Weight Loss

$\"\"$ Hypnosis is another piece of ammunition in the arsenal of weight loss options available. The number of people who are overweight and obese is expanding each year. Nutritionists and researchers believe that some of the increasing size of the American population is related to the standard Western diet that is mostly fats, oils and sugars.

The goal of weight loss hypnosis is to reprogram the mind so that a person can ‘effortlessly’ lose weight without hunger pangs and cravings. Hypnotists are capitalizing on the very thing that defeats our weight loss efforts – our minds. (1)

Psychologists tell us that most weight problems, in fact many of our difficulties in life, come from our subconscious mind and how we think about food. How we are brought up and our relationship to food impacts our ability to successfully lose weight. (2)

Some children are brought up in the ‘clean plate club’ whether you are hungry or not. This is a dangerous habit to instill in children because it follows them through adulthood, when cleaning up a plate that was over filled at the start will only encourage weight gain.

People have relationships with the food they eat and crave. Hypnotists work under the theory that hypnosis will break the pattern of eating which results when we are stressed out, happy, celebrating, sad or other emotions that can trigger eating. It is one reason we call it ‘comfort food’.

Weight loss hypnosis claims that hypnotists can help to reprogram your brain so that the impossible is more possible and you no longer have attachments to food. Hypnosis is not the final answer in the battle for weight loss, but hypnotists believe that it can be a huge tool in the fight.

It is used in the same manner as positive affirmations to make you more self-confident and in control of your food choices. A hypnotist can be expensive but CD’s are also sold that claim the same effectiveness and are much more convenient.

The basis behind hypnosis in the war against obesity is to open up the mind of the client so it is more receptive to suggestions. The suggestions are made to a person when they are in an altered state of consciousness. The scientific community also believes that people are able to achieve weight loss through hypnosis.

Weight loss hypnosis is based on two basic tenets:

*To help clients understand that permanent weight loss is based on a change eating habits. They stress that with a change you should feel less deprived than if you are strictly “dieting”.

*To think of food less. When people are dieting they can obsess on their potential weight loss and their next meal. If, instead, people are concentrating on one simple change to their nutritional habits, one change at a time, they are more likely to make the change and less likely to feel deprived.

Hypnosis has been shown to have success with people who have a willingness to open their minds and relinquish control to practitioners. Although most people can be hypnotized if they wish, not all people want this experience. (1)

And, it is important to note that hypnosis will not be able to make a person do something they would not ordinarily morally and ethically consider. For instance, a person who would not ordinarily commit murder or embezzlement would not be able to made to under hypnosis. However, since weight loss and eating habit changes are the goals, hypnosis is often the added boost that helps the program to be successful.

With the necessary nutritional changes and added exercise you are well on your way to weight loss!

(1) Mayo Clinic: Is Weight-Loss Hypnosis Effective?

(2) Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology: Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy: a meta-analysis.

Centre for Reviews and Dissemination: Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy: a meta-analysis