The Challenge of Weight Management Weight Loss with Hypnosis

Stop struggling with one new diet after another. My "Stop Thinking of Food" weight loss program will help you finally lose the weight you want without feeling deprived".

This program is based on an approach to weight management that has been successfully applied during one-on-one hypnosis sessions with my clients. It is a simple and easy to follow model for using hypnosis to find and resolve core issues that are responsible for keeping the weight on.

This hypnosis program speak to your personal weight loss needs and individual goals. This program is not only about losing weight, faster and easier than ever before. It is a about creating life-long habits. Becoming physically fit requires the implementation of a number of habits. In this process we will address a new habit each week and reinforce those already established. Each session builds on the ones before to establish habits and a new way of thinking about food.

As you experience the positive changes you are building up your sense of self-confidence, so that by the time you complete the program, the material will have become integrated into your life for good and you will feel that success. We will work together to form the right affirmations for you. These affirmations will become deeply imbedded into your subconscious mind.

Weight Management Getting Started

The New Year tends to stimulate the idea of making positive changes; new behaviors; new attitudes; and, new beginnings. Taking charge of our body's well-being is a great place to start because improving one's health and appearance benefits us on all levels: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Taking charge of excess weight and getting your body in the best shape ever is life transformative. While eating right and adding exercise are the two obvious options for losing weight and keeping in shape, you can also turn to the power of hypnosis to give you that extra boost to get started and maintain your resolution. With hypnosis, you get not only that push in the right direction but also the perseverance needed to reach and maintain your goal.

The interesting thing about hypnosis and weight management is that losing the extra pounds is actually much easier than you might expect. Many weight loss programs actually keep you thinking about food most of the day – hypnosis does not. With hypnosis the subconscious mind is retrained. In other words, through repetitive and positive hypnotic suggestions you begin to learn new habits.

You are given no food plan – nor are you restricted by particular food items. Hypnotherapy for weight management begins to change the way you think about food.

Perhaps this is best said by a client's response to her sessions:

"The one thought that, to me, is most important is that this is not a diet. You go on and off diets which is why they fail. This also isn't a life style change because I'm still eating everything I ate before. To me it is a Life Change and I am just approaching meals with a different attitude. It is because of the suggestions in the hypnotherapy and the release of some negativity that is causing this attitude change. A striking realization is that weight is not about the food; it's about your attitude toward food."

The change you see with hypnosis is gradual and steady. This tends to ensure that the weight loss is natural and more lasting. By using hypnosis to change behaviors or habits, the changes come over time and the results tend to stay. Keep in mind that hypnotherapy can help you lose weight and then keep it off in a number of different ways:

• You will develop a new self image.
• You will learn how to relax and manage stress.
• You will learn how to relax and manage stress.
• You will learn to recognize "real hunger" from "false emotional hunger."
• You will feel better about yourself as you gain more confidence.
• You will enjoy smaller portions of food without feeling deprived.
• You will experience the confidence that will help you work toward other goals in your life.

Research is pretty clear that hypnosis supports weight loss and more importantly supports long term weight loss. Below are three studies on the effectiveness of hypnosis for weight management. These studies were performed by: Bolocofsky, David N.; Spinler, Dwayne; Coulthard-Morris, Linda (1985).

Study One

The first study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, divided 109 people into two groups for a 9 week study. The first group were treated with changes in diet and exercise habits without the addition of hypnosis. The second group was given the same diet and exercise treatment and was also given hypnosis for reinforcement.

After 9 weeks, not surprisingly, both groups lost weight due to the changes in diet and exercise while under supervision.

What happened after the 8 month and 2-year follow-ups might surprise you. The group that did not have hypnosis did not lose anymore weight and in fact most gained most of their weight back.

The hypnosis group, however, continued to lose weight during both intervals and the studies showed that far more people in the hypnosis group met their long term weight loss goals. The hypnosis group continued the eating and exercise habits learned in the experiment while the non hypnosis group did not.

There is no magic pill for weight loss and you simply have to follow a healthy eating and exercise plan - from this study it is clear that hypnosis supports diet and exercise adherence.

Study Two

Cochrane, Gordon; Friesen, J. (1986). Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 489-492.

The next study, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, investigated the effects of hypnosis in weight loss for 60 females at least 20% overweight and not involved in other treatment. The researchers interviewed each participant this time about their family background, educational background, and their belief as to their hypnotizability.

The group was split into hypnosis and non hypnosis groups with both groups being given weight loss behavioral treatments and counseling. The results were very interesting. The group using hypnosis lost an average of 17 pounds at the 6 month follow up. The group that did not receive hypnosis only lost a half of a pound.

Study Three

Kirsch, Irving (1996). Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments--Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64 (3), 517-519.

In this meta-analysis, (which is when researchers look across multiple studies), the results of the two studies I just mentioned and other studies were confirmed.

In the studies of hypnosis versus no hypnosis the average short term weight loss was 6 pounds for those not using hypnosis and 11.83 pounds with hypnosis. Even more importantly, over the long term the average weight loss without hypnosis remained at 6 pounds, but with hypnosis it jumped to 14.88 pounds - indicating again that the effects of hypnosis seem to compound over time.

What is impressive about these results is that doing hypnosis under controlled conditions is extremely difficult, and to have the research indicate that people are losing anywhere from 2 to 17 times more weight under hypnosis than when they do not use it clearly indicates that hypnosis should be used by anyone who is serious about weight loss.