"There are many automatisms associated with food... food calms us instantly... we need to be aware of this."

I am Lourdes Ramón, coach at Palasiet Thalasso Clinic & Hotel. 
Motivated by the care of body and mind to achieve a good emotional balance. I embarked on studies in Psychology, Neurolinguistic Programming, Mindfulness and Conscious Eating. Following in this line I am now investigating the world of Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology (PNEI).

Lourdes, could you please explain your role at Palasiet Thalasso Clinic & Hotel ?
I accompany in a holistic and integrative way the process of clients who come to us looking for an improvement in their quality of life, a change of habits that will allow them to live in a fuller and happier way. In order to do this, we try to make conscious those limiting beliefs and resistances that oppose the achievement of these objectives. It is through self-care and taking responsibility for our health at all levels; physical, mental and emotional, that we will succeed in our goals.

You talk about holistic and integrative accompaniment, what do you mean by that?
Holistic refers to considering the person as a whole and in all aspects; physical, mental, emotional... and integrative refers to balancing all these aspects that form the 'Being' .In our counselling consultations we focus on listening to the person at all levels of consciousness, so that they can connect with the lifestyle they want for themselves and become coherent with their values and needs.

What is the most important challenge that a person who starts a weight loss programme faces, in your opinion?
From my point of view, the biggest challenge is to see, to recognise, and to accept the point from where we start. The turning point is to see oneself and to observe if what one sees is coherent with one's values and with the lifestyle one wants for oneself, to observe how I have reached this point. Why I have not allowed myself to take care of myself before, to take care of my body, of my health. Here we become aware of our resistances that little by little I can deepen them, we intend to create a space for self-discovery. Always with a lot of respect, respecting the rhythm and time of each one, giving time to listen, to express, providing seeds so that in time they can germinate.

What are the main blocks or resistances that you find in people who come to Palasiet Thalasso Clinic & Hotel to lose weight and why do you think they are due to this?
Lack of acceptance, lack of self-esteem, lack of a loving look at ourselves, lack of listening, of listening to and respecting our needs, self-demanding, lack of attention to our emotions, we "cover up" many emotions with food. Which leads us into vicious and probably addictive circles, almost without realising it... they are totally automated. We want to make these automatisms visible to make them conscious so that we have more power of choice and can modify these conditioned behaviours.

How would you advise people who visit El Palasiet for a weight loss process to face these challenges as well as the blockages and/or resistance they bring with them?
Make them "AWARE" that is the first step. Stop, look, observe, verbalise what we do in a totally unconscious way. That is why we create spaces for active listening, so that these processes can take place, we start a process of self-knowledge, we accompany, to go through the present moment and thus be able to make decisions from another place, from our own true needs freer from conditioning.
To have SELF-CARE as a priority in our lives to be able to "heal" ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally we have to take care of ourselves, we have to support ourselves to sustain everything we do and how we do it. It is this healing and restorative self-care that will enable us to achieve our purpose and live more fully.

In your opinion, what do you think is the main reason for people being overweight today?
Uppps!  Here we could be talking about a lot of time. Speed, immediacy, self-demand, stress, current rhythms of life, processed food with a lot of sugars. At a deeper level; unresolved traumas, the relationship with the mother, which relates very closely to our relationship with food and nutrition, but well, basically we come back to the same thing.