For many people hypnosis conjures up the image of a man of stage making someone do something completely foolish but weight loss through hypnosis seems even sillier.

But there is solid evidence that a person can achieve quick and lasting weight loss results by using hypnosis.

But firstly let’s look at what hypnosis is?

According to Contemporary Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing hypnosis or as it is more commonly known hypnotherapy is “the therapeutic use of suggestion when a person is in an altered state of consciousness in order to effect positive changes in that person’s behavior and so treat a range of health conditions”. It has not only been used to decrease the pain a person is feeling but also for weight control.

In a publication (Warren 2003) there was a statement that “Hypnosis is a way to access the untapped power of the mind and alter brain functions. In this state of intense relaxation and concentration the mind is able to focus on positive suggestions which can be carried out at a future time. These subliminal messages are surprisingly powerful.”

Then at the 54th Annual Conference in November 2003 of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Dr David Spiegel (Stanford University researcher) said “that although we don’t fully understand how it works, there is significant evidence that hypnosis can be effective in helping people reach into their own unconscious resources to solve problems normally beyond their ability”.

This in fact shows that the scientific community believes that indeed it is possible for someone to achieve weight loss through hypnosis.

In the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1996 a report regarding meta-analysis (comparing multiple studies) showed that adding hypnosis increased weight loss by an average of 97% when people were being treated. But even more important this increased the effectiveness of post treatment by over 146%. So this has shown that hypnosis can work even better if used over longer periods of time.

Whilst in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1986 a study was carried out on 60 women and they were separated into hypnosis versus non-hypnosis groups. It was found that those women using hypnosis lost an average of 17lbs whilst those in the non-hypnosis group only lost an average 5lbs.

So as you can see weight loss through hypnosis is very effective and may be more people should look at trying it in the future.