Can you hypnotise yourself thin: Leading expert says yes - but not how you think

Can you really hypnotise yourself into not raiding the fridge, reaching for chocolate after a stressful day or eating when you aren't actually hungry?
 

According to clinical hypnotherapist and behavioural change practitioner Georgia Foster, the answer is yes but the goal isn't to hypnotise yourself into not eating, it is to change the automatic thoughts, emotional triggers and habits that can make you want to eat when your body isn't asking for food.
 

Foster, known as The Viceless Mind Expert, has spent more than 30 years working with people struggling with emotional and habitual behaviours and is the creator of The Pajama Diet, an audio- guided hypnosis program designed to be listened to while relaxing in bed and drifting off to sleep.
 

"You absolutely can use hypnosis to change the way you respond to food, but I don't want people thinking I am hypnotising them into never wanting to eat again because we need food. Hunger is normal and eating should be enjoyable," Foster said.
 

"What we are interested in is the other eating, the food you reach for because you're stressed, lonely, bored, angry, exhausted or rewarding yourself, even though you weren't physically hungry five minutes earlier.
 

"Instead of spending your entire life fighting the urge, the aim is to work on the patterns sitting underneath it."
 

Why does the fridge suddenly become irresistible at 9pm
 

Foster said many eating behaviours become almost automatic after years of repetition such as dessert after dinner, chocolate when stressed, takeaway after a bad day or snacks while watching television.
 

"People tell me regularly that they manage to get through the day without reaching for naughty snacks until they get home and then find themselves standing in front of the fridge at 9pm.
 

"I want to know what happened immediately before they walked to the fridge. Were they actually hungry, or were they exhausted, stressed, lonely, bored or simply following a pattern their brain has repeated hundreds of times.
 

"Once you separate physical hunger from an emotional or habitual cue to eat, the conversation becomes very different."
 

How does self-hypnosis work
 

Foster said self-hypnosis does not involve losing control, instead, it involves entering a relaxed, focused state and using repeated suggestions, imagery and mental rehearsal to encourage different responses to familiar triggers.

"You might mentally rehearse finishing dinner, feeling satisfied and moving on with your evening rather than automatically looking for something sweet," Foster said.
 

"You might imagine experiencing stress and responding by going for a walk, having a shower, calling somebody or simply sitting with the feeling rather than immediately trying to eat it away.
 

"The idea isn't that you are forbidden from eating chocolate, it is that you don't automatically need chocolate simply because you have had a difficult day.'"
 

The 10-second question to ask before eating
 

Foster recommended one simple question before automatically reaching for food.
 

"You need to ask yourself whether you are physically hungry or whether you are trying to change the way you feel," Foster said.
 

"If your answer is that you are hungry, then you should eat. Hypnosis and managing how you feel isn't about becoming frightened of food or suppressing normal hunger.
 

"However, if your answer is that you feel stressed, bored, lonely or you are feeling down because you have had a terrible day, you have identified that food is being asked to perform an emotional job.
 

"That gives you an opportunity to respond to what you actually need rather than automatically reaching for something to eat."
 

Could you change your eating while lying in bed
 

Foster's Pajama Diet uses guided hypnosis recordings listened to while relaxing in bed. Despite its provocative name, it isn't a conventional diet and does not prescribe calorie counting, forbidden foods or meal plans.
 

"The name makes people laugh because they think you cannot possibly lie in your pyjamas and change the way you eat. Changing behaviour doesn't always have to begin with another set of food rules," Foster said.
 

"People generally know an apple is nutritionally different from a block of chocolate. Knowledge isn't necessarily the problem.
 

"The interesting question is why somebody who genuinely wants to change can find themselves repeating the same behaviour night after night."
 

Foster's interest in the psychology of eating began with her own experience after spending years repeatedly dieting and struggling with her relationship with food.
 

"I tried every diet and broke every one," Foster said.
 

"That taught me something incredibly important: you can know exactly what you think you should do and still find yourself doing something completely different.
 

"For years we've interpreted that as weakness or lack of discipline. Now, I'm much more interested in what is driving the behaviour."

Hypnosis isn't a magic weight-loss switch
 

Published research has examined hypnosis as an adjunct to behavioural weight-management programs, but Foster emphasised that outcomes vary and hypnosis should not be presented as a guaranteed weight-loss treatment.
 

"This isn't about listening to an audio recording and waking up 20 kilos lighter. That's nonsense," Foster said.
 

"Hypnosis is a tool for working with thoughts, habits and emotional responses. The objective isn't to make yourself afraid of food or hypnotise yourself into starvation, it is to get to a place where food can simply be food rather than your therapist, reward, entertainment, punishment and emotional escape mechanism."
 

Try this tonight
 

Foster suggested a simple mental rehearsal before bed.
 

"Close your eyes, slow your breathing and picture yourself tomorrow evening after dinner. Imagine feeling comfortably satisfied and then reaching the time when you would normally start thinking about snacks," Foster said.
 

"Instead of fighting with yourself, imagine noticing the thought and calmly saying to yourself that you are satisfied. I can eat later if I'm genuinely hungry, but I don't need anything right now.'
 

"You're rehearsing a different response before you're confronted with the old trigger."
 

Foster stressed that hypnosis should not be used to ignore genuine hunger or nutritional needs and anyone experiencing an eating disorder, unexplained appetite or weight changes or other health concerns should seek appropriate professional advice.
 

"Eating is essential and enjoying food is part of life," Foster said.
 

"Hypnosis isn't about training yourself not to eat, it involves training your mind so that every emotion doesn't automatically end with food. Many people use this approach successfully to change their behaviours and lose weight.
 

"So yes, you can use hypnosis yourself to lose weight."
 

About Georgia Foster
 

Georgia Foster, known as The Viceless Mind Expert, is a Melbourne-based clinical hypnotherapist and behavioural change practitioner with more than 30 years' experience.
 

She is the founder of 7 Days To Drink Less, a hypnosis and psychology-based digital program designed to help adults reconsider their emotional and habitual relationship with alcohol and reduce their drinking without necessarily giving it up completely.
 

Georgia is also the creator of The Pajama Diet, a digital program focused on helping people move away from the diet treadmill and develop a more intuitive relationship with food.
 

Based in South Melbourne, Georgia has previously been featured extensively in UK media and is now focused on encouraging more open conversations about alcohol, food, habits, shame and behavioural
change.

www.pajamadiet.com