Okay, okay- don't laugh- but I've been thinking- has anyone here tried hypnotism ?

It's just that sometimes I wonder whether thinking so much about food, what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat it. makes me fatter. Like my body is following where my mind is.

So then I started thinking- if the whole point of exercise and eating less calories is to convince your body to start burning your fat deposits- what if you can manage to convince your body of that anyways. Would hypnotism help?

Then again I may just be getting tired and loopy!

I'm not an expert, but I think if hypnotism really worked, we would have heard by now! Lots of people make claims about it, but I'm highly skeptical of them.

Hypnotism may help in other ways, but I don't know if it's really useful for weightloss.

I don`t know about hypnotism but maybe it can help to re program your eating habits. I will start a therapy of neurolinguistic programation to teach my brain to eat better and eat to live, not live to eat who happends to be my problem

If the hypnotism helps to change attitudes about calorie intake and exercise, I think it can be helpful. If you are eating more calories than you burn, all the hypnotism in the world will not "convince" your body to lose weight.

I do believe in a mind/body connection that we probably do not totally understand, but it needs to be partnered with practical, physical strategies. You got some good advice in your other thread about that.

I am embarassed to admit this, but Lord knows I've divulged everything else here so here goes - I went to a hypnotist about 23 years ago, I was around 20. The only thing it made thinner was my wallet.

I tried it too! This was early on in my struggle with weight, before I really understood healthy eating. But I did loose a few pounds. I think it just gave me a reminder -on a deeper level- to be more aware and mindful of how much I was eating. But it did not create healthy habits for me.

My mom's done hypnosis, about two years ago to help her stop smoking, and more recently to work with her weight-loss efforts, such that they are. (I'm not too impressed with my mom's "efforts" right now, since she doesn't make many.) But it has helped her with not being so dependent on food, which is good.

I use self hypnosis sometimes. I like to think it helps. I've never been to a hypnotist, but the book I read said that one needs reinforcement about once a week- so a one time deal isn't going to do a lot for you. The author of the book I read said he always teaches his clients self-hypnosis so they can continue to reinforce what they want after the sessions stop- and that he ONLY allows them 6 sessions because he doesn't want them to become dependant on him.

I haven't tried it in a couple of months, though. I think I'll do it tonight and see if I can break my month-long plateau soon...

I think it's like any other "weight loss specialty" - what works for some may not work for others. I think we all to have find our own unique diet & exercise program. The fact is, diet & exercise is what takes the weight off & keeps it off. But not every diet/exercise is for every person. I believe we are all individuals, and we should all create our own special D&E plan. I don't like to run; I usually turn over my ankles whenever I try, & that hurts. So it would be ridiculous of me to start up a "running program" for exercise. Same goes for a person who LOVES bread. If bread is something you really love - the ONE THING that you just can't give up, it's kind of a personal sabotage to attempt the Atkins or South Beach diet.

So what's the harm in trying hypnotism for weight loss? Surely it has worked for some people, or the very idea of it would be dead. (Also, I read an article recently -in a HEALTH magazine!- about Weight Loss Hypnotism. It was very interesting; I might even be inclined to try it someday! - but I think that what "most people" consider WLH to be is very off-the-mark.)

Of course if you keep doing the same things (i.e., eating the same amounts and types of foods and not moving more), you won't lose any weight. However, overeating and physical laziness are often major MENTAL roadblocks, so it stands to reason that hypnosis could help some to get through those roadblocks.

My mother went for weight loss hypnosis. She loved it. She went to a session in-person and then had a tape to listen to at night afterwards. She said it helped her to feel more satisfied with something like a big salad and glass of water instead of junk food. She told me she began to actually crave the healthier foods (which is a byproduct of eating healthier foods in the first place--the more you eat them, the more you crave them), so if it was hypnosis that caused her to eat those healthier foods in the first place (whether because it ACTUALLY worked or simply because she thought it did), then power to her.

She did say that where she went, they say you have to keep going back every so often for additional hypnosis. While it may be a ploy for them to just get more money, it may also help the person being hypnotized to keep focused on their weight loss objectives, ya know?

In the end, so much of it is a mind game within ourselves that I think if you believe hypnosis can help, then it actually might. I hope that makes sense

I've tried hypnotism. I went to four sessions with the therapist, who then made me a tape that I can listen to at home. I've found that it doesn't help at all with weight control, but it's excellent for insomnia. When the therapist starts talking in that low quiet voice, I fall right to sleep!! Maybe that's why it doesn't work as a weight loss tool for me???

I loved hearing everyone's experiences with this. Interesting. It sounds like some people have had some success with helping modifying their behavior, and others it just fell flat. I was just thinking about the mental part of all this because the more I'm doing this, the more I'm thinking about how it's about breaking an addiction to food. And probably why this is such a struggle for so many, because you have to break an addiction while still having small amounts of the thing you're addicted to!


I think Beach Patrol might have it right. It could help some people, it could fall flat with others, but hey- whatever works!! I might try it. At the worst, I'll lose some $$ and get some help sleeping.

I'm no expert on hypnotisim, or anything else for that matter, but I think if you're ready and commited to lose weight then hypnotisim will work. I think it's all about the head space that you're in. If one is truly ready and commmited I think probably hypnotisim could only reinforce that. But if you're not ready and commited well then it's probably not all that useful.