When people first hear gastric band hypnosis they picture a weight loss surgery, a silicone band that is surgically implanted around the top of your stomach in an operating theatre. It physically restricts the amount of food you can intake and digest.
This isn’t that. There’s no surgery, no anaesthetic, no one cutting you open and nothing physical involved.
A virtual gastric band is really a form of weight loss hypnosis that helps you feel satisfied with less food, naturally.
So does it actually work? Here’s an honest look.
What a virtual gastric band actually is
A virtual gastric band works with the same idea as weight loss hypnosis.
It happens in a relaxed, focused state. Your hypnotherapist will guide your subconscious mind to accept the idea that a band is in place and your stomach is smaller. This helps your mind think that smaller portions are enough.
Why the subconscious? Because that’s where eating habits actually live.
When you’ve overeaten or leaned on certain foods for years, those patterns get stored as automatic habits and they don’t respond to logic or willpower.
Emotional eating was never logical, so you can’t reason your way out of it.
The change has to happen where the habit actually comes from.
During a hypnosis session you settle into deep relaxation. Your conscious mind quiets down and I use techniques including cognitive behavioural work to get at the root of the eating and work directly with your subconscious.
So does it work?
For the right person it works well. The honest part is that it depends a lot on you.
A virtual band isn’t magic and it won’t do the work on its own. If you’re genuinely ready to change how you eat, it can be a real support.
If you start but stay surrounded by your old triggers and change nothing else, you’re unlikely to get far.
That’s not a catch, it’s just how the subconscious works. It follows what you truly want.
So the people who get the best results are the ones who actually want the change and are ready to meet it halfway.
Because the approach deals with the cause rather than the symptom, it can help whether you overeat when you’re stressed, sad, lonely or bored, or you’ve simply drifted into poor habits over the years.
It helps you turn those patterns around, as long as you truly want it too.
Is it safe?
Completely. There’s no surgery, so there’s no pain, no recovery, no medication and no side effects.
It’s simply a way of helping your mind understand that smaller amounts of good food are what your body needs.
I run virtual gastric band sessions online as well, which makes the point nicely.
There’s nothing to fit, because the band only ever exists in your mind and that’s enough for it to do its job.
Online sessions suit you if you’d rather stay home or you live too far to travel in each week.
All you need is a quiet space and a decent internet connection.
How many sessions will you need?
With me, a virtual gastric band program is four sessions of about 90 minutes each.
As your hypnotherapist I spend time before we start getting to know your eating habits. What your specific triggers are, what your personal goals are and really get into what’s causing your overeating.
From there the sessions work on rewiring those habits, building your confidence and self esteem and improving your relationship with food.
By the fourth session you’ll have a much better feel for reading your body, knowing what it needs and holding a healthy weight over the long term.
You’ll also get an MP3 recording to take home and use any time you feel the old habits creeping back. It’s there to help you stay on track between sessions and after we finish.
If you’d rather not travel or you live a fair way from Perth, you can do the whole thing online over Zoom, anywhere in Australia.
Ready to lose the weight and keep it off?
So, does gastric band hypnosis work?
For people who are ready, yes. It’s a natural way to change eating patterns that dieting alone rarely changes, and to support your health for the long run.
At Awaken Hypnotherapy you’ll get weight loss hypnosis in Perth built around you and what’s actually driving your eating.
The one thing you need to bring is the genuine want to change.
Book a free consultation and let’s talk about whether it’s right for you.
