Weight Loss Hypnosis
Weight loss hypnosis is an effective tool in helping us shed the pounds for a very good reason. This arises because we all have a natural ability to control our body fat. The ability is inbuilt in our brain and is part of the regulatory system (in the hypothalamus, which is the reptilian part of the brain) that determines our temperature, blood pressure and level of physical activity. For this reason the facts strongly point to mental processes as being the things that cause weight gain as well as ultimately give us the ability to become thin. This happens unconsciously, so we are generally unaware of it.
The truth is even more fascinating than this. For the mental processes regulating weight are in themselves influenced by what we eat, as well as physical factors that would appear completely unrelated. The implication of this can be serious when we try to diet however we attempt to do it. For instance weight loss hypnosis is most likely to fail not because of the hypnosis itself, but because of other hidden factors that block its effectiveness.
Let me give you three examples of this:
1. Fructose: this is a kind of intensely sweet sugar manufactured from corn syrup. It does occur naturally but only in very small quantities in fruit such as apples and figs. When the human species evolved exposure to fructose was very limited and as a result the human digestive tract does not handle it in the same way to sucrose and glucose (which are the other kinds of simple sugars) but instead it is absorbed in the liver rather than the intestine. The result of this is that you tend not to notice the quantity of food that you are eating and instead remain hungry. The message that your intestine is filling never reaches the brain. The solution is to cut down on heavily sweetened ready prepared foods and soft fizzy drinks.
2. Thirst: level of hydration and the need to drink occurs in the hypothalamus as well as the regulation of food intake. Though these use different systems they are closely related. The problem is that it is very easy for a kind of “cross wiring” of the two to occur in the brain. The result: you mistake the feeling of thirst as a sign of hunger. The solution is that if you are aiming to lose weight you should ensure that you also drink an adequate amount (ideally water). Curiously, there is also some evidence that lack of sex (sex is also regulated by the hypothalamus) can also be mistaken for lack of food in a similar way.
3. Lack of sleep: scientists discovered that levels of two chemicals in the body alter following sleep loss. These are leptin — the hormone that tells the brain how much fat you possess — and ghrelin which signals emptiness of the stomach. By effectively tampering with these chemical levels the natural fat regulatory process in the brain is effectively working blind — it is simply not correctly receiving the information it needs to ensure that you become or remain a satisfactory weight. The solution in this case is not as straightforward as the two previous examples. However, there are a number of basic measures that can assist sleeping including: not be too physically or mentally active for an hour or so before going to bed; going to bed at a regular time each night; and drinking a hot milky drink before you try to go to sleep. There are also methods such as hypnosis and self-hypnosis that may help.
In summary the regulation of body fat is, fundamentally, a mental process. For this reason hypnosis is a highly relevant tool to use for weight loss. In order to increase the probability of success certain basic steps are advisable as part of this program. These include reduction of fructose, ensuring a good level of hydration, and placing emphasis on good quality sleep.
