James Lamper - London | Deborah Fields - London & Lancing, West Sussex | Helen West - London

James Lamper

I founded WeightMatters in 2005, because I wanted to create a place where people could get the personal treatment they need for their weight-related health conditions. We all have different reasons for our issues with weight, shape, health, fitness and size, and this means treatment must be tailored to match each of our personal situations.

When I was a boy of eight, I developed binge eating disorder. A troubled relationship with my father, that was void of affection and nurturing was at the root of my early, distorted relationship with food and eating. I could lose my pain, temporarily, by eating cakes and deserts and, well, anything sweet. I would eat large quantities of food very fast, in secret, feel over-full, and feel guilty and ashamed afterwards.

Bullying at school because of my size didn't help. I soon learned to laugh at my own fatness – it made the insults hurt a little less. The taunts I heard from others became voices in my own head. I started to believe that I was fat, unattractive and weak because of my size. The situations at home and school reinforced my thoughts, feelings and behaviours. I was very unhappy and my eating disorder became a habit, a way for me to survive when life became tough.

At age 17, I weighed in at 19 stones and 7 pounds (124Kg) and had a 44-inch waist; I had left home and started to independent path into adulthood.

In my early twenties I worked as a Studio Instructor teaching aerobic, step and body conditioning classes. My metabolism was ignited and I lost weight. I was doing so much exercise that I was able to mask my binge eating. It may have even reinforced it, as I thought I could get away with it! I started to feel attractive, but I was still very critical of my body shape. I would negatively compare myself to other men and other instructors. Those taunting voices of my childhood bullies were still with me.

I had always been fascinated with popular psychology; do you remember 'Awaken the Giant Within' and 'The Road Less Travelled?' I returned to education and conferred a degree in psychology, which gave me a wonderful all-round perspective on how we humans work. At the same time I took my first step into dealing with my demons by seeing a counsellor.

This was a time of much personal growth and development for me, and after enjoying a course titled 'Living with Spirituality' I decided to train as a Psychosynthesis therapist. My training included deep interpersonal therapy.

My binge eating was still around, and it troubled me. I had seen dieticians and nutritionists, counsellors and therapists, but nobody was able to deal with my eating issues. They all gave me good information, but it seemed like fragmented parts of a jigsaw puzzle. I knew that eating, emotions and how I dealt with stressful situations were all interlinked, but none of the professionals I saw were able to see the 'big picture' needed for my recovery.

Finally, I saw a specialist eating disorder therapist, who helped me understand how my eating behaviour was a mechanism to deal with stress and difficult emotions. My binge eating had been a symptom all along, a survival mechanism to use in place of my missing social and emotional development.

After this I trained as a Life Coach, and took several courses in nutrition and weight management coaching, before specialising in the multi-factorial treatment of obesity, eating disorders and other weight-related health and psychological conditions.

Creating WeightMatters was a natural progression in my journey. I wanted to offer people solutions to their weight problems in a coordinated manner. It is the combination of nutritional, psychological and physical therapies that makes WeightMatters a truly innovative and successful practice.

I am passionate about weight loss and I set out to deliver my services in a professional and personal way. My dream is for WeightMatters to become a national clinic so that everyone has access to the weight and health solutions I offer.

I look forward to answering your questions, welcoming you to The WeightMatters Practice and providing solutions that will transform your relationship with food, so you can take control of your weight, health and, ultimately, your life.

Deborah Fields

I grew up with a younger sister in a very "normal" 2.2 family. My father was an antiques dealer and my mother had come to the UK from Switzerland and met my father. I was a happy child, with very "normal" childhood issues, it is amazing when you look back that "normal" still brings it's own issues! I struggle to remember a lot of my childhood.

I started my further education being torn between law and performing arts as a degree. I ended up on the stage! I was heavily involved in the theatre and the pressures it exacts from your body and the conditioning to look a certain way. One audition actually didn't even take into account what we could do, it was 100% looks based. It was a time of pressure, eating badly, excessive exercising and injury. None of that mattered as long as I looked good and performed, not just on stage.

I then went on to study again in London whilst working for a man management consultancy company. My work was full of pressure, dealing with men a lot older than myself who were quick to see a body not a person and a skirt not a brain. I fought hard to maintain a sense of self worth whilst being judged! Staying fit didn't seem to "fit in" to my incredibly over worked life

When I got married we decided to have children asap. I put on over 4 stone and an incredible battle started with my weight and how I felt about myself after the pressure of being a fit dancer, then a successful business woman and now an over weight stay at home mum! I struggled with post-natal depression too.

My husband left me when my youngest daughter was 8 months old, of which most of the time was spent in hospital due to her various operations. It was a horrendous time as I was a single parent with 4 daughters under 7 going through an acrimonious divorce. Food seemed a great solution and I comfort ate and didn't look at the issues, making excuses and blaming life and everything else versus looking inside.

I got heavily involved in local theatre whilst the girls were growing up and found something I was good at...people.

I started studying psychotherapy after realising it was something I was doing on a regular basis through the theatrical work I directed. I loved working with the youth and even the people involved who weren't the "best", the "most talented" etc blossomed and grew. Part of what I did was about personal development using the man management techniques I had learnt and mixing in the degree in acting methods and styles etc. I looked at the productions as an amazing opportunity for growth, goal setting, solution focused work and non-judgemental honesty. I taught a dance class too and realised that all the issues the people were bringing were very personal and I ended up enabling and sorting other people's issues as a way of avoiding mine. I was fit and supple yet still over-eating.

Through personal therapy I started to realise that whilst it was easy to "blame" others there was a level of responsibility that was mine, and by understanding what, when, why and how I made the decisions I made, I started to develop and grow.

I like myself - it's been a long time coming! I'm a great Mum - wow, not easy to say - I am a good therapist and I love what I do. I still overeat sometimes, I make excuses, I know what, how and when and its not always that easy. The difference is I make choices now. I am still growing, still surprised and still learning about myself.

I started my own practice and work with people with a variety of issues. I still have an interest in working in businesses too. I am studying, still doing my Diploma in Counselling and a Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy post graduate clinical course. I work in a school with children, for the CRI with substance misusers as well as with my own clients.

I met James at Wealden College and made an immediate friend - someone who thinks in the same way, especially about what we do. He shared his enthusiastic passion about WeightMatters and here we are. James has trained me with his immense experience of eating disorder treatment. We have regular meetings and share skills, tools and interventions so that we offer best practice to our clients.

I am passionate about what I do, I aim to be professional, non-judgemental and make no promises. I will also contract over how we work and what that will look like.

Nothing is black and white and often in the grey we can find answers. What you then do with those answers will be up to you, as then you will have choice - choice to take control of you!

Education & Training

• 2011 CRI Substance Misuse training

• Wealden Institute
  2011 & Current UKCP Accredited 1st Clinical Year in Transactional Analysis Counselling & Psychotherapy
  2010 UKCP Accredited Foundation Course in Transactional Analysis Counselling & Psychotherapy
  2010 & Current BACP Accredited Diploma in Counselling
  2010 TA 101
  2010 Advanced Counselling Skills
  2010 Certificate in Counselling
• 1991 MBA
• 1989 B.A Hons Performance and related Arts 2.2

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

• Institute of Transactional Analysts (ITA) Student Member
• BACP member

Helen West

My passion for an active, healthy lifestyle began from the age of 5, mucking out horses, riding and competing in multiple equestrian events. To this day I maintain a quality level of fitness by training 6 days a week through a mixture of gym, running and cycling.

I qualified as a caterer aged 17 and after 8 years of working in the industry I decided to move away from every day cooking but not knowing exactly what to do, I retrained as a secretary. Working for 6 years in London, collecting multiple skills and experiences along the way, I realised I wanted to reignite my passion for food but not necessarily through cooking. So in 1991, I returned to education and trained as a dietician at the University of North London. I qualified in 1996 with an honours degree in human nutrition and dietetics and have worked for the NHS and privately for the last 16 years as a Clinical Dietician. 

In 1999 I qualified as an accredited Sports and Nutrition dietician allowing me to give advice to sports devotees both serious athletes and the recreational enthusiast. To optimise training the balance between exercise and diet is key for the body to run at is maximum efficiency.
In 2001 I trained as an Advanced Hypnotherapist to complement the additional training around behaviour change I had acquired over the years. Hypnotherapy can be particularly effective for stopping smoking, weight related problems and stress & anxiety.

During 2004-2006 to build-on and expand my professional skills I gained an MSc in the psychological approaches to health and management.

I met James at a Fitness Conference in Birmingham, in 2005. One of the keynote speakers announced that if we got the chance, we should seek out this guy who had a great maxim for healthy wellbeing. A person needed to exercise, for their physical wellness, address any psychological issues to help behaviour change and to eat healthily.  I thought to myself, James is a person I need to meet, a man after my own heart. So I sought him out and introduced myself and the rest, as they say is history. Our friendship and professional alliance works because we have an optimistic, sunny disposition, mutual respect and a strong work ethic.

Our complementary skills and understanding of each other’s expertise allow James and I to offer a fully integrated and highly successful approach to the rehabilitation of your healthy wellbeing.

Education & Training

• King's College, London
  2011 FOD MAPs (reducing Fermentable, Oligo-saccharides, Di-saccharides, Mono-saccharides and Polyols in the gut)
  2010 ILM Management Course
  2009 Management of Chronic Kidney Disease
• The National Centre for Eating Disorders
  2008 Master Practitioners Diploma in Eating Disorders
• University Of Bedfordshire, Luton
  2004-2006 MSc in the psychological approaches to Health and Management
  2003 Diabetic Project Looking at newly diagnosed Type II diabetics in 4 GP Practices across West Norfolk published in Practical Diabetes. Nov. 2005
  2002 LEO Management Training
  2002 BDA Behaviour Change Training using CBT, Interpersonal Skills, Motivational Approaches, Level 1-3 with Dietician D Pearson.
  2003 Change Courses Writing Business Cases
  2003 Coaching Skills
  2002 Writing Patient Leaflets
• Austin Training, London
  2001 Diploma in Advanced Hypnotherapy with
• Weight Concern, London
  2001 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Weight Management Course
  2000 NHS Foundation Management Course, covering active listening, learning styles, motivating performance, appraisal training, presentations, developing assertiveness, team building, counselling for performance improvement, building rapport.
• Transform Consultancy, Leamington Spa
  1998, 2000, 2000, 2005 - Working with obese patients 4 x 3 day courses using NLP technique
  1996 Presentation skills course using Kolb method
• Sports Nutrition Foundation
  April 1996 Accredited sports nutrition dietician

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

• British Dietetic Association
• Health Professions Council