Can hypnotherapy help you stop snacking?

A key step to successful weight loss!

Countless of us enjoy a naughty snack once in a while, yet for some people snacking can become a regular way of dealing with emotional problems. This may then be compounded with the tangible addictiveness of refined foods such as biscuits, sweets or puddings, which leads to a difficult-to-break cycle of overindulging.

It’s commonplace for some people to treat themselves for successes with processed food. Many individuals celebrate accomplishments in this way, and when done in moderation it is not a cause for concern. This is not so much of an issue in itself; numerous of us do this kind of thing in a balanced way. However when this behaviour becomes excessive, and you start fulfilling yourself with food routinely, you may find that it becomes hard to retain control over unwanted weight.

Other things such as boredom or fatigue could add to the challenge of snacking; research by Swedish scientists has shown that if we’re tired we are inclined to buy more calorific food items and snack foods than when we shop right after a good night’s slumber, the study suggested that this is because increased production of ‘hunger hormones’ is brought on when we experience a lack of sleep.

Why willpower is not as potent as perhaps you might expect 

A strict diet is traditionally the first thing people think when they want to get slimmer. However, given that the real cause of their eating behaviour remains hidden and un-dealt with, many find it impossible to stick to their weight loss programme for any period of time.

Even if you genuinely desire to beat your obsession with snacks, achieving this goal may feel just about impossible. This lack of ability to achieve your goals can then make you feel depressed and desperate about your efforts, and may lead you back into excessive comfort eating again.

So how exactly does hypnotherapy allow you to change eating habits? 

Because hypnotherapy works with the subconscious, it can deal with the main problem that is causing your eating behaviours. Your snacking habits could have formed in early stages in childhood, or perhaps insomnia issues may be influencing your choice to regularly buy unhealthy snacks. Whatever the reason, hypnotherapy can help you. 

A hypnotherapist will work with your subconscious mind, dealing with and eliminating any underlying beliefs about food by re-wiring your brain with new, much healthier choices, as opposed to trying to use your will power. 

Far from being a quick fix, hypnotherapy helps people lose some weight and stay slim for the long run. By assisting the person get to a state of deep relaxation, the hypnotherapist can then replace the old habitual thinking behaviours that have formulated around food over the years with new ones. After a few sessions, numerous clients notice a decrease in their desire for snack foods, and therefore healthy eating plans are far easier to maintain.

Helping clients stop snacking is a critical part of any weight loss and therefore is integrated in my book  and programme "Unleash the Slim Within' which I run at my private practice in Norwich.

John Plester is the Founder and Principal Tutor of the East Anglian Institute that has been established since 2001.