The challenge of weight loss lies in it’s origin. It is thought to lie in addiction, however it’s more in depth than that.

There are several reasons why people struggle to lose weight:

1. They may have poor self-esteem (negative beliefs) which produce negative actions such as poor choices in food or excess amounts of food.

2. They have suffered abuse or trauma which is layered in low self-esteem, lack of control, negative body image, and the need to put a protective barrier (fat) between them and the threat of the external world.

3. They have not formed healthy methods of dealing with negative emotions in their internal or external environments. Eating out of boredom is a common theme where one feels a sense of lack of purpose. Food, which is often associated with known, positive feelings such as social/cultural belonging, is a natural “go to” for counterbalancing those uncomfortable feelings.

4. We attach meaning to food such as reward, fun, or celebration when, in reality, it’s purpose is to sustain.

How Hypnotherapy Can Help Address Weight Loss Effectively

Hypnotherapy, can address weight loss effectively if we identify the underlying factors or triggers. The simple awareness of these triggers alone gives a significant amount of control back to the client. The Hypnotherapist then works with the client to get very clear on what they want. Target weight, body feel, fit of clothes, approval of others. Then we get to work to reframe those old subconscious programs and triggers so that the client is instead triggered to achieve their goals.

The true success in Hypnotherapy is getting clear on what you want. Most people know they don’t want to be overweight, but they’ve not defined what they DO want. You can’t hit a target if you don’t know what it is. Focusing on the problem only gets you more problems. In fact, losing weight implies a loss, even if it’s unwanted.

Losing a part of our identity is not something we do naturally. If you add on more restriction or lack in the form of diets, we only amplify restriction, lack, and suffering. Will power is no match for this kind of threat to our subconscious. The job of the subconscious is to keep us alive, so diets can be accepted in the short term only. For a long term, effective program, we need to reframe the root problem in line with what we want. When we do that, weight loss is easy and lifelong.