Hypnosis for Weight Control

Whether you binge, simply overeat or eat the wrong kinds of food, hypnotherapy can help to put you on the path to a slimmer, healthier, happier you. Having worked on a health magazine for ten years, I know that short-term diets don't work, and that what's required is a permanent lifestyle shift towards exercising and eating foods because they're packed with nutrients rather than because they're low-cal or low-fat. And having used hypnotherapy myself to lose weight, I know first-hand that it works.

During your hypnotherapy sessions, the conscious and unconscious reasons for your weight gain will be thoroughly explored. Then you'll be taught self-hypnosis and asked to perform it for between five and 20 minutes twice daily so that you can reinforce your commitment to your weight-loss goal by focusing on it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. You'll also be given powerful direct suggestions that you no longer crave unhealthy, fattening foods and that instead you automatically opt for healthier, more nutritious options. Suggestions for taking exercise regularly will also help to speed up your weight loss.

Hypnotherapy isn't a quick-fix, and it can't make weight loss effortless, but if you're determined to start giving your body the wholesome, nutritious food it craves, it can help you stay motivated and make it easier to make the right diet choices, day in, day out, without feeling deprived or hungry.

THE EVIDENCE?
In a study published in the Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 109 overweight people were put on a medically supervised weight-loss programme and some of them were given hypnotherapy regularly while others weren't. After nine weeks, both groups had lost the same amount of weight, but two years later, those who received hypnotherapy showed significant additional weight loss or maintained their weight better than those who didn't get the treatment.

In a study published in the International Journal Of Obesity, which reviewed 31 studies of the effectiveness of complementary therapies such as acupuncture, acupressure, dietary supplements, homeopathy and hypnotherapy for reducing body weight, hypnotherapy was shown to be the only drug-free therapy that was effective.

To go back to the What Hypnosis Can Help page, click here.