When the average person thinks about hypnotherapy, they usually associate it with quitting smoking and weight loss. These seem to be the two main areas that people turn to hypnosis for. Hypnotherapy is also very useful for many other issues as well.
I will explain to you some of the tactics I, as a hypnotherapist, typically employ in order to help patients with their goals for losing weight. This will hopefully help and inspire you with your own weight loss goals.
The very first thing I establish with a patient is a clear and realistic goal as to how much weight they wish to lose. Most people find it useful to have a 6 month plan, as a year can be a daunting time frame. You can always start another plan after you have finished this one if you need to lose a lot of weight. A realistic amount of weight loss might be 24 pounds in a 6 month period, depending on their existing weight. It seems a lot less daunting when you think that this works out at 4 pounds of weight loss per month, around a pound per week.
I then discuss eating habits. Personally I feel it is prudent to focus more on eating habits than exercise, since reducing eating is by far the easiest way to lose weight. Our bodies are incredibly efficient, and can generate a lot of work for only a relatively small amount of calories burnt. Of course increasing exercise helps, but it can cause confusion between goals of losing weight, and increasing fitness, which are not the same thing. Most people know their bad habits when they are honest with themselves, and actually think about their eating habits in some detail. Think for a moment about some of your eating habits which would benefit from change.
One of the most common and destructive habits I regularly find is that people give themselves too large portions of food, and feel they have to finish everything on their plate. This causes them to over eat, and ignore their body telling them that they have eaten enough. This creates further problems as they are effectively training their brain to set its ‘satisfied’ threshold much higher than it should be, meaning they need to eat more in order to feel satisfied.
Whilst in a hypnotic trance, I talk to the patients’ subconscious mind, the part where all their habits and desires are formed. I persuade them to get into the habit of leaving some food on the plate at every meal, even if it is sometimes only a small amount. I then ask the subconscious mind to really listen to the body as to when it has eaten enough, and to eat a little slower in order to help this process. This helps the mind reset back to its default position of how much food it needs before feeling satisfied.
It is surprising how much difference this can make. By allowing the body to tell you how much to eat, instead of being dictated to by the amount of food on the plate, a persons’ weight can start to move down towards its natural level. The simple act of leaving something on your plate at every meal sends a powerful message to yourself that you are in control of how much you eat. Done for every meal, every day for 6 months will make a HUGE difference. It can sometimes be difficult to remember to do this, and to stay motivated, but hypnotherapy can greatly help with this.
Think about it, you don’t want a plate of food to dictate terms to you, do you?! If this sounds like you, make a stance and dictate to the plate of food how much of it you wish to eat. Feel the passion, feel the power - you own that plate of food, not the other way round! Make that stance now!
I may also persuade a patients’ subconscious mind to modify a few more habits, such as eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, and reducing eating high fat convenience meals, mayonnaises etc.
Hypnosis cannot take the weight off you, but it can help you to modify your behaviour, to make permanent changes in order to facilitate permanent weight loss. It cannot unfortunately offer you the miracle where you fall asleep and wake up the next day having lost 24 pounds without any effort or changes. You must make permanent changes to your lifestyle in order to make permanent changes to your weight. You must accept that you need to make changes in order to lose weight. Hypnosis can help you to make these changes and meet your weight loss goals, but it cannot do it for you, and it cannot do it over night!
You do not need to make drastic changes and live a Spartan existence in order to lose weight. In fact I would advise against this as you are likely to quit and revert back to your old eating habits. Simple and relatively painless permanent changes can yield great results over a period of time. It’s more about sustained effort if you want permanent results. Whenever you feel like reverting back to old habits, think about all the wonderful benefits that you will enjoy being a slimmer, more attractive, and healthier you. Think about them for a moment now. What are the benefits of being slimmer? How will your life be enhanced? Learn to love and respect yourself. Act now. You know you’re worth it!
Imagine how you would feel in 6 months time having lost weight. Imagine the satisfaction you will feel knowing that you have achieved this with good honest and sustained effort. Imagine how great you will look. You would probably feel on top of the world! Good luck!
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