Hypnosis, thanks to the movies and TV shows, the very word conjures up the picture of a beady-eyed hypnotherapist swinging a gold watch and chanting, "You are getting sleepy."

Do an AOL search and you will find several million pages devoted to the topic. Unfortunately, many websites that sell self-hypnosis tapes make wild, unsubstantiated claims. I've been in this industry since 1978. So I think that I'm more than able to set the record straight on weight loss hypnosis.

First of all, hypnotherapy is a tool, just like a scalpel is a tool. Just as all surgeons have varying skill levels in the use of a scalpel, different hypnotherapists have varying skill levels in the use of hypnotherapy. And to complicate the matter, there are many different forms and types of hypnotherapy.

Here are just a few of the ridiculous assertions about weight loss hypnosis that I've seen on websites, along with the facts of reality:

"Hypnosis will speed up your metabolism." The truth is that hypnotherapy will never directly speed up your metabolism. But it can be very effective at helping to re-program your subconscious mind with increased motivation to exercise. And exercise will greatly speed up your metabolism. Similarly, hypnotherapy to speed up the metabolism for quick weight loss can be effected by re-programming the subconscious mind to motivate the intake of increased amounts of protein, because that intake will step up the metabolism.

"Hypnosis will make you get rid of your excess weight." This is false. But hypnotherapy can be used to help get rid of your appetite, so that you eat less. And eating less can help you to get rid of your excess weight. The average person's appetite and cravings for food and compulsion to eat are caused by two subconscious programs:

A. When you pair eating with any other behavior, the other behavior will trigger cravings for food and a compulsion to eat. This is called a conditioned response. For example, if you eat as you drive your car, you will automatically get an urge to eat each time you drive your car.

B. When you feel tense, you feel an urge to put something into your mouth for relaxation and pleasure. This is the result of programming that you received as a baby. When you got difficult, your mom or dad put a bottle in your mouth. You got distracted, relaxed, and probably fell asleep. Now when you get cranky (anxious or tense), you feel compelled to put something into your mouth for relaxation and pleasure.

C. There is a third unconscious program that is present for some people. It's called emotional eating. Emotional eating takes place when an individual is motivated to make him or herself fat, because by being fat they will protect themselves in some way. For example, if an individual gets their heart broken in a relationship, their subconscious mind can motivate them into a behavior that would prevent them from getting their heart broken again. Example: They are motivated to become overweight to keep them out of another relationship, because that will eliminate the possibility of another broken heart.

So just how can weight loss hypnosis overcome the above discussed problems? Click here to read the conclusion of this weight loss hypnosis article.

I have written several articles on this complex topic that available on my website. These articles illustrate some powerful ways to use hypnosis for emotional compulsive eating.