Weight Loss Hypnosis

During the worst few years of my depression, I began seeing a mental health counselor who really helped me with many of the issues I was going through at the time. I explained to her that a portion of my depression was due to my weight, and to alleviate some of the feelings of depression I would turn to food for comfort, which obviously only made my situation worse. She told me that she had been extensively trained in hypnosis, and was interested in trying this technique to see if she could help me.

She explained to me that it may take many sessions to make a noticeable difference, and even then, the results may not be permanent. I had nothing to lose at this point, and figured I should go ahead and try it. It also appealed to the scientist in me that wanted to test whether or not hypnosis could actually work.

Unsurprisingly, we decided that the root of my problem was my junk food binges. I asked her if she could give me an aversion to some of the worst of my frequently eaten favorites, and she agreed. I specifically remember telling her that I had a serious problem with cheese: macaroni and cheese, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches… It was ridiculous how much cheese I consumed. We also decided that, since when I binge I tend to eat so quickly that I am almost finished before I even realize I am eating, that we should try to fix that problem as well.

Before we began, she told me step by step what the hypnosis session would be like, and what she was going to do. She then had me lay my head back against the headrest of the sofa I was sitting on, get comfortable, and close my eyes. She told me to picture myself walking down a staircase into a dark room. The farther down I stepped, the darker everything around me went, and the heavier my limbs felt – it was remarkably similar to popular portrayals of hypnosis in movies. In fact, I clearly remember thinking, even as I actually felt myself sinking down almost to sleep, that it was a load of hooey and I couldn’t believe I was trying it and it would never work, etc.

I felt very relaxed. Suddenly I realized the couch felt incredibly comfortable, like when you first wake up in the morning, in your warm bed, and your stupid alarm clock is going off, but the bed is so comfortable that you just can’t move at all… I could still hear her speaking to me, and I knew where I was and what was going on, but it was distant. Somewhere in the back of my head the skeptical part of my brain was still telling me that this was silly, but that thought wasn’t really very convincing anymore.

She began to describe a hot, delicious plate of noodles and cheese sauce. She asked me to picture it, smell it in my mind, taste it even. Then she told me that the cheese was rotting and rank, the noodles were slimy and disgusting, and the whole smelly mess was congealing into a disgusting, globby mixture. She told me again to look at the plate of food and smell it. If I was brave enough to taste the repulsive rotting goop I could, but I should be aware that it will make me feel disgusted to eat it and will feel horrible and slimy sliding down my throat.

We did this a couple more times, with a few of my other favorite foods. She also suggested a few times that it would be much more pleasant if I ate my food slowly, making sure to chew several times.

She then woke me up by having me climb the staircase again into the light. I felt like I was slowly waking up from a dream. When she had me open my eyes, the light was too bright and I felt like I really had just woken from a refreshing nap. I didn’t feel particularly different, but I realized that I had just had a thoroughly interesting experience.

I decided that, after that session, I didn’t really want anything cheesy for dinner. It didn’t make me nauseous to think about it, but it didn’t really trigger a craving either. It was only after a few days that I realized something interesting: I hadn’t overeaten on any of my “worst offender” foods since the hypnosis session. It hadn’t really been a conscious decision, it was just automatic.

When I visited home for a week, my mom asked me if I had started a new diet technique – I was eating much, much slower than I had in the past, really taking the time to enjoy my food instead of just shoveling it in my mouth. I was astonished, to say the least. I hadn’t noticed it at all, but she was right. I really, honestly believe with all of my skeptical heart that the hypnosis session actually made a difference.

My counselor was correct in telling me that the results would likely not be permanent. They did last a good long while, however, especially for only having had one session. It wasn’t until six months later that my mother pointed out I was back to shoveling food in my mouth. It has now been two or three years, and I still don’t eat nearly the amount of cheese that I used to. I enjoy it on some things, but sometimes it just doesn’t taste quite right. I don’t know how much of that is due to self-training through dieting discipline, or whether I might still have some lingering effects. I suppose that would be nearly impossible to prove either way, but it is definitely food for thought (no pun intended).

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