People Are Actually Hypnotizing Themselves To Eat Better—But Does It Work?
Maybe you can't resist the siren call of the pizza joint down the block or that pint of ice cream that's just sitting there in your freezer. Or perhaps you had a bad experience with vegetables as a kid and now have a problem with the taste of most clean foods.
In short, you want to eat better, but for whatever reason, you can't seem to make it happen—at least, not on a regular basis. So how about trying to hypnotize yourself into enjoying a green smoothie?
It might sound bizarre, but plenty of people make an attempt. Google something like "weight loss hypnosis" or "healthy eating hypnosis," and you'll find countless resources claiming to be able to snap you into what could arguably be called a clean eating trance. Think: YouTube videos, guided audio sessions and podcasts, and even brick-and-mortar centers where you can meet with a hypnotist. Yep, it's all out there.
Admittedly, using a Jedi mind trick on yourself to love broccoli more than brownies does have an appeal. After all, wouldn't eating clean and keeping your weight in check be a whole lot easier if you were programmed to automatically make the good-for-you choice and ignore everything else?
Well, duh. But that line of thinking is pretty misleading. That cliché idea of going into a sleepy state and waking up under a spell isn't actually how self-hypnosis works. "It's really a way of training your mind by repeating positive statements," says Susan Albers, PsyD, author of 50 More Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food. In other words, if you tell yourself enough times that you love eating salad for lunch or that you don't snack while watching TV, the message can start to sink into your subconscious to the point where you actually start to believe it.
Self-hypnosis can also take the form of training yourself to feel less anxious around making food decisions, Albers says. For example, get into the habit of taking deep breaths when you start to get flustered over choosing between pancakes or a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. In a way, it's sort of like teaching yourself how to be more mindful with food. "Both use similar concepts, like being in the moment, regulating your emotions, and training your mind to think in a different way," says Albers.
But there's also plenty that sets them apart: Mindfulness promotes acceptance of what is rather than striving for perfection. (I'm craving apple pie like crazy, so I'm going to enjoy a thin slice and move on.) With self-hypnosis, the promise is that all of your food problems can be solved almost instantly. And when that doesn't actually happen, you might run the risk of getting frustrated or feeling like you're a failure...which can drive you to plow straight back into the cookie jar or chip bag.
Another difference? While there's plenty of research suggesting that mindfulness can be beneficial for weight loss, the evidence on self-hypnosis is pretty slim. It doesn't even hold much promise anecdotally. "I've had patients who have tried it, but none felt that it was the be-all answer," Albers says. "They maybe learned something from it, but they say they didn't get what was promised, and that they felt disappointed or almost swindled.”
In short? Positive self-talk can help guide you toward making more healthy choices. But expecting that you can do a 180 on your lifelong eating habits within a matter of minutes is unrealistic and will probably set you up for disappointment. But if you want to try it anyway, at the very least, look for self-hypnosis resources from an accredited expert, like a psychologist or a psychiatrist who's affiliated with a major medical institution or university.
And steer clear of promises that sound too good to be true. "If you hear the words 'instant results,' or that you don't have to make an effort whatsoever, or that you can lose 10 pounds in 10 days, those are instant red flags," says Albers.
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