Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss

Excessive weight is an increasingly serious health problem in Plymouth. Hypnotherapy is thereforesought by many people to help them lose weight. Generally they have already tried purely physical approaches such as diets, and have either failed to lose weight or have lost it and then quickly put itall back on. Permanent weight loss requires a combined approach- physical and mental.

PHYSICAL. You can only lose weight if you eat less food than your body needs to sustain
itself. If your energy output exceeds your energy (calorie) intake, your body will make up
the difference by burning up its fat reserves, thus losing weight. Our bodies are designed
to withstand food shortages, which were very common during 95% of human history.
When food was plentiful, it had to be all eaten before it went bad. People who could store
large amounts of food as body-fat were able to survive food shortages. In the past fifty
years food has become much cheaper and more plentiful in Europe and America, while
the need for energy has greatly decreased due to labour-saving machinery and cars.

MENTAL. Sometimes over-eating is just a habit. Young mothers eat their children’s left
over food. Older mothers may still cook for three even when their child has left home.
Since people hate to waste food, they eat the surplus instead of throwing it away.

HOW CAN HYPNOTHERAPY HELP? Hypnosis enables clients to vividly imagine their
selves in the future, enjoying all the benefits of losing weight, thus greatly increasing
motivation. Clients can also learn to recognise the difference between real physical
hunger and the mere thought of eating. Where deeper issues have caused comfort-
eating, these can also be addressed, although the treatment will take longer. See
“Hypnotherapy for Complex Problems”.