There are more ways to lose weight than there are days of the week. Some work. Others don't. Overweight and obese patients are sometimes desperate to take the right path on their weight loss journey. Weight loss efforts on fad diets often work well, but the weight piles back on the second eating habits return to normal. Weight loss hypnotherapy is an intriguing weight loss option to consider.
How Does Clinical Weight Loss Hypnosis Work?
Losing weight is as simple as changing a pattern of behaviors. Hypnosis uses the power of suggestion to change and shift behavior. If you put the two together, it could work as a great first step toward changing behavior.
There are many other weight loss strategies, but for those who have struggled with weight loss and fad diets, it might be wise to at least try a hypnosis session to see if it can be something that is beneficial for assisting weight loss goals.
Does Hypnosis Help People Lose Weight Right Away?
Clinical hypnosis should not be looked at as a weight loss 'magic pill'. No one will lose weight automatically or be a healthy weight a day or even a week after a weight loss clinical hypnosis session. Self hypnosis will also not work in a 'magical' manner. However, obese patients and others who want to reach a healthy weight can utilize hypnosis for weight loss to go about promoting weight loss and weight reduction with behavior changes.
Think of hypnotherapy for weight loss as a weight loss treatment. Those who are stuck in eating disorders and bad eating patterns can break the cycle of overindulging or reaching for food when they are bored, tired, or stressed.
They lose weight when they are able to alter their relationship with food. Hypnotherapy for weight loss can also aid those who live a sedentary lifestyle to have an enhanced capacity for movement. The psychological hypnosis gives them the will to engage in and even enjoy physical activity, which can help more weight to fall from their body.
Self Hypnosis in Treating Obesity
While it is certainly an effective technique to visit with licensed professionals and see how hypnosis works as an effective strategy to aid good health, not everyone will feel comfortable with the idea of hypnosis under the care of licensed professionals. Rather, there are self hypnosis techniques that you can try on your own to help rid yourself of unwanted thoughts, like shame, blame, and guilt.
Many people who want a behavior change in their life use self conditioning treatments. This alternative therapy can help with smoking cessation, severe obesity, and many other treatments. The hypnotherapy session can be done at home, on your own time.
You could get a hypnosis recording with a soothing tone to listen to while you fall asleep. That verbal repetition can affect dietery changes long-term, which is what you may need to better health conditions that go along with being overweight.
While there may be certain eligibility criteria for a hypnotic induction within a clinic, anyone can try self hypnosis and see if the hypnotic suggestions help with focused attention where food is concerned.
Putting Dietary Changes Into Action
Hypnosis alone is not going to change anyone's life. Being in a relaxed state of hypnotic trance makes you open to suggestions and a loose form of mind control, but other methods have to work hand in hand with that hypnosis. Here are a few things you may want to do in order to make your weight a priority as you change things in your life.
Start a Food Diary
This is something you might want to do even before you reach that hypnotic state. Try not to judge yourself, but instead write down everything you eat. If you are feeling a particular emotion or having certain thoughts, write that down as well.
This inclusion criteria will help you to notice changes after hypnosis as your mental imagery changes around the foods you eat. You will also be able to see where you need to change more, so you can figure out what other suggestions are necessary during that relaxed state.
Try Self Conditioning Techniques
The psychological interventions of your hypnosis group will only take you so far. You will do better with your weight loss, as previous research has show, if you are able to couple the effective adjuvant treatment with a heightened sense of awareness around what you eat and how you act.
Tell yourself you are beautiful, for example, instead of putting yourself down. Encourage yourself to eat well instead of beating yourself up with you fail. Lose weight and keep it off with self conditioning alongside the weight loss hypnosis.
Engage in Physical Activity
You know in order to lose weight, you need to eat less and move around more. Physical activity is a huge key to the success of any weight loss program. Don't think of this type of activity as 'exercise'. That's a dirty word to many people. Instead, physical activity becomes a part of your routine. It will help you bring your weight down and keep it down in the future.
There are a lot of things you can try. Look for activities you enjoy and build from there. If you don't mind walking, make it a goal to go around the block once. In a few days, take that trip twice and so on. Perhaps you like to ride your bike, so make that your activity of choice.
Your innate abilities and overall enjoyment should guide you in choosing your physical activities. You're more likely to stick to the new lifestyle if you enjoy it.
Create A Nutritious Diet
Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you have to starve. You simply have to eat a nutritious diet to fuel your body instead of empty calories that do nothing but make you hungry again sooner.
This is also one of the keys to weight management. Once you lose weight, you want to be able to keep it off. Do more research on food and see what your body needs versus what you crave. The more research you do, the more you recognize just what a healthy diet can do for your overall lifestyle.
Finding a Good Hypnotherapy Professional
If you don't want to go with self hypnosis, or you want more guidance to help with certain eating disorders, you are going to want to find the right hypnotherapy professional for your weight loss journey. Not every hypnotherapist specializes in weight management.
Some deal with other behavior change niches, like chronic pain or smoking cessation. You want someone who will help with the right mental imagery for your issues. Here are a few things to look for in a hypnotherapist for weight loss.
Licensing
Before you visit any professional, you want to make sure they are one of the licensed professionals on the market. There are plenty of people who claim to do hypnotherapy, but you are more likely to get the dietary changes and results you want from licensed individuals with the right training.
Good Reviews
You can read a narrative review on any business today and when it comes to hypnotherapy, you should. Look at websites and read reviews from their sites, and outside websites.
That kind of systematic review will help you learn what results others have had with that professional and what you might be able to expect. This kind of study aims to help you trust the hypnotherapy technique the person you choose puts forth.
Experience
Hypnotherapy isn't a born talent for most people. You will feel better about undergoing hypnosis with someone who has a lot of experience in the field. As you look at websites, check to see what kind of experience each professional has with hypnotherapy.
Specifically, look for a background for hypnosis pertaining to weight loss. That will give you more confidence in your results as you embark on this journey.
Insurance
While most health insurance won't cover hypnosis, you want to make sure any hypnotherapy professional had insurance. They need to be covered in case an accident happens on their property so you don't become liable for anything that happens during those sessions.
Any professional business should have insurance and if you find a hypnosis company that doesn't, that's a bad sign.
Fair Pricing
Hypnotherapy can vary quite a bit in price and you are going to want to hire professionals who charge you a fair price for what you are getting. Some companies will charge per session while others will sell you a package.
Either way, make sure you compare prices and understand the going market rate so you don't pay too much for hypnosis.
A Trustworthy Professional
It's highly important that you speak to the professional who will run the hypnosis before you dive into hypnotherapy. You want to get a feel for how they conduct themselves and what their background and experience is like.
When you work with someone on something important like weight loss and hypnosis, you want to feel as if you can trust them.
Your Gut Reaction
There's something to be said about the way you feel about the professional before you agree to hypnosis. If you get a bad vibe from that person for any reason, the process might not be for you.
Search for a hypnotherapist that makes you feel comfortable. It will be hard to reach that relaxed state where you can be susceptible to mental imagery if you are not feeling good about the person doing the hypnosis.
What Do Dietitians Think of Using Hypnosis for Weight Loss?
Dietitians are experts in the 'field of food.' They understand nutrition and what the body needs. They can help clients lose weight, create a healthy diet, gain muscle through nutrition, and reach other food-related goals. Some overweight individuals turn to dietitians for help when they want to lose weight, and that's a great thing to do. However, the diet plan a dietitian lays out for you is only going to work if you follow it. Since you understand that dietitians know nutrition, you may wonder what they think about a control group that may utilize hypnosis for weight loss.
While each dietitian is a unique individual and you would have to ask the dietitian you trust about their thoughts, in general, many dietitians feel that the control group trying to lose weight with hypnosis is a group that is doing its best to make a change in their life. Your dietitian might say that hypnosis is just one tool in the weight loss toolbox, for example, and they would be right. Hypnotherapy for weight loss is one therapy that can help people walk down the right path toward a healthier lifestyle. If hypnosis is the only thing they do, however, it is not going to help alone. Behavior changes and other shifts have to follow suit.
Ways Hypnosis Can Help with Weight Loss
There are specific suggestions that, through hypnosis, are proven to help people lose weight. Not every suggestions works for every person, of course, as every individual is unique. But if you decide to move forward with weight loss guided by hypnosis, here are some of the suggestions you might take on through that process.
The Answers Are Within You You have everything you need to succeed. You don't need pills or crash diets. You simply have to find a balance in your life and follow suit. It is hard to find those answers, but with the right self conditioning techniques, you can. The behavior change can start with hypnosis and end with a healthier lifestyle.
Believing is Seeing You might have trouble believing that you can change or understanding that you can, indeed, lose weight. When you go through hypnosis, you are guided through a process to believe that you can succeed. You understand that your weight loss plan is going to work and that helps you to stick with it in your everyday life.
Accentuate Positives Many people look in the mirror and pick on themselves. They don't like certain things about the way they look and that's all they think about. The hypnosis process can help you to focus on the positives about your body and your weight loss program. Remind yourself that you love your smile or that the healthy foods you are eating give you the fuel you need to get through the day. Hypnosis helps you to remember that unnecessary foods put a burden on your body and you start to accentuate the positives of eating right.
Imagine It, Create It If you imagine it, it will happen. Hypnosis will help you with the positive imagery you need in your life in order to make changes. You can imagine a healthy day of eating, for example, and a whole new routine. Once that imagery is in place, all you have to do is make it happen. You might also imagine what life would be like at a decent weight, having more energy, or ridding of certain health issues that an overweight body often has. It's hard to let go of goals when you have the right imagination in place.
The More Strategies, The Better Instead of attacking weight loss with just one process, take on several and beat it for good. Work with a hypnotherapist, but also a dietitian, for example. They can work hand in hand and finally get you to the success you've always wanted.
Modify Cravings One problem many people have with weight loss is curbing cravings. They simply have to have certain things, right? The hypnosis can help take those cravings away or, at the very least, lessen them. That helps you to avoid the foods you don't really need (but usually want) and get in the things your body actually does need.
Practice Makes Perfect You've heard it all your life, but it's hard to continue practicing something, like healthy eating. Hypnosis will remind you that as you change your habits, you are in practice mode. The more you practice, the better your body will feel as you lose pounds and move into a healthy future.
Is it for you?
Only you can decide how you want to shed pounds and what will work for you. If you have more questions about hypnosis and how it might work pertaining to your weight loss goals, it never hurts to look into the options, do some research, and make decisions that help you to move forward in a healthy manner. The worst that can happen is you waste a little time. The best is that you learn it's a good fit and you shed that weight for good!