News Articles » – COULD HYPNOSIS HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

THE PALM BEACH POST

COULD HYPNOSIS HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?
By Carolyn Susman

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You are feeling very sleeeeeepy.

Isn’t that what you think of when you envision being hypontized?

For most of us, hypnosis falls anywhere from dangerous (removal of inhibitions)

to daunting (I can’t be put under) to dismal (it doesn’t work, never will).

But the use of hypnosis in medicine is increasingly popular, and it is often used

to break difficult habits, like smoking and overeating.

Not everyone is convinced, even in the professional community. An article recently appeared in the ‘International Journal of Obesity’ analyzing various complementary methods for weight loss. It found that hypnosis achieved only “small reductions in body weight.”

Still, small reductions are better than total failures. And those who battle obesity

may think themselves failures for being unable to control their overeating.

Reversing addiction–and eating when you are not hungry or to satisfy emotional

cravings is addiction–requires the will to change.

Janice Holden, a 57-year old former schoolteacher, tapped into that will when she attended a seminar three years ago in her hometown of Boca Raton , conducted by Bradenton hypnotherapist, Rena Greenberg. ( http://www.easywillpower.com/; ‘The Right Weigh’, $14.95, Hay House)

Since then Holden has lost 120 pounds and kept it mostly off. She credits

Greenberg’s hypnosis sessions, plus her relaxation and retraining tapes, for helping her

accomplish the transition from 5-feet-7, 270 pounds to the comfortable 148 pounds she is

now.

Despite her willingness to speak out about how hypnosis helped her when other

methods from liquid protein diets to Weight Watchers did not, Holden still won’t show

photos of her former self.

“Why should they see me?” she reasons, displaying still that self-consciousness

that overeaters often have.

Her new self makes life easier, she says, whether negotiating a turnstile or being

comfortable in an airplane seat. She can’t say why the hypnosis worked for her–a friend

who went with her three years ago has regained her lost weight. But she says she noticed

a change in her behavior “right away, eating healthier foods, smaller portions, and I cut

out junk.”

She listened to Greenberg’s reinforcement tapes and when the struggle seemed to be returning, attended Greenberg’s seminar – return attendance is free, initial cost is $69—when she gave her seminars nearby.

Holiday times are particularly difficult for those who tend to overeat, and Holden is certainly one of them. But she has developed the skill that Greenberg advocates to tell yourself that “you don’t like fattening, greasy, empty calorie food.”

At this time of year, dieters are besieged by tempting treats and by loads of

advice on how to prevent weight gain and lose weight.

I just got two new books advocating plans from “unlocking the secret of the hormone leptin” (‘The Fat Resistance Diet’, $23.95, Broadway books) to “giving practical skills to tackle emotional eating” (‘Eat by Choice, Not by Habit, $8.95, PuddleDancer Press).

So we are not without choices. But for those who find conventional weight loss

plans unworkable, hypnosis with a certified hypnotherapist may be the answer.