Weight loss and how it relates to your second brain – your gut

As a clinical hypnotherapist of an integrative wellness centre, I work closely with the Integrative Medical Doctor, Nutritional Therapist and Chinese Physician. Most of my clients come to see me for mental health related issues. Before I recommend any therapy session, I will do the EEG Brainwaves Analysis session first. From more than thousands of brain waves, I found that most of the clients don’t get a good quality of sleep. Thus, their prefrontal cortex which serves as a filter for information input always shows tiredness and drowsiness.

The sleep quality and weight loss connection

This indicates that their executive functioning and decision making ability are negatively affected. Most of them reported problems such as tiredness, attention deficit, poor memory, moodiness, anxiety, impulsivity, irrational thoughts and irritability issues. There are a lot of research studies proving that relationship between sleep quality and weight loss is closely correlated. Thus, if you didn’t sleep well, high chance you will choose simple carbohydrate instead of protein kind of food because your brain can’t make a good decision and encounters difficulty in control craving.

In long run, your weight will increase and your productivity will drop significantly. Prefrontal cortex not only serves as a filter but also a command center. It is just like a car navigation device which will tell you the correct direction. However, when the car navigation device (prefrontal cortex) runs out of battery, accident might happen because you lost control. Thus, it is important to educate the car driver how to find the correct direction as well. In case the car navigation device runs out of battery, we still know how to act and respond appropriately.

The subconscious as our driver

Our subconscious mind is just like the car driver who’s in charge of our belief system, habit, emotion and the autopilot mode. When the prefrontal cortex (car navigation device) is not in a peak condition, we have to depend on our subconscious mind (the car driver). Thus, it is very important to educate your car driver and ensure that your car navigation device is in good condition. Clinical hypnotherapy is one of the scientifically proven methods to reprogram and educate your subconscious mind and improve the functions of your prefrontal cortex.

Clinical hypnotherapy is a proven scientific method to improve the sleep quality and quantity. Neuro-hypnotherapy is a technique by combining EEG biofeedback technology and clinical hypnotherapy. During the Neuro-hypnotherapy session, we can peek into individual brainwaves and give appropriate suggestion based on individual need. I found that most of my clients who are suffering mental health related issues have sleep-related problems.

Recently, a female client who suffer from insomnia came to see me. After she went through the Neuro-hypnotherapy session, her sleep quality improved significantly. She can fall asleep within 15 minutes and even if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she still can fall asleep by practicing her tailored self-hypnosis method. After three months of follow up, she told me that she lost 5kg as well!

The reason is her sleep quality has improved now. She used to exercise three times a week and eat a lot of junk food. After her sleep quality improved, her craving for junk food is in control and her weight drops more easily. It is because when you sleep better, your metabolism level will become better and your body stops you from consuming simple carbohydrate.

Your gut to the rescue

Should you believe in your gut feeling? If you didn’t choose the right kind of food to feed your gut and usually don’t get good quality sleep, then certainly no! Our blood sugar level is greatly influenced by the macronutrient intake that we consume. For example, if you eat too much simple carbohydrate (such as white rice, fruit juice or white bread), your blood sugar level fluctuates, so does your moods! It is because too much of simple carbohydrate will activate the stress hormone and fat storage mode of your body. This mode will bring a negative impact on your mood and weight. When you lack sleep, your body tends to crave for simple carbohydrate food and easily make wrong judgement or lose control when it comes to your diet plan.

There are many clients who use the virtual gastric band method to lose weight. This is not a real surgery but a procedure which plays on your subconscious mind level. It is completely non-invasive, no side effect, painless and drug free. A qualified clinical hypnotherapist will give positive suggestion to your subconscious mind (which is in charge of your habit and belief system) and then reduce your appetite and change to a healthier macronutrient food intake.

After the virtual gastric band session, your subconscious mind will believe that your stomach had shrunk to the size of a golf ball. So you can lose weight much easier.

Are there any side effect?

Yes! The side effect is you get better sleep quality and feel full easily!

Hiro Koo, the founder of Neuro-Hypnotherapy technique Malaysia, completed his diploma in clinical hypnosis (Lond.) and graduated with a BSoc Sc(Hons) in Psychology. He is a certified Neurotherapist (S.B.C.I.A), certified self-hypnosis instructor, registered and licensed clinical hypnotherapist (MSCH, AHPM, APA – The Society of Psychological Hypnosis, PSIMA-Malaysia Psychological Association), licensed Hypno-Band practitioner (UK), member of the Sleep Disorder Society Malaysia and an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner. He practices at Spectrum Of Life, an integrative wellness center in Kuala Lumpur.