See the Hypno-Band in the new series CH 4 Embarassing Bodies

Some patients who have undergo surgery and have a gastric band fitted cheat! Some patients will liquidize chocolate and other junk foods in order to be able to consume large amounts of them, thereby completely undoing the weight loss effects of the surgically placed band. But why would someone spend thousands of pounds on risky surgery only to sabotage it? It is simply because whatever anxiety or pressure was fueling their comfort eating in the first place is still there. Food has become an automatic response to their low mood and they are trying to overcome the desire to eat, relying only on a physical restriction in the stomach to tell them they are full. Many of these patients have forgotten what full even feels like, because they have gone way past full over and over again in an attempt to satisfy their emotional hunger with food.

The Science behind Gastric Band Hypnosis

Virtual or simulated surgery was shown to have comparable positive therapeutic effects on patients as far back as the 1950s. In 1955 cardiologist Leonard Cobb in Seattle tried to test the efficiency of a particular surgical procedure which was routinely carried out to alleviate chest pain in angina sufferers. The procedure was called an internal mammary artery litigation and involved opening the chest of patients under general anesthetic and tying off the mammary artery. The effect of the procedure was to improve blood flow to the other diseased areas of the heart thus alleviating chest pain. In clinical trials half of the subjects were given the surgery and half only believed the surgery had been carried out. The results were startling. Patient who had the simulated surgery reported the same level of relief from their symptoms as those who had actually gone through the surgery. Other simulated surgeries have also proved to be as effective as surgery it’s self including surgery for osteopathic.