Hi Jo, thanks for the welcome
So, my background is pretty common amongst other dieters i suppose. As previously posted i dont have a whole heap of weight to lose. A couple of stones would be nice. I sit at 12st 1lb at the moment and would ideally like to get to 10 st.
I have tried a succession of diets for the past year and lose motivation after a couple of weeks. In a nutshell i cant stand deprivation, i dont like cutting food groups and i become obsessive about counting. I HATE dieting and my body and mind rebel.
So feeling desperate about wanting to lose the weight which uncomfortably sits around my waist and holds on to my heavy thighs i took an alternitive route.
I had read about Hypno Gastric Band Therapy before but always dismissed it as some new way of exploiting vulnerable people unhappy with their weight. But i'd read some pretty good reviews on it and it seemed to suit my approach to weight loss so went ahead and got in touch with a certified Hypnotherapist.
The lady seemed pretty friendly and invited me to go along for a 30 minute consultation then followed by my first hypnotherapy session to release negative emotions involving food. If for any reason after the consultation either of us felt that the process wasn't suitable for me then i would not have to pay. That gave me peace of mind.
So i booked my consultation and 1st appointment.
The consultation was pretty standard stuff really. A little bit about my current background, my dieting history, eating habits. It's the first time i've ever spoken to somebody about the reason i overeat and as i was talking i realised that i love the comfort that certain food gives me. The delicious taste of chocolate or cake is always comforting when you've had a sh*t day. If only for a little while.
She then explained the procedure to me and what hypnotism is and would feel like.
Then it was time for the hypnotherapy session. It wasn't like i expected it to be (in my head i always thought you went into some deep, deep trance which your concious mind knew nothing about).
I was completely aware of my surroundings and my hypnotherapist talking to me. But i was relaxed and just ready to go with it, her voice was calming and reassuring and i found myself feeling comforted by her words. She used a lot of visualiztion techniques which i found very helpful and told me to let go of any past dieting failures, as they can not have any influence over me now.
She asked me to visualize certain parts of my life when trying to lose weight had caused me distress and to freeze frame that image, to walk into it and to just observe the situation but make no judgements. That was pretty powerful stuff, i can tell you. She asked me to visualize locking the door to all those negative emotions surrounding food and to walk toward a full length mirror reflecting an image of myself i would be happy to see.
That was the end of our first session and i booked her for the following week.
I kept in mind all of the things from the session and seemed to be a lot more relaxed around food. I was told to follow a very intuitive eating style, ie, eating from hunger, stopping when full and eating exactly what i wanted. Something i have always had great belief in anyway.
All in despite a couple of moments involving too much chocolate, the week went well. I found myself pausing before overeating most of the time
