Using Hypnosis, NLP and Guided Imagery for Weight Control

Hypnosis and other related techniques such as NLP and guided imagery are very effective tools when it comes to weight control. A meta-analysis published in The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that people who used hypnosis in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy lost far more weight than those who received cognitive-behavioral therapy alone. (Kirsch, 1996)

Studies of Hypnosis, NLP and Hypnosis for weight loss

Hypnosis is not just helpful in spurring weight loss, however; it may be crucial in keeping the weight off. A study conducted at the Brandon University in Canada indicates that this is true. The Brandon University researchers monitored three groups: one set of women received group hypnosis sessions; a second set received group hypnosis sessions plus training in self-hypnosis; and the control group underwent no hypnosis at all. At the end of the study, the control group had no sustained weight loss, while the women in the groups who received hypnotherapy averaged a weight loss of 17 pounds. (Cochrane, Friesen, 1986)  

Similarly, the scientific journal Eating and Weight Disorders 2004 concluded after a landmark 5 year study that clinically obese people who combined hypnosis and other relaxation techniques with proper nutrition and exercise were much more likely to keep the weight off permanently.   (Golay, Buclin, Ybarra, Toti, Pichard, Picco, de Tonnac, Allaz, 2004)

Adding guided imagery to your weight control program also makes a significant difference in weight loss. According to a study conducted by the Director of Behavioral Medicine at Canyon Ranch, guided imagery in combination with behavior modification, nutritional guidance and exercise can actually double weight loss. (Rossman, undated)

Guided imagery has also been used successfully to deal with more acute weight-related problems like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating. In a combined effort, researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital, the University of Toronto, Toronto Hospital and The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto performed a randomized controlled trial on the subject and came to the conclusion that guided imagery reduced vomiting by 73% and binge eating by 74% in bulimic patients. (Esplen, Garfinkel, Olmsted, Gallop, Kennedy, 1998) If hypnosis and guided imagery can have such an effect on patients with very serious problems, the implications for ordinary overweight people are astounding. It makes one wonder about the politics of diet drugs when such a safe, natural, low-cost and effective therapy is so readily available.

NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming, is also very effective in addressing weight problems and maintaining weight control. NLP is a method for behavior modification that was developed at the University of California, Santa Cruz in the 1970"s in a joint effort between psychologists and linguists. NLP "reprograms" behavior by training the mind through the use of repeated positive phrases. Although fewer people may be familiar with this process than with hypnosis or guided imagery, the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy recognized NLP as a legitimate form of psychotherapy at the beginning of the decade. (McDonald, 2001)

NLP"s founders explain that it works by overcoming the learnt limitations of negative thoughts and speech and replacing the negative with the positive. (Bandler, Andreas, 1985) Traditional cognitive behavioral therapy for weight loss focuses on the negative; don"t overeat, don"t eat certain foods, etc. Is it any wonder that the mind experiences these thoughts as deprivation and rebels? Psychotherapist Lewis Walker explains that using negative commands for weight control is putting the cart before the horse. First you must "program" the brain to believe that you"re healthy, strong and fit, and then the weight loss will come, perpetuating a cycle of success rather than failure. (Walker, Louis: Changing With NLP: A Casebook of Neuro-linguistic Programming in Medical Practice, 2004)