Is it possibly to loose weight by talking about it? According to Andrea Roberts from Inner Teachings, thinking and talking about your weight problems through a new set of inner tools, can actually help you lose weight faster than diet and exercises alone. Watch to learn more.

Transcript of Interview with Andrea Roberts

Sherrina: New York Moms, do you ever wonder why those last five pounds are probably the hardest to lose when you are dieting and exercising?  Maybe, just maybe it is something on the inside that is affecting you on your outside. 

I’m privileged today to talk with Andrea Roberts from Inner Teachings.   She actually teaches the Paradox Process, a process which when combined with diet and exercise may not only help you lose those last five pounds but will also help you keep them off for good.  Andrea share with us what the Paradox Process is.

Andrea:  The Paradox Process was developed by Roger Bell and Thomas Jones.  It is a body of work that helps you handle your feelings and emotions before they handle you.  It is a great tool that I was introduced to when I was in a dark, desperate, angry state during my twenties.  I didn’t know where to go.  I didn’t know what to do.  Things weren’t working.  I wasn’t happy with who I was and I wasn’t creating what I wanted to create.  Whether it was losing weight, my career, or relationships, I was just stagnant and I couldn’t go anywhere.  Thomas helped me learn about how to manage my feelings.  He taught me that I’m not hostage to my feelings and that I can manage them and create a great life.  I can manage the stress in my life in such a way that I have clarity within it and that I am making choices that support that what I want to do.

Sherrina:  You bring up some really valid focus points for mothers who live and work in New York City: stress, relationships, weight loss, and dealing with the day-to-day of being a New York mom.  Tell us how this process differs from traditional psychotherapy.

Andrea:  This process gets you in with your feelings.  You have to go to the feeling: anger, fear, doubt, worry, jealousy, concern.  Those feelings occupy you.  For example, if you are angry, you are viewing the world through an angry lens.  This process helps to change that lens to clarity so you can translate that anger into articulate words or understanding the situation that you are in and the issues that you have about it.  It focuses on core or root of the emotional problem that is causing you to make choices. 

Feelings actually cause you have thoughts.  It’s one thing to say, “I’m positive.  I’m having a great day,” but when you have a subconscious full of feelings that are negative, your thoughts aren’t going to do anything.  As a New York mom, I can imagine that you have to balance everything—your weight, your sex life, your relationship with your kids, handling school.  That is a lot to handle, and that brings on a lot of emotions and reactions.  This process gives you tools that you would learn and work on by yourself, as well as with a facilitator or in a group setting.

Sherrina:  And this process can work with a mom at any stage in her life.  She could be pregnant, going through menopause, or sending her child to college and dealing with empty nest syndrome, right?

Andrea:  Absolutely.  This process doesn’t just handle the weight loss issue.  It handles any issue that you can possibly think of.  After having a newborn, will I get my body back?  Will I have sex again?  Am I doing a good job as a parent?  How will I identify what the baby needs?  All of those are feelings that create a lot of anxiety, stress, worry, doubt, and fear.  By handling them you actually handle the situation, and the experience becomes different from a stressed-out moment in time.  These tools are taught to you so that you have them at your fingertips when you are upset at 3:00 a.m. when I am not available to speak to you, or if Thomas or the group or not around.

Sherrina:  Andrea, tell us, if one of our viewers wants an example of what this process is, is there somewhere they can go to learn more?

Andrea: Yes.  They can go to www.paradoxprocess.org, and there is a demonstration there between Thomas Jones and me.  It is a little sample of what it looks like and what happens during that process.   The other way to get an example of this is to contact me.  I offer a free session so that you can experience and understand what it is.  If you would like to join the weight group, I also offer a free session so you can have an individual experience and get knowledge of the terms and techniques that might come up.

Sherrina:  What can our mothers expect to spend in order to learn the tools of this process?

Andrea:  A session lasts one hour and costs $100.  I usually leave it up to my clients as to how often they want to come.  In the beginning, it is good to come four to six times in a row, once a week, just to get an idea of what this actually is and to get your hands on the tools.  It is then up to the individual whether they feel they need more.  Sometimes people come twice a week.  Sometimes people come once a month.  It is a place to check in, regroup, learn some new tools, and get new clarity and perspective on your own life and handling your emotions.

Sherrina:  It seems it is such a reasonable amount of money to spend, when you can gain so much for the rest of your life.  New York moms, be sure to visit Paradox Process.org to learn more and to see a free demonstration of how this process actually works.  For New York Mother.com, I’m Sherrina Navani.