Effectiveness of Hypnosis on Weight Loss
For a weight loss program to be effective, it is important that your attitude is conditioned to choose a healthier and more energetic lifestyle.
Since hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness characterized by narrowed attention and increased suggestibility, it helps create an inner will and strength to create new beliefs to overcome deep-rooted negative thoughts and psychological imbalances.
However, the hypnotic susceptibility or the capacity to become hypnotized differs in individuals. You may be more susceptible to hypnosis than your friend or vice versa. So, the effectiveness of hypnosis on weight loss will also depend on whether you can be hypnotized and the level to which you can be hypnotized. But this is true for all therapies where the individual response to a treatment may vary.
Unlike what many people believe, strong willed people can also be hypnotized. Hypnosis has little to do with willpower. People who can use their imagination and are willing to listen and follow directions are usually the subjects for whom hypnosis is very effective.
Again, hypnosis alone may not result in effective weight loss. Researchers believe that for effective weight loss, hypnotherapy must be supplemented with dietary advice and cognitive behavioral therapy. For example, a randomized controlled trial, in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea, from the National Health Service hospital in the UK found that the use of hypnotherapy as an adjunct to dietary advice showed significant results in producing weight loss. The findings were published in the International Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders.
Similarly, another study revealed that subjects who received cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy showed greater improvement than at least 70 percent of subjects receiving non-hypnotic treatment.
Thus various systematic reviews and meta-analyses support the evidence that hypnosis is effective in weight loss if supplemented with cognitive behavioral therapy including dietary advice. But do not expect a significant weight loss. Hypnosis is an effective treatment for low to moderate amounts of weight loss only.
