As someone who has yoyo dieted over the last 20 years and got so disillusioned by weight watchers and slimming world after losing weight and then regaining the weight, (and more on top), when I studied hypnotherapy, I realised that this could be a game changer for me. Over the last year I have been working on myself and managed to reduce my sugar intake to the bare minimum. Yes, I still have a glass of alcohol now and again on a Saturday night if the feeling takes me and yes, I will have a nibble on some chocolate now and again, but on the whole it is minimal. As is my want of fatty food. I have programmed my subconscious mind to let go of the need of these sugary, starchy foods. I have also worked hard at reducing my stress and anxiety levels. I have trained my subconscious mind to love myself and only feed myself with food and drink that is good for me and going to keep me healthy.

Over the last year I have also been looking at the link between depression and obesity. It seems to be a bit of a chicken and egg situation where it is unclear whether the obesity is there as a result of depression or whether being obese causes depression.

The other factors to consider are stress and anxiety. If your body is in a state of anxiety over a prolonged period of time, your digestion is not going to work properly. If we can think of a situation where you may be chased by a tiger who is wanting to eat you, your fight or flight response is kicked in and while this is happening your body cannot do anything else but use your energy in order to survive. Appetite is suppressed as you do not have time to eat, as the body does not have time to digest food. Your body uses stored energy so the stress hormones you produce release the stored energy. Gastric issues can be an issue as well as metabolic issues. There has to be a way of replacing that stored energy and the excess cortisol levels that rise during chronic stress or traumatic events will stimulate hunger. Excess cortisol levels rise during stressful events. When this happens it favours sugary, starchy foods. Your craving will be for the bad foods rather than the celery stick. Junk foods elevate your serotonin level temporarily so you feel good after you have eaten those starchy, sugary foods, but an hour or two later you will feel back in that anxiety, so you will feel those cravings once again for the sugary foods so you get caught into that cycle. Activation of raised cortisol levels are linked with heart disease and stress. This makes us fatter, so by activating some stress release through prioritising exercise engaging in activities that release and stress, you will naturally increase the serotonin levels. Walking is one of the most powerful exercises you can do to keep yourself in an optimised state of wellness.

Certain stress hormones, particularly leptin, which helps regulate mood and emotion, and cortisol, the body’s fight or flight hormone, also come into play, as does the gut microbiome. Leptin, for example, is made in the fat cells and can actually contribute to loss of fat tissue in people with normal weight. In people with obesity, however, it doesn’t perform the same way, even though levels of it are higher. People who are obese seem to be resistant to it and therefore the hormone is less effective at modulating a person’s mood.

Unfortunately, the most common weight loss plans out there actually encourage the increase of sugar in your diet which is why the majority of those doing weight watchers or slimming world will actually put the weight they have lost, and more, back on again. If you were not addicted to sugar before the weight loss plans you most probably will be after. The problem is most low fat foods contain sugar to make them palatable. On top of this your metabolism is reset every time you lose weight so inevitably each time you lose weight you reset your metabolism which means you need to cut down on what you eat even more that you did before.

We know from studies that have been done that yoyo dieting is detrimental to future weight loss. The reason you put the weight back on is because your subconscious mind will always win out against the conscious mind which is why hypnotherapy can really help as it directly affects the subconscious mind.

My 10 week hypnosis plan will tackle each of these issues. You will learn stress reduction techniques, find motivation to exercise, have motivation to eat healthy foods and use aversion therapy techniques to discourage the starchy, sugary foods. You will learn to recognise when you are satisfied and start to become happier with this. I will do a gastric band hypnosis within this so you find you will naturally start to eat smaller food portions.

Of course, there are sometimes more deeper issues. Some clients want to subconsciously hold onto their weight because they fear relationships, or they stuff down their emotions with food. This is why I am offering counselling at a reduced rate of £30 per session throughout the 10 weeks so you can really get to grips with losing the weight for good and getting back control of your life so you can reach your goals.

If you would like more information please do not hesitate to contact me for more information.