Losing Weight with Hypnosis

Slimming down with hypnosis sounds so simple. You relax; the hypnotist speaks; and the excess pounds simply melt away, right? The truth is, natural weight loss was, is, and always will be a matter of calories in versus calories out. More calories must be burned than consumed. With or without hypnosis, in order to lose weight, we must all eat less, exercise more, or both.

Hypnosis, however, allows these behaviors to become more enjoyable and easier to accomplish, making it more likely we will continue these healthier habits for the long term. In fact, several studies showed that more weight was lost by those receiving hypnosis along with behavior modification—and the weight stayed off for a longer duration as well—than by those who underwent behavior modification alone.

Because behaviors are driven primarily by the subconscious mind, no matter how strong your conscious will might be to exercise and eat healthier, as soon as your focus is taken off of your weight loss plan, you immediately return to the established patterns and habits set up in your subconscious mind.

So, how do you lose weight with hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a very relaxed state of consciousness that allows new information to easily take root in the subconscious mind, thereby transforming old beliefs and thought patterns that no longer serve you well. Hypnosis allows the hypnotist to communicate your consciously chosen beliefs to the subconscious in order to increase your chances of success and the ease with which your goal is accomplished. For example, if your subconscious believes that “weight loss is hard,” “healthy food is boring,” and “exercise is draining,” then it will find ways to create those experiences for you.

Through hypnosis, beliefs such as these can be replaced with “I enjoy eating nutritious foods” and “exercise is fun and energizing,” and so these chosen beliefs become your new experiences and you then have a much more positive perception of the weight loss process. You lose weight much more easily, not because fat is magically melting off of your body, but because your subconscious is no longer resisting the required lifestyle changes you are trying to achieve.

With hypnosis, eating well and exercising come to feel more natural and desirable than previous unhealthy habits. Cravings for fatty or sugary foods are replaced with a desire to choose healthier foods and to eat appropriately sized portions. Old habits of spending evenings on the computer or weekends watching television are replaced with the desire to take walks, ride bikes, go dancing, or engage in other active, calorie burning, pursuits.

If you want to lose weight by living a healthier lifestyle, but are finding it difficult to give up your old habits and embrace healthy eating and exercise, hypnosis can be a powerful tool of change.