Hypnotherapy for a problem

Hypnosis for Sugar and Junk-Food Cravings

6 steps down 3 min read

Food cravings are very common: in one study described in the Wikipedia article on food craving, 97 percent of women and 68 percent of men reported having them. Research points away from nutrient deficiency and toward learning: cravings tie themselves to times, places and moods, which means they can be planned for. Hypnosis can help you rehearse that plan.

What is a craving, and why sugar?

A craving is an intense desire for a specific food, different from ordinary hunger. Chocolate tops the list in most studies, followed by other energy-dense sweet and savory foods. Cravings tend to rise in the late afternoon and evening, and the desire for high-calorie foods increases as the day goes on.

Is a craving your body asking for a nutrient?

Probably not, in most cases. The article notes that evidence for cravings signaling a nutrient deficiency is inconsistent and relatively poor, and that deficiencies account for a small fraction of cravings at most. Instead, prominent explanations rest on conditioning: a food becomes linked with a time, place, mood or routine, and the cue starts to trigger the desire.

Culture shows how much of this is learned. The article reports that Spanish women experience menstrual-cycle chocolate cravings far less often than American women, 24 percent compared with 60 percent, despite little physiological difference.

What does that mean for stopping them?

If cravings are triggered by cues, the cues are where to intervene. Specific if-then plans, known as implementation intentions, are built for exactly that. A 2021 meta-analysis in Frontiers in Psychology cites earlier work finding a medium to large effect of such plans on reaching goals, health goals among them.

For sugar, that might look like:

  • “If it is 4 p.m. at my desk and I want something sweet, then I will drink a glass of water and eat the fruit I brought.”
  • “If I am on the sofa after dinner, then I will make tea and brush my teeth.”
  • “If I pass the bakery on the way home, then I will cross the street.”

How can hypnosis help?

By rehearsing those plans until they feel natural. In a relaxed, focused state you can picture the cue, the 4 p.m. slump or the bakery window, notice the pull, and then see yourself carrying out the plan. A short self-hypnosis routine can also give you something to do in the moment instead of fighting the thought, since trying to push a thought away tends to make it come back.

On the evidence: a 2024 overview of meta-analyses found benefits of hypnosis for weight loss, particularly at follow-up when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, though few of the underlying reviews were of high quality. Those reviews did not test hypnosis for sugar cravings specifically, so treat it as a way to practice the plan.

When are cravings a medical issue?

If you have diabetes or another condition affected by sugar, work with your doctor or dietitian on any change. If cravings come with binge eating, strong guilt or restriction, or if you are craving non-food items such as clay or chalk, which the article notes can indicate a deficiency or anemia, see a doctor.

Two weeks to map and rehearse your cues

  1. Log every craving: time, place, mood and what you did.
  2. Find your top three cues from the log.
  3. Write one if-then plan for each.
  4. Rehearse the plans in a short self-hypnosis routine each day.
  5. Compare week two with week one: how often the plan ran instead of the craving.

This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.

Related posts:

  1. Biological Intuitive Certification: What the Training Covers Training in the Biological Intuitive Technique comes from the practice that presents the technique as its own method, and the certificate is one that practice itself recognizes. Before you enroll,......
  2. Hypnotherapy for Emetophobia (Fear of Being Sick) Emetophobia, an intense fear of vomiting, can quietly reshape a life: what you eat, where you go, whether you are around children or people who seem unwell. Hypnosis is among......
  3. Can Hypnotherapy Build Emotional Resilience? That depends partly on whether resilience can be built at all, and researchers disagree. Some describe it as a process that can be cultivated over time; the grief and trauma......
  4. Hypnosis for Morning Anxiety and Sunday-Night Dread The alarm has not gone off yet, and the list of everything that could go wrong today is already running. Or it is Sunday at seven, and Monday has arrived......
  5. How to Stop Procrastinating: The Fear Beneath the Delay Sometimes there is fear beneath the delay, and sometimes the story is more complicated. Procrastination is a way of escaping an unpleasant feeling attached to a task, and for some......
  6. How Do You Become a Reiki Practitioner? The Levels Explained You become a Reiki practitioner by taking a series of classes from a teacher, each including an "attunement." Cancer Research UK describes three levels, from treating yourself and those close......
  7. Hypnotherapy for Dental and Needle Fear About one person in six is highly anxious about dental treatment, according to the Wikipedia article on dental fear, and at least 10 percent of American adults have some fear......
  8. Hypnosis for Creative and Writer’s Block Most researchers of writer's block agree that it has three parts: an emotional and physical one, a motivational one and a cognitive one. Fear of failure is the cause most......
  9. Dream Analysis in Hypnotherapy Dream analysis in hypnotherapy uses a dream as a starting point for self-reflection: in a relaxed, focused state you revisit a dream that stayed with you, notice what it makes......
  10. Does Hypnosis Actually Work? What the Research Shows Hypnosis works for some problems and not for others, and the dividing line is the condition, not the technique. The NCCIH overview of hypnosis lists what it has been studied......
  11. How to Stop Nail Biting With Hypnosis Nail biting is common: the Wikipedia article on nail biting puts it at roughly 20 to 30 percent of people, rising to about 37 percent among those aged 3 to......
  12. Hypnosis for Anger and Irritability Feeling angry is normal; the NHS notes that most people feel angry sometimes. It becomes a problem when it affects your life, your relationships or other people's safety. Most anger......
  13. Hypnosis for Sexual Confidence and Performance Anxiety Start with a medical check. Erection problems that keep happening can be a sign of a treatable health condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or hormone problems, and the......
  14. Hypnosis for Tinnitus: A Mind-Body Approach Hypnosis is not a way to switch tinnitus off. What the NHS-recommended talking therapies aim at is your reaction to the sound: cognitive behavioral therapy is offered "to change the......
  15. Hypnotherapy for Fear of Heights Most people feel some fear near a drop. Acrophobia is the extreme version: according to the Wikipedia article on acrophobia, it affects roughly 2 to 5 percent of people, about......
  16. Hypnosis vs. Hypnotherapy: Are They the Same Thing? If you are about to book something, the difference matters. Hypnosis is a state of mind: focused attention, a fading background and a stronger response to suggestion. Hypnotherapy is the......