The Truth about Popular Weight Loss Methods

In April 2003, "Dateline" introduced six members of the class of '78 at Quincy High in Massachusetts, looking to lose weight for their 25th reunion in the fall of 2003. The six methods used were Atkins, Weight Watchers, Slimfast, Jorge Cruise, Marathon Training, and Hypnosis. Here is how they stack up:

Slimfast

Mark Giordani, using Slimfast started to complain of hunger all the time. And nothing seemed to satisfy him. "I went back to the attitude where I'm hungry, I'm going to eat and I don't really care."

Despite expert intervention that is not available to most people, he couldn't wait for the diet challenge to end. To quote Mark: "I'm going to IHOP tomorrow, and I'm getting the whole left side of the menu."

Obviously, if it needs expert intervention, it's not likely to work on its own. Also, a lot of specialized food has to be bought. Hardly a recipe for success if you attempt to live life normally.

Atkins

The Atkins participant, Rick Burnes, had headaches, terrible constipation, and developed a painful case of gout, that he believed was a result of the diet. Even with help from a top Atkins researcher, special "Atkins at home" meals and medical intervention he ended up gaining 24 pounds. Enough said.

So, could this plan be called a lifestyle? Definitely not. As well as having to buy expensive food, there had to be intervention from an expert.

Weight Watchers

Kathy Wynters, doing Weight Watchers, refused to weigh in, but after the diet immediately went for deserts and chocolates. To quote her: "The desserts and the chocolates. I had them, I wanted them and I had them."

And she began putting on weight. This happened twice, even with expert supervision.

The fact that this woman had used this program previously is very important. The fact that she was even more overweight when she started the program this time was a perfect indicator that the program had not produced any serious change in her lifestyle or metabolism. Also, expert 'supervision' was required again. Can you guess what happens after the supervision stops?

Jorge Cruise

Eleanor Talbot, did the Jorge Cruise program. After having problems, Dateline arranged a weekend retreat to help Eleanor, and intervention from the programs founder.

Later, she had to go back for even more support in dealing with emotional issues. Most people do not have access to this extra support. And it didn't really help her.

Again, she needed constant, expensive personal support. Keep in mind that although it is often vital to address emotional problems when losing weight, this is generally ignored with most programs.

Marathon Training

Lynn Frank tried marathon training. She also stuck to 1300 a day. She was trained by a leading expert. But progress was unsatisfactory. So Lynn received expert intervention from a nutritionist and exercise physiologist. She lost weight, but with much pain and injury, and also needed a lot of coaching.

Let's face it - expert coaching is not a realistic lifestyle.

Keep in mind that all the above participants had expert intervention not available to most. This shows that it's not likely to work "out of the box". Much expensive, specialized food had to be bought. Even with the extra help the results were poor at best.

Hypnosis

Marc Merlis tried Hypnosis. He was possibly the hardest case - a pastry chef with cravings, and a difficult schedule. After only three months Marc had lost more than any of the other participants - an incredible 40 pounds.

Hypnosis motivated Marc to enthusiastically work with a fitness trainer, and to eat properly and with natural control

That's when his wife got in on the action. She went to the hypnotist to quit smoking. And guess what? Smoke free, and fat free.

The fascinating part is that Marc, using hypnosis, did not suffer. He was happy. Changes occurred naturally. Not to mention other positive benefits and feelings. AND he established a true and realistic lifestyle.

In summary, losing weight successfully is not about dieting, but rather a sensible lifestyle that can be readily accepted. Hypnosis facilitates this admirably. It is not a quick-fix, but a solution aimed at lasting and long-term success. Another significant fact is that the problems other participants had with emotions, willpower, self-discipline and enthusiasm could also have been helped with hypnosis.

Study after study shows that hypnosis is the most successful and affordable method for weight loss, as well as many other behavior changes. Hypnosis can truly be a light at the end of the tunnel for so many who have failed with other methods, or simply given up hope.

I hope you agree that hypnosis was the clear winner.


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Andrew McCole is a leading hypnosis counselor, educator and researcher, who specializes in weight loss hypnosis. Want to know if hypnosis can work for you? To get an immediate, accurate assessment of how hypnotizable you are, take Andrew's popular free online Hypnosis Quiz. You can take the quiz, and find out more about hypnosis at =>
http://www.behyp.com