The Wonders of Hypnotherapy for Weight Control

Daniel Fryer September 06, 2011

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It was recently reported that former Steps pop star Claire Richards is having hypnotherapy for weight control, in fact, she will soon be appearing in a Sky Living documentary, “Slave to Food,” aided and abetted by Banbury based hypnotherapist Chris Hughes.

“I have no idea whether I helped her,” said the hypnotherapist. “Only time will tell.”

And while it’s true that hypnotherapy is an excellent tool for helping people manage their weight, it’s also true that time is what it takes, as there is so much more to it than a “three sessions and I’m sorted” approach.

It all depends on why you are eating in the first place. Some people eat because they’re depressed, or anxious, or lonely (so-called comfort eaters) whilst others have problems that run a little deeper (binge eating, bulimia and so on). But, for most people seeking help with weight control, theirs is simply a habit of unhealthy eating that is so ingrained it has become a way of life.

But even with people who have simply let their eating habits run a little wild, things are not so simple as they first appear.

Food is everywhere!
The problem is that we are constantly sold, on every billboard, magazine page and TV ad slot, two different and diametrically opposed images. One if of the body beautiful, the image of perfection that we should all effortlessly aspire to; and the other is of food: gorgeous, glorious, wonderfully indulgent, totally tempting food.

And there in lies the rub as, usually, the latter is being sold to us by representatives of the former.

It’s not for nothing that the delectable dish-serving doyenne Nigella Lawson is rarely ever filmed from the waist down. And as for Eva Longoria, whilst she may have once been the face of Magnum ice cream bars, with a figure like that it is a given that that woman has never even let herself lick, let alone consume a single choc ice.

Everywhere you go, with every channel that you hop, with every page that you flick, beautiful people are trying to tempt you with beautiful food.

Sadly though, you really can’t have your cake and eat it, not if you truly want to be the size 12 lovely you’ve always dreamed of being.

Especially if you are grazing away whilst sitting on your backside, watching those TV cookery programs and reading those ad-strewn magazines.

Dedication’s what you need
Hypnotherapy then, is about looking not only at your diet, but your fitness levels. Many questions are asked: what do you eat? How much of it do you eat? What do you consider to be a healthy diet, what do you consider to be an unhealthy one? Do you take any exercise? Can you fit any in (And, before you baulk at the idea, no we are not talking about getting your lycra-clad sweat on down at the local gym).

For instance, how far away is your place of work? How much of the journey could you cover on foot? Could you walk to the shops instead of drive?

Hypnosis can help you change your eating habits for the better, it’s also an excellent motivational tool, enabling you to not only fit exercise into your daily life but to want to do so.

Three or four sessions is enough to get you off the ground as it were, but you will still need the occasional top up, a few tailor-made sessions here and there, spread a few weeks and then a few months apart, to not only look at what issues might crop up for you, as well as to look at slips and slides (both actual and potential) and to also keep you focussed, always focussed on your goal.

Healthy weight loss, weight that goes away and stays away is not achieved overnight.

An acceptable loss level is between one and two pounds a week, every week, until you have reach your desired weight and waist size. Once there, that size is maintained by sticking to the same healthy eating and exercise plan you used to get there.

Weight loss then, even with hypnosis, takes commitment and dedication. If you’re in it, you’re in it for the long haul.

Hypnotherapy can help you start, hypnotherapy can help you stay on course and, more importantly, hypnotherapy can help you keep your eyes on the prize and not on those bikini-clad beauties and their taste-bud galvanizing choc-ice ads.