So, once again, while on the treadmill a couple of days ago, the TVs in the health club were showing one informercial or another about a great new diet trend or groundbreaking weight-loss technique or amazing ab-toning gadget. As I silently cursed, I was suddenly transfixed on an informercial for a product called Think and Lose, a weight-loss program based on hypnosis. One of their tag lines is: “If hypnosis can help someone walk on fire, it can certainly help you lose weight.”
This past summer, me and a buddy of mine were enjoying some adult beverages at a watering hole along Hawthorne, catching the last few rays of the afternoon sun. We were sitting at bistro seating they had upfront, on the sidewalk. A car parallel parked into a spot that was directly across from us and my buddy immediately saw the magnetic sign on the car door advertising hypnosis as a cure for common ailments. A rather rotund woman squeezed out of the driver’s seat and walked to the sidewalk and my buddy asked her about the sign, asking specifically if hypnosis can help him quit smoking.
The woman caught her breath and enthusiastically promoted her husband’s practice, assuring my friend that hypnosis certainly can help. (For the record, my friend was just humoring her; he has no intention of giving up the cancer stick.) She then said, “It can even help you lose weight.” Me and my buddy just looked at each other and had to bite our tongues. I have a feeling that we both wanted to ask her if she’d tried it. We exchanged pleasantries and the woman walked away. My buddy and I discussed the thought of hypnosis for a little bit after that and we were both not convinced that it would work. So, imagine my surprise when this infomercial came on, complete with one amazing testimonial after another.
I am weary of products and programs advertised on cheesy infomercials, but I have to admit my curiosity being piqued about this product. What do you think?
Hi, Jon, I’m a hypnotherapist myself and yes, it is possible for hypnosis to help with weight reduction, though (like every other treatment) it doesn’t work for everyone. I have a colleague who is overweight herself but has helped other people to lose weight successfully.
Probably the idea behind the informercial, if it is legit, is that by changing your attitude to food you can naturally lose weight. A lot of people are using food, not for nutrition and energy, but to manage their moods and stress, for example; if you can change that then they will naturally eat only what they need to eat, and will drop weight.
A lot of advertised hypnosis for weight loss programs are overpriced and underperforming, though (like a lot of other weight loss programs, including some diets and drugs). Look into it like any other purchase, check the background, training and association memberships of the people who run it, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Hey, Mike. Thanks for your comment. I definitely believe in mind over matter, and that attitude toward whatever undertaking will determine the outcome. I also agree with your final thought that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Cheers!
We have worked with thousands of people with regard to weight loss and weight management with a large amount of success.
Sure we dont advertise it on infomercials. Mainly because we’re too busy actually helping people then to set out to make something look cheesy.
I myself have seen other hypnotherapists whip up some half-baked audio program they then throw out into the public sector and personally I it is not a practice that I will partake in. Largely due to the emotional reasons people are eating requires more indepth work which cannot be delivered via some cd or mp3 program.
Given the practitioner is qualified and ethical, you can have great success using hypnosis for weight loss.
Great Post.
Thanks,
Andrew
hypnosis melbourne
I agree with you that I’ve gotten more leery about products being touted in an infomercial, but always seem to want to give them the benefit of the doubt. Of course, anything that promises to have results faster than conventional approaches seems very suspicious. Thanks for stopping by!