Most people who come to me about their weight are not short of information. They know what a balanced plate looks like. Many have followed several diets successfully for a while, lost weight, and then watched it gradually return. What they struggle with is not knowing what to do, but doing it consistently when life gets stressful, tiring or emotional.
That gap between knowing and doing is where hypnotherapy can help. In this article I explain why diets so often stop working, how hypnotherapy approaches weight differently, what the research honestly shows, and who it is and is not suitable for.
Why Diets Often Stop Working
Diets focus on what you eat. They rarely address why you eat when you are not hungry. For many people, food has quietly taken on other jobs: comfort after a hard day, a reward, a break from work, something to do when bored, or a way to switch off in the evening. These habits are automatic. They run on cues and feelings rather than decisions, which is why willpower tends to hold for a while and then give way.
Restriction can also make things harder. Cutting out foods completely often increases the pull towards them, and a single “slip” can turn into a sense of failure and a spiral of eating. The problem is not a lack of discipline. It is that the automatic part of the mind that drives these patterns has not changed.
How Hypnotherapy Approaches Weight Differently
Hypnotherapy is not a diet and it will not tell you what to eat. Instead, it works on your relationship with food and the patterns that sit underneath your eating. Using an Ericksonian approach, tailored to you rather than read from a script, the work usually focuses on four areas.
1. Understanding your eating patterns. We start by mapping when, where and why you eat outside of hunger. For one person it is the late-afternoon slump at work; for another it is evenings alone in front of the TV. Knowing your specific triggers is what makes the rest of the work precise.
2. Loosening emotional eating. If food has become your main way of coping with stress, boredom or low mood, hypnotherapy helps build calmer, more automatic responses to those feelings, so eating is no longer the only route to relief. I have written more about this in my article on emotional eating.
3. Reducing stress. Stress affects appetite, cravings and sleep, and poor sleep in turn makes cravings stronger. Deep hypnotic relaxation helps lower your overall stress levels, which makes healthier choices feel easier rather than like a daily battle.
4. Rehearsing new habits. In hypnosis, we rehearse the situations you find hardest, such as a work lunch, a stressful evening or a weekend away, and practise responding in the way you would like to. Over time, the new response starts to feel natural rather than forced.
What the Research Says
The evidence is encouraging, but it is important to be honest about it.
- Hypnosis added to behavioural treatment. A meta-analysis of studies that added hypnosis to cognitive-behavioural weight loss programmes found that people who received hypnosis lost roughly twice as much weight on average, and that the difference grew over time (Kirsch, 1996).
- A more cautious reanalysis. Other researchers analysing a similar set of studies concluded that the added benefit of hypnosis was small at most (Allison and Faith, 1996). The studies involved were relatively few and varied in quality.
- Stress-focused hypnotherapy. In a controlled trial in an NHS hospital, the group who received hypnotherapy aimed at reducing stress was the only group still showing significant weight loss after 18 months, although the amount was modest (Stradling et al., 1998).
Put simply, hypnotherapy is not a quick fix, and it works best alongside sensible eating and activity rather than instead of them. Where it tends to help most is with the emotional and habitual side of eating, and with keeping changes going over the long term.
Who Is It Suitable For?
Hypnotherapy may suit you if you tend to eat when stressed, bored or tired, if you have lost weight before but found it hard to maintain, or if you feel caught in a cycle of restriction and overeating.
It is not the right first step for everyone. If you have, or think you may have, an eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder, please speak to your GP first, as specialist support is important. Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, is also a good place to start. If you have a medical condition that affects your weight, or you are considering significant changes to your diet, please check with your GP as well.
What to Expect
We begin with a free 15-minute call to talk through your goals and whether hypnotherapy is the right fit. Your first session includes a detailed conversation about your eating history, your triggers and what you would like to change, followed by hypnosis tailored to you. You leave with self-hypnosis techniques to practise between sessions.
Because this work is about changing long-standing habits rather than a short-term diet, most people benefit from a short course of sessions over several weeks. I have written more about how many sessions people usually need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will hypnotherapy make me lose weight without changing anything else? No. Hypnotherapy works by making changes to your eating habits feel easier and more natural. The weight change comes from those new habits, not from hypnosis alone.
Will you put me on a diet? No. I do not prescribe diets. The focus is on your relationship with food and the patterns behind your eating. If you would like dietary advice, a registered dietitian or your GP can help.
Can hypnotherapy stop cravings? Many people find their cravings become less frequent and easier to let pass, particularly when those cravings are linked to stress or tiredness.
Can I do this online? Yes. Many of my clients work with me online via Zoom, and the process is the same as in person.
In Person in London or Online
I see clients in person at 364 City Road, London EC1V 2PY, a short walk from Angel and Old Street stations, and online anywhere in the UK and abroad. You can find out more about my weight loss hypnotherapy in London.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you are tired of starting again every Monday, you do not have to rely on willpower alone. I offer a free, no-obligation 15-minute consultation to talk through what you would like to change and whether hypnotherapy could help.
Book your free consultation or call 020 7101 3284.
References
- Kirsch, I. (1996). Hypnotic enhancement of cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatments: another meta-reanalysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(3), 517-519. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8698945/
- Allison, D. B. & Faith, M. S. (1996). Hypnosis as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for obesity: a meta-analytic reappraisal. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(3), 513-516. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8698944/
- Stradling, J., Roberts, D., Wilson, A. & Lovelock, F. (1998). Controlled trial of hypnotherapy for weight loss in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. International Journal of Obesity, 22(3), 278-281. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9539198/
