weight loss by hypnosis

My friend has lost 60 pounds since July.... so I asked her for some advice in my venture. She told me about the food choices and working out..... but she added that hypnosis has really helped her!

I booked a consultation...but before I spend the 200 bucks a session I thought I'd get your views... you guys are all pretty educated on weight loss issues!

I don't know much to tell you, other than I've considered it myself.  :)  Kelly

I say go for it!  I personally believe with an open mind it works.  Never had it done before but I know people that have been hypnotized before!

$200 a session!  That's how much my really nice treadmill cost (used) and it would do a lot more than giving some person the same for hypnosis session.

Those 'hypnotists' should feel AWFUL for preying on a persons desperation to loose weight.  Anything to make a buck I suppose.

They would probably try and con you into like 10 sessions.  GRRRR @ them.

I did the hypnosis awhile back.  You HAVE to be open minded to it for it to work for you. 

-Ask that the session be recorded so that you can play it everyday to reinforce what is told to you.

In my experience, it was worth the money.  I started listening to my tapes again last week.

Good luck.

I've always wanted to try it.. but not allowed to be hypnotised.. Something about having "psychotic episodes" that hypnotists just don't want to risk.. hehe.

I dunno.. for 200$ you'd better be awfully un-motivated, and it'd better work really well. I'd say just find something to motivate you.. maybe a pair of jeans or a nice dress thats a few sizes too small and use that.

I don't think hypnosis would work much better than a safe* diet pill or ear staple... and those don't do much at all anyway.

*by safe, I mean something that does little more than the placebo effect, and the fact that your spending 50$ a month on it so you don't "cheat" on you diet

that's a good idea...... I could practically be hypnotised by all the pants in my closet (about 75 pairs) that don't fit me anymore.

listen to me, a big ol' hypocrite!  saying $200 is crazy when I've got 3G's of pants in my closet that should be motivating the crap out of me! he he he ;)

I think it's a great idea, expensive, but if I could I'd probably try it.

There are a lot of misconceptions about hypnotism...I'm assuming those are what whoever said 'hypnotists should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of desperate people 'or whatever beleived. Hypnotism is NOT the staged scheisse you see where the hypnotist makes them bark like a dog. It is simply reprogramming your mind to support new and healthy thought patterns. I beleive in it wholeheartedly, but I don't usually call it 'hypnotism' because of the stigma people have against it.

Hypnotism is something you must work at and you yourself must continue after your session. The hypnotherapist helps you get to the place you should be at, and whenever you're in a fix from there on out, you can return back to that place.

As one of my specialization certificates, I will be studying Sports Hypnotism. Basically, it's learning how to focus your mind to accomplish athletic goals. My mom was an Olympic Trial Swimmer, and she said they used a lot of that in her training. It's all very useful.

Make sure you go to a Hypnotherapist, and not simply a Hypnotist. the title Hypnotherapist actually requires training, whereas hypnotist does not.

You raise some good points Shakti. I myself have never tried it. But my mum gave up smoking using a "hypnotherapist" She hasn't smoked for 5yrs and she was a real heavy smoker. I was also a heavy smoker, but gave up without help.

Recently she went back to get help with her Chocolate addiction. She hasn't had a peice of chocolate for over 3 months! This is going from a big block of cadbury a day!

So, yes I believe it works. I agree you need to have an open mind. I would try it myself, but I want to give my own power of mind a go before I look for help.

I can tell you what they do in those sessions. My mom and her neighbour went to a group one.

Basically they had the group relax, close their eyes, then start to visualize all the foods they like but shouldn't be eating. They were to imagine those foods in an unpleasing light (I forget exactly how), then they were to imagine good foods they wanted to start eating on a sunny table with flowers and whatever.

It's pretty much guided visualization.

Check out my post for the Law of Attraction Exercise. It's pretty much self hypnosis. *`

You're right, shakti, self-visualisation and mind-training are bonafide techniques that atheletes in particular use to get themselves "in the zone". As a competitive curler, I practiced these techniques or self-hypnotism to train my body to learn certain movements and my mind into certain thought patterns, like being focused, being motivated, being calm.

I use a lot of "self-hypnotism" while I'm exercising to retrain the negative associations my body has with intense activity. I tell myself that I love the burn, that I love the pain, the rhythm, the sweat, the energy. It's a simple solution, but it certainly takes dedication and whole-hearted effort and belief.

For those who are unfamiliar with this practise or who need outer support, an athletic or nutritional coach or a hypnotherapist are invaluable resources in changing your mindset.

A number of my clients use hypnotism to help with childbirth. All I can say about it is that it is FABULOUS from my third-party perspective.

My best story ever was a client who had a plethora of health problems and was told by every doctor she saw that a cesarean was her only form of childbirth options. On my recommendation, she saw a chiropractor and a hypnotherapist. The chiropractor did wonders with her body, but it was the hypnosis that made the birth possible.

In transition, she was in full control of her body and her reactions. It was incredible to watch. I don't know about anyone else when they had a baby, but out of all the births I've attended, I have seen very few women in anything close to full control during transition unless they had taken a cocktail of pain killers.

I say try it out. Unlike OTC diet pills, this won't put anything into you and won't take anything out of you. It's just mind work, and since it's your mind, you have the option at any time to say "enough." The days of the fob watch are long gone and the hypnotherapists of today are very skilled.

$200 seems really high. I went to one that comes to our town about every 6 months. I paid $40.00 to stop smoking. I did. He also does weight loss for alittle bit more. I might try the weight part next  time he comes to town. Since I stopped smoking 5yrs. ago I'v gained a ton of weight. My mom went with me she's still smoking. You really have to want it to happen.

$200!!! That's a lot of money for hypnosis! At the end of last year I bought a weight loss CD online from hypnotherapist Andrew Johnson. I was not expecting much, but I listened to some freebies on the site, and he had a very soothing voice! :p

I listened every night for a couple of weeks, combining this with a program of light exercise, a good porridge breakfast and a more careful eye on what I ate. I started to lose weight - about 6 lbs in 2 weeks. This was good going for me, as usually I have embarked on a diet, but the temptation of mince pies and lunchtime cakes was too strong!

I don't know what happened, but somehow my relationship with eating changed. Of course I had cravings for things, but it was a lot easier to swap something bad for something good. It was like I was reprogrammed.

I am keeping that weight off, and going for a little more as I am entering an 10k race in March!

I'd try a hypnosis CD before the expensive 1 to1 stuff.

Steph.

This is something I'm really considering. A few years ago I lost a ton of weight, and actually I can't believe I FORGOT about this part but I used a book called "Think Yourself Thin" which is basically visualization techniques. It totally worked but when I got to my goal weight I forgot about it and quit doing it and gained all the weight back (and then some).

 So, my mom has the same yo-yo diet issues and has all of her life, she was bulimic for ten years and has done EVERY SINGLE diet know to man - LITERALLY. She is over it and this is HER LAST HOPE. It is all in her mind and I truly believe this is her only option. She is going to a place in Phoenix for about $300 a month, not sure how many sessions but there are personal sessions, group sessions, she brings home tapes, the whole package. She started this week so I will let you guys know how it goes. If it works for her, I WILL TRULY BE A BELIEVER! But as people mentioned before, you have to have an open mind and you have to commit to it. You can't just do it once and expect to be reprogrammed.

I started CC a week ago, and I'm becoming obsessed with counting calories and workouts and BMI and all that crap. I am also avoiding my friends and fun outings for fear of eating and drinking too much and I don't think that is the way I want to live my life! So I am giving this up a bit and going back to the mindset part. I think that the actual sessions are out of my budget, so I'm going to do the visualization stuff again and get some CD's. I do have some CD's but the hypnotherapist's voice is really annoying so I think I'll try a new one. I'm checking out this online - http://www.wendi.com/thin/ 

Looks pretty good, $150. I'll do more research and if anyone knows of a better program let me know. I am willing to spend that much!

Good luck all! Think positive thoughts!