"I gave my food a right rollicking and lost 10 stone": 'Fatnosis' diet where you talk to your meals helped three women lose 21 stone
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It's a new - and some would say bonkers - way to combat fatty food cravings, lose weight and ditch diets forever.
But for three women simply talking to their food has helped them slim down.
Chrissy Stone lost 10 stone, Nona Bowkis lost over six stone and Audrey Scott lost more than four stone.
Nona, who credits the technique with transforming her life, said: "Now, if I ever pick up a packet of sweets, I say to it: ‘No. I’m not having you. I’m an intelligent woman and in control of you. Now go away’.
"It sounds a little bit crazy but it really helped change my inner voice."
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
Audrey added: "When I crave Maltesers I look at the packet and said, ‘You better stay away from me. I have a fantastic life and won’t let you ruin it’."
The highly unusual technique which is pioneered by weight loss guru Steve Miller, known as the Simon Cowell of weight loss, teaches dieters to TALK to their food.
They are also encouraged to look at pictures of themselves when at their heaviest while they eat. The diet uses a kind of hypnosis which Steve has called "FATnosis"
Audrey said: "First thing each morning and last thing at night, I close my eyes, clear my thoughts, take deep breaths before counting backwards from ten then saying, ‘I’m a strong and powerful woman and no food will control me. I can achieve whatever I want’."
Steve hailed the women's successes says: “Talking to food isn’t just a gimmick or something to make you sound daft. It helps permanently change your thinking.
“Are you really going to let a chocolate bar ruin your chances of getting into that sexy new Christmas party dress? Don’t let a fatty snack tease or control you. Look at that chocolate bar and tell it to do one. Just say, ‘fat off!’.”
It might seem unlikely, but there’s science behind the theory.
Steve, who trains hypnotherapists, says: “Frequent conversations with unhealthy food creates a new mindset and new successful habits. The gear-shift in your brain helps you feel more confident, totally in control and able to manage cravings.
“Losing weight is never just about the food. Most of us know what to eat to be slimmer. It’s mindset and motivation that needs to change.”
One of Steve's top tips is to "recognise that food can tease you" and confront it.
Meet three women who are following FATnosis - and over one year have lost a phenomenal 21 stone between them:
“I give food a right rollocking - and lost ten stone”
Chrissy Stone, 54, lives in Plymouth, Devon, with her husband Robert and daughters Hellene, 31, and Keziah, 20.
Was: 22 stone. Size 28.
Now: 11 stone 10lbs. Size 12.
Lost: 10 stone 4lbs
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
“If ever I feel drawn to a chocolate bar I pick it up, stare straight at it and give it a stern telling off. ‘You won’t control me. I am the boss. You won't ruin my health or my life. Now get out of my sight’.
It might sound bizarre but it works. After three decades of being overweight, I started talking to food at the start of this year and have since lost over ten stone.
It’s not the only quirky way FATnosis taught me to control my appetite. I gave my fridge its own mantra. Written in giant red letters across the door is a sign that says, ‘No fatty food’.
A photo of me off-guard at a Christmas lunch last year gave me the push to start tackling my weight.
Pictured sitting next to my sister-in-law, I looked twice her size. After years of denial I realised, with horror, that’s how people saw me. I felt disgusted. And I eat meals with that picture in my eyeliner now - it really motivates me to stay on track.
My weight problems started when, pregnant with my eldest daughter, I left the Royal Navy. Freed from the disciplined regime I indulged in anything I fancied eating so the weight bulked up. I was still really active with running, cycling, badminton and rowing.
But I damaged my neck and back in a fall and haven’t been able to exercise since.
Over the years I ballooned until I was 22 stone and a size 28. Having a sweet tooth and craving savoury snacks meant all food was my weakness.
Doctors constantly nagged me about my weight because it exacerbated my brittle asthma, left me out of breath and made my blood pressure difficult to control. I shut out their warnings and denied I over ate.
(Image: Getty)
But inside I was miserable. Embarrassment about my size meant I wasn’t really living life. On a plane to Egypt for a family holiday in 2006, I was on the verge of needing two seats and couldn’t put the table down because it lodged into my tummy. Even in the sun-drenched paradise I was trapped in a personal hell as I hid myself in sarongs.
I vowed never to go on holiday again. But did I do anything to slim down? No. Instead I comfort ate. As my weight grew my confidence shrank until even small treats to make me feel better about myself, like going to the hairdressers, were ruined because I worried I wouldn’t fit in the chair.
That picture last Christmas shocked me into making a big change. I knew Steve Miller’s name from watching Fat Families on TV so looked him up online. On his website I found guidance on his 80:20 nutritional advice and self-hypnosis tips.
It transformed my life. First thing each morning and last thing at night, I close my eyes, clear my thoughts, take deep breaths before counting backwards from ten then saying, ‘I’m a strong and powerful woman and no food will control me. I can achieve whatever I want’. It somehow seeps into my brain and stays there.
Now, whenever I open the fridge, I automatically ask myself, ‘Do I really need anything to eat?’ Nine times out of ten the answer is no.
Joining Steve’s Facebook hub was far cheaper then joining a slimming club. I’d tried them all over the years but the best I did was lose 21 pounds over nine months. With Steve’s methods I’d lost five stone in six months.
So I kept going. And in October I want to a FATnosis conference and met Steve. He’d seen pictures of my progress online and introduced me to people saying: “This lady used to be a right big butterball”.
And do you know what? He was right. When I was big, no one ever mentioned my weight and that helped keep me fat. Sometimes we need to hear the harsh truth as only then we can really set about changing.
Now over ten stone lighter, I am a new, confident me. My social life has taken off because I no longer feel self-conscious in company. I need a wheelchair for my mobility problems far less since excess weight isn’t putting so much pressure on my joints. I love shopping for clothes and make-up because I don’t need to hide under big black tent dresses.
“It’s taken time and effort but it’s well worth it. Because the moment I tried on skinny jeans in a size 12 was one of the happiest in years.”
“When my son guessed 'beached whale’ during my Christmas charades, I knew it was time to lose weight.”
Nona Bowkis, 49, is a solicitor who lives in Cambridge with her husband Nib, 50, sons Matthew, 23, and James, 21, and daughter Danica, 14.
Before: 18st. Size 22
Now: 11st 11lbs Size 12
Lost: 6st 3lbs
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
“Lying on the ground doing my best to act out Christmas charades, my son James shouted: ‘Beached whale?’
I’ve brought my kids up to be honest so that was the jolt I needed to slam the brakes on my overeating.
That night I stood straight in the mirror and was brutal with myself: I was fat.
I was 19 when I first went to a slimming club and I’ve rejoined around 12 times in my life. I usually lost weight but never kept it off because the clubs focused on what was on my plate not in my head.
Steve Miller stuck in my mind because when he was on TV he was a very direct talker and so am I. I signed up for his VIP package online and during a Skype chat he was talking about someone and said,
‘She’s really fat - almost as big as you Nona’. He didn’t say it with a mean delivery, but he was right. It made me stop denying my size and the health problems connected with it. It was time to face the awful truth: my breathlessness when walking was down to my weight.
(Image: BMP)
Steve wasn’t at all nasty, but told me I could be much more beautiful if I just lost the fat. Instead of making me feel bad about myself he gave me inspiration and aspiration. I listened and followed his advice to the letter.
FATnosis has taught me new techniques which are simple but powerful. They work in the way mind management helps athletes achieve their full potential. Now, if I ever pick up a packet of sweets, I say to it: ‘No. I’m not having you. I’m an intelligent woman and in control of you. Now go away’. It sounds a little bit crazy but it really helped change my inner voice.
Eating unhealthy takeaways like pizzas, Indians and chips, several times a week made me big but they’re not banned on this eating plan. I still have them but only occasionally.
I used to think I’d never be able to exercise, but recently ran a half marathon. I started with gentle park runs and built it up.
A few months ago I founded a running group and now have 25 members who join me to train three times a week. It’s doing my body. energy levels and self-esteem the world of good.
FATnosis taught me I can do anything, from resisting chocolates, running 13 miles or wearing a bikini again. Most of us know what to eat to be healthy, we just need to learn a healthy way to think.”
“I sweated so much people thought I’d been swimming”
Audrey Scott, 46, a learning support assistant, lives in Eastleigh, Hampshire, with her husband Keith, 46, and two daughters.
Before: 19st. Size 26
Now: 14.5st Size 12
Lost: 4st 9lbs
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
I’ve always been overweight but when the scales tipped at 19 stone I thought, ‘enough’s enough’. I was so big I lashed with sweat until my hair stuck to my head. People used to think I’d been swimming.
I wanted to be slim as much as I loved food so was in constant torment. I ate packets and packets of crisps and drank bottles of wine every weekend. If I had a family packet of Maltesers I wouldn’t share them.
I’ve done every slimming club going but because all they do is talk about food I dreaded returning. I considered a gastric band but knew I’d cheat by liquidising a Mars bar and sucking it through a straw.
When I was researching the gastric band online I came across an article by Steve Miller, because he hates them.
Like him, I was sick of the PC brigade telling me big was beautiful, or fat was happy. Great if you are, but I wasn’t. Fat was making me ugly and miserable. It didn’t matter how gorgeous my jewellery, clothes or make up was - at 19stone people only saw my fat.
I bought a few FATnosis downloads from Steve’s website and started talking to my food. When I craved Maltesers I looked at the packet and said, ‘You better stay away from me. I have a fantastic life and won't let you ruin it’.
Steve advises us to eat with our fat pictures in sight. Mine was taken on holiday in the Honduras where I felt hot, uncomfortable and unattractive in my big elasticated waist skirt. I remember the outing which took us to a rope bridge, like the one crossing the I’m a Celebrity jungle, and I wondered if it would take my weight. Thinking of mortifying situations like that kept me going with FATnosis.
I lost 20lbs in six weeks and the weight loss has been steady since. I swapped Chinese takeaways for homemade Quorn curries with rice and learned about healthy portion sizes. I was also taught to easily resist unhealthy food and distract myself when I felt hungry. I’ve realised the key to slimming down has always been in my head.
I’m not at my final weight loss destination yet but feel healthier, liberated, more relaxed and more confident. I used to be the biggest person in the room but felt invisible. Now I can be my vivacious self - and I don’t get a sweaty head anymore.”
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
(Image: Julie McCaffrey)
Steve’s top FATnosis tips
1. Recognise that food can tease you
2. Mentally tell it to 'fat off’, affirming that you are now the boss and food isn't. Say: ‘You used to have the control over me but no longer do. Being fat is in the past for me’.
3. Walk away and mentally celebrate by taking your mind into something positive such as looking at the next item of clothing you wanting to buy.
4. Try on your goal outfit before having a meal.
5. Eat in front of your fat photo to create an aversion to being your former fat self. Be anti fat and pro slim.
6. Follow 80 - 20 rule (80% healthy, 20% treat - makes you not feel deprived).
7. Each time you’re tempted by fatty food, tap your lips 20 times and mentally yell: “I’m too gorgeous to be fat”. That interrupts the pattern of craving food. Then move away to look at something aspirational so the mind is positively fed rather than the body.
8. Weigh yourself every day for the first six weeks. Research has suggested regular weigh-ins are good.
9. Remember no woman deserves to be fat. If your partner is dull, boring and a bully they should be ditched too.
10. Accept there’s not one reason that you cannot lose weight and stop making excuses.
For more information visit www.fatnosis.com