As I have said many times, no therapy is a magic bullet and you should be wary of promises of instant change. Any therapy requires insight and behavioral change on your part. If you decide you want to eat more healthily and lose weight, hypnotherapy can make this a much more easy and comfortable process than through willpower alone. So what is my approach and what can you expect from me?

We begin with a pre-counselling session in which we discus:

-Your specific goals. Everybody is different and the hypnotherapy sessions need to be tailored to your individual needs.

-Any unhelpful beliefs about food that you may be subconsciously carrying from your past, that are influencing your eating patterns now. For example, many of us were told as children to finish all the food on our plates. This effectively conditioned us to ignore and override feelings of fullness or satisfaction. This continues into adulthood and causes weight gain. Similarly, our carers may have used food as a reward or as a comfort. Banged your knee? Have a biscuit. Good school report? Cake! As adults we may continue to use food to soothe feelings of upset or boredom, or to distract us from getting on with things. Being aware of this early conditioning, and the behaviors it gave rise to, gives us back control. We have the power to choose to do something different. And the more we do the thing that is different, the sooner it becomes a new, good habit.

-Your current eating habits. This may involve you keeping a food diary for a few days. This is because most of us underestimate the amount of food we eat in a day. Seeing it written down gives us valuable information about how much you are overeating, as well as when and why.

-Past diets you have tried: what worked for you and what didn’t.

-Current activity levels, and how you might increase them so that you are burning more calories and feeling more energized. Exercise is also an appetite supressant. It will kick start your weight loss and motivate you to continue to eat healthily.

-What triggers you to overeat, and what excuses you use to overeat.

-If you have a limited palate and would like to eat a wider range of healthy foods.

-Current life circumstances and mental health. Are you looking after yourself properly? Are your needs being met? Are you taking time to relax? Do you feel  supported? Food is an easy quick fix when things are tough. How can you begin to take care of yourself more appropriately?

After this you will have lots to reflect upon, and will probably begin to use the insights gained to make some changes straight away. Next time you come we will conduct a hypnotherapy session in which the positive suggestions I give you will utilize all of the information gathered in the pre-counselling session. The state of deep relaxation you achieve in hypnosis allows the suggestions to be embedded at a deep level of your awareness. Changes happen much more easily. In subsequent sessions we begin by discussing your progress, and adapt the hypnotherapy accordingly if necessary. Therapy finishes when you feel that the changes are becoming good habits that you can maintain alone without any further support from me. This typically takes about four sessions, though can take fewer.

I am aware of course that it is simplistic to look at the issue of weight and body image from a purely individual perspective. We live in a society in which we constantly encounter unrealistic images of thin actors and models, and are surrounded by high-calorie foods, and advertisements for them, 24/7, everywhere we go. It’s crazy and it makes us feel bad about ourselves. We all suffer as a result of these pressures in one way or another. I want you to get to a place where you feel healthy and happy in yourself, and can live your life, as far as possible, on your terms.

If you really want to lose weight Contact me or call me for more info.

Phone: 07957 713 102