Hi I've just signed up for this. After dieting on and off for my whole adult life, I'm now at my heaviest. Despite knowing that some people are very dismissive of hypnotherapy I've decided to give it a try. I'd be really interested to hear from anybody who has reached a healthy weight using this method.
gastric band hypnotherapy
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Dawnejoy
Gold Member
I'm not dismissive of it at all as there is much documented evidence to show that this does work........unfortunately it didn't work for me 
I am now using "pods" from the thinking slimmer website and have been using them to work on my sub-conscious in an effort to control my eating and tho they are not a quick fix and you ideally need to commit to listening daily for 6 months, they do work. Good luck on your journey and keep us informed xx
I am now using "pods" from the thinking slimmer website and have been using them to work on my sub-conscious in an effort to control my eating and tho they are not a quick fix and you ideally need to commit to listening daily for 6 months, they do work. Good luck on your journey and keep us informed xxHi, i have had a lot of experience with this. I have seen 3 different hypnotists. the first 2 it didnt really work but the 3rd was great. the successfull one took 3 sessions and the weight is still off. i also use hypnofood which really keeps me away from chocolate and KFC. i think the trick is to find a good hypnotist ;-)
What's hypno food? I find this topic really interesting. I can't wait until I have my sessions. I've been in for a Q&A session with the hypnotist and came away feeling really confident about the process. The next 3 sessions are all on one day then these are followed up by hypno pods. I've lots of the comments and can see that not everyone is successful, but I truly believe that this is going to be the answer. I'm not expecting it to be easy but I hope it will give me the added willpower to focus and lose the weight. Only time will tell x
Jon7777777
New Member
I have been following this discussion with interest. I am a Hypnotherapist ( I am not going to say my name or contact details as I am here to be objective rather than market), and have trained in a few types of Gastric Band Hypnosis. I am now a Hypno-Bander and have delivered Gastric Band Hypnosis to circa 300 clients. My personal opinion is that the Hypnotic Gastric Band itself is the icing on the cake, so once a client is aligned to lose weight the virtual gastric band will enhance that. If the client is not in the right place to lose weight the hypnotic band will do nothing for them (yes I mean nothing other than maybe a short term placebo if someone responds well to that kind of imagery ).
As I understand it there are two main approaches:
1) Give the band on session 1 and then do the real work on later sessions (ala Sheila Grainger Virtual Gastric Band (I think))
2) Do the real work during earlier sessions and then give the band at a later session (ala Hypno-Band, Gastric Band Hypno and the other niche Gastric Band Hypnotherapy systems I have trained in which don't market to the masses).
3) Adrian Matthews approach, I am not sure which category this falls into as it is his own personal approach. I know Adrian was a Hypno-Bander and now markets his own approach. All that I will say here is that good bad or excellent Adrian is no more qualified in Gastric Band Hypnotherapy than any other fully trained Hypnotherapist (and most experienced banders develop our own system).
Personally I favour system 2 though I can see the value of system 1 (Placebo excitement , followed by serious work straight after).
I notice that at some points people talk about qualifications and Hypno-Band. Yes Hypno-Band is a pack. However when I registered with Hypno-Band I had to have a discussion with John Mclean and send him my Clinical Hypnotherapy certificates, my NLP practitioner and Master Practitioner certificates as well as evidence that I was fully insured. John is very ethical and as the inventor of what is generally considered to be the leading Gastric Band Hypnosis system he could charge a lot more and widen his membership however he chose not to. Hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession and there are many different schools of thought (personally I initially trained in the Ericksonian style and my sympathies lie with that approach (though as a professional I have taken short courses in classical hypnotic phenomena such as regression and parts therapy)) if someone is not properly qualified and insured they will not get a Hypno-Band Licence.
There are other Gastric Band Hypnotherapy trainings and qualifications, some are good, others less so, some ask for evidence of qualification others don’t.
Anyway back to my views. Gastric Band Hypnosis is the icing on the cake and therefore there needs to be something else to get clients to lose weight.
This can include.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (an integral part of the basic Hypno-Band system and a good starting point), NLP, other therapies such as tapping (I know nothing about this personally), Eye movement therapy (I find this really useful with about 50% of clients), Classical Hypnotic work (i.e. unconscious signals, regression (this is useful though some clients are scared by the thought of this), Generative trance ( I find this useful), Parts work. Once the snowball is rolling down the hill the Gastric Band is a useful intervention.
As I understand it there are two main approaches:
1) Give the band on session 1 and then do the real work on later sessions (ala Sheila Grainger Virtual Gastric Band (I think))
2) Do the real work during earlier sessions and then give the band at a later session (ala Hypno-Band, Gastric Band Hypno and the other niche Gastric Band Hypnotherapy systems I have trained in which don't market to the masses).
3) Adrian Matthews approach, I am not sure which category this falls into as it is his own personal approach. I know Adrian was a Hypno-Bander and now markets his own approach. All that I will say here is that good bad or excellent Adrian is no more qualified in Gastric Band Hypnotherapy than any other fully trained Hypnotherapist (and most experienced banders develop our own system).
Personally I favour system 2 though I can see the value of system 1 (Placebo excitement , followed by serious work straight after).
I notice that at some points people talk about qualifications and Hypno-Band. Yes Hypno-Band is a pack. However when I registered with Hypno-Band I had to have a discussion with John Mclean and send him my Clinical Hypnotherapy certificates, my NLP practitioner and Master Practitioner certificates as well as evidence that I was fully insured. John is very ethical and as the inventor of what is generally considered to be the leading Gastric Band Hypnosis system he could charge a lot more and widen his membership however he chose not to. Hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession and there are many different schools of thought (personally I initially trained in the Ericksonian style and my sympathies lie with that approach (though as a professional I have taken short courses in classical hypnotic phenomena such as regression and parts therapy)) if someone is not properly qualified and insured they will not get a Hypno-Band Licence.
There are other Gastric Band Hypnotherapy trainings and qualifications, some are good, others less so, some ask for evidence of qualification others don’t.
Anyway back to my views. Gastric Band Hypnosis is the icing on the cake and therefore there needs to be something else to get clients to lose weight.
This can include.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (an integral part of the basic Hypno-Band system and a good starting point), NLP, other therapies such as tapping (I know nothing about this personally), Eye movement therapy (I find this really useful with about 50% of clients), Classical Hypnotic work (i.e. unconscious signals, regression (this is useful though some clients are scared by the thought of this), Generative trance ( I find this useful), Parts work. Once the snowball is rolling down the hill the Gastric Band is a useful intervention.
Dawnejoy
Gold Member
I totally believe in the hypno-band and am at a place in my life where I have totally committed to losing weight (finally), but for me the process just didn't work, the whole time I was in the relaxed state i felt I could have got up and walked out of the room. My hypnotherapist, who is a qualified hypnoband therapist told me that if there was a fire etc he would "bring me out of it" but at no time did I feel "in it" if that makes sense, even when i listened to the cds at home, if the phone rang or someone knocked on the door, I just got out of the chair............I felt I was just listening...........although I was relaxed...........at one point I wanted to dissolve into laughter at something he said, but stopped myself as I knew it would have been rude of me............are some ppl just immune to hypnosis?
I have discovered the Harcombe diet, through this forum and have lost 2st since beg of Nov last year, slow going I know, but at least it is coming off, so I am focused on losing weight and would have loved the hypnoband to work for me..........especially as it is expensive...........but it just didn't work..........everytime i felt that I could have gone "down", my brain wouldn't let me totally let go............so maybe I can't be hypnotised!!!!!
I have discovered the Harcombe diet, through this forum and have lost 2st since beg of Nov last year, slow going I know, but at least it is coming off, so I am focused on losing weight and would have loved the hypnoband to work for me..........especially as it is expensive...........but it just didn't work..........everytime i felt that I could have gone "down", my brain wouldn't let me totally let go............so maybe I can't be hypnotised!!!!!
Jon7777777
New Member
That’s a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. I would say that as a starting point that hypnosis is a skill which improves with practice for both the hypnotee and hypnotist. So the more a client experiences hypnosis the better they get at it. Hypnosis is not sleep/unconsciousness and is a natural state and it does require some suspension of disbelief. A couple of weeks ago I was at a workshop with a leading NLP'r/Ericksonian Hypnotist; he did most of his work with the 'client (demo subject)' in medium trance so that they could open their eyes and look at their hand/stand up when requested and talk. In each case the demo subject got the change they were looking for ie one seemingly quit smoking and another lost her hay fever allergy. When I was the demo subject I had arm catalepsy and I felt slightly dazed when I looked at my hand and it felt stiff. It did look like my hand but different. I could have moved my hand if I wanted and got up and walked away but I was definitely in an altered state!
Since that point I have used the technique with 8 clients. 6 of them found that their arm looked different and one moved her arm so I used a deepener and switched to a different technique.
While hypnosis is not sleep and clients are not unconscious it is possible not to be in trance during a session. I find that some of my clients respond well to an authoritarian style (close your eyes, relax your shoulders you are feeling x etc) others to a more permissive style and others to a confusion style and that they won’t respond well to other styles so I have to switch. That said I have got accurate unconscious finger signals from a client who did not appear to be in trance.
There are also qualified but bad Hypnotherapists or those who can only succeed with one type of client. By way of example I was at an ideo-motor signals and regression workshop a month ago where my partner insisted on using a scripted induction (the process to move someone into a traditional trance state). She was telling me what I was feeling (Ie you are feeling heavy, tired etc when I was not) and it was obvious that she was not looking at me as my arms were too long for the arm rests and so my hands were hanging in the air, she was talking about “my sensitive finger tips can feel the surface they are resting on, whether it is rough or smooth…).
Finally a small percentage of clients are scared of trance or find it very hard to go into trance and may not move into that state within the confines of a 1 hr/90 minute session. Milton Erickson used to deliberately bore these clients into trance over several hours. As a therapist charging by the session this is not usually possible nowadays.
You can always discuss your concerns with a Hypnotherapist and ask them if they use convincers such as catalepsy etc prior to starting. There are a range of different prices and some of the mid price ones may agree to discount an initial (non Hypno-Band) session because of your concern rather than making you pay the whole amount up front.
If you saw a Hypno-Bander the starting point is usually CBT, I find that about half my clients respond well to this and others need some other type of work to get them moving in the right direction prior to any suggestion based hypnosis. How did you respond to that?
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Dawnejoy
Gold Member
Your answer is very comprehensive and it obvious you are well trained and have the ability to change your process depending on the client. My own experience was disappointing and the CBT given, if you could call it that was poor and if I'm totally honest don't think it was truly discussed. He asked me questions ie was I an emotional, bored, etc eater and he told me at every session how he ate a tiny bit of good quality chocolate and made it last...............not sure how this was supposed to help me.
My very last session was probably the best and the one were I felt "almost under" and maybe it is something I need to practice, but at £40 for further "top-up" sessions its not a road I can afford to go down at the moment. I have also thought about finding another hypnotherapist and wonder if it is a matter of trust.............tho that may sound silly. I def think my brain prevented me from "allowing" the process to work, but maybe with practice that would change.
My very last session was probably the best and the one were I felt "almost under" and maybe it is something I need to practice, but at £40 for further "top-up" sessions its not a road I can afford to go down at the moment. I have also thought about finding another hypnotherapist and wonder if it is a matter of trust.............tho that may sound silly. I def think my brain prevented me from "allowing" the process to work, but maybe with practice that would change.
Taz
Spam Hunter
Jon, can I ask where you are located?
I have been struggling lately. It's over a year since my HGB and I have sadly put most of the lbs back on so knowing I have to do something to get back on track I thought going back to the food and mood diary might help. I downloaded a diary app to my phone which is password protected so whenever I think about anything nearing my lips I also have to think of the reason as I will then have to put this down in my diary. I feel that it has really made a difference this week as I am now listening to my stomach again. If I think about eating something I first ask myself why and take notice of whether or not I am hungry. I have stopped 'picking' a few times this wek because of those thoughts and the odd occassion I have eaten for no reason I have been forced to think of why I ate what I did. I find the recording a much less mundane task than counting calories so I feel that it's worth the 30 seconds of typing if it helps me on the right path watch this space......
I have been struggling lately. It's over a year since my HGB and I have sadly put most of the lbs back on
so knowing I have to do something to get back on track I thought going back to the food and mood diary might help. I downloaded a diary app to my phone which is password protected so whenever I think about anything nearing my lips I also have to think of the reason as I will then have to put this down in my diary. I feel that it has really made a difference this week as I am now listening to my stomach again. If I think about eating something I first ask myself why and take notice of whether or not I am hungry. I have stopped 'picking' a few times this wek because of those thoughts and the odd occassion I have eaten for no reason I have been forced to think of why I ate what I did. I find the recording a much less mundane task than counting calories so I feel that it's worth the 30 seconds of typing if it helps me on the right path watch this space......dellahencher
New Member
I am having a really good response to my hypnosis session since April 18 2012 I was 18st6lb and I am now 16.11 and I am finding it surprisingly easy, this is the best I have ever done with dieting. I really seem to have got rid of my food hang up and I am quite happy to say no to things. I have bought myself a small plate for meals and if I want a take away I share it with my partner. If we go for a coffee we will share a cake so I don't feel as if I am depriving myself at the moment I can say I am really happy. I had 5 hypnosis sessions and I had a CD prepared for me and I know if I feel that I am losing it I can pick up the phone and make an appointment.
Fingers crossed it will keep working
Fingers crossed it will keep working
I talked about this in another forum as I too had hypnotherapy for weight loss (not the gastric band one) and I think it's fair to say that it works brilliantly if you want it to. It's not a magic wand cure and the hypnotherapist was the first to say that he can't make me do anything I don't really want to do - you have to have already made your mind up to change and be prepared to put the effort in or as he said "I will be just another failure to add to your list of diets" Anyway...pro's = it's relaxing and does work on changing what's going on in your head which in my case is worse than what's going into my mouth cons = it can be a bit expensive (but worth it for me)
One of my friends couldn't stretch to the £250 for the 4 sessions so bought a set of gastric band hypnosis and diets cds, 4 cd's and 2 workbooks off ebay for £19.99 One of the books has a plan to lose 10 pounds in a week - I borrowed it off her and lost 8. I don't remember the page on ebay but it has a picture of a before and after cartoon in a green swimming costume
Aah if only getting this bl**dy weight off was as easy as putting it on!
I will follow it after my sessions have finished as I think I will always need something to keep me focussed and less stressed (which is a big part of why I overeat)
One of my friends couldn't stretch to the £250 for the 4 sessions so bought a set of gastric band hypnosis and diets cds, 4 cd's and 2 workbooks off ebay for £19.99 One of the books has a plan to lose 10 pounds in a week - I borrowed it off her and lost 8. I don't remember the page on ebay but it has a picture of a before and after cartoon in a green swimming costume
Aah if only getting this bl**dy weight off was as easy as putting it on!
I will follow it after my sessions have finished as I think I will always need something to keep me focussed and less stressed (which is a big part of why I overeat)
mrstaylor
Full Member
I have read through (some) of this thread and found it really interesting. It seems like you need to have a certain amount of determination to change your eating habits before you start!
I have been on Slimming World for the last 8 weeks and have made huge changes in my eating habits, but I still eat large portions of food.
I have lost 11lbs in that time and I am happy with that, but I would like to have a boost to my loss now.
I thought that maybe the virtual gastric band would help. I have just downloaded an app for £6.99 and wondered if anyone else had done the same? I would be grateful for any advice.
I have been on Slimming World for the last 8 weeks and have made huge changes in my eating habits, but I still eat large portions of food.
I have lost 11lbs in that time and I am happy with that, but I would like to have a boost to my loss now.
I thought that maybe the virtual gastric band would help. I have just downloaded an app for £6.99 and wondered if anyone else had done the same? I would be grateful for any advice.
AnnieAnnie
Gold Member
In the 'bring your head inside' section there is a thread about the app. People seem to be having good results.
heatherleigh
Member
Hello all!
After 3 days, I finally finished reading all of the posts in this topic!
I'm planning on doing the gastric hypno band, it's just a matter of deciding on a hypnotherapist. There is one locally that is licensed by Hypno-Band, but I know that doesn't mean much. He has been pretty good at responding to my emails, however I think if I were to need a top-up like some of you mention, he would likely charge.
I've also been emailing Adrian Matthams after reading about him from each of you. He has also been good at responding to my emails, but I'm nervous about his after care based on some of your experiences. Basically I'm wondering if he's prompt with his responses now because he hasn't gotten my money yet?
For those of you who have seen him: did he seem like that kind of person? In it for the money? And after all this time, would you still recommend him?
I'd be using his "Hypnopods," which it seems are just like the custom sessions without the physical one-on-one. Since I'm in the USA I'm not able to go to him. He mentioned he's coming to NYC later in the year, but NYC is pretty far from me and I wouldn't prefer the group session he's offering then.
By the way, how is everyone's progress with their own hypnosis choice? It's been about a week since the last post so I was curious what everyone has been up to
After 3 days, I finally finished reading all of the posts in this topic!
I'm planning on doing the gastric hypno band, it's just a matter of deciding on a hypnotherapist. There is one locally that is licensed by Hypno-Band, but I know that doesn't mean much. He has been pretty good at responding to my emails, however I think if I were to need a top-up like some of you mention, he would likely charge.
I've also been emailing Adrian Matthams after reading about him from each of you. He has also been good at responding to my emails, but I'm nervous about his after care based on some of your experiences. Basically I'm wondering if he's prompt with his responses now because he hasn't gotten my money yet?
For those of you who have seen him: did he seem like that kind of person? In it for the money? And after all this time, would you still recommend him?
I'd be using his "Hypnopods," which it seems are just like the custom sessions without the physical one-on-one. Since I'm in the USA I'm not able to go to him. He mentioned he's coming to NYC later in the year, but NYC is pretty far from me and I wouldn't prefer the group session he's offering then.
By the way, how is everyone's progress with their own hypnosis choice? It's been about a week since the last post so I was curious what everyone has been up to
Hypnotherapy will only work if you have already made your mind up that it's going to. It is brilliant for helping you to reinforce your negative thoughts with new, positive one's but it's not a magic wand I'm afraid. To shed your excess weight you will still need to make some lifestyle changes...permanently - or you will always end up back at square one. So, does it work? Yes but you have to put the effort in. What you put in your head is usually worse than what you put in your mouth and that's where hypnosis helps greatly. Good luck
AnnieAnnie
Gold Member
Have you seen the gastric band app? It may be worth a go first as it's cheap & there seems to be a few good reviews.
