Can one lose weight with hypnosis?

A lot of readers have asked this question. So I repeat.

Hypnosis is an alternative therapy still looking for a medical condition it can treat. People who practice hypnosis claim that this method can cure or prevent almost everything underneath the sun. Many nonsensical claims have been made about hypnosis and most have never been proven to be clinically true.

In the last 2 decades, hypnotists have been claiming that the therapy can help one lose weight. These deceiving scoundrels say that regular sessions of hypnosis can help one lose weight within a few weeks. But to date there is zero evidence that hypnosis can do anything for weight loss. Altering the state of mind usually puts people to sleep and does nothing for appetite.

Asides from the people who make money from hypnosis, there are not many people who have come forward and claimed to have lost weight with this therapy. In fact thousands of isolated reports exist by consumers that hypnosis does diddly squat. Inducing a calm and sedate mind has never been proven to help on reduce weight.

While a few studies do exist claiming that people have lost weight with hypnosis; the majority of these studies have been questioned about their authenticity and factual reporting. In the last decade not a single double blind study has ever been undertaken about hypnosis and weight loss.
As of today, the only thing hypnosis can cure is your pocket.

Hypnosis is a sham technique which scams people of their hard earned money.

if you want to lose weight, start eating less, walk regulalry and stay away from bogus therapies.

Blame ghrelin for obesity! Part 2

Even if was only pleasure were seeking, then why did the mice not seek SEX?

Surely, sex is more pleasurable than food!

And does this imply that pleasurable things like sex cause obesity?

As a final point, one should not get too excited about these studies because ghrelin is not the only factor involved in controlling the appetite center. Previous work has shown that the gene GAD2 has been linked to obesity and it can stimulate certain chemicals in the brain which lead to over eating. Others have shown that the neurotransmitter dopamine is also linked to over eating.

Asides from genetics, our eating habits and supersizing are other factors. Our life style has become to sedentary and we all love to eat great tasting food.

All this hormone stuff is too complex- to lose weight one should walk more and eat less.

Blame ghrelin for obesity! Part 1

Finally now there is a study which explains why we overeat and the blame goes to the hormone ghrelin.

In a recent study published last month, researchers discovered that the hormone ghrelin caused mice to seek out food even when they had just been fed.

Said lead researcher Dr Jeffrey Zigman, assistant professor at university of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, "We've shown that ghrelin affects behaviors related to eating and that it may consequently lead to overeating."

Dr Zigman says that the results most likely to also apply to humans because previous studies have shown that ghrelin also exists in humans and works in the same region of the brain.

In their work they showed that mice which were administered ghrelin seeked out food despite being fed.

"The mice's behavior had nothing to do with eating." Zigman said. "Their behavior was linked to obtaining the more pleasurable thing." ……..

Shangri la diet- Diet plan which makes no sense: Part 3

The nutritionist and food experts claim that this Shangri la diet is misleading, not practical and full of s…t. No one has ever shown that eating sugar water causes weight loss. Just look at what Coca Cola does- it packs calories. In addition, with Coca Cola, people eat more hamburgers, pizzas, French fries, and processed foods. In fact, one study showed that if you fed rats with sugar water or olive oil; it did absolutely nothing- diddlysquat. Damn, the rats just ate more and got fat.

When Dr. Roberts was told that the problem is that people eat pizza and burgers. He says to make the pizza taste like crap, add some cinnamon (wonder where he got his PhD from!). The nutritionists say, more crap. Eating cinnamon has never been shown to decrease weight- please stop your nonsense, Dr Roberts.

So what about the Shangri la diet? Well, Shangri La is meant to be a place of beauty, serenity, paradise and something like heaven. The Shangri La diet is a bunch of nonsense or as we say in America- B.S.

Shangri la diet- Diet plan which makes no sense: Part 2

There is a little more to this diet theory. If you eat sweet and delicious foods, the brain somehow likes it and creates the urge to eat more. So rather than stimulating the brain with nice sweet food, eat absolute crap and that will turn off the appetite center. Therefore, Dr Roberts says drinking spoonfuls of olive oil or a spoonful of sugar is crap and this will turn of the appetite center. I am sure there are more crappy foods than sugar and olive oil- Hey Dr. Roberts, how about drinking urine or car engine oil? Will that not turn off the appetite center?

So how does this Shangri la diet work?

At breakfast, you drink some sugar water and olive oil with every meal. Two spoonfuls of olive oil straight from the bottle. You do get some calories from the oil and sugar but it does not count since it has no good taste. During the diet, eat veggies, fruits, and whole grains. But do not eat processed foods and great stuff like chocolates. Dr Roberts also adds that there is no need for exercise (told you he is not a real physician). Nope, no need to walk, lift, jog or swim. Hell, you do not even need to go to the bathroom- just poop in your bed.

So does this work?

Yes, says Dr Roberts. He lost 35 pounds in 3 months. Unfortunately, neither Dr. Phil nor Oprah ever invited him over because in the whole wide world, this is the only testimonial to the diet.

And what do the food experts say about this? Associating flavor and taste to the appetite center is nothing new but no one has ever shown that eating crap makes you lose weight. If you were to go to the Orient, people eat all sorts of things that we would call crap- snakes, grasshoppers, beetles, rats, cats, dogs, insects, drink urine- and how come they do not have appetite suppression?

Shangri la diet- Diet plan which makes no sense: Part 1

One of the exotic diets created by a Dr Roberts (not an MD) is the Shangri la diet. The diet is claimed to diminish the urge to eat by resetting the appetite center in the brain. Dr Roberts claims that this can very simply be done by drinking a little bit of sugar water or a tiny bit of extra olive oil during mealtime. Once you do this, the appetite center in the brain will immediately sense that you are full and your appetite will decrease.

Dr Roberts does acknowledge that losing weight is tough and no method really works but now he has the magic formula -just some olive oil or sugar water. Dr Roberts says that over time, the appetite center is reset and you become thin.

Well, there are a few unanswered questions for Dr Roberts. Do you have any evidence for this? Nope. Is there anything published anywhere that supports your theory? Nope. Does it work? Nope. Do you know where the appetite center is? Nope. Do you know what triggers the appetite center? Nope. Do you know where the brain is? Nope. Do you know what the brain is? Nope. Therefore, all we have so far is some theory without any proof and Dr Roberts own testimony that he lost weight with this approach.

Should I try hypnosis for weight loss?

There is little argument that conventional medicine has no magic bullet for weight loss. The few drugs that are available do work but they are also associated with disturbing side effects.

Surgery for weight loss is full of hazards both from the technical aspects and the post operative recovery period. For this reason, people have been turning to hypnosis.

Hypnosis has been around for centuries and if there ever was a sham profession, this has to be it. The people who practice this profession claim that it can cure everything underneath the sun. Every single day, new claims are made about hypnosis but there is no solid evidence that it can do anything. Now people who are too lazy to walk are turning to hypnosis for weight loss. There are thousands of anecdotal reports about weight loss after hypnosis- mind you all those reports are only from people who sell this therapy. Blogs from people who have had hypnosis claim that it is a scam and the only thing they lost is the money in their pockets.

The basis of hypnosis is that you sit in a room, focus your attention and this will help change your behaviour to foods. Other hypnotists recommend cognitive behavior therapy to help combat weight loss. So far most studies that have analyzed hypnosis and weight loss reveal that the majority of individuals do not lose an ounce. Moreover there is no way to predict in whom it will work and when it will work. Finally hypnosis does not come cheap. The therapy is expensive and needs to be done for many sessions. In simple words, hypnosis is BS.

If you want to lose weight, then start by walking and eating less. This way you will not only save your hard earned money, but it will work. Hypnosis is for people who have money to waste and are too lazy to get off the couch.