ONE of the main criticisms of resorting to surgery to battle chronic obesity is that the surgeon’s blade can not alter a person’s state of mind.

Risky and expensive operations such as having a gastric band fitted may provide impressive results over time, but what’s the point of a patient losing eight stone if the psychological craving for a chocolate biscuit never goes away? It’s all going to pile back on eventually.

The answer could lie within the world of hypnotherapy.

The technique usually involves four sessions on the hypnotherapist’s couch and promises to train your brain into looking at food in different way.

Angie Doig-Thorne is a York-based hypnotherapist who says she has seen some impressive results after beginning to offer the technique to patients last year.

“A lot of people yo-yo diet and that’s because they don’t address what’s behind the eating,” she said.

“Diets tell you not to eat this or not to eat that or that you need to count calories or food points or have a red day or a green day. They make you think about food 24 hours a day.

“When you get to the end of your allowance for the day you are into that internal dialogue about what you are going to eat next.

“You need to address all these things in your subconscious mind about what’s making you eat.”

With most practitioners, including Angie, the virtual gastric band involves an initial assessment session followed by three sessions on the couch where the hypnotherapist will attempt to re-train you brain to think twice about those impulsive binges or midnight trips to the biscuit tin.

Following treatment, Angie says a lot of clients tell her they have discovered the time to stop and think about what they eat and ask if they really need it.

“I don’t say to clients you can’t eat this or that; I say to them eat three small meals a day but eat whatever you want, and take 30 minutes of exercise.

“They have to sit down and focus on each meal with no distractions such as television. This is because it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to register it is full and then send the message to your brain.

“As children, people are told they have to eat everything on their plate; you are conditioned to it.”

Angie said: “Our portion sizes have got bigger too over the years and we eat far more than we really need to. As soon as a hungry baby takes on enough food it stops crying – we don’t have that mechanism.”

One of those enjoying the benefits of Angie’s virtual gastric band therapy is Jane Farley, 40, a full-time manager and mother-of-two, from York.

She turned to hypnotherapy after becoming disillusioned with conventional dieting methods.

“I would sabotage diets,” she said. “If somebody told me I wasn’t allowed to eat bananas, for example, I would just go out and eat them.

“If there were no biscuits in the house I would just eat whatever we had in. I would have a big meal on a night too, even if I didn’t need it.”

After finishing the treatment in March, Jane has lost 18lbs and she says she is a lot less impulsive about food.

“Eating wasn’t about feeling hungry and hypnotherapy allowed me the time to think through why I did things.

“The hypnotherapy allowed me the time to have the conversation with myself about whether I needed to eat the things I did.

“Suppose I saw a chocolate biscuit on a plate, I would now make a conscious decision as to whether I needed it rather than picking it up and eating it. At one time, it would have been in my mouth in a flash.”

Angie said: “You need to ask yourself why you have all these things in your sub-conscious mind about what’s making you eat.”

If you would like to know more about hypnotherapy and how it can help you lose weight, visit angiedoigthorne.com