Hypnotherapy for Weight Management

The majority of adults in England are either overweight or obese. And obesity levels have increased by close to 80% in just over 20 years[1].

Sadly this trend appears to be continuing.

Whatever methods we are using as individuals and as a society to solve this problem they do not appear to be working.

Surely it's time for us to use new ways of thinking about the issue and its solution.

In doing so we may find ourselves being able to embrace alternative approaches that we've not seriously considered before…

Many of us would probably like to shed a few pounds. However, attempting to lose all the extra weight that we are carrying may feel somewhat challenging.

Perhaps you’ve reached your target weight a number of times in the past and then found remaining at that lighter weight for any length of time beyond you, using your chosen strategy.

Each time we start a new diet we are likely to put in a great deal of conscious effort. Then over time our attention will naturally move to other areas of our life. When that happens it's highly likely that our weight will go back up again.

After recovering from the disappointment of our latest failed weight loss attempt, a new diet could get our attention. This may then lead us to start the whole process once again.

Unfortunately, the net result of repeatedly going through this ‘diet-then-relapse’ cycle is that our weight will tend to go up and down like a yo-yo. We could even find that our maximum weight actually increases after each new weight loss attempt.

Anyone who has been on multiple diets with little long-term success may be tempted to judge themselves somewhat harshly.

Given the number of people that fail to achieve permanent success through dieting, it’s perhaps more likely that a vital component may be missing from this type of approach. And if that’s the case, what might that component be?

A possible answer is suggested by the fact that food is an emotive subject for nearly all of us. As a result…

Our decisions about eating and drinking will not always seem rational or be in support of us achieving and maintaining a healthy weight long-term.

In order for us to successfully address our weight issues, one of the things we need to do is to identify and then understand the key food & drink decisions we make that are based on something other than rational logic.

Using these insights we can then work to find ways of consistently making alternative decisions that have a better outcome for us.

Once these new decision rules have been implemented multiples times a number of healthy habits will become established. These new automatic behaviours are likely to stand the test of time, as long as we have successfully taken account of the differing logic employed by our conscious and inner minds.

Any irrational decisions we make come from our subconscious inner mind and are linked to our emotionally-driven thinking.

Hypnosis can be a powerful method of communicating with our inner mind, so a number of ‘weight management’ hypnotherapy sessions may be beneficial for those with issues in this area.

Being overweight or obese means that an individual is carrying excess body fat, either in comparison to their height, or in relation to a specific area of their body.

Carrying surplus weight doesn’t just affect our emotional wellbeing, at certain levels it starts to pose a significant health risk.

The extent to which people in the UK are carrying excess body fat despite their repeated efforts to lose weight, has become a ‘national crisis’.

The most common method of assessing a person's level of excess body fat is called their Body Mass Index (BMI). The formula for your BMI is your weight in kilograms (kg) divided by the square of your height in metres (m2). BMI tables are widely available online, or you can calculate your own BMI by dividing your weight by your height, and then dividing the result by your weight a second time.

Body Mass Index Categories
Description	BMI Range (kg/m2)
Underweight	Under 18.5
Normal	18.5 to 24.9
Overweight	25 to 29.9
Obese	30 to 39.9
Morbidly/Severely Obese	40 and over

Waist circumference provides an indication of the amount of surplus fat being stored in the abdominal area and is often used in combination with a person’s BMI by medical practitioners when assessing health risks.

Waist Circumference Categories
Description	Men	Women
Desired/Low	Under 94 cm (< 37”)	Under 80 cm (31.5”)
High	94-102 cm (37”-40”)	80-88 cm (31.5”-34.5”)
Very High	More than 102 cm (> 40”)	More than 188 cm (> 34.5”)

If your BMI category is 'obese', or your waist measurement is described as 'high' or 'very high', this could be an indication of you having increased risk of developing certain health issues.

Some of the main health problems that can be associated with significant amounts of excess body fat include:- coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes and various cancers (endometrial, breast, kidney and colon).

If you are concerned about your weight, waist size or your overall health, please consult your Doctor at the first available opportunity.

Our bodies maintain their current weight when the calories contained in the food we consume and the calories that are fuelling our daily activities & essential bodily functions are approximately the same.

So in order to lose weight we need to consume slightly fewer calories than we require for our daily activities. Some of our body fat will then be turned into energy to make up the calorie deficit.

By keeping the daily calorie imbalance relatively modest we can ensure that our body doesn't think we are going into a period of starvation.

Certain researchers have shown that our feelings of hunger stop at a lower level of calorie intake when the foods we are eating contain a relatively high level of fibre and plenty of nutrients, which is perfect for a weight loss programme.

Foods that have plenty of nutrients and are fibre-rich include raw fruit, fresh vegetables and whole grains. All of these foods are recommend by Public Health England (PHE) as part of a well-balanced diet.

How we work together to help you achieve your weight management objective
We work on creating your weight management goal achievement plan using the following flexible framework:-

Exploring your relationship with food and your future aims
Firstly we explore your current and historical relationship with food and then we discuss your personal weight management goal. It's likely that we will spend some time working through some emotionally-charged material before we move forward.
Create a personalised goal achievement plan
Once we've completed the initial discussion and dealt with any emotional material, we can focus on creating your personalised goal achievement plan.
By getting in touch with how you want to look & feel when you are living your life at your target weight will release the full force of your imagination.
The plan we work on together will break everything down into the practical and powerful steps you need to follow. It will use the rational perspective you have about yourself and draw on the deeper emotional understanding that's become available to you.
Guiding you through your goal achievement plan
Once it's been completed, you will be guided through your goal achievement plan whilst in hypnosis.
All you will need to do is to let yourself relax and concentrate on listening to the actions and the inspiring suggestions in your plan.
Just picture everything you want to have happen, with you in the centre of things feeling free and calm.
Week of implementing the plan.
New Session: Feedback on plan and progress
At this session you provide your feedback on the plan and also share your progress. The plan will be tweaked accordingly and you will be walked through the revised plan in hypnosis once more.
There may be further emotional material to be worked on as your self-image becomes ever more closely linked with the new ‘lighter version’ of you that's only weeks away.

The process repeats with a number of further sessions until you feel that you have all the support and insight you need to achieve your goal.

References

[1] Derived from data in “Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England 2017”, The Health and Social Care Information Centre (NHS Digital), Mar 2017.

As with all forms of therapy - the precise results achieved may vary from person to person.