John Moonie, HPD, SQHP, GHR(Reg.), NHR

(01738) 561889 or 07784 25 77 76 (mob.)

Hypnosis Perth Scotland clients from Dundee, Angus, Perthshire (Tayside), Fife & Kinross. Falkirk, Stirling, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Gastric Band, Weight Loss, Dietary Control

Hypnotherapy for Weight Control (including hypnotic gastric band hypnosis)

Like any habit, weight loss will work best with hypnosis when a person is keen to change the situation and is willing to follow through a course of hypnotherapy along with a healthy diet. The problem of weight gain tends to be not so much one of diet but one of emotion, with food becoming a substitute for self-confidence or approval from others, as examples.

With hypnotherapy and counselling for weight and dietary control you can -

Stop compulsive overeating/bingeing on the ‘wrong foods’, quickly and safely
Lose the guilt and secrecy associated with this problem, where it exists
Adjust to a more balanced diet and gradual but effective weight reduction
Discover the underlying causes of the weight gain and how to stop it
Improve your confidence and self-esteem, fit into the clothes you like

Hypnotic gastric band treatment

This is recommended where the problem is overeating probably in combination with snacking on the “wrong” types of food - high calorie, high in fat and so on. Also clients most likely will be in the BMI range of 25+ (overweight), 30+ (clinically obese). How do you calculate BMI (Body Mass Index)? See this link from the NHS which gives a tool to calculate BMI reliably.

Unlike some proprietary gastric band approaches I do not simulate surgical procedures or environments as some people have a fear or phobia of these and suggesting these are ‘real’ to a client is frankly irresponsible. It is usually quite enough to build the idea that a gastric band is in position and operating the way it should. If this is also in combination with aversion therapy to the wrong diet or eating pattern, then that can be quite effective. Again some gastric band approaches advocate the use of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) - this may be appropriate for some people but not others in a kind of 4-session formula. I have yet to meet a client whose mind is based on a formula created by someone else!

So my approach to this is to do 2 sessions to set and then adjust the “band” or 3 if there is some problem getting in the way of a straightforward weight loss for example an major emotional attachment to food.

Weight loss - conventional hypnotherapy case study

My client was female, age 35, married with 3 children. Binge eating on chocolate, cakes, crisps and bread with butter. She was making occasional secret trips to the fridge at 1.30am. The problem seeming to start at the age of 15 when she had self confidence problems and had started to relate her body image to how she felt. The problem became more severe by the age of 18, when she became bulimic for a while. Then abated, but following the birth of her first child she started bingeing again.

Her first session was suggestion therapy, following which she had stopped eating chocolate and any time she did look at chocolate felt queasy. The feeling of wanting something to eat all the time had gone. She was drinking more water and eating more fruit. She had become slightly more active in the exercise sense and had joined a local gym. The second session was a reinforcement of the first suggestion therapy session as an analytical therapy session was contra-indicated from an experience with another hypnotherapist earlier - she felt the habit was just that and didn’t have any source in a major incident earlier in life. In this session I also taught her how to do self-hypnosis to help in addition to the weight loss hypnotherapy CD given at the first session.

At her third session, she had lost 12lbs in 5 weeks since her first session and was feeling a great deal better. 6 months later she referred a friend to me and had maintained the good result since her final session. On a 1-10 scale where 1= “no problem” and 10= “very serious problem” she had come from 10 at the first session 1 to 5 at the second to 2 at the third.

“Enjoyed Hypnosis experience very much. Feeling extremely positive about it and well on my way to reaching my ultimate goal, and confident of its long term effects.”

Then more recently following a “top-up” session 15 months on, she was going to the gym regularly and:-

“Everything is going very well. I’ve stopped drinking diet cola completely, I drink mainly water now, with the occasional fruit juice, and my teeth feel 100% better. I haven’t had any cravings for starchy foods, I’ve stopped eating bread and butter between meals, and I’m eating more fruit. All in all I’d say it’s been very successful. I make a point of not weighing myself, but I do feel a little thinner, and more importantly I feel a lot more positive.”

Comments and conclusions

This lady’s case illustrates that sometimes simple suggestion therapy works very well, without the need for too much in the way of analysis. This is not always the case, especially if the problem persists despite best efforts. So analysis is sometimes needed to pin down an emotional cause (often from childhood), but not every time. Habits are sometimes just that - habits. Her own conscious attitude to weight loss was good and she was willing to change her diet and take some moderate exercise on a weekly basis.

If this affects you, what do you do next?

You may have tried all sorts of remedies from herbal products, to Atkins diet to going to slimming classes. Often the initial results can be good, but the very thing that locks in the problem - your subconscious attitude to food and eating is completely ignored. However, this part of the mind controls eating and other habits very powerfully, which is why hypnosis can be so successful when everything else has failed. Once you feel ready to start tackling the problem all you need to do is to call me on (01738) 561889 and discuss your own situation. If you want to ask more questions or make an appointment then I can do that.

You could also contact me using the email form and ask questions, which I’m quite happy to answer.