Can you hypnotize yourself into eating healthy? Are your eating habits taking a toll on you both emotionally and physically? Are you finding yourself filing a plate after another with junk food?
Maybe you cannot go a week without pizza, or you cannot say no to the ice cream guy down the street. Probably you dislike vegetables and would rather not have any on your food. Maybe you want to change your eating habits and eat healthily, but you are finding it difficult.
If that is the case, it is time you considered hypnotizing yourself to eat healthier. You can Google “healthy eating hypnosis” or “weight loss hypnosis,” and you’ll get tons of posts on how you can hypnotize yourself to healthy eating. The resources can include YouTube videos and guided audio sessions. You can also consider meeting with a hypnotist who will guide you in the process.
Enjoy eating fruit and vegetables audio hypnosis session helps to deal with your disgust towards eating more fruits and vegetables. Instead of consciously focusing on eating more fruits and vegetables, the audio session helps to shift the negative thoughts you have towards vegetables.
When you listen to the hypnosis session, you find yourself in a deep relaxation state. The deep relaxation state is a learning state that enables you to make the changes you want, natural and inevitable.
Self Hypnosis
How does self-hypnosis work? Is it going into a sleepy state and waking up under a spell that makes things happen? Hypnosis refers to a way of training your subconscious mind by repeating positive statements. Thus, you can use self-hypnosis to guide yourself into healthy eating.
For instance, you can train your mind to tell you not to eat junk, and you will stop eating snacks when relaxing on your couch or watching a movie. By repeating the message several times, it sinks into your subconscious mind; thus, you start believing it’s true. Self-hypnosis can also help you to feel less anxious when making decisions. Most people who visit professional hypnotherapists and hypnotists have deeply ingrained beliefs.
For instance, one will say that they cannot motivate themselves to get into a gym. Others say they have an irresistible craving for junk that makes them feel they are not in control. However, such negative thoughts are the reason people stick to bad eating habits that affect their health. Self-hypnosis seeks to get to the bottom of such thoughts and replace them with more positive thoughts.
Note, self-hypnosis may promise to deal with all your eating problems instantly. Such challenges can include emotional eating, eating unhealthy foods, or emotional eating. If your issues are not solved instantly, you may feel like a failure and become frustrated. The frustrations can drive you back to unhealthy eating habits.
Therefore, you should understand that positive self-talk will help you in making healthier eating choices. However, expecting it to work miracles and turning your situation around in a short time is unrealistic and can make you disappointed. If you want to try it, ensure you get the hypnotic materials from an accredited hypnotherapist or psychologist associated with a reputable institution.
How Does Hypnosis Help You to Eat Healthily
Hypnosis involves your hypnotist getting you into a trance state where your body is deeply relaxed. Then, the hypnotherapist makes suggestions that help you to relax and engage your subconscious mind. For example, a hypnotherapist can ask you to lie down during a hypnotic session and describe your food problem. Say if it is overeating, eating unhealthy foods, etc.
The hypnotist can then play audios that will help put you in a hypnotic trance. While in that state, the professional can start making suggestions that go to your subconscious mind. For instance, if you continue with the path of unhealthy eating, you are putting yourself at the risk of health problems. The possibility of getting diabetes or heart disease due to your habits could hit harder at this time.
The hypnotist can also suggest eating half of what is on your plate. This makes your body feel full before you take excess food. From then on, you can only start taking half of what is in your place at all times. Hypnosis will also help you realize how helpful it is to take lots of fresh water and only to make healthy food.
The most vital part of self-hypnosis is realizing the power you have in your mind to deal with various challenges. It helps you to stop acting victim and realize you have the power to say “No” to foods that are not healthy. You may realize that your eating habits may storm from your inability to miss out on what other people are having.
Does Hypnosis Help in Weight Loss?
If you want to lose weight, hypnosis may be a better option than diet and exercise alone. This is because you can influence the mind to stop harmful habits such as eating unhealthy food and overeating (see ‘Hypnosis For Overeating‘).
Should You Try Hypnotherapy?
There are several types of hypnotherapy available. Most hypnotherapists use suggestion therapy which is mostly used to stop habits like nail-biting, smoking, and eating disorders. Your hypnotist can also combine your hypnosis sessions with other treatments such as CBT and nutrition advice.
Hypnotherapy works by inducing a state of relaxation in the patient, which allows the therapist to reprogram the subconscious mind. Contrary to popular belief, the person will remain awake and alert throughout the session and will remember the entire session when it is through. It is essential that the patient is willing for the process to produce the best results.
Studies show that some people are more responsive to hypnotherapy, making them more likely to benefit from it. People with particular character traits such as openness and selflessness are more likely to embrace hypnotherapy and benefit from it.
Responsiveness to hypnotherapy also increases with age. People over 40 years are more responsive to hypnosis, and women are more likely to be responsive irrespective of their age. Apart from avoiding overeating and enhancing weight loss, hypnotherapy can also be used for other purposes such as relieving pain, reducing anxiety, changing habits, and treating addictions.
But does hypnotherapy work? Hypnotherapy is not widely encouraged by the psychiatric and medical communities as primary therapy. You can find evidence that proves its success, but there is also evidence that points out its failure.
You’ll find various studies that prove how hypnosis effectively deals with various conditions, including pain. Hypnotherapy success highly depends on the willingness of the patient. You shouldn’t use it as a substitute for evidence-based medicine.
Unfortunately, hypnotherapy comes with its share of challenges and risks. For example, sometimes, a hypnotist may try to use the process to revive a patient’s memory. However, the patient can sometimes create false memories. Other risks involved with the process include dizziness, drowsiness, anxiety, distress, and headache. If you experience delusions or hallucinations, you should consult your doctor before trying hypnotherapy.
The risks involved can also include getting the right hypnotherapist. It will be best to choose someone with a positive review. Ensure the hypnotherapist has references, prior clients, and a website. It will also help a lot if the person is accredited by the relevant bodies.
Other Tips for Weight Loss
Apart from hypnotherapy, you can also try out the following tips at home to help in weight loss:
- Have a food diary: have you ever considered keeping a food diary of what you eat? Keeping a diary helps you track how much you are eating, whether or not you are eating out of hunger and when you are eating. Keeping a diary will help you identify habits that might be contributing to weight gain, such as eating snacks when you are bored.
- Don’t skip meals: sometimes you can have an urge to skip meals. You should resist such urges as they can affect your body’s metabolism. Eating throughout the day helps to keep your metabolism running properly.
- Drink eight glasses of water daily: taking a lot of water helps prevent overeating, which in turn prevents weight gain. Additionally, it helps to enhance metabolism, which reduces the number of calories in your body.
- Eat fruits and vegetables: you should eat more fruits and vegetables to balance your starch uptake. Your diet should also contain more fiber to reduce your appetite. You should take 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day.
- Exercise regularly: exercising regularly helps keep your body fit and enhances weight loss by getting rid of excess calories. You can use moderate exercises such as gardening, walking, water aerobics, etc. Additionally, you can use more vigorous exercises such as running, hiking hills, swimming laps, etc.
Final Thoughts
Hypnosis is a vital process in your weight loss journey. Studies show that it might work better than other weight loss methods as it influences your mind to avoid overeating and unhealthy foods. It also helps you to choose the proper diet for your body.
There are lots of hypnotic resources available on the internet. However, not all of them offer credible hypnotherapy content. Additionally, you’ll get lots of hypnotherapists available. Don’t settle on the first person you come across. Ensure the person is accredited and is a professional hypnotherapist. If you want to achieve the best results, you can combine hypnosis with other activities such as exercise and proper nutrition.
Note: you shouldn’t replace evidence-based medicine with hypnotherapy. Additionally, if you suffer from hallucinations, you should consult your doctor before taking hypnotherapy.