Of all the weight loss methods, this is perhaps the most controversial and, at the same time, the least studied.
Being hypnotized to lose weight -or for anything- already sounds strange, like a scam. However, hundreds of people around the world say that it has worked for them, there is even a «procedure» called virtual gastric banding, which consists of doing all the theater of the surgery, so that the body believes that it has a smaller stomach. And people pay for it.
There are many people health professionals or not, who offer services to lose weight through hypnosis. Perhaps the most famous of them is Paul Mckenna, who became a worldwide phenomenon for his television show.
What we eat, when and where have a place in our minds. We can reprogram our minds like a computer to eat less and feel betterMckenna explained in an interview with Dr. Oz.
It is not that the person comes out of hypnosis and starts burning extra fat, no; it is supposed that during hypnosis the brain is reprogrammed so that it stops eating badly and eats healthier. Will it work? We asked an expert. Hypnosis to change behaviors might work, but not in all people and the changes are short-termaccording to the psychologist André Didyme-Dome, so they would have to constantly reinforce the treatment (and pay for it, of course).
Currently hypnosis is used less and less as a therapy and more as a research method on issues of attention, perception, memory, etc., not as a therapy. In addition, it has ethical implications, since the patient is not aware there is manipulation by the hypnotistclarifies Didyme-Dome.
Beyond the testimonials, there are very few studies on how hypnotherapy works for weight loss. In 1996 researchers evaluated 6 previous studies, and determined that participants using hypnosis had an average weight loss of 7k at the end of treatment, compared to the control group, who lost an average of 3 k without hypnosis. The study author noted that the studies he compared varied in length of treatment; they ranged from 2 months to 2 years, so his analysis is inconclusive.
What do you think? Do you think one could lose weight under hypnosis? Tell us what you think in the comments of this note.