Being at your ideal weight for your height and bone structure is very important for your overall health and well-being. Being overweight or obese can have detrimental effects on your physical health, mental health, and lifestyle. As important as losing weight is for your health, it is one of the most difficult things to accomplish. The healthiest methods for losing weight involve natural methods such as diet and exercise. Research has shown that hypnosis is an effective tool to use in order to lose weight and continue to lose weight and keep it off in the long-term.

Carrying extra pounds has a negative effect on your health and can to lead to life-threatening problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and diabetes. Losing weight can also help improve joint health, reduce your risk of getting certain kinds of cancer, and improve your ability to sleep (Life Clinic).

Many studies have been conducted to study the effect that hypnotherapy has on a person’s ability to lose weight and their ability to keep it off in the long-term. In 1998, a study involved 60 obese participants. The patients were randomly divided into one of three groups. One group received hypnosis that focused on stress reduction; another group received hypnosis that focused on energy intake reduction, and the third group received only dietary advice.

Researchers studied the percent of body weight lost at 7 different follow-ups from 1-month to 18-months after the treatment. At the 3-month follow-up, all participants in the three groups had lost 2-3% of their baseline body weight. However, at the 18-month follow-up, the group that had received hypnotherapy and stress reduction reported continued significant weight loss compared to no change in the other two groups. This study shows that when hypnotherapy is used in combination with stress relief suggestions, weight loss is significant in the long-term (Stradling, Roberts, Wilson, & Lovelock, 1998).

In a meta-analysis of two studies involving hypnotherapy and weight loss, Kirsch (1996) found a significant difference in amount of pounds lost comparing participants who received hypnosis and those who did not receive hypnosis. The initial follow-up showed the average weight loss to be 6.00 pounds in the non-hypnosis group and 11.83 pounds in the hypnosis group. The last follow-up conducted with the studies showed that the non-hypnosis group lost an average of 6.03 pounds and the hypnosis group lost an average of 14.88 pounds. This meta-analysis showed that use of hypnotherapy greatly increased amount of weight lost over time.

These studies show that hypnotherapy is a valid form of weight loss treatment and has lasting effects in the long-term. Hypnosis takes only a few sessions and has a long-term effect that helps patients continue to lose weight. This is an effective and natural method of losing weight and keeping it off.