There are many different methods shared in books and on websites that aim to help people to lose weight, from traditional diet tips to plans that call for or avoid specific foods to those that incorporate mind-body techniques to help you lose weight.

One in that last batch is You Can Think Yourself Thin: Transform Your Shape with Hypnosis by British hypnotherapy teacher Ursula James.

Buying the magic

The book includes a three-part guided hypnosis CD; the book advises listening to the first two tracks once each, then the third track every day for 21 days. As you read through the book it will tell you when to listen to the tracks.

The book is basically a sales pitch for the hypnosis program. While there is some information on healthy changes you can make — walking more, for instance, as well as making dietary changes — a lot of the book reads like an infomercial for hypnosis, trying to show readers how it can help and induce them to try listening.

The book details how hypnosis works and what your mind is doing as you listen to the tracks. For instance, the second track, which deals with you in the present (the first takes on the past and the third the future) aims to help in three ways:

1. Change your mood before it gets hold of you and unwanted behavior kicks in.
2. Divert it before it becomes damaging.
3. Stop it if it is still strong enough to get an initial hold on you.

Hypnosis also allows people to “look back on events in your past as part of this process and know that you will only access a memory if it is significant in helping you change and get better, and as and when you do, you will be safe and in control.”

Being in control is a huge part of the book and the hypnosis sessions. Each one starts with the same relaxation technique that emphasizes how much you are in control of the process. That probably does serve to make people who are wary about hypnosis feel better about the process, but also the ultimate goal of the program is to make you feel in control of your body and the food and beverage choices you make.

It’s not just about listening

The book and the hypnosis tracks make it sound as if losing weight in this way is completely effortless. By listening to the suggestions that you will abstain from alcohol for three weeks, choose healthier foods at the grocery store and eat servings no larger than your cupped hands, you are supposed to automatically and easily incorporate these healthy habits into your life.

The tracks all deal with letting your unconscious handle the heavy lifting. In your dreams you will apparently access and deal with those memories that are significant to why you overeat now, access suggestions for healthier living in the present and receive mentorship from your future self who has already reached the goals you are trying to reach.

The “future” track, which is listened to daily for three weeks, incorporates suggestions about how you might choose healthier foods, stop drinking alcohol and start getting more activity. I have no idea if such suggestions actually translate into making it easier to make those healthy changes.

I only listened to the track once and was completely incapable of focusing, thanks in part to James’ accent — think a breathy version of “Super Nanny” — and in part to being physically uncomfortable (I am pregnant, after all, and don’t really need to be losing weight).

Beyond the tracks

The book suggests many healthy things people can do that will help them lose weight and gain confidence — from laying off drugs, buying new things at the grocery store and getting relaxed before meals to wearing mascara and a corset.

The process of changing and losing weight can take a lot more than three weeks, of course, and “change and development is now an ongoing event.” And it’s as much about attitude as it is about healthy eating.

“By working on yourself you have now created a habit that actually has very little to do with your weight, but one that will allow you to weigh your choice differently and find a balance in life that is better for you. Your new habit is one of feeling good about yourself.”

And if that happens for you, along with weight loss, you’ve found a successful program indeed.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 and is filed under Diet Tips, Diet books and authors, Diet programs, Motivation and mental. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.