Self Hypnosis For Weight Loss: Is It Just Willpower? by Sherri Frost

Willpower is the self discipline and self control that most people turn to when they decide they want to lose weight. It is the ability to maintain control over your mind and body.

For example, Mary has decided to lose weight. She creates a meal plan for the week and goes to the grocery store and buys what she needs. After work, on Friday, she is invited to an impromptu get-together. Mary knows that the foods on her carefully prepared meal plan won't be served there. She worries about whether or not she will be able to maintain her self control and choose something that isn't too fattening. If not, she'll ruin her entire week of dieting willpower. She spends all day thinking of her eating strategy for the evening and tries to bolster her willpower.

She says things to herself like:

"I will not eat the bread"

"I will not have dessert"

The problem is that she starts thinking "I like the bread and dessert, it makes me feel good." She'll start to argue with herself, trying to convince herself what not to eat. If she gives up on willpower and makes the choice to eat dessert, she'll feel guilty later. If she passes on the dessert, she'll be happy with herself.

That thought process is tiring and it's one big reason why many diets fail. What if Mary didn't have to go to all that trouble? It just isn't fun to go through that whole process. It gets tiring and eventually you give up, maybe even thinking to yourself "I'll never lose weight"

You can be sure that the naturally slender person is not thinking that way.

Gregg, on the other hand, is planning to go to the same event. Without thinking about the food, he decides to go because he realizes it will be fun to socialize with his co-workers and get to know them better. Gregg is naturally slender and automatically makes choices about what he will eat based on a healthy choice. He stops eating when he is comfortably satisfied and doesn't worry if the leftover food will go to waste.

Doesn't that sound better?

Self hypnosis changes all that self talk so that it agrees with your conscious mind. When your conscious mind says "I make choices about food that are healthy" Your subconscious mind agrees, leading to the behavioral choices that you want.

Self hypnosis begins in a state of relaxation with your conscious mind also relaxed. Your mind will be more open to accepting suggestions for weight loss. When you accept these suggestions, you'll act upon them. Some people like to create their own self hypnosis sessions and others like to use a recorded audio. Choose the method that works for you.

Self hypnosis for weight loss is not willpower. It's so much more powerful. How will you make the time to fit this into your daily routine?