Many weight loss clients come for hypnosis for assistance with binge eating, over-eating, and/or eating the wrong foods. A majority of these clients have underlying emotional and/or belief based issues which perpetuate the eating pattern. Some, however, do not. They simply have habitual eating patterns because there is no ‘on/off’ switch. I address this type of habitual eating in a number of ways. Following are a few of the steps I take when treating habitual eating.
Habitual eating approaches
- Explore the sensation of their habitual eating pattern, for example, an addictive feeling, or a reward sensation.
- Retrace the sensation
- Instill devices and resources necessary to counter that addictive response
- Explore the client’s arrangement of time to ensure goal setting and discipline are optimised
- Build a stronger desired self-image
- Explore conflicting inner urges, for example, binging versus slimming.
Essentially, if your desired self image is not stronger than your urge for food, you will not commit to restricting the problem eating.
We build that self image mainly through a relaxed trance of hypnosis. It is important to understand that the level of hypnosis required sits between the Alpha and Theta wavelengths. If you become unconscious or fall asleep (deep Theta or Delta), it is far from ideal because you need to be consciously engaged in the process.
The final part of the strategy is to consolidate the change work around habitual eating through repetition, by listening to the hypnosis every day for 2-4 weeks. Just as you learned to indulge in food, and it became automatic, you need to unlearn that pattern. Reinforcing the work we do in clinic through repeated listening of these hypnotic suggestion is one of the easiest ways to do this.
There are other things you can try with this type of eating as well as it is a widely researched topic.
If you have queries around weight loss and hypnosis, I’m happy to chat. Contact me.