Paul McKenna Shines At Wembley Weight Loss Event - by Matthew Wingett

 

On a damp Saturday morning on 6th June 2009, 500 delegates arrived at the Great Hall in Wembley Stadium, to attend Paul McKenna's famous Weight Loss Live event. Not sure what to expect from the world-renowned hypnotist and NLP maestro, the audience were at first a little shy and uncertain. But as the day drew on and Paul worked his special brand of charm and magic, the clouds (both real and imagined) lifted - and the audience started to shine.

 

This was a classic day of inspiration for those attending. Because this was the last Weight Loss Live Event Paul would be doing for some time, the audience of slimmers was peppered here and there with NLP Practitioners who had come along to learn from seeing Paul in action.

 

Paul's genius as a performer and a master of personal change lies in his ability to get in "close and personal" with the people he is working with, while maintaining joyous humour and deep-rooted respect - and to do whatever it takes to make a change. When Paul invited on to stage one of his weight loss successes, a woman called Amanda Sansom, who had lost 6 stone in 12 months, and then threw the hall open to questions, her sincerity and straightforward talking - her calm description of how she had simply applied Paul's Four Golden Rules - was an inspiration to those assembled there that they, too, could lose weight like her.

 

Later, Paul worked with one delegate who had a severe craving for chocolate. She had even brought a massive bar of chocolate with her. It was so large it  looked like a comedy stage prop! But what was fascinating was the sense of identity felt for her by those in the audience who had also suffered cravings. When she announced that it was her intention to eat the entire bar before lunch, that she ate chocolate on a daily basis, and that it was clear she was out of control around it, there was only understanding, and a palpable hope in the crowd that Paul would help her. When Paul opened the wrapper and asked her the level of her craving on a scale of 1 to 10, her reply of "20" did evoke a laugh - but it was a kind one, that came from a definite sense of fellow-feeling in the audience.

 

Paul worked with the woman to weaken the craving, and then turn it in on itself. Within 20 minutes, she was gagging at the thought of eating the chocolate. And whenever he waved the chocolate in her direction throughout the day, her reaction remained resolutely unchanged. There was no way that she was going to eat it. Many in the audience were genuinely amazed - and hope began to raise that they too could make this change.

 

Paul also worked with getting the crowd to exercise more, teaching them how to associate good feelings with exercise. It also became quite clear just how active he is as a performer when he put on a pedometer, and left it to count his steps for a few hours. After an astonishingly short time, his steps around the hall were counted at well over a thousand. This was a fantastic demonstration of the point he was putting across: that exercise can be achieved without formal visits to the gym. "In fact," as Paul put it with a grin, "Anything that makes your breathing rate go up and your heart go faster should be regarded as exercise!" This caused many a knowing chuckle around the hall. It was indeed starting to dawn on people that losing weight and exercise could be fun - and easy.

 

TFT practitioner Kevin Laye guested with Paul, in order to show the audience how to use TFT to control cravings, hunger, pain and low spirits. His work caused a real sensation in the audience, and there was a rush for TFT books as the day wore on. Kevin also worked with someone later on a one-to-one when her sense of frustration and lack of self confidence came through. Also later in the day, one woman remarked to Paul that she had lost her sense of smell, and that this had affected her relationship with food. Paul asked one of his loyal assistants to work with her, and twenty minutes later she returned, able to smell!.

 

A fascinating and deeply moving moment occurred late in the day when Paul worked with a woman who confessed that she had become involved in self-sabotage of her weight loss. As she began to unburden herself, and spoke of her joy at losing weight by using Paul's system, and then of her frustration when she seemed to deliberately put the weight back on, the whole hall became hushed. There were many there for whom this story seemed to strike a deep chord. Paul, deeply respectful, yet with a very light touch, showed her how to work with the parts of herself that were holding her back. It was fascinating to behold, and the whole audience was stirred to a heartfelt applause when she came off stage.

 

Much wisdom as well as laughter was imparted by Paul on that day. The lifting of spirits that occurred as he worked with the crowd was clear, so that by the time the day was over, the delegates seemed in some way lighter already - stepping out with a brighter outlook into a clear summer evening. 

 

It was an inspiring day. And lying underneath it all was a real sense of the importance Paul attaches to his work.  His disdain for the diet industry that makes millions of dollars from yo-yoing people's weights up and down was evident, as was his pride that he had started to cause the diet industry to rethink its approach. "I am quite evangelical about this," he said of his passion to help people take control of their weight. "It's something of a Crusade for me."

 

As he was leaving, one delegate, a man in his forties called Alan, told me he had come to the Stadium unsure what to expect of the day. He hadn't really known whether Paul would be able to help him lose weight, but had thought he should give him a try. "I've spent a lot of money on diets and I've become disillusioned with the diet industry - but Paul, well, he's different - I mean, he's not asking me to diet, for a start," he said with a genuinely impressed tone. "But that's not it, really. It was when I caught the look in his eye as he talked about his passion for helping us, that I knew for sure that he really meant it.  That was important to me. Knowing that he honestly wants me to succeed."  

 

"And will you?" I asked him.

 

He thought for a moment, and looked at me with a resolute expression:

 

"You know, I reckon I will," he said, and gave a laugh of amazement at what he'd just said.