People will try almost anything to lose weight. From diet pills to funny-looking exercise contraptions, there is something for everybody. The real way to lose weight is by eating less and exercising more, but sometimes finding the willpower is difficult. For those who know what to do but need some help getting the strength to do it, hypnosis may help with weight loss.
How It Works
When you're hypnotized, the hypnotherapist alters your consciousness by the words he says and the mental images he instructs you to think about, according to the Mayo Clinic. A person under hypnosis is very focused and attentive to suggestions. Weight loss hypnosis usually instructs participants to avoid cravings for sweet foods and to exercise more often. These types of messages are used in conjunction in cognitive behavioral therapy, so that when a dieter faces temptation, he has instinctual messages to fall back upon, reminding him what is healthy.
Combining Methods
Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian who focuses in the field of weight loss, wrote an article for the Mayo Clinic in 2009 discussing the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in terms of weight loss. She states that hypnotherapy, or hypnosis for weight loss, can be very effective, but only when combined with other weight loss methods. She explains that the act of being hypnotized cannot make you lose weight. You have to eat a healthy diet and exercise in order to lose weight. Hypnosis simply helps by encouraging you to practice those healthy habits.
Effectiveness
The Mayo Clinic validates the effectiveness of hypnosis in its July 4, 2009, report stating that hypnosis can help people lose weight. It states that the average weight loss shown in the hypnosis studies that the clinic reviewed was around 6 pounds. Judy Lederman, a woman who struggled with being overweight her entire life, was interviewed by ABC News in September 2005 regarding the effectiveness of hypnosis for weight loss. She claims that though she has tried almost every diet, hypnosis finally helped her to lose 95 pounds and it also helped her to stop craving sugar.
Ability
ABC News states that hypnosis is not magic; it's essentially a form of psychotherapy. It cites a study done at Stanford University, which found that about 15 percent of people are very easily hypnotizable, while 10 percent to 15 percent of all people cannot be hypnotized. There is no way to tell if you are easily hypnotized unless you try a hypnotherapy session.
Choosing Practitioner
When choosing someone to hypnotize you, ABC News recommends checking the practitioner's credentials. The hypnotherapist should be a clinical psychologist or another credentialed health care provider. ABC News explains that while choosing a hypnotherapist who is not credentialed won't hurt, it will most likely be a waste of your time. The health care provider must also be experienced in working with weight loss.
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