What is The Hypnotic Virtual Gastric Band?

What is Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis?

Online Hypnotic Gastric Band Hypnotherapy is a technique used to help you lose weight. Using this technique, a hypnotherapist suggests to your subconscious that you have had a gastric band fitted around your stomach. Considered to be a non-invasive alternative to weight loss surgery, a hypnotic gastric band can have many of the positive effects without the potential side effects.

A traditional gastric band is one form of weight loss surgery that is often considered as a last resort. Involving fitting a band around the upper part of your stomach, the band physically limits how much food you can eat, in many cases, encouraging weight loss. However, research has shown that patients undergoing a physical gastric band face a number of complications in the months and years following surgery, including the risk of the band slipping or eroding.

The often significant and sustained loss of weight that accompanies many bariatric gastric band procedures can be very appealing for those who have struggled with sustainable weight loss, diet changes, and weight-related issues. Having 'bariatric surgery hypnosis’, also known as gastric band hypnotherapy, doesn’t require surgery.

By working with your subconscious, I can help you, on an unconscious level, to believe that you’ve had a physical procedure, and your stomach has reduced in size. No surgery or medication is used, making it a safer, painless alternative. We explain more about how this technique works, what it involves, and how it may be able to work for you.

What is a gastric band?

A gastric band is an adjustable silicone device used in weight loss surgery. The band is placed around the upper section of your stomach to create a small pouch above the device. This restricts the amount of food that can be stored in your stomach, making it difficult to eat large amounts.

Available through private surgery, a gastric band is one of three weight-loss surgeries most commonly offered (others include gastric sleeve and gastric bypass). The main benefit of a gastric band is long-term, sustainable weight loss. In order for you to see the benefits, it is still important to change your diet, exercise regularly, and attend post-surgery follow-up appointments to gain advice and support as needed.

The aim of a gastric band is to restrict the amount of food a person can physically eat, causing them to feel full after eating very little to encourage weight loss. For most people who have this surgery, it is the last resort after trying other methods of weight loss. Like any surgery, fitting a gastric band comes with risks.

If you have a physical gastric band, some of the risks include:

The band slipping out of place. This can go on to cause feeling sick, vomiting, and heartburn. Further surgery may be needed to readjust or remove the band.

A leak in your gut. Following a gastric bypass or gastric sleeve (another form of gastric band), there is a small chance food can leak into your tummy, causing a serious infection that may need antibiotics and surgery to repair any damage.

A blocked gut. Blockages can cause vomiting, tummy pain, trouble swallowing, and bowel movement issues. Blockages may have to be cleared by a professional.

Malnutrition. Absorbing the right amount of vitamins and minerals can become a problem after weight loss surgery, meaning that many will have to take supplements for life to avoid the risks of malnutrition.

Women who have had a physical gastric band, sleeve, or bypass are also recommended to avoid becoming pregnant for 12-18 months post-surgery.

But how do physical gastric bands differ from gastric band hypnosis? And can a virtual gastric band really have the same benefits?

What is Hypnotic Gastric Bypass Hypnosis?

Hypnotic gastric band or gastric bypass hypnosis can be used to help people lose weight, without the risks that come with surgery. As a hypnotherapist, I use a two-pronged approach. First, we look to identify the root cause of your emotional eating.

What is emotional eating?

Emotional eating can be a common but unhealthy way of coping with challenging feelings or emotions. If you find yourself reaching for food when you are upset or stressed, or rely on food as a treat or reward for a tough week, to motivate yourself, or even as a fallback when you are bored, these can all be signs that you are using food to help boost your mood. Over time, this can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and even a cycle of unhealthy eating habits that can lead to eating problems, disordered eating, as well as physical health problems.

Using hypnosis for emotional eating, I can encourage you to remember long-forgotten experiences surrounding food that may be subconsciously affecting you now. They can also help you to recognise patterns, reactions, or behaviours you may not realise you have been doing. Addressing and recognising any unhealthy thought patterns surrounding food can be helpful before starting gastric band hypnotherapy.

Next, we carry out the virtual gastric band treatment. Virtual gastric band hypnotherapy is designed to suggest, at a subconscious level, that you have had an operation to insert a gastric band. The aim is for your body to respond to this suggestion by making you feel fuller quicker as if you had the real surgery.

Unlike with diets, getting a hypnotic gastric band is designed to help you make big lifestyle changes. By recognising and addressing underlying issues, helping you to recognise triggers, and working with your subconscious to help you to feel fuller for longer, hypnotherapy can help you take those first steps towards making positive change.

Diets don’t tend to deal with the permanent lifestyle changes required, such as a sustainable long-term change in our eating habits and attitude to food. Many diet plans are temporary and can be difficult to maintain on an on-going basis, often because they are too restrictive or they totally deprive us of our favourite foods.

By causing us to count calories or consciously measure portion size or even totally omit types of foods, many diets can make us more obsessed with food and our eating. This can take the pleasure out of eating and can lead us to crave more of certain foods and a diet-overeat/binge cycle can start.

How does gastric band hypnosis work?

As an online hypnotherapist specially trained in this area. Using relaxation techniques I will guide you into a deep state of hypnosis. In this relaxed state, your subconscious is more open to suggestion. At this point, we make suggestions to your subconscious. With virtual gastric band hypnotherapy, this suggestion is that you’ve had a physical band fitted.

The mind is powerful, so if your subconscious accepts these suggestions, your behaviour will change accordingly. Usually, along with the ‘fitting’ of the virtual gastric band, suggestions surrounding confidence and behaviour will be made to help you commit to this change in lifestyle.

I will also teach techniques so you can enhance the work you’ve done following the session. Educating yourself on nutrition and exercise is often advised as well, to promote physical health and well-being.

Unhealthy relationships with food.

If you are considering weight-related surgery or hypnotherapy alternatives, it may also be worth considering your relationship with food. Merely focusing on the end goal of weight loss can often overlook underlying issues of an unhealthy relationship to certain foods that may be affecting you across different areas in your life, including impacting your self-confidence, self-esteem, causing feelings of anxiety or guilty, or even holding you back in social or work-related situations.

Problem eating doesn’t have a single ‘look’. It can affect anyone, at any age, in any number of different ways. If you are worried that your eating habits may be impacting your overall health and well-being, it’s important to speak with your GP.

What to expect: getting a virtual gastric band.

Your first meeting with me will likely be an initial consultation where you discuss what you hope to gain from hypnotherapy. This is an opportunity to talk about any previous weight loss attempts, your eating habits, any health issues and your general attitude towards food. This information will give the therapist a clearer idea of what will help and whether or not any other forms of treatment should be considered.

Our online hypnotherapy for weight loss programme also incorporates hypnosis for food addiction, hypnosis for binge eating and hypnosis for making better food choices.

Note: if you have any health problems relating to your weight, it’s important to seek advice from your doctor.

How will I feel after?

For those who overeat, recognizing when you’re physically full can be difficult. Sometimes we eat purely for the taste or comfort, ignoring whether or not we are physically hungry. Learning to recognize the physical sensations of being hungry and being full is helpful for cultivating healthy eating habits.

The procedure should be a pleasant and relaxing experience, with most people reporting a feeling of calm when they come out of hypnosis.

Will online gastric band hypnotherapy work for me?

A common question for those trying hypnotherapy for the first time is: Will weight loss hypnotherapy work for me? Unfortunately, it isn’t a simple case of yes or no; it is largely up to you. Hypnotherapy helps people with a range of concerns but is particularly useful when it comes to changing habits. For this reason, it is often successful in helping people develop healthy eating habits and lose weight. However, just like any other lifestyle changes, it will require your total commitment.

No weight-loss method, from surgery to diets, are guaranteed to achieve specific results. Similarly, as with any form of hypnosis, the results of gastric band hypnotherapy are dependent on you approaching the process with an open mind, as well as being ready and willing to make changes.

You are more likely to make sustainable changes and get what you want from gastric band hypnotherapy if you believe in the process and your therapist. Being comfortable and trusting your hypnotherapist is essential.

If you are committed to making a lifestyle change, believe in the procedure and trust your hypnotherapist, gastric band hypnosis will work for you.

Is a virtual gastric band the right solution for me?

Whether or not a virtual gastric band is right for you can depend on many different factors. For some people, it can be a great alternative to traditional surgery. Others may find it to be a helpful tool in creating positive lifestyle changes and sustainable weight loss. Whatever your situation is, it’s important to remember that there are many different solutions and options available to you.

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