In NLP goal setting is called Well Formed Outcomes, and this tool out of the box functions beautifully already where it comes to weight loss related goals. However, for weight loss coaching there are a few nuances where it comes to NLP goal setting which is important to remember.
NLP goal setting for weight loss
Here are the standard NLP goal setting questions:
1. What do you want, specifically?
2. How will you know when you have it?
3. Where do you want it, once you reach it?
4. When do you want it?
5. With whom do you want it?
6. How will reaching your outcome change your life?
7. How will it affect family, friends, job, and your health?
8. Is it worth what it will take to get it?
9. When you achieve this result, what else will improve?
10. What stops you from having the outcome now?
11. Which of the resources you already have available could you use to achieve your result
12. How are you going to get there?
13. What is the first step to begin to achieve this result?
Permanent weight loss
The trick is in the very first question, it is a little more than it just about for it to be stated in the positive, something you yourself can do, an appropriate size etc.
1. Weight loss we aim to be permanent weight loss. Which meams in the goal setting process it means that our entire life style must change. A way to solve this is to do two well formed outcome processes one for the next 5 years, and one more detailed on the next 3 months. So the first 3 months automatically turn into the next phase.
2. Bringing in specificity in through percentages. A really great guideline for approcpaite eating is the GI Diet by Rick Gallop (which is not a diet, but a way of eating.) It classifies food in red, yellow and green light (though brown bread made it on the green list, while it is red, but if you are going to eat bread than whole wheat or brown rice would be better.) A perentage gives you something to hang on like 30% red light 70% green light. This specificity can help the client
3. I would always set a marker to set the well formed outcome, something big: 1) something the client can be proud to achieve, 2) something that can cause a big leap, like a big NLP pattern which is life changing 3) a line in the sand. I would be careful with sticking the client in a 10 day boot camp where the associate pain with weight loss, (it depends on the client), I would recommend doing a large NLP pattern, gathering family to kick off (see point 3.)
4. Most personal trainers would tell you that must of their clients leave them within 6 weeks. This is usually because clients work on will power, not NLP solutions. The client wants to work-out every day, but without some serious intervention will power lasts only so long. I would recommend setting up the client with a feasible schedule that they really can commit to forever.
5. Spend serious time with the client truly engaging what they will feel, hear and see when they achieve the goal. And make sure that they indendepent of you learn how to access that. It is a powerful motivator for people losing weight.
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