PORTSMOUTH BUSINESS WOMAN LOSES FIVE STONE AFTER HAVING A 'VIRTUAL' GASTRIC BAND OPERATION

When local business woman Lara Humphreys from Bishops Waltham, decided she wanted to lose weight without changing her lifestyle, she opted for the novel route of Hypnosis.

Lara had considered having a Gastric Band operation but felt it was too extreme and could cost up to £10,000. She decided to try the less expensive option and go for hypnotherapy and the Virtual Gastric Band operation.

Lara has lost five stone in eight months. The virtual operation under hypnosis convinced her she had a gastric band in place. Hypnotherapist Kay Howard carried out the procedure at her practice in Portsmouth and describes Lara as "an intelligent determined lady who readily accepted and understood the rationale behind such a treatment"

Without going near the surgeon's knife, 43year old Lara is now able to eat small portions of food, little and often; which satisfies her hunger without feeling full. Eight months after the treatment she has gone from a 26 to 20 dress size.

Lara says "I am amazed at how this continues to work; I still automatically stop eating before I feel full. It's impossible to eat any more, even though I only eat small portions".

"The Gastric Band Hypnosis is brilliant, but the best thing for me has been dealing with lifelong issues from childhood and understanding why I over ate. With help from Kay I have been able to overcome my emotional overeating."

"I have tried dieting but it just doesn't fit in with my life style. I like to eat out and I enjoy my food, so diets don't work for me. Eating what I like and small portions works really well, and I feel confident of reaching my target dress size of 14 - 16".

MUM'S DIET SUCCESS USING HYPNOSIS 'GASTRIC BAND'

THERE'S been much controversy over the use of the gastric band as an extreme way to weight loss. But one mum has changed her life, thanks to a form of therapy that included being hypnotised to think she had had the radical surgery. Janette Allen, 54, turned to the new Gastric Hypno Band after other attempts to lose weight failed.

At just over 5ft tall and weighing 15st, the married mother-of-two had given up hope of holidays and high heels. But the accountant lost 2st 101b in four months, dropping from a dress size 20 to a size 16, with help from Kay Howard, a hypnotherapist and specialist in eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Janette, of Broad Road, Braintree, said: "I feel so much more alive than I did before. Back then, I could not even look at myself in the mirror. "I have got my life back in balance now. It feels really good. If I had not met Kay, I know my health would have continued to deteriorate."

Using the power of hypnosis, Kay convinced Janette she had undergone the gastric band operation and combined the treatment with therapy to help her change her eating habits and improve how she feels about herself.

Kay, who is based at The Energy Zone Clinic, at the Spinney, Danbury, said some people, including Janette, felt a tightening in their stomach, as they would if they had undergone the real operation.

"I have seen such a change in Janette since she has been coming to me. When she first came along, she was concerned about how being so overweight was affecting her health and this in turn affected her sense of well-being," she said.

"Now her sparkle and enthusiasm have returned and it's so nice to see her lovely smiling face when she arrives at my clinic. "Janette has embraced wholeheartedly the treatment I have given her and worked with me happily to achieve the good results that she's had. I am very pleased with her."

Janette, who is married to Richard and mum to Kevin and Ryan, said she enjoyed shopping for clothes in the new year sales for the first time in years. Having the 'gastric band' is not uncomfortable, but feels like having a golf ball in the stomach, she said.

"The band has now been relaxed slightly so I am able to eat a bit more to keep my energy levels up. The idea is to alter your eating habits long-term so you do not rely on the band at all in future," said Janette. "With a real gastric band, that is not an option. You can have a real band taken out, but if you have not changed your habits, there is no longer anything stopping you going back to your old ways and piling the weight back on.

"It's so nice now that I don't have to worry about eating too much. I seem to stop eating long before I used to, I am surprised at how easy it is. "I am wearing much brighter clothes and even high heels which I have not worn for years. My friends and family are amazed at the totally different me. My mum is really pleased to see it working for me as she was worried I would have a heart attack.

"I feel I have another life now. Sometimes when you are battling weight, you get to the point where it feels life is drawing close to the end. I could not consider going on holiday before as just walking down the street was exhausting – I've just had a walking holiday in Barcelona!

"We are getting there." Kay has been offering clients Gastric Hypno Band therapy since July last year. The five-week treatment also includes counselling and therapy to tackle underlying reasons why people overeat so they can keep the weight off. For example, some people overeat because they have grown up with their mother telling them to eat all their dinner, while others have experienced no love in their life and literally need to fill the sense of emptiness, said Kay.

She also runs a programme called Eat Like a Gourmet, which she says appeals to men especially because they want to eat what they would consider a normal amount. "If you concentrate and really love every single bit of food you have, what that means is it helps you tune in with what's happening in your body and then you can become aware of being full," she said.

Source: Braintree & Witham Times