Hands up if you are on a diet!

Most of us have been on some sort of diet at some time in our life, but whether we have reached our target weight or even put on weight as a result of dieting is a matter of great discussion.

Over the years there have been a multitude of diets all claiming to be “the one”. Remember  the cabbage soup diet, Atkins, the F Plan diet, the grapefruit diet, high fat, low fat, no fat, no carbs, high protein… the list goes on.

Butter is making a comeback as the fat of choice whilst sugar (hidden sugar, sugar substitutes and fruit sugar) is the new bad boy on the block: a silent killer, fattening our waistlines and smothering our organs.

Exercise is essential (or not essential) depending on what is currently the fashionable thinking; should you be having regular exercise three times per week, walking 10,000 steps each day or will a few minutes of cardio each day be enough?

How much sleep should you be having? Six hours, eight or can you be perfectly healthy on four?

Whatever the current thinking the ideal is to eat a healthy balanced diet, drink water and take exercise, burning more calories than you take in to achieve a body shape and size appropriate to your age, size and sex.

Many people, sick of always being on a diet, turn to hypnotherapy to enable them to re-establish healthy eating and exercise routines. Using hypnotherapy the client can re-evaluate their relationship with food, exercise and water and learn to overcome the cravings which force them to snack or make poor food choices. The client will be encouraged to take regular exercise, to drink water and to eat mindfully, sitting at a table, putting cutlery down between mouthfuls and savouring the flavours. Portion size is often an issue for people who are overweight; they have simply lost connection with what is enough so the therapist will work on this, even encouraging the client to buy a smaller plate.

What should you do if you are considering working with a hypnotherapist to manage your weight?

• Be honest – be honest with yourself and be honest with your therapist. If you are asked to keep a food and exercise diary but deliberately miss out those 10 o’clock bacon butties you have every day at work then you are cheating yourself.

• Set yourself a realistic target – just saying I need to be size 10 by the end of the month when you are a size 20, or I want to lose weight, does not have enough focus and is not realistic; I want to  reduce a dress size by the end of next month or I want to be more comfortable in my clothes/shed a stone by Christmas are better. If you are very overweight then set smaller, achievable targets.

• When you reach a target then celebrate! No calorie options include having a facial, going to the cinema or buying new makeup to flatter your new look.

• Finally, your hypnotherapist is just that - not a witch/ witchdoctor or magician. He/she will use their considerable training and expertise to guide you to make the right choices but it is a two way process and you need to actively engage in their programme.

Expect a weight management course to be anything from four sessions to a six month programme depending on how much surplus weight you have.