Hypnosis; A Weight Loss Alternative

Hypnosis has long been used for the purpose of helping people change behaviors and achieve goals. Weight loss fits right in this category, but how in the world can Self Hypnosis techniques or private Hypnosis sessions actually help one achieve weight loss goals? To help answer this question let us first explore some of the reasons why people become overweight.

Some commonly sited reasons why people claim they have become overweight; overeating is an "uncontrollable" habit, they gained weight to make themselves less attractive for protection, food is comforting, poor eating habits based on lifestyle, rearing, or environment. There are a litany of reasons beyond these but we will stop here, all weight gain "reasons" outside of those that are clearly medical have been born out of core belief, which associates some kind of feeling with eating. Core beliefs live deep within our subconscious, they are developed over our lifetime from what we have been taught, and life experiences. Core beliefs make up the structure of who we think we are, our ego. If at some point over our lifetime we have adopted a core belief that associates some feeling of comfort, control, happiness, safety, etc. with eating a behavior will be exhibited as a result of this belief. Since the behavior, in the end, is ultimately what causes the weight gain, in order to stop the behavior we must identify the thought that triggers it. This is what hypnosis is all about, identifying core beliefs that produce damaging behaviors and replacing or modifying them with a thought that will produce a behavior in alignment with life goals.

Let's take the example of someone who was raised to clean their plate as a child and constantly told how fortunate they were to have food available to eat, as there are some people in the world that go without. Many of us have had exposure to a discussion like this as a child, most of us have had this discussion at a very impressionable age and formed life long core beliefs that can translate into possible thoughts of; I am and others are happy when I eat, there is discomfort without food, and its mere presence represents safety and abundance. Also having impressed the ideal of wasting being bad, no matter what the situation you are doing something bad by not finishing all that was given you (whether or not the portion size was appropriate).

In this scenario an individual has formed some core beliefs that in turn produce emotionally reactive behaviors that cause them to overeat. These thoughts and behaviors in turn can lead to more thoughts about oneself; like now being disappointed in oneself and having let health go, not living up to societal expectations therefore being inferior or bad, so as you can see one damaging thought can lead to another and just compounds the situation creating even greater need to find safety and security that has been associated with food. Since the subconscious has associated comfort and abundance with eating, "Eating feels good, it makes me feel safe". Thus a vicious cycle of reactive behavior has been created.

Hypnosis comes into play by 1st identifying whatever the core belief is that is driving this undesirable behavior. The process of Hypnosis allows an individual to relax to a point that the subconscious can be accessed. Since the subconscious is where these core beliefs reside that generate the behaviors that ultimately cause our weight problems, in the hypnotic state we can introduce a new belief to replace the old one and consequently change the thought process and behavior pattern to follow.

Going back to our example above:

Core Beliefs

• I am bad if I do not eat all my food
• I am privileged to have food available to me
• Eating food means I am not wanting for things
• When I don't eat others are upset at me
• When I eat I am happy, and others are happy.

With hypnosis these core beliefs would be identified and new beliefs created in the form of affirmations. These affirmations would then be introduced in the hypnotic state in order for the hypnosis subject to have the opportunity to accept them as a new core belief. If the subject is willing to accept the new way of thinking then the outcome will ultimately result in new behaviors surrounding eating.

The same concept is applied no matter what the issue related to weight loss goals; identify the underlying core belief, create new belief, and introduce a new belief through hypnotic suggestion. This concept combined with and emphasis on nutrition education, and stress management hit weight an health issues from all angles. If there is an aversion to exercise, self image problems, or anything else getting in the way Hypnosis can remove that roadblock.

What better way to make a change, then to reprogram it at it's source.

Using Hypnosis for weight loss can be a very effective method to achieve your health goals. Find a certified Hypnotist for a consultation, or look for weight loss courses taught by a certified hypnotist in your area for more information. Weight issues are generally dealt with specifically and thoroughly as they can have a complex mesh of sources that contribute to the end behavior, experienced Hypnotists are prepared to help you tackle these issues from all angles, all you have to do is have a willingness to make your goals reality.