Our weight-loss columnist and type 1 diabetic, Alice Dogruyol, explores whether the power of the mind can aid in weight loss, trying what’s being dubbed “the hypno Ozempic jab.”
Words: Alice Dogruyol. Images: Shutterstock & Pexels, headshot David Venni
Dieting has always been a struggle for me to stick to long-term. I can usually manage a few months of eliminating the bad stuff, but then life and work stress take over, and I fall back into bad habits. I am on Wegovy (aka Ozempic or semaglutide), and I’m finding it really helpful, but I can’t afford to stay on it forever, nor do I want to. Also, I can feel that the longer I stay on it, the less I feel its effect.
When I first started taking the weekly injection, the appetite suppression was really noticeable. But now that I am several months into it, I feel I need to take more of it to get the desired effect. The higher dose injections cost more, with prices reaching up to £300 a month. Plus, there are side effects: many users report nausea and vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea, all of which I have experienced. But I was so determined to give this a go that I pushed through all of that, and I am out the other side, feeling fine on it… for now. I do worry about what it could be doing to my digestive system over the long term, though.
But what if there was a way to replicate the weight-loss drug’s effects without the horrible side effects and at no cost? What if, instead of injecting a drug, you could use the power of your own mind? That’s where Juls Abernethy’s needle-free weight-loss hypnosis comes in. Best of all, it’s free!
I met Juls, a brilliant clinical hypnotherapist, when I went to The Body Retreat last year and had the most amazing week on their weight-loss retreat. Juls is a co-founder of The Body Retreat and has devoted her life to helping women improve their relationship with food. She has a master’s degree in clinical hypnosis and applied psychology and has been weaving hypnotherapy and mindful eating into her retreats, helping women lose weight for the past 14 years.
“We have shown time and time again on our retreats that sustained weight loss can be managed successfully without the need for medication. Mindset change is at the core of all our retreats, and hypnotherapy is a key feature, which is why I wanted to create a free hypnosis download for people to use at home,” says Juls.
“At The Body Retreat, we prefer to avoid all medications and even the majority of food supplements in favor of a more food- and behavior-based approach to nutrition and weight loss, which we have found consistently achieves long-lasting results,” she adds, noting that women deserve more support around weight loss than they currently get.
“We try to help women get to the root of what could be holding them back from getting the body they want. It’s always a mix of biology and psychology. Our program works on both the body and the mind to emulate the effects of semaglutide through smart food combining, hypnotherapy, CBT, NLP, nutrition education, and exercise. This helps form new healthy habits that alter your neural pathways, balance blood sugar, curb overeating, and activate a healthy metabolism.”
Mind over matter
Over the past 12 months, Juls has seen an increase in the number of retreaters who are considering starting semaglutide. They have some retreat clients who are already on it and doing reasonably well, tolerating the side effects, and others for whom the side effects were too severe, so they stopped using it. They have seen others who have been on it for a while and hit a weight-loss plateau, and even a few who are struggling to come off it as they don’t know how to self-regulate.
“Semaglutide injections appear to be a promising help for those with diabetes and obesity so they can conquer overeating and regulate blood sugar, provided you can tolerate the side effects,” says Juls.
“The key ingredient in drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy is GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide 1), which mimics a naturally occurring hormone that tells your brain you are full. It slows down digestion and gastric emptying, making you feel fuller for longer. It also suppresses the amount of glucose produced by your liver, helps your pancreas produce more insulin, and improves insulin sensitivity. All these things are helpful for type 2 diabetes. However, for those who aren’t diabetic and are reticent to take this medication, we have shown time and time again on our retreats that it is possible to achieve a similar effect via a less medicalized route. In some people, these injections can cause uncomfortable side effects, and they are expensive. When they come off the injections, the weight tends to creep back on.”
Juls’ 30-minute needle-free semaglutide hypnosis is designed to be listened to daily for a week or two, then a couple of times a week to maintain the effect. It forges a stronger connection between your brain and the natural feeling of fullness, so you won’t want to pile your plate as high as before. It implants the suggestion that the satiety signals in your brain fire up every time you eat. Listening to it regularly can help alter your perception of appetite and hunger, just like you might feel if you’ve had the injections.
The hypnosis also addresses disordered eating patterns that often cause weight gain, which is something Ozempic can’t do. It builds on the concept of the “virtual gastric band” used in hypnotherapy 15 years ago, where people believed they’d undergone bariatric surgery and thus ate less. This hypnosis changes the way you think about food, instills healthy long-term eating habits, dulls the appetite, and addresses the root causes of overeating.
The program not only tunes you into natural fullness signals but also incorporates scientifically backed dietary habits, like drinking plenty of water and eating slowly. By addressing lifelong patterns of disordered eating, this approach helps you to become more aware of hunger and fullness cues, leading to lasting change without the side effects of drugs.
A positive start to the day
Listening to Juls’ hypnosis is a really relaxing way to start your day. I like to listen to it as I’m lying in bed in the morning, before my feet hit the ground and the day begins. Juls’ soothing voice guides me into a deeply relaxed yet focused state (see boxout for hypnosis). I also receive guidelines to follow for the next 21 days, including hydration and mindful eating tips. Juls’ soothing voice guides you out of the relaxation, and your day begins.
As we have all been told, it takes at least 21 days to form a new habit, so if you listen to this audio hypnosis and commit to following the guidelines for at least three weeks, there is a good chance the positive reinforcements will create new neural pathways in your brain and save you from having to go down the route of Wegovy, as I am. But I’m doing it now, as I plan to come off the weight-loss drug in a few months. I feel this will help me stay on track with my diet and lifestyle.
TRY THE WEIGHT-LOSS HYPNOSIS “JAB”
Sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes, and take three long, slow deep breaths, allowing yourself to relax. Scan your body from head to toe, using your breath to spread relaxation through every muscle. Imagine you’re standing in front of a lift door. As it opens, step inside and press the button for the lower ground floor. Feel yourself sinking into comfort and relaxation as the lift descends.
When the doors open, walk down a brightly lit corridor to a door labeled Needle-free Weight-loss Hypnosis. Enter a comfortable waiting room in a modern clinic. You sit down in a comfy chair and see a video playing on a screen on the wall, explaining that this Needle-Free Weight-loss Hypnosis Implant is an advanced technology for weight management that will help you feel satisfied after eating smaller portions, reducing your desire to overeat. It releases signals to the brain, promoting long-lasting satiety and reducing the desire to overeat.
You feel calm and in control as you’re led to a private room where a doctor painlessly inserts the implant under the skin of your upper abdomen. The doctor then gives you guidelines to follow on hydration and mindful eating. With a feeling of certainty and calmness, you thank the doctor and leave the clinic. You walk back down the corridor, press the button for the lift, and go back up to the ground level. Step out of the lift and gently open your eyes. Repeat this each morning just as you wake up, for at least 21 days.
Connect with Alice at instagram.com/Alice_Dogruyol. Download and listen to the free weight-loss hypnosis at thebodyretreat.co.uk.
Read Alice’s weight loss columns here!
