The escalation of obesity rates in this country has sparked a flurry of activity amongst both serious researchers and charlatans to discover the perfect weight loss method. Hypnosis represents one of the more appealing methods dangled before the eyes of those who are hungry for a seemingly easy solution to a complex problem.

I'm using hypnosis myself and must report astonishing results. I have problems with sweet and salt cravings and they are rapidly reducing

Best regards, Uli

I've been waiting for this topic to come up again. I was hypnotized about a month ago. Is the weight falling off? No! It's not a quick fix to lose weight. I must admit that one of my trigger foods is chocolate and my cravings for that has truly diminished. Even if I do slip and have a piece of chocolate it doesn't create an avalanche affect. Would I do it again? I'm not sure......I think when my job finishes and I'm not so stressed and tired I'll be able to benefit from it more. I had a friend that did it with me and it hasn't helped her at all. She has admitted to being a bit of a "control freak" She said even during the initial hypnosis that she felt the need to open her eyes to gain control. I do have to listen to a cd everynight. It's not a bother, I just listen to it before I go to bed...it relaxes me.

I was hypnotized years ago... after the session I walked out and went to burger king for a whopper. Wish I didn't fall for that. But thats JMHO

My bachelor's degree and master's degree are in psychology, and have studies hypnosis, self-hypnosis, progressive relaxation, and related therapies, both in terms of what they can do, and a very little bit on how to do them.

The "magical" hypnosis most of us associate with the word (act like a chicken, wake up without remembering a thing), is mostly bogus. Very few people can ever be hypnotized so deeply that they don't remember the session. The magic tricks are just that, tricks.

Hypnosis is probably better described as deep relaxation combined with suggestion or persuasion. Basically, you or someone else is trying to eliminate all distractions and then trying to "convince" you to change habits.

One session, generally isn't going to do squat, but if you play a tape or use self-hypnosis (just deep relaxation, while "talking" to yourself or practicing thinking or imagining new, better habits), over time it can be very effective.

The biggest problem with it, is that it takes practice, and isn't a magic bullet. Like anything that takes time and repetition, we often give up because it's not the most exciting thing to do, and we lose interest.

I do use self-hypnosis for pain relief. Using physical techniques to relax (like clenching and then releasing muscle groups, or just imagining myself floating, or melting), while imagining the pain dissolving, or similar images.

That's basically self-hypnosis. I could just as easily use images of changing my unhealthy habits, and I've tried it, and it does work, but the effects are subtle, not dramatic, so I get lazy, or give up, or just don't think to use it.
Just like all of the other small changes that make a difference.

I think that's why sustained weight loss is so very hard. This isn't something that can be fixed by one dramatic change, but by many small changes over time. It's so hard not to want it done yesterday, you know?!

As for hypnosis or self-hypnosis, it's a tool that can be used, but it isn't ever going to be successful alone. And whether it's something you find as useful and doable as all of the other small changes you need to make, really is a very individual thing.

oops, studied. I tell you, sometimes my posts sure don't reflect a college education. It "looks" right as I write it because I know what it's "supposed" to say. I usually don't catch it even on the first rereading, for the same reason.

This isn't too far from what hypnosis is supposed to change. It isn't only about taking conscious thoughts and making them unconscious or subconscious, it's also about taking the subconscious and making it conscious.

I don't know if I'm even making sense now, so I'll shut up.

I bought the Paul McKenna book/cd a couple of months ago. At first I didn't notice any kind of difference, but due to "real life" I was only able to listen to the cd about once a week. A couple of weeks ago I started making time to listen to it everyday, and the last week or so I've noticed that I don't dwell on food the way I used to. Before, I'd be wondering what I was going to eat next before I even finished the first thing! Now I notice that I eat when I get hungry, and really don't even think about food when I'm not - which is new for me! I can't absolutely swear that it's the hypnosis cd, but I figure that 1) It certainly isn't hurting anything and 2) It guarantees me 30 minutes of total relaxation every day. That alone will keep me listening

I have also wondered about hypnosis, mostly because I know my endless desire to snack is mental. Is this something that could help that?

My Aunt did hypnosis for smoking and quit for a while. But she started up again a few months later.