:00:15. > :00:19.Since 16 I've been on a diet, and tried every diet under the sun.
:00:20. > :00:28.Across Wales, hundreds of thousands of women are on a mission to lose
:00:29. > :00:31.weight. Women like these three mums, trying
:00:32. > :00:35.different techniques including hypnosis? Just listen to the sound
:00:36. > :00:38.of my voice. ..calorie counting? There's a few
:00:39. > :00:41.prawns and a wrap for my lunch. OK, off you go.
:00:42. > :00:44...and sweating their way to the perfect body.
:00:45. > :00:48.Hopefully next week I'll see an improvement again.
:00:49. > :00:50.So does dieting work? One expert says it's time we kicked them into
:00:51. > :00:54.touch. Dieting is part of the problem, in
:00:55. > :00:59.fact, dieting is making us fat. But are Welsh women ready to end
:01:00. > :01:21.their life of diets? I don't want to walk into the room
:01:22. > :01:25.and be the fat bird in the room. One, two, three, go!
:01:26. > :01:27.Anyone who knows me knows I do not enjoy exercise.
:01:28. > :01:34.This is me at my worst now, starting back at the gym tonight.
:01:35. > :01:39.Lisa, from Hawarden is trying something new.
:01:40. > :01:44.This time I've got to come back and focus more on food, what I'm eating,
:01:45. > :01:47.as well as the exercising. After a summer break, it's back to
:01:48. > :01:58.the gym and she's ready to battle the bulge once more.
:01:59. > :02:03.First, it's weighing up the problem. I'll definitely have gained weight,
:02:04. > :02:24.but I'll take it tonight, and I've got to work on it. Where's she
:02:25. > :02:35.hiding? ! A lot but not as bad as what we thought. Hello, I've decided
:02:36. > :02:43.to have a little go on this hypnotherapy for a gastric band.
:02:44. > :02:46.In Pontypool, 42-year-old Gaynor is trying a different route to get her
:02:47. > :02:54.back the figure she was proud of years ago. Obviously I've got
:02:55. > :03:09.pictures, the night before I got married. Glacier is! -- Luka Glass
:03:10. > :03:13.'s. That would be a fantastic weight to be, but I don't think I'd ever
:03:14. > :03:17.get down to that again. I don't want to look at myself in a full length
:03:18. > :03:21.mirror. I don't want to look at myself in a full length mirror or
:03:22. > :03:24.shop. People make comments. Even walking through Cardiff young lads
:03:25. > :03:47.spit at me and call me fat, which is upsetting. Shall I pop my car down?
:03:48. > :03:51.Gaynor is a confident business woman, but she's conscious of her
:03:52. > :04:04.weight and first impressions. I work in a very male-orientated
:04:05. > :04:07.environment work-wise with my job. Look, it is Brad Pitt.
:04:08. > :04:19.She's desperate to lose weight and she wants to try something new. You
:04:20. > :04:25.have an operation but it is through hypnotherapy. How about next
:04:26. > :04:34.Wednesday, about half three? First consultation - game on!
:04:35. > :04:43.Do you want to go for a walk, Alf? Treat's for the dog, not for me.
:04:44. > :04:46.Married mum-of-three Karen has just returned home to Cardiff from a
:04:47. > :04:50.holiday in America where naughty food is all too tempting. You know,
:04:51. > :05:07.what they say about America - big portions - Pecan pie, ooh, really
:05:08. > :05:11.nice. But actually, I found that I hadn't put on any weight on
:05:12. > :05:22.holidays, but since coming back I've put on a few pounds, so I've got to
:05:23. > :05:28.nip that in the bud. I have so many eating is out. I have put on a few
:05:29. > :05:32.pounds. Today I must rein it in. She's going back to the tried and
:05:33. > :05:39.tested and her plan is simple. Eat less and count the calories. I'm in
:05:40. > :05:46.the zone. I am feeling positive. If I could bottle it I'd make a
:05:47. > :05:52.fortune. Hopefully it will just take me through just a few weeks, just to
:05:53. > :05:56.lose that a few pounds and make me feel better again.
:05:57. > :06:01.Post holiday, pre-Christmas, our three women are looking to lose
:06:02. > :06:05.weight and they're not alone. A BBC Wales survey has found two thirds of
:06:06. > :06:12.us have been on a diet. And women are twice as likely to diet than
:06:13. > :06:15.men. Lisa loves going away for weekends
:06:16. > :06:20.in Nefyn with her partner Phil and Shane the dog. She loves life and
:06:21. > :06:28.lives it to the full, but she always wants to be slimmer. I've been
:06:29. > :06:32.battling with my weight right through from high school from 16. I
:06:33. > :06:37.think I've probably dieted 80% to 90% of my life - just one diet to
:06:38. > :06:42.another diet, quite sad, really. I have always swung from one did it to
:06:43. > :06:46.another diet. Just looking for the next dig that would work quicker.
:06:47. > :06:54.Always different, always hoping for better results. Success is when you
:06:55. > :07:01.feel happy within yourself and if you are comfortable with your own
:07:02. > :07:08.body. I would rather Lisa remain the way that she is. Rather than someone
:07:09. > :07:17.who is simply drinking cups of coffee every night and not enjoying
:07:18. > :07:25.herself. Unless she starts getting massive! Then I will tell her it is
:07:26. > :07:39.time to stop. When I can't get in the car! And you have to pull me
:07:40. > :07:50.out! Here is my draw full of books. I
:07:51. > :07:54.think everyone else has one of these - Dieting for Dummies. That's my
:07:55. > :08:04.diet drawer. I keep it here because you never know when you might need
:08:05. > :08:12.it. Worrying about her figure and food
:08:13. > :08:16.has also been part of Karen's life. I always remember my mother being on
:08:17. > :08:20.a diet - constantly dieting. I grew up in a house with three brothers,
:08:21. > :08:23.so my mother would come home with a bag of goodies and my brothers would
:08:24. > :08:27.be straight in there looking for something to eat, and I thought if I
:08:28. > :08:39.don't get in there early there won't be anything left. Boys would eat us
:08:40. > :08:43.out of house and home. I remember my friend being able to
:08:44. > :08:47.get into skinny jeans and I had a big backside and never wanted to
:08:48. > :08:59.wear a skirt as I was conscious of my shape.
:09:00. > :09:10.Hello, you ready? I think so, a bit nervous. See how it is.
:09:11. > :09:20.Gaynor is about to try mind over matter, the Hypno-Band technique.
:09:21. > :09:24.Diets tend to be short-term and a lot of people can keep the weight
:09:25. > :09:28.off but that is the main percentage rather than the major percentage. So
:09:29. > :09:33.in order to change things I believe we must start afresh and that is
:09:34. > :09:39.where the Hypno-Band comes into play.
:09:40. > :09:44.Have you had hypnosis previously? No. What do you want to lose
:09:45. > :10:10.weight-wise? I'd like to go on dress size, actually. Ideally I want to
:10:11. > :10:15.get down to a size 12/14, yeah. I will take you into a trance; you
:10:16. > :10:19.need to want to do it. I know you want do this, but it's not a magic
:10:20. > :10:26.bullet. Relax you are falling into a sleep.
:10:27. > :10:29.Women are under huge pressure to be far thinner than is healthy or
:10:30. > :10:32.normal, we are constantly bombarded with images of sports women being
:10:33. > :10:36.derided for being overweight. We do have a much skewered view of what is
:10:37. > :10:39.a healthy weight in our society. Dr Katie Thirlaway believes women
:10:40. > :10:43.are particularly sensitive to social pressure and the desire to slim and
:10:44. > :10:46.trim, and that's why so many will go to any lengths to diet.
:10:47. > :10:49.If people are stigmatized because of their weight, if they feel bad or
:10:50. > :10:52.depressed because they think people are judging them because of their
:10:53. > :10:56.weight, that draws people to more high-calorie food to comfort eat.
:10:57. > :11:00.They are less likely to participate in activity classes or to go out and
:11:01. > :11:03.do things and feel they are going to be stigmatised. And once you have
:11:04. > :11:05.experienced it a few times, the anxiety that you might be
:11:06. > :11:17.stigmatised prevents you from getting outside and into activities
:11:18. > :11:21.that would control your weight. Our three women have lived in a
:11:22. > :11:25.world of dieting for years. Karen, Lisa and Gaynor have gone around and
:11:26. > :11:40.around. You name it, they've done it. Atkins. Slimming club.
:11:41. > :11:52.Slim-Fast. The commando diet. Eating with attitude. You basically live on
:11:53. > :11:54.nothing. Cabbage diet. I have tried everything, the list is endless.
:11:55. > :11:58.But shedding pounds costs many more. In fact, across the UK we spend ?2
:11:59. > :12:08.billion a year on diet programmes and products, money spent largely by
:12:09. > :12:21.women. Clinic in Chester for 4:50pm and that's it, I'm going to thin.
:12:22. > :12:24.One of my friends had been on a diet and I thought I could do the same
:12:25. > :12:28.thing. Realistically, that diet, I could never sustain it. I lost two
:12:29. > :12:31.stone, but as soon as I came off, they went back on and the rest. Very
:12:32. > :12:36.sad. I've spent hundreds of pounds,
:12:37. > :12:40.thousands. I fall for it every time. What with slimming class, buying the
:12:41. > :12:57.scales, the books - I've spent a small fortune.
:12:58. > :13:11.I get up in the morning and I am like a zombie, a zombie for hours. I
:13:12. > :13:13.find myself at the fridge. I do not eat during the day, it makes me
:13:14. > :13:20.second. It might be all too tempting, but do
:13:21. > :13:28.we know how to avoid fatty food? I do have regular meals.
:13:29. > :13:35.These people in Newport are being encouraged to eat the good stuff to
:13:36. > :13:38.stay healthy. Quite scary when you think 60% of the Welsh population
:13:39. > :13:43.are overweight or obese and almost a quarter us, 23% are actually defined
:13:44. > :13:49.as clinically obese. So with the right diets can we avoid
:13:50. > :13:52.the obesity time bomb? Gaynor is on her way to her second
:13:53. > :14:01.session of hypnotherapy. She says she can see a difference. I have not
:14:02. > :14:12.weighed myself but my clothes feel a lot less. I am feeling a little
:14:13. > :14:20.things like when I put my seat belt on, there is less to put around
:14:21. > :14:24.myself, which is a good sign. Usually at dinner time I work
:14:25. > :14:31.through being starving until I get home. I have been having a sandwich.
:14:32. > :14:40.A sandwich at lunch time which has made things better. And then on your
:14:41. > :14:47.next breath out, allow your stomach muscles to relax. Just be aware how
:14:48. > :14:57.wonderfully comfortable you can feel. There we go. Here ends your
:14:58. > :15:00.second session. What we will do at the next session, which will be your
:15:01. > :15:10.first session, that is your operation session. Are you looking
:15:11. > :15:29.forward to that? Guess. Superb. Lisa is cooking a healthy family
:15:30. > :15:32.meal. It's all part of the plan. She says she already feels better -
:15:33. > :15:45.she's lost over five pounds. But years of yo-yo dieting are
:15:46. > :15:49.praying on her mind. I want quick results, I've always put weight back
:15:50. > :15:52.on - there's part of me that thinks it will go back on. Which is not
:15:53. > :16:00.good getting your head around. I think what I find most frightening
:16:01. > :16:07.is there is no plan. Nobody has given me a diet sheet. I
:16:08. > :16:13.have always had something to follow. Now it is being told that you can
:16:14. > :16:17.eat everything in moderation. It is difficult to understand that. That
:16:18. > :16:25.sounds silly, doesn't it, coming from a grown-up, but yes I'll stop
:16:26. > :16:31.tomatoes from my friend's garden. Karen knows what to do. She has been
:16:32. > :16:36.counting calories for 30 years. But temptation is never far away.
:16:37. > :16:39.Tonight I am going out with the girls and we are going out for
:16:40. > :16:44.something to eat because I have not seen them in a little while. For my
:16:45. > :16:48.breakfast I ate quite light, soup and salad for my lunch, and then I
:16:49. > :16:56.will eat quite heartily tonight, but I will not have any dessert. Won out
:16:57. > :17:03.for dinner again, the girls are here and they are looking forward to
:17:04. > :17:09.their meals. But what's to eat? The fish cakes were nice. With plenty of
:17:10. > :17:14.choice, she is struggling. Will it be salad or something a little more
:17:15. > :17:24.tempting? I am going for the beef dish. All our women are worried that
:17:25. > :17:28.when the diet and they will put on the pounds again, and they are
:17:29. > :17:33.probably right. People who diet and failed to lose weight or gain the
:17:34. > :17:37.weight back afterwards are more likely to fail the next time I'm at
:17:38. > :17:44.so you get into a cycle of what some people would call yo-yo dieting, and
:17:45. > :17:49.what we sometimes do say is that you are at a higher risk of disinhibited
:17:50. > :17:54.eating. Once you have failed at a diet, you are more likely to eat to
:17:55. > :18:04.excess. But there is one kind of diet that is often comfort to
:18:05. > :18:12.women. The slimming club. When I first got a goal with
:18:13. > :18:16.Weightwatchers, that was my gold measured -- member badge, but I will
:18:17. > :18:24.never be that weight again. I keep it as a reminder. Here, they are
:18:25. > :18:27.celebrating another pair of outsized trousers that will not be needed
:18:28. > :18:33.anymore. Clubs like this seem to have the edge and weight loss. It is
:18:34. > :18:40.the support that we give our members. We become a family. I came
:18:41. > :18:45.near because I bought a pair of trousers that was size 24 and I did
:18:46. > :18:56.not like it. I do not want to left anyone in my group down, myself or
:18:57. > :19:01.my kids, anybody. The swimming classes, they work for me. I ? I go
:19:02. > :19:11.to different ones, depending on what mood am in the stop I always end up
:19:12. > :19:16.going back to the support more than anything, and for someone to say, it
:19:17. > :19:22.yes, you have lost weight. I could know that I lost weight and I would
:19:23. > :19:29.still go to slimming. When I go there, people say, yes, you have
:19:30. > :19:35.lost weight, and I say, I know. They are also housing pounds and calories
:19:36. > :19:40.at another club in Penarth. Groups like this have been used by GPs to
:19:41. > :19:45.lose weight, so why are they not used in public health campaigns? We
:19:46. > :19:50.have been speaking to decision makers in the health service, and
:19:51. > :19:54.what they tell us is that they would love to work with Weightwatchers,
:19:55. > :19:59.they have seen the evidence and know that we are a safe option, but they
:20:00. > :20:05.simply do not have sufficient funding to offer all of the adults
:20:06. > :20:11.in the population access to services such as ours. Slimming clubs can be
:20:12. > :20:19.part of the solution, but Dr Thirlaway has doubts. I would not
:20:20. > :20:24.want to paint everyone with the same brush, but the diet industry as a
:20:25. > :20:29.whole is part of the problem, because if you want a long-term diet
:20:30. > :20:41.industry and you want to make money, you really need people to be
:20:42. > :20:46.constantly dieting. The third person is going to run with the bell.
:20:47. > :20:51.Slimming clubs work when people who are slimming work with the plan.
:20:52. > :20:58.That is easier said then done. Iran a slimming group for around 12
:20:59. > :21:03.months, I think it was. The whole idea of going into it was because I
:21:04. > :21:08.believed that would be it, once again, that would be it. I would run
:21:09. > :21:12.the group, I had been successful on the eating plan, so I knew what I
:21:13. > :21:18.was doing and I knew what it was all about. But you have to have the time
:21:19. > :21:29.to plan ahead, and he just could not work out. Gaynor is back for another
:21:30. > :21:36.hypnotherapy session, and this is the big one. You have lost, but it
:21:37. > :21:43.is a minimal amount. That is good, you're going in. I am just going to
:21:44. > :21:54.drop the blinds down. I am just going to pop my light on. OK. You
:21:55. > :22:00.ready then? Comfy? You are vaguely aware of the day to day noises, the
:22:01. > :22:07.surgeon is ready to begin your gastric band. Leaving your stomach,
:22:08. > :22:12.now the size of a golf ball. Now you can relax for a moment as you are
:22:13. > :22:17.taken to the recovery room. From this day onwards, you will find that
:22:18. > :22:25.you feel full, even after only a very small amount of food. Why is --
:22:26. > :22:39.eyes wide open, rested and relaxed. Eyes wide open, Gaynor. It feels...
:22:40. > :22:48.There was some deep breathing, but this time, I actually feel
:22:49. > :22:51.really... The suggestion that you have had an ascetic could make you
:22:52. > :23:04.react in the same way, because that is what your memory tells you. --
:23:05. > :23:13.and an ascetic. Dr Thirlaway look at all of the tactics of our ladies.
:23:14. > :23:17.What do she make of Gaynor's plan? If she can make some sustainable
:23:18. > :23:20.long-term changes to the way she leads her life, that will be a good
:23:21. > :23:26.thing. Whether the hypnotherapy is able to help her, I would not like
:23:27. > :23:30.to say, but if it was able to help her change her habits for the
:23:31. > :23:39.long-term come it then that would be a benefit. It is another night out
:23:40. > :23:44.for Karen, and more temptation. She is resisting, but is she enjoying
:23:45. > :23:56.her tuna as much as her brothers are enjoying their stake? Tasty. Do you
:23:57. > :24:01.know what I mean? This week, it seems to have gone to pot a little
:24:02. > :24:09.bit. I am these die managed to say the same -- stay the same. I think
:24:10. > :24:19.real-life gets any way sometimes. It is difficult. I can cope with that.
:24:20. > :24:21.It is a great shame when people who are not particularly ever weight
:24:22. > :24:26.cannot get on with enjoying their lives and eating and exercising
:24:27. > :24:33.healthily without worrying too much. Back at the beach, Lisa is
:24:34. > :24:38.facing her biggest challenge since she started cutting down. She is on
:24:39. > :24:42.another weekend in Nefyn with her partner. Eating out has plenty of
:24:43. > :24:49.temptations, but this time, she has a plan. I am here and I am going to
:24:50. > :24:59.enjoy it. We have friends at us so we
:25:00. > :25:07.I am just going to stick to my meals if need be, and eat fruit in
:25:08. > :25:11.between, but not snack on all of the sweet treats that I would probably
:25:12. > :25:23.snack on. You are not having the bread pie? Those sandwiches do look
:25:24. > :25:29.lovely, don't they? Some cider. I was very impressed to see Lisa take
:25:30. > :25:33.in some exercise and decide not to diet, and I am very hopeful that if
:25:34. > :25:37.she continues to be more physically active, she will maintain her weight
:25:38. > :25:40.and maybe even lose a little bit of weight by not thinking about it and
:25:41. > :25:48.not worrying about what she is eating. The BBC's Living Longer
:25:49. > :25:53.Survey showed that the vast majority of people in Wales who went on a
:25:54. > :26:00.diet and lose weight. But long-term, over half of them put weight back
:26:01. > :26:09.on. RB getting the right advice? We have been trying -- are people
:26:10. > :26:14.getting the right advice? I think we need to move away from this as a
:26:15. > :26:19.strategy and focus on encouraging people to be healthy, to eat high
:26:20. > :26:23.quality, healthy food, and to take more exercise, to move more in their
:26:24. > :26:29.daily life, and is not to think about weight and weight loss. The
:26:30. > :26:33.Welsh Government says it is currently reviewing its strategy and
:26:34. > :26:37.obesity to take in more exercise, but it says it already has a
:26:38. > :26:45.multilayered approach which is not focused solely on weight loss. When
:26:46. > :26:48.you stand... So how are the personal strategies for our three women
:26:49. > :26:56.working out? Just a slightly different angle to show it. Gaynor
:26:57. > :27:12.is updating images for her website and business. It must be nice to be
:27:13. > :27:19.able to feel that comfortable. I wish! I would be like a woman
:27:20. > :27:24.possessed. Despite her worries, there is a smile on her face. So,
:27:25. > :27:33.has behaved in a band made a difference? -- has the hypnoband
:27:34. > :27:39.made a difference? I am eating things that I enjoy. Apples, I am
:27:40. > :27:46.actually thinking I fancy them now. As for Lisa, she has lost eight
:27:47. > :27:50.pounds, but she has been here before. Because I have always put
:27:51. > :27:54.weight back on, there is probably a bit of me now that thinks that it
:27:55. > :28:02.will go back and, but it is just persevering with it and staying
:28:03. > :28:10.positive, isn't it? Even on a Saturday, I just don't get it.
:28:11. > :28:15.Another birthday meal. And despite the many temptations, Karen hasn't
:28:16. > :28:21.managed to maintain her weight, but what of the future? -- has managed
:28:22. > :28:26.to maintain her weight. Will I ever be happy with my weight? I do not
:28:27. > :28:30.know. There are times when I put the scales away and think I will not
:28:31. > :28:36.weigh myself, and then weeks later, I think, oh, these are getting a bit
:28:37. > :28:45.too tight. I am a yo-yo dieters. Always have been, always will be.
:28:46. > :28:47.That is the finishing line. For more information on our seasonal
:28:48. > :28:52.programmes, go to the website.