I just can’t quit eating. I’m supposed to be on this diet (you eat a lot of cabbage with every meal, and it’s supposed to keep you full…), but I’m craving more sweets than I was before I was on the diet. Please help!!!! (Male, 43)

Curbing the urge to eat is a universal problem and there is no one clear cut answer.  In general, low sugar levels increase the urge to eat. When you eat a lot of sugary foods it increases secretion of insulin, which then drops the levels of sugar which again stimulates food cravings. One of the ways to stop food cravings is to keep yourself from getting very hungry all the time. Skipping meals is not an ideal solution, because it ends up increasing your food cravings because of the drop in blood sugar.

One approach to increasing satiety during meals is to ensure that you eat an abundance of high-volume low-calorie foods that fill up your stomach. These foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and a variety of low calorie brothy soups.

Another approach is to eat slowly, being aware of what you are eating and enjoying the foods. Some individuals find that slow eating helps curb the urge to eat more food later.

One may also want to eat several small meals a day rather than three big meals. This ensures that the sugar levels are constant and the cravings are diminished. If one feels hungry in between the meals, snack on a piece of fruit or vegetable. Make sure you drink plenty of water all day.   

Often a person can find healthier alternative snack foods. For example, if a person is craving sweets, he or she could try eating sugar-free chocolate products (like the ones made by Weight Watchers), which contain less than 50-75 calories per snack. In addition, people can avoid sugary snacks by keeping them out of their homes. Fruit often makes a great substitute for snacks full of processed sugar.

Finally, there are times when none of these approaches work. In such cases one may want to seek help from a dietician or a weight management professional. The urge to eat is difficult to stop but if you do overeat, combine it with regular exercise. Finally, there are some medications that may suppress your appetite if you really have weight problems.

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.

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.