to watch, what clothes to buy and wear and when to go to sleep?

In the last two decades we have grown used to the idea that we can tailor everything to our individual taste and make personal choices when it comes to music, movies, TV shows, and fashion.

Isn’t it appropriate to catch up and do the same with food and eating?

We think it’s time you live up to your uniqueness by taking your body seriously and letting its exceptional wisdom decide what you eat and how to exercise, thus creating a strong and reliable foundation for getting and staying slim.

If you consider it from this perspective, it’s not very surprising that you “drop off” a diet program at a certain point. Your intelligent mind-body system will only tolerate restrictions and external rules up to a certain degree until it bounces back in what actually is a healthy response to get back into balance.

On a side note we would like to mention that the diet industry is probably the only industry that can continue making false promises and blame the customer and their presumed lack of willpower for the faulty product when the program does not provide the promised results.

Dieters are made believe that not being able to “lose weight” is their fault, and, sadly, many readily accept the blame. They end up paying a high price in terms of quality of life and sense of self-esteem and self-worth. This has been truly upsetting us for years.

Upon hearing that one goal in the TRULY SLIM approach is learning how to let only your body and hunger guide your eating,some people’s first response is fear that without external rules their eating would find no natural brake and they would put on even more weight. That’s not surprising, and we totally understand that to many this idea can seem outright scary.

We rather see this as a “weight-issue vicious cycle.” Here’s why: Most people tend to overeat because they have either never developed or, at a certain point, lost their own sense of autonomy around food.

Hence, to many, external rules understandably provide a sense of safety.

At TRULY SLIM, we call this Heavy People Thinking and refer to the compilation of rules that people with a weight issue

• have adopted years ago
• constantly expand with what media reports on
• carefully base their food choices on
• believe in (and try hard to live by in hopes of “losing weight”)

These external rules are a double edged sword. They lead to categorizing food in “good / allowed” and “bad / forbidden”, but most followers end up finding it next to impossible to live by these dogmas in the long run.

Promoting self-loathing any time they are violated, these programs rapidly damage their followers’ self-worth and quality of life – which triggers overeating again. That’s why, in our view, Heavy People Thinking can easily keep people stuck in their “weight issue-vicious” forever.

After all, if those rules worked, their followers would have overcome their weight issue long ago, right?

To naturally slim people, these external eating guidelines make absolutely no sense. For them, all types of food are allowed. They decide what to eat by tuning in to their bodies and checking what would feel best – and then really savor that food. To them, eating is a source of pleasure and never of stress. This relaxed relationship with food is what we call Naturally Slim People Thinking; it is the foundation of the TRULY SLIM program.

While the approach is simple, it is not necessarily easy at the beginning. That’s why we are happy to help you

• integrate Naturally Slim People Thinking, step by step
• get back in charge of eating in alignment with your unique body’s needs.

In our experience, breaking free from external rules by replacing Heavy People Thinking by with Naturally Slim People Thinking is a powerful first step to

• exit the “weight issue-vicious cycle”
• re-develop your autonomy around food and truly enjoy it
• get and stay (!) naturally slim.

After all, your actions follow your thoughts. That’s why we’re convinced that getting and staying slim starts in your head.

Imagine a house whose old roof has leaks in different spots. Here’s what the owner can typically do:

A) he can patch up each leak and enjoy the results until it’s raining through again and a spot needs yet another fix;

B) he can replace the complete roof and repair the structure that led to the leaks in different spots in the first place.

That’s what it’s like with A) practicing Heavy People Thinking and short-term fixes via repeated dieting versus B) integrating Naturally Slim People Thinking as a solid foundation for getting permanently slim.

While option B initially requires more work, time and a larger financial investment than option A, its long-term solution clearly pays off over time.

The choice is up to you.

USE YOUR BRAIN FOR A CHANGE

This might sound a bit provocative, but here’s what we’re actually referring to: Another reason why external eating rules and food restrictions generally don’t provide long-term success is that they don’t take into account how our brains work when it comes to adopting new habits.

WORKING ON THE CORRECT FLOOR OF THE BRAIN

Most “classical” weight loss programs are one-size-fits-all approaches based on logic. Logic is dealt with in our rational thinking brain, our cortex.

But it’s our limbic system (our emotional brain) that decides what we end up doing -and eating. This comes with a catch: Whatever our limbic system perceives to be stressful or unpleasant (such as external eating guidelines that work well for our cortex) often remains just a good idea that is not necessarily put into practice.

Hence having our emotional brain on board is key for new habits and sustainable results.

But as our limbic system is not accessible through logic and rationale, we should address it differently – namely in a brain-based way.

That’s why in the TRULY SLIM program, you’re learning, step by step, how to apply guided imagery and self-hypnosis to integrate naturally slim people’s thinking and eating patterns. With these approaches you can optimally support your emotional brain in realizing the unique development you desire.

In our individual coaching sessions, we’re addressing your unique stress-triggers and the connected emotions head-on so that you can really overcome slights, setbacks and whatever might have made your self-esteem fragile.

This is how you’re gradually building a strong foundation for shedding extra pounds and keeping them off.

In our view, failing to address the root causes of someone’s tendency to overeat is like taking pain medication for years to deal with a toothache rather than having an easy dental treatment that would get rid of the pain forever.

The (often nonconscious) reasons that drive people to overindulge are as unique as their fingerprints and typically have little to do with food or eating.

Many develop that habit in an involuntary attempt to deal with something that seemed very challenging at a given moment. It’s possible that this need to handle an issue is no longer relevant, so that overeating and extra weight have simply turned into a habit that comes at a very high price. In this case, our goal is to help you change that habit in a respectful and sustainable way.

But it’s also possible that overeating and extra pounds are still serving a purpose. Here, we assist you in carefully developing other options to fulfill this need in a way that is more in alignment with who you really are and that comes at a much lower cost.

In our individual coaching sessions of the TRULY SLIM program we provide a safe setting to carefully identify and successfully address any (nonconscious) motive that has driven you to overeat up until now.

Because, in our experience, this is crucial to release extra weight for good.

Yes, indeed, there is an endless number of programs and so many promises out there. It’s wise to be skeptical.

Here’s what we have to offer:

During your TRULY SLIM journey, you will learn to listen to, trust, and live by your unique body signals while fully enjoying food – exactly the way naturally slim people do.

You will learn a variety of brain-based tools, guided imagery and self-hypnosis that you can apply on your own to support your desired transformation.

You will detect and address your personal reasons for overeating in a very safe setting.

You will have reliable support in overcoming slights, setbacks and other incidents that might have put a dent into your self-esteem.

You will absorb powerful methods to address your individual stress triggers in a sustainable way and keep emotional balance.

During your TRULY SLIM journey we offer support that is custom-tailored to your unique needs and that does justice to who you are and what truly motivates you.

Step by step you are building a strong foundation for shedding extra pounds and keeping them off.

CAN YOU RECOGNIZE YOURSELF IN ONE OF THESE POINTS?

• You have tried a variety of reduction diets and slimming programs and lost weight, only to put it all back on again – and possibly even more.
• Over the years, you have trained yourself to eat food that you don’t even enjoy because it is considered to be healthy and promises to help you lose weight while forgoing the foods you really like. And yet, the extra weight is staying put.
• You feel well informed about “balanced” and “healthy” eating but can’t get this knowledge into practice because you are getting tripped up by old (emotional) eating behaviors.
• You define yourself as “emotional eater” and use food to overcome stress, frustration or deal with other unpleasant emotional states.
• You continuously count and calculate the calories you have taken in with food and burnt in exercising, and yet making only minimal progress in your weight goals while feeling trapped in a rigid way of thinking and living.
• You feel guilty and weak about being “addicted to sugar / carbs / other things” (often described as “more addictive than cocaine”) and confused by other contradicting information on food.
• You blame yourself for your “lack of willpower” or discipline around food even though you have no problem applying those qualities in other areas of your life.
• You have developed a fragile sense of self-esteem as a result of one or more points mentioned above.

If you have already experienced that restricting your food intake and eating by external rules doesn’t get you the long-term results you want and deserve, check for yourself:

Are you ready to do something completely different and integrate the thinking, behavioral and eating patterns of naturally slim people?

Only you can decide if this concept makes sense to you and if the time has come to do something new.

THE TRULY SLIM APPROACH IS FOR YOU IF YOU:

• feel ready to exit the “weight issue-vicious cycle” by quitting Heavy People Thinking and rather adopting Naturally Slim People Thinking
• wish to re-gain your autonomy around eating and truly enjoy food
• feel the time has come to adopt proven strategies to handle cravings and uncomfortable emotions
• want to boost your self-confidence and respect your body and yourself in a new way
• are curious to discover your unique motivational personality traits and how to harness them to get and stay slim.

We’re happy to provide empathetic support that’s custom-tailored to your unique situation, every step along the way.

Like for any other successful project it’s important to start with a realistic time frame.

Truly integrating the thinking, eating and behavior patterns of naturally slim people generally takes between 6 and 12 months. However, this does not mean that you would need our support that long.

Ideally, clients attend two one-day workshops followed by two to ten individual coaching sessions that can happen face-to-face or via Skype, generally over the course of 6 months. In these sessions you will learn a lot about your individual reasons for overeating and how you can best motivate yourself to accomplish your goal.

DO 6-12 MONTHS SOUND TOO LONG?

From our experience with clients we know that most think that 6-12 months sounds like a long time. If you do too, please try out the following:

1. Check for yourself for how many years you have been working on your weight issue and jot down the number.
2. Take a piece of paper and draw a line, one inch per year of dealing with your weight.
3. Under that line, draw a second 1-inch line to represent the time you need to become a naturally slim person.

In that context, 6 – 12 months is probably not that much time after all.

Please keep in mind: the programs you have applied in the past that have yielded faster results were probably not sustainable. Because if they were, you already would have found a solution to your weight issue and not need to look elsewhere, right?

Only you can decide if the moment is right for you to start this journey.