Hypnosis & Weight Loss

Hypnosis can be an effective complement to a medical weight loss program. Dr. Engel's husband, Mark Engel, is a practicing hypnotist with over ten years experience. His Hypnosis Weight Loss Program was designed for people like you who sincerely want to reduce their weight and are willing to make lasting lifestyle changes to reach and maintain their ideal weight.

Hypnosis can help you with motivation and will-power as well as help you deal with emotionally based eating habits, e.g., eating for comfort or to relieve stress. Habits can be a major stumbling block in any weight loss plan; our hypnotist learns what unique triggers effect your personal eating habits and uses hypnotic techniques as well as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to develop a customized plan for you. Through hypnosis and NLP you will learn to look at food differently and change your habits permanently.

The Hypnosis Weight Loss Program provides you with the tools to break negative habits, reduce stress, control your impulses, and develop positive self-esteem. Through the Hypnosis Weight Loss Program you can help make the positive changes necessary for a healthier life getting rid of bad habits and/or the emotional reasons for over eating.

Click here to learn more about hypnosis for weight loss.

Scientific Studies Show Hypnosis Can Boost Weight Reduction

Good news for those of you wanting to lose that weight. More than a decade of controlled scientific studies and analytical reviews show that hypnosis, in conjunction with proper exercise and nutrition, can enhance weight reduction and help keep the weight off longer. A review of studies published in leading medical journals since 1985 offers compelling evidence that hypnosis is the added ingredient that helps people stay on track with weight control.

Here's what the studies found:

• Hypnosis is effective in weight reduction when used in conjunction with behavioural therapy.
• Effective hypnosis programs generally consist of six to eight or more sessions of group or individual hypnosis.
• Study participants who scored highest in hypnotisability had the most significant weight reduction results. Although just about everybody can be hypnotised, some find it easier than others to imagine themselves thinner and healthier.
• In studies comparing a control group to a hypnosis group, the group exposed to hypnosis lost more weight and kept the weight off longer.
• Hypnosis helped people correct faulty thinking and associations around food and helped them get control over non-hunger-related eating.
• In a study comparing behavioural therapy to hypnosis, both groups of participants showed the same results at the end of the study. At follow-ups at eight months and again at two years, however, only the hypnosis group continued to lose weight.
• Hypnosis can be administered by a hypnotist or via self-hypnosis; each method proved effective.
• Hypnosis helped study participants remember specific weight reduction goals and behavioural recommendations.
• Unlike most programs, which focus only on diet and exercise, hypnosis might include suggestions for ego strengthening, decision making, stress management, self-soothing, mental rehearsal, and enhanced motivation, all of which are helpful in successful weight management.

References

Allison, D. B., & Faith, M.S., 1996. Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy for obesity: A meta-analytical appraisal. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 64 (03): 513-16.

Andersen, M. S., 1985. Hypnotisability as a factor in the hypnotic treatment of obesity. International journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 33 (2): 150-59.

Barabasz, M., & Spiegel, D., 1989. Hypnotizability and weight loss in obese subjects. The International Journal of Eating Disorders 8: 335-41.

Bolocofsky, D. N., Spinier D. & Coulthard-Morris, L., 1985. Effectiveness of hypnosis as an adjunct to behavioural weight management, Journal of Clinical Psychology 41 (1): 35-41.

Cochrane, G., 1992. Hypnosis and weight reduction: Which is the cart and which is the horse? American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis 35 (2): 109-18.

Cochrane, G., & Friesen, J., 1986. Hypnotherapy in weight loss treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 54: 489-92.

Coman, C. & Evans B., 1995. Clinical update on eating disorders and obesity: Implications for treatment with hypnosis. Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 23 (1): 1-13.

Farrington, G., 1985. Effects of self-hypnosis audiotapes on weight loss: Relationship with ego-strength, motivation, anxiety, and locus of control. Dissertation Abstracts International 46 (6B): 2048.

Greaves, E., Tidy G., & Christie, R.A.S., 1995. Hypnotherapy and weight loss. Nutrition and Food Science 95 (6).

Kirsch, I., Montgomery, G., & Sapirstein. G., 1995. Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioural weight loss treatments—Another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 63: 214-20.

Schaumberg, L.L., Patsdaughter, C. A., Selder, F. K. & Napholz, L., 1995. Hypnosis as a clinical intervention for weight reduction and self-esteem improvement in young women. International Journal of Psychiatric Nursing Research 1 (3): 99-107.

Stradling, J., Roberts, D. & Lovelock, F., 1998. Controlled trial of hypnotherapy for weight loss in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. International Journal of Obesity 22: 278-81.

Vanderlinden, J., & Vandereycken, W., 1994. The (limited) possibilities of hypnotherapy in the treatment of obesity. American journal of clinical hypnosis 36 (4): 248-57.

Acknowledgment and thanks to Judith E. Pearson.