Weight Loss Motivation And Hypnosis

If weight loss were easy, everyone would be their ideal size. Although we know that obesity can lead to heart disease and stroke, in many states more than 25 percent of the population is obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hypnosis may improve the success of your weight loss plan by helping you take a fresh approach to eating.

Identification

Eating less and exercising more will bring about a reduction in weight. The American Heart Association suggests you take account of the calorie content of your food, and exercise hard enough to use up more than you eat. Gentle walking can burn 70 to 90 calories per half hour. Unfortunately, difficulty in maintaining motivation to keep to your program can sabotage your attempts to carry out this simple plan.

Considerations

Your brain's survival instinct may be at the heart of your difficulty. Your hypothalamus, at the base of your brain, helps keep you alive by managing your hunger, according to the University of Washington. When you eat very small amounts, your brain works to stop you starving, and you feel a need to eat more. Although you may use your "thinking" brain cortex to try to motivate yourself through desire, self-discipline and reward, your brain's drive to survive is often too strong.

Features

Hypnosis, the ultimate act of self-control, according to The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, allows you to use a state of deep, focused concentration to work toward your goal. A trance state is similar to the feeling of attention and focus you may achieve when engrossed in one of your favorite activities. You become less aware of the outside world and no longer notice the passage of time.

Hypnotherapy

Your hypnotherapist helps you achieve your trance, in which you remain awake but relaxed and receptive to useful suggestions. She may use visualization techniques, helping you imagine yourself with your clothes hanging loosely on your body. She may make suggestions that you retain when your trance is over, and that lead you toward your goal. She also may explore with you whether experiences in your past have had an effect on your motivation. A reputable hypnotherapist will discourage you from attempting to lose weight too rapidly.

Self-Hypnosis

Self-hypnosis may help your motivation to lose weight. In this process, described by Mind Tools Ltd., you learn to reach a state of deep relaxation by yourself. Your stress hormones subside as you let go of unpleasant thoughts. Once in this state, you can visualize achieving your goals. You may want to prepare a "script" before you begin your trance, so you can maintain your feeling of relaxation. Set a gentle alarm the first time, to rouse you when you wish to awake refreshed, as time can pass quickly once you achieve trance.