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I got Natural Brilliance a couple of weeks ago. I listened to all the cds, read the booklet, did the exercises, all with the goal of losing weight. I am currently about 60 lbs overweight. Anyway, I have had absolutely no change in any aspect of my life that I can see, and I have in fact gained 5 lbs since starting the course.

I used Ideal Weight last June and found it did help me to eat better for awhile. I lost about 10 lbs, but then my weight loss stalled. My eating habits have slowly been returning to what they were before I listened to Ideal Weight. I have tried listening again, but it hasn't helped. And now since working through the Natural Brilliance course my weight has come back on.

My question is, what now? As I was working my way through the NB course, I noticed that I was applying some of the steps here and there, but since finishing the course, nothing.

[This message has been edited by msjoleary (edited October 11, 2005).]

msjoleary,

I've also used the Natural Brilliance course, and found it did helped me towards my goal, in the sense that it opened my eyes to the times when I'm in a stuck state, and what to do about it.

Have you identified when or how or between what Stop Signs you oscillate in regards to your weight? For example do you oscillate between "I want to keep my old eating habits" and "I want to lose weight", or something like this? And if you have such oscillations, are they still present now, after you've completed the course? I think that if you still find yourself oscillating, then you haven't really uprooted your Stop Signs yet, and that is why you haven't witnessed any changes in your thoughts as a result of this course.

Perhaps you can listen to the Paraliminal Natural Brilliance Generator once a day for some time, like a couple of weeks or so, and see if that helps to install the ideas of NB into your inner mind and help you take out whatever that's holding you back?

Actually, I take that bit back - listening to the same paraliminal every day for so long would probably be a bad idea. But 2-3 times should be okay. And another idea is to simply repeat the entire course once or twice.

Have you been listening to the Natural Brilliance Generator. After the course you should listen daily for a week, then once a week for a month, then once a month for 3 months, then once every 6 months just to keep the model fresh.

In your manual you would have recorded what you have to give up and what you want to keep in order to reach your goal. So I assume you've created an eating or exercise plan.

Use the stepsthen whenever you have the desire to eat. Since eating is one thing we cannot just quit doing for more than a day it's a perfect opportunity to consciously apply the Natural Brilliance model.

So whatever you decided you needed to do in the manual you have the opportunity to apply it whenever you eat. Be it to quit eating comfort foods when upset. A bit less sugar in the coffee or even to stop eating at a certain time of day.

Natural Brilliance is then used to Release the thoughts about eating that you are having (instead of resisting them) Notice your desire to eat and what you want to eat, why you want to eat, when you want to eat, where and how you want to eat. Then Respond with action. Follow through on your decision then Witness the outcome how you feel.

Yes for Weight control you need to be conscious of the steps for a month or so to take it out of automatic pilot. But it's a great way to own the Natural Brilliance model.

Alex

GödelEscherBach,

Thanks for your input. I think I have done a pretty good job of identifying my stop signs with regard to this issue, but it’s kind of backwards. Instead of having something that I want to do but keep not doing, I have something that I don’t want to do but keep doing. Still, the oscillation is obvious. Also, I have identified visual images and internal conversations that push me to eat, but I have also identified an uncomfortable physical sensation that comes with an unspoken promise that if I eat, it will go away. And it does go away if I eat, but it is replaced by such lovely emotions as shame, self-hatred, and frustration. On the other hand, if I don’t eat, these uncomfortable feeling get stronger and stronger. So, yes I have identified my stop signs, yes I am still oscillating on this issue, and no I have not uprooted these stop signs yet.

I decided to repeat the course, but to do so more slowly, giving myself a few days to learn and practice each step. I also decided to focus just on improving my eating habits, rather than the whole weight issue. (There are advantages to improving how I eat other than just weight loss.) I listened to CD 1 and reread the intro material in the manual again, listened to CD 2 up to the paraliminal part again, read step 1 in the manual again, and then did the worksheet. I listened to the step 1 paraliminal the next morning. I little later that morning it occurred to me that I could change my perception about the situation so that, instead of perceiving the NB course as a way to change my eating habits, I could use my eating habits as a way to play with the NB model.

Hi Alex. Thanks for your input.

Please read my above post for an update on what I have been up to between when I made my original post and when I read your post today.

I listened to the NB Generator once at the beginning of the course and once again at the end. I don’t recall anything in the manual or audio that said to listen more often, but I will try this on your advice.

Do you recommend listening to both sides of the NB generator each day (like side A at night and side B in the morning), or one side one day and one the next? I am married with two young children, so quiet time is at a premium for me.

I tried many different methods of eating and exercise over the years, and I have learned which work well for me and which don’t. I have periods of weeks or months that I apply these methods, and periods when I don’t. I am looking for a breakthrough that will allow me to apply these methods, or something better, consistently.

I have been trying to apply the steps with regard to eating, but the best I have been able to muster so far is a short pause. It’s like stopping to wake up and look around only to have a wave slam into me and carry me off again.

For what it’s worth, my husband and I started a large deck project today. We were doing some prep work and making some decisions about how we were going to handle some details, and I started to oscillate about how much work it was going to be, and how much detail, and how many fights we were going to get into. Then I noticed the oscillation I thought to myself, “I’m oscillating.” It immediately settled to a minor disturbance rather than the panic that was developing. However, did I then proceed to apply the steps of the NB model? No.

Anyway, thanks again for your input. I look forward to any further suggestions. I am trying to give this a few months to see if it works, rather than just dropping it when I don’t get immediate results – that is my normal pattern.

[This message has been edited by msjoleary (edited October 13, 2005).]

One session morning one session in the evening is good. If you only manage once a day I suggest keep using it for 2 weeks.

Try for one or two days using just the release step. Then for the next couple of days Do Release and Notice. Stay with those to steps for a two days or a little longer if necessary. You don't have to be doing it consistently just often enough to say that you're doing it.

Then add the third step Respond annd then the next day add the 4th step.

What you are doing is focusing on the last step of the system starting by building your awareness with the first step. So when you have Respond it's a respond day. It means you will experiement with changing your response. Trying something different. It doesn't have to be a biggie. It might be have a glass of water and delay eating 15 minutes.

On a Witness day you would be looking for what's different. How did your reponse help or hinder you.

Release and Release & Notice days are probably the most challenging. Just remembering to release is one thing especially when things are hectic. At the Natural Brilliance retreat we all had MotivAiders going off at various times to remind us to do the days focus.

Once we got a bit more into the habit of releasing and Noticing the third day was easier When the MotivAider went of we sort of started whoa, let go a moment, what's going one here, what's my normal reaction, could I try something else, do what is decided.

Alex

msjoleary,

This uncomfortable physical sensation you mentioned suggests to me that your body and you are in conflict about how or what you should be eating.

Now you may chuckle to yourself and say, "Yeah, no kidding! So what's new?", but... please hear me out.

There may be good reasons why you may find yourself wanting to eat the "wrong" foods. In these days of frequent dieting it is quite possible to have a body that has been pushed into starvation mode - desiring high fat, high sugar foods without end. Any attempts to change it only makes the desire stronger and more uncomfortable, as the body interprets your attempts as further starvation. It is my experience that, in any tug-of-war between what my body says it needs and what I think it should need, my body always wins out in the end, and that is what I see when I read your post.

Below are two links that may be of interest to you. The first concentrates on regaining a healthy response to hunger - listening to hunger signals, deciding what those signals mean you are hungry for, knowing when you are full and stopping. I recommend this because in my experience when we struggle with our weight, we tend to lose touch with what our bodies are actually saying. We make our own interpretations, based on what we've read, seen, or think is the right thing to do, and that often leds us out of touch and far astray. Then we wonder why our bodies do not "appreciate" our efforts.

The second is a forum composed of a group of supportive people who have had enough of dieting and want to be "naturally thin" - i.e. to reach their ideal weight by listening to their bodies and being non-judgmental. The simple concept they use is the same - listen to your hunger, and go with it. However, as following this principle isn't always easy to do, for example, "What do I do when my body is hungry for a whole packet of cookies?", knowing that such a forum exist can be helpful, for mutual support and the sharing of experiences.
http://www.thintuition.com/thintuition_home.php
http://p066.ezboard.com/fbodywisdombylanifrm2

I think the two programs complement each other well. By the way, I do not have any personal or financial interest in these groups. However I have participated in both programs and it has helped me to get to the point where I don't actually have to worry about my weight or what I eat to have a body I am happy with. Maybe this information, coupled with the Natural Brilliance course, will help you break through and achieve your goal.

Best of luck!

[This message has been edited by GödelEscherBach (edited October 14, 2005).]

Hi msjoleary
I few things came to mind when I was reading the thread...

One of them is your relationship with yourself...you have done wonderful things, including impoving your diet and losing weight...how would it be different, if you spent some time in gratitude and self appreciation for that? If that idea brings up a stop sign, you know what to do.

This led me to think of two, actualy three paraliminals, if you have them. Self esteem and Relationships. (relationship with self, with food, etc) Maybe anxiety free- not just for eating out of anxiety, but anxiety about your weight loss goals.

Another thought- and this can be adressed by the Natural Brilliance process- are there secondary gains, so to speak? In other words, are there any possible advantages to keeping weight on or gaining weight? These can be squashed in steps 2 and 3...

I read recently somwhere, an Olympic champion was asked the best way to prepare for a career in athletics, he said "Tie your shoes!"

With that in mind, I have been using this NB model for less than a month now, but I need to remind myself constantly to use it. Sometimes it works spontaneeously- but sometimes I need to recognise that I am stuck and release...to tie my shoes.

I am making a point to apply the model to a wide variety of situations, thinking that big or small, it will all help the big stuff....

Best of luck to you!

vitaman
(ps if you want to know what worked for me years ago, just ask...but I reall should start again soon, I am getting soft!)

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Originally posted by msjoleary:
Anyway, thanks again for your input. I look forward to any further suggestions. I am trying to give this a few months to see if it works, rather than just dropping it when I don’t get immediate results – that is my normal pattern.

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msjoleary, one very impotant note - when you read the para above, it tells you that since things are not working, you are looking for some additional suggestions before you throw away the course. When you have a belief in the back of your head saying "it probably won't work as you have tried many things, but let's give it a try anyway" - there is a little chance of it making a lasting result on you. You cannot just TRY something - you need to DO something to get esults. Keep a dress that you would love to wear again once you loose weight - think in terms of positive. Don't get your brain upset by saying "I need to lose weight so that I won't look fat anymore, what would people think if I'm this way, ....." but say "wow, look at this, when I start eating healthy with the help of this course, I'll look so good and I'll be able to eat anything I want without worrying about it as I will be healthy, free of disease and stress, and I'll be eating good things and eating won't make me fat anymore...." etc.