Hypnosis for Weight Loss: What You Need to Know

Many who are struggling with their weight have turned to hypnosis for weight loss.

During hypnosis, behavioral changes can be suggested to the subconscious, where our desires for cravings and reaction to emotions originate.

While hypnosis was originally intended as a tool to be used beside cognitive behavioral therapy, it was quickly realized that it could be used to modify a wide variety of behavior issues, including smoking and weight loss.

While there are not enough scientific studies to prove or disprove the effectiveness of hypnosis, the general consensus is that it can help with overeating issues to some degree.

It still remains, however, that this type of behavioral therapy will work on three main areas of our lives that you can work on without the aid of hypnotherapy.

Eating Better. Going "on a diet" may work in the short term, but over the long run, it is an overall lifestyle change when it comes to the food you eat that will make all the difference.

Small changes made over time can add up to weight loss that is easier to sustain. The key is to making your changes permanent and attainable.

Completely eliminating any one food group is a hard change to maintain, but making the switch from whole milk to 1% or less, for example, is more likely to have lasting results.

Cutting back on processed foods, sugars and syrups (including soda) and alcohol will also show big results on your scale. Hypnosis and subliminal messaging might help to make your mind more receptive to these long-term and incremental changes.

Moving More. Like many people, you might like the word "exercise." The good news is that you only need to think of it as moving more. During your day, there are many opportunities to move. When a commercial comes on, you can walk in place or jog in circles around your living room. Or do sit ups, push ups, or leg lifts.

While on the phone you can do the same, and when out in public you can park farther from the store and take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible.

Take a small walk after dinner or during your lunch break. Getting outside and getting moving during these times will signal an earlier end to your mealtime and they'll help you burn calories.

Again, you can try subliminal or hypnotherapy methods to make your mind more receptive to these small changes, which are crucial to lasting success.

Stressing Less. Let's face it: stress is a huge hurdle in the battle of the bulge. For those of us who are triggered to eat by emotions, daily personal stress can wreak havoc.

Even if you don't eat in response to emotions, stress can affect your diet by altering how well your metabolism works. If you are sleeping less, moping around more or running ragged and not eating at all, then you are more likely to find yourself tired, bloated and overweight. But working from a place of mental stillness, through a hypnosis technique, can help you to calm your mind and get a handle on your stress.

Simple changes made now and over the course of the year will add up to pounds lost and a lifetime of being healthier. Hypnosis for weight loss may help strengthen your will power and even help you to modify some of your behaviors. The only way to tell whether weight loss hypnosis will work for you is to give it a try.