"I lost 3st with hypnotherapy" - Zest Health

Helen McNallen, 37, former stockbroker, East Lothian.

I was working as a stockbroker when in 2000, the stress got overwhelming and I became depressed. I gained about 3st from binge and comfort eating, going upto 13st 7lbs (I'm 5ft 11). I was having counselling to deal with depression gave up my job and relocated to Scotland, but I still couldn't control my eating. I'd eat junk food such as having three donuts in a row while watching TV. I was huge, with massive thighs and cellulite on my tummy, and I wore baggy clothes to cover up all the time. My counsellor suggested I try hypnotherapy and recommended Marisa Peer. I had one session a week for four weeks. At first, I was fairly cynical as I'm very strong-willed and doubted whether she'd be able to put me under. I lay on the couch while she talked to me, then she counted back from ten to one and told me to close my eyes. To my amazement, I found that I couldn't open them or move any part of my body. It was the most incredibly relaxed feeling. Marisa then talked to me, in a calm gentle voice, but not about food. The session was all about loving and valuing myself, and how I was a good person. She'd sometimes rock my head in her hands if I didn't seem to be responding and needed to go deeper into the trance. .
        I'd leave each session feeling relaxed, calm and confident, but initially I wasn't convinced anything had changed. However as the days went by, I found myself eating differently. I didn't sit down and make a decision to eat healthily, it just happened subconsciously - I'd buy fresh fruit and vegetables in the supermarket and not think about cakes and sweets. Within six months I'd lost 2st! I had energy for the first time in years, so I started to walk and go to the gym a couple of times a week. By 2003, I was back down to just over 10st and my weight has been steady for two years. I do have the odd treat of chocolate or cake now and again, but I don't feel the desire to binge anymore. It's done wonders for my confidence and I have now completely changed the way I dress.
        What's so great about hypnotherapy is that it takes only a few sessions to work - you don't have to keep going for months or years.

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