Sales of bars of chocolate from the supermarket rose a whopping 46% year on year in the UK as people turn towards cheap treats to cheer themselves up during a year of unprecedented uncertainty. Since the pandemic began earlier this year, around 50% of people in the UK have noticed that their clothes are fitting a little differently as they pack on the lockdown pounds.
Most of the people in the research said their difficulties stemmed from increased snacking, not exercising as much as usual, and increased levels of anxiety or stress. Unfortunately relying on food to change your mood often backfires with people reporting that they feel guilt, shame or self-loathing after they comfort eat.
During the summer, the UK Government has unveiled a new obesity strategy with its ‘Better Health’ campaign. This campaign seeks to encourage the estimated 63% of the UK population who are currently overweight or obese to lose weight and reduce their risk of serious illness, including COVID-19.
The idea of traditional dieting while in a pandemic has many people reaching for the pack of jaffa cakes. Rather than just reducing calories, hypnotherapy can help you learn about why you’re comfort eating and how to reduce stress and anxiety, making you less likely to be stocking up on bars of chocolate.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) says that hypnotherapy can also help you get in touch with the reasons why you unconsciously eat. We’ve all done it, eating when we aren’t hungry and using food as a distraction. If this has become a habitual way of self-soothing working with a hypnotherapist can help you understand the why’s of these behaviours and you can learn new healthy self-management techniques.
Working together with your hypnotherapist you will develop new habits and coping mechanisms that aren’t based on food, focusing on making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle that will remain with you for the rest of your life. Rather than relying on willpower or swapping to unsatisfying substitutes, hypnotherapy for weight management focuses on simple and manageable strategies to help you think about food better and approach lifestyle changes gradually and in a way which is achievable and sustainable.
Why not contact a hypnotherapist near you? Simply use the NCH directory by clicking here.