Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Weight loss hypnosis isn’t about diets, willpower or denying yourself the things you want. And it isn’t about wishing or suggesting your problem away.
It’s about genuinely solving the problems that drive your overeating. So you can avoid the diet roller coaster. So you can look forward to keeping the weight off permanently.

Weight loss hypnosis isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. There are a number of ways you might be “doing” your food issue. That said, likely you’d go through these stages –

1. Ending your “hunger”

Most approaches fail because they focus on the food. If we work together, we’ll look further back in the “chain” of the problem – to the “hungry” feeling that drives the overeating. That feeling that isn’t physical hunger. That craving/empty/_______ feeling that makes it SO HARD for you to eat the healthy way your body would like you to. We’d likely use hypnosis to get to the root of that feeling and get it resolved.

2. Ending the habits

For most clients, once the emotional drivers to the problem have been addressed, the problem habits resolve on their own. You’d likely find that once you’re no longer compelled to overeat, eating healthy becomes easy because it’s not a battle anymore. If you had any remaining bad habits, we’d address them directly. Once the emotional “hunger” feelings have been resolved, eliminating any remaining habits is usually pretty easy.

3. Follow up

I like seeing clients after the weight loss hypnosis work has been done. That way, if the client has any issues with maintaining their ideal weight, we’re able to get them resolved before any backsliding happens.

The way clients structure their eating issues is different from person to person. Even across different clients who have the same type of issue. So I'm constantly changing and adapting approaches to fit each client and the unique structure of their issue. The work usually involves hypnotherapy, but there are also many other ways to get things solved.

These are some of the approaches I combine to help clients succeed.

Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is a great way to get to the core of a weight loss issue. It's a way of engaging the deeper/unconscious parts of the mind so clients get results they can feel, not just intellectual understandings. It's also a great state for learning and a useful tool for relaxation. These are some of the hypnotherapy approaches I use in my practice:

• Ericksonian hypnotherapy

• Classical hypnosis

• Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

• Regression Hypnotherapy

• Ideomotor Hypnotherapy

Conversational Hypnosis
Through careful use of language, I can help clients connect and work with some very deep (and usually outside of consciousness) parts of themselves. These approaches can sometimes streamline the process, reduce performance anxiety ("Am I hypnotized?!") and make the process easier.

NLP
Neuro-linguistic programming offers a suite of tools that help clients gain more control over the way they're thinking about things. More control + more options usually = easier weight loss.

REBT
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a close relative of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). It's a way of helping clients see some of the "filters" they've been seeing the world through so they can find more choices. On it's own it can be a bit dry and hard for clients to accept. Combined with hypnotherapy and NLP, it can be life-changing, particularly for anxiety clients who are trapped in the "I MUST lose weight" loop where the harder they try to relax, the more they eat.

Behavior Design
BD is based on the work of BJ Fogg, director of The Behavioral Design Lab at Stanford University. His research shows that long-term change is best accomplished when people feel good. Taking very small steps in a consistently positive way can yield powerful results, especially as weight loss clients are learning it's ok to eat less.

Psychological Illusions/De-Hypnosis/Metacognitive therapy
Some clients create their anxiety by (innocently) hypnotizing themselves into some really bad trances. The stories and images they create can be powerful drivers for a lot of compulsive eating and weight issues.

Helping clients develop tools to "wake up" when they start do that can often make a big difference. The psychological illusion model offers tools to help clients to see through those thoughts in a way that allows for a lot more peace of mind.

Metaphor
Metaphors and stories can often help clients see things in much deeper way than more analytical/left-brained conversations. They're invaluable for helping clients "connect the dots" and see outside of the places where they've been stuck.  Unstuck clients usually eat less and feel better.

Progressive Exposure
Helping clients slowly work in the direction of new habits can often be an important part of the process. The really important thing is being sure that before they start they have new resources (usually developed through the other approaches mentioned here). That way they can feel safe as they move in the direction of healthier eating.

Provocative Therapy
Sometimes being very direct or playing the devil's advocate with a client can help them to see new options in a way that more circumspect approaches can't.

EMDR/EFT
Eye Movement Desensitization Therapy and the Emotional Freedom Technique are both ways to "unstick" some thought/feeling combinations. One involves the client gently tapping some acupressure points, the other following a prompt for some simple eye movements.  Both can be helpful in weight loss.

Breathwork
Certain breathing patterns act as effective tools for resetting the sympathetic fight or flight response. They can be a shortcut to creating a sense of calm that can be extremely useful, especially for clients with weight loss issues.

Visualization
Visualization work, much like the type athletes do to prime themselves for success, can sometimes be a useful tool with driving, particularly after a client has solved most of the eating issue.

Some weight problems are straightforward, some turn out to be more complicated.  My goal is to use hypnotherapy for weight loss (and other approaches) to help my clients to find a lasting solution.  Always as quickly as possible, but without using ‘band-aid’ approaches or cutting corners.

The vast majority of clients I’ve actually worked with for eating and weight issues have solved their problem. It’s been more work for some than others, and many have resolved other issues in the process. There are people who don’t get good results, though. Fortunately, I’m usually able to identify them in them in the initial consultation call, so they can find someone who’s a better fit for them.

It's a flat fee for client success.

I find:

• Clients get better results when they commit up front to spend the money/time it takes to solve their problem (results aren’t as good when people dabble and  “try hypnosis”).
• Clients get better results when they’re not worried about how much time they’re taking.
• Clients get better results when they’re mid-process and they’re not worried about how much more it might cost them get to the point where they’re successful.

So you’d pay one flat fee to resolve your issue and lose weight.  One price, regardless of how many sessions it takes to solve the problem completely.   ‘Solved’ as both defined by and judged by you.  

Fees vary depending on the situation and the severity of the anxiety. Usually they fall somewhere between $3-7k.

Guarantee
I guarantee all weight loss hypnotherapy work with a half-back refund.  If a client reaches the ten session mark and they’re making good progress, great.  We continue working until the problem is completely solved.  If they’ve done that much work and they don’t feel like they’ve made any progress, I guarantee the work by refunding half the fee.

It’s also guaranteed if a client has a problem later on. “Relapses” are rare, but if they ever happen – whether it’s three weeks, three months or three years later – they’re 100% covered.  The client is back here in the office and we resolve whatever we may have missed.

Insurance

Sorry, I don't do any insurance billing. I've had a few clients who were able to get the work partially covered with HSA funds, but I don't know the details of how they arranged it. I just provided them with a receipt.

Much as I’d like to, I’m not able to help everyone who has an eating or weight issue.  Just click the 'Let's Talk' button below to find out if you’ll be a good fit as a Boston Hypnosis client.

These are a few of the studies cited in PubMed®, an online database of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.

"Hypnotherapy and acupuncture reported significantly greater reduction in body weight compared with placebo."

- Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss: A Narrative Review

"Hypnotherapy in obesity treatment leads to weight loss in obese patients"

- Effects of Hypnotherapy on Weight Loss and thus on Serum Leptin, Adiponectin, and Irisin Levels in Obese Patients

"Exploratory therapeutic sessions can work together synergistically to maximize the potential for sustained weight loss."

- Unconscious agendas in the etiology of refractory obesity and the role of hypnosis in their identification and resolution: a new paradigm for weight-management programs or a paradigm revisited?

"Both hypnosis and mindfulness provide a promising therapeutic option"

- The Use of Self-Help Strategies in Obesity Treatment. A Narrative Review Focused on Hypnosis and Mindfulness

"Acupuncture, and hypnosis are the only evidence-based complementary therapies for the treatment of obesity."

- Complementary and alternative therapies for weight loss

"Habitual hypnosis users showed a greater weight loss."

- Effects of Self-Conditioning Techniques (Self-Hypnosis) in Promoting Weight Loss in Patients with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

A few good resources for weight loss hypnotherapy include:

10 Ways Hypnosis Can Help You Lose Weight—For Good - Oprah.com

You Are Not Getting Hungry …: Using Hypnosis to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain - New York Times

Successful Weight Loss Using Hypnosis - Psychology Today

If You're Considering Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss, Read This First - Women's Health

Hypnosis helped her lose 140 pounds - CNN

Hold Up: Does Hypnosis for Weight Loss Work? Here’s What Experts Say - Prevention

Hypnosis Weight Loss Versus Stomach Stapling - Wall Street Journal

On Hypnosis and Weight Management - Reveri.com