Overcoming a 50-Year Reluctance to Eat Vegetables After 50 years of avoiding vegetables, Debbie overcame her aversion using NLP and Hypnotherapy, transforming her health and embracing a vibrant, healthier lifestyle choices. Share Tweet LinkedIn Pin Case studies Health and Wellbeing Overcoming a 50-Year Reluctance to Eat Vegetables Posted by Jason Kemp on December 17th 2024 Health and Wellbeing The challenge For over 50 years, Debbie completely avoided vegetables. While she was otherwise in good health, her aversion to vegetables had become a major obstacle to maintaining a balanced, nutritious diet. This resistance was rooted in past experiences, and emotional barriers, leading to a restricted diet and concerns about her long-term well-being. Debbie's refusal to eat vegetables went beyond preference—it was based on a deep-seated belief that vegetables were unappealing and even repulsive. These negative associations, built up over years of experience, created a mental block that prevented her from making healthier choices. She worried that her poor eating habits could negatively impact her health and limit the time she could spend with family and friends. We discovered quite early on that the problem stemmed from when she was a young child, her parents would not let her leave the table until the plate was clean. This led to Debbie spending hours at the table pushing the vegetables around the plate until finally through duress and boredom, eating the now cold and mostly overcooked vegetables. The effect Debbie now feels more energetic and vibrant. She noticed an improvement in her overall health, and the idea of living a long, healthy life—one filled with joy and shared moments with family and friends—became a driving force. The positive changes in her diet gave her a renewed sense of control over her health, making her feel more connected to her goals and to the people she cared about. Debbie said that she can now fully enjoy meals and is no longer a "Picky eater" when invited to friends houses or restaurants. She said that previously she would either feel rude by refusing the vegetables or concoct elaborate ways of pretending to eat them. This included, but was not limited to, wrapping some veg in napkins and putting them into a small food bag within her handbag. Solution To help Debbie overcome this lifelong challenge, I employed a combination of NLP and Hypnotherapy. NLP Reframing: The first step was to reframe Debbie's negative beliefs about vegetables. We worked together to change how she viewed vegetables from “gross” or “unpalatable,” to seeing them as a source of nourishment, energy, and vitality. I facilitated Debbie connect with her values behind eating well. Timeline Work: We revisitied past events in a safe and supportive manner. Debbie processed and released the emotional charge attached to those memories eliminating old, unhelpful associations and creating space for new, healthier ones. Hypnotherapy for Positive Suggestions: Utilizing positive suggestions and imagery to deepen Debbie's ability to accept vegetables into her diet. We visualized her eating vegetables and enjoying them, emphasizing how these small changes contributed to her vitality and well-being. This reinforced her new belief system—making vegetables not only acceptable but desirable as part of a healthy lifestyle. Anchoring for Motivation: Using anchoring of positive feelings of health, strength, and connection to Debbie's goal of eating vegetables, Debbie was able to trigger feelings of motivation and empowerment whenever she felt the urge to reach for healthier foods. This helped her make positive choices in the moment. Result In total Debbie had 3 90-minute sessions each 2-weeks apart: After the first session of 90-minutes, Debbie began to notice a significant shift. The mental and emotional blocks around vegetables started to fade. After session 2, she was able to introduce small amounts of vegetables into her meals, initially in the form of smoothies and soups, where the texture and taste were more palatable. Before the final session, she was eating a variety of vegetables in small quantitites and now is happily enjoying them without the negative feelings she had experienced for decades. Debbie, now regularly enjoys eating a whole variety of vegetables as part of a well-balanced diet and she is feeling healthier and has reported that she has much more energy now than before. Jason Kemp An approachable NLP Master Practitioner and Trainer, committed to guiding you to discover your true potential and become your best self with proven, world-renowned techniques.