The theory behind hypnosis to aid in life change --whether stopping smoking, fighting procrastination, or finding prosperity-- is that it helps people to break out of old habits and build new ones.
The same concept is supposed to apply to weight loss.
How Does Weight Loss Hypnosis Work? Most weight loss hypnosis programs are intended to help you lose weight by working on your subconscious desire to eat.
They will work to either build healthy eating habits and awareness of what you eat, or to curb a desire to snack throughout the day, or both.
Generally, hypnosis CDs consist of generally relaxing music with a vocal track that is normally inaudible.
This subliminal message is supposed to speak directly to your subconscious, helping you to make healthy decisions without as much effort or strength of will.
But Do They Really Help? Surprisingly enough, the answer is yes.
Some of these hypnosis programs do work for some people.
The reason for this is that real hypnosis isn't a trick or scam.
It simply encourages your brain to consider your eating habits, and helps you to make better choices.
Sound too good to be true? Well, yes and no.
The news TV program Dateline did a study of dieting programs, and one of the men taking part in the study, Marc, used a weight loss hypnosis program to lose 39 pounds.
He saw a hypnotherapist and received CDs to listen to, and suddenly found himself eating healthier and getting more exercise.
Making smart choices.
Did the hypnosis melt away the pounds? No.
Marc did, by making smart choices.
Finding an Effective Hypnosis Program The truth is, the effectiveness of hypnosis varies hugely from person to person and program to program.
One program might do absolutely nothing for a particular person, while it helps another lose a significant amount of weight.
This may be because some people are more receptive to subliminal messages than others.
It is also because some programs are more effective than others.
Finding an effective weight loss hypnosis program requires extensive research and a bit of patience.
If you do a simple search on eBay, you'll find dozens of hypnosis programs to cure and fix every problem, and they will all make amazing claims.
But it's important to have patience and spend your money only on reputable products by reputable manufacturers.
The truth is, the concept and function behind hypnosis is a delicate thing-- meaning that quality hypnosis programs cannot be found for just a few dollars.
Do your research.
Look at different programs online.
And, most importantly, read honest user reviews.
There are many places on the web where you can find reviews of different programs and read extensively about user experiences with them.
Maintenance If you find an effective hypnosis program, it's also important to stick to it.
Hypnosis generally doesn't make a permanent change in behavior-- it works for a limited amount of time.
This means that, when you find something that works, keep using it.
We'll use the example of Marc from the Dateline study.
Six months after losing 40 pounds, he was skipping out on exercise, doing lots of snacking-- and putting on weight.
But after one more session with a hypnotist, he was back on track.