New Year's Resolution to Lose Weight? It's Tough: Ask Oprah

New Year's resolutions are on our minds this week, and weight loss is at the top of the list for many.

Weight loss is no easy task. Even talk show queen Oprah Winfrey - who can get serious assistance on anything she wants - admits she finds it difficult to control her weight. She now weighs 200 pounds, up from 160 in 2006, according to an article in the January issue of O magazine.

?I'm mad at myself,? Winfrey writes in ?O?. ?I'm embarrassed. I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, 'How did I let this happen again?' ?

?Weight loss requires a plan of action and understanding,? says clinical psychologist Bruce N. Eimer. ?Oprah serves as a great example for us to see how we can let ourselves slide back to poor eating habits.?

?If Oprah finds it tough, you know many others do as well. And for some, hypnosis may be the extra assistance that helps them to their goal,? says Dr. Eimer, who is also a clinical hypnotist and hypnotherapist and heads up the Hypnosis Help Center of Philadelphia. ?When combined with a behavioral weight management treatment plan, hypnosis has been shown to be an effective tool for achieving low to moderate amounts of weight loss.?

?Hypnosis for weight loss is very effective when the reason you are overweight is overeating or problem eating,? Dr. Eimer says. ?Overeating is usually an automatic, anxiety-based coping behavior. It tends to occur frequently and repetitively without your having much conscious control over it. You may overeat in many different situations without realizing you have done so until after the fact.?

? Overeating behavior usually triggers negative physical sensations afterwards, such as feeling overly full, bloated and stuffed, as well as negative emotional feelings afterwards, such as guilt, further anxiety, shame, etc.,? he continues. ?It also has negative health consequences.?

?Hypnosis is a tool that helps you focus on precisely what you want -- your goals -- for example, to be a thinner person at your desired weight,? he says. ?Hypnosis can help you harness the power of your imagination to see yourself doing what you must do to achieve your goals -- for example, to lose weight. For losing weight, this would require changing your eating and exercise habits along with your self image. Hypnosis can help you do these things.?

?Most of my patients who come to me for 'hypnosis for weight control' have a history of going on and off various diets,? Dr. Eimer says. ?For the majority of my patients, these diets have not been successful at keeping the weight off for the long-term. For example, my approach to weight loss hypnotherapy involves first finding the reasons you eat too much or too often. Then, I help you come up with alternative, healthier ways to cope with these causative and maintaining factors. On a conscious level, you may answer the question of 'Why do I do this?' one way, but typically your answer is a conscious rationalization that does not address what is really going on. This is where hypnosis can be a very helpful tool.?

?Once emotional eating factors are made conscious,? Dr. Eimer says, ?Hypnosis - whether at the office or at home with specially made CDs - can be used to help you change them to more positive motivators so that you can make better choices under stress.?

?The hypnotic program must be tailored to the individual,? he says. ?It requires a time-intensive program and considerable effort and responsibility on the part of the weight loss client or patient, who then learns to trust the hypnotist as well as himself when using self-hypnosis.?

?As for Oprah,? Dr. Eimer says. ?She can talk about weight-loss techniques, have a show about it, but she still has to do it herself - and hypnotherapy could help her.?

HERE ARE DR. BRUCE EIMER'S TOP HYPNOSIS TIPS FOR LOSING WEIGHT.

Hypnosis can help you to . . .

-- Recognize why you overeat and to find alternative coping strategies

-- Interrupt your continuous preoccupation with food

-- Correct the mistaken belief that many or all body messages mean you are hungry

-- Release feelings of stress that had been influencing your frequent eating

-- Change your unhealthy eating patterns and behaviors

-- Engage in new behavioral habits that start burning calories

-- Substitute self-hypnosis and relaxation for overeating

-- Start "ego strengthening" and self-esteem boosting

For more information, visit: www.HypnosisHelpCenter.net and www.BestWayToStop.com

Or, to interview Dr. Eimer, call: 215.947.7867, or e-mail: dr.eimer1@comcast.net

To obtain Dr. Eimer's audio CD weight loss support program: Contact Dr. Eimer directly, or go to: www.BestWayToStop.com

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Bruce Eimer, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., is a licensed clinical psychologist in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. He is a Board-Certified Diplomate with the American Board of Professional Psychology in the specialties of cognitive and behavioral psychology and psychotherapy. He is also a Fellow and Approved Consultant with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and a Life Member of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Eimer also holds board certifications in pain management, medical psychotherapy and vocational neuropsychology. He can be reached at Alternative Behavior Associates, Phone: 215-947-7867, Fax: 215-947-7860, Email: dr.eimer1@comcast.net Websites: www.BruceEimer.com www.BestWayToStop.com