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The Atkins Diet is a very popular "low-carb" weight loss plan, but it is often greatly misrepresented! Popular, but slightly exaggerated depictions of the diet portray dieters devouring nothing but vast amounts of meat and fat. Although the diet is not quite that simple, many people following the plan have successfully lost weight and improved their health.

On this plan, dieters follow a very specific program based on restricted carbohydrate intake. The nutritional aspects of the plan are emphasized over exercise and other factors, although exercise is encouraged. There are 4 phases to the Atkins program:

Induction: For the duration of this two-week phase at the beginning of the diet program, dieters can only have up to 20 grams of carbohydrates each day. Dieters can eat high protein foods such as meat and poultry, fats such as butter and oils, and other food with little to no carbohydrate content. Many foods containing carbohydrates are not allowed at all, including alcoholic beverages.

This initial phase is supposed to help the body switch from burning carbohydrates for energy, as it usually does, into burning stored up fat (a process called ketosis). Most dieters begin to lose pounds during this phase.

Ongoing Weight Loss: During the Ongoing Weight Loss phase, dieters gradually increase their intake of carbs by adding 5 grams of carbohydrates into their diet every week. Dieters fine-tune their diet, continuing their weight loss to put themselves within 5-10 pounds of their goal weight, before moving into the Pre-maintenance period.

Pre-maintenance: Dieters use this phase to find out the maximum amount of carbohydrates they can consume without experiencing weight gain. During this stage, dieters add 10 grams of carbohydrates to their diet each week. Once dieters reach their target weight and can keep it stable for one month, they move into the Lifetime Maintenance phase.

Lifetime Maintenance: For lasting results, the Atkins program is supposed to be maintained throughout the dieter's life. Using the techniques that helped the dieter reach their goal weight, the dieter develops an eating and exercise plan to stay at their goal weight. Individuals can revert to previous stages if their weight starts to rise again.

Dieters who can stay on the Atkins diet are typically successful in losing weight; unfortunately, many people cannot keep up with the program and end up quitting early on in the induction phase. In general, most diet plans fail simply because dieters cannot stay committed to the plan.

Many people struggle to stay on diets because they experience strong food cravings, have problems with compulsive overeating, cannot control their appetites, or simply don't feel the motivation to lose weight. Overcoming these mental obstacles is the hardest part of losing weight.

One reason why many people cannot seem to control their eating is because they are emotional eaters. Such people eat in response to their feelings, such as when they are bored or upset. However, this eating style programs a "conditioned response" into the unconscious mind. This means that when individuals experience the same feelings that made them overeat initially, they will feel compelled to overeat once again.

Hypnotherapy works by helping our unconscious minds disassociate our eating habits from our emotions. To eliminate the conditioned response to overeat, a hypnotherapy weight loss program is used to break the association in the unconscious mind between overeating and certain "trigger" situations.

For example, if you tend to overeat when you feel bored, hypnosis can disassociate boredom from eating in your unconscious mind. Hypnosis can then be used to replace the overeating response with another activity, such as exercising. That way, the next time you suffer from boredom, instead of overeating, you will feel motivated to engage in physical activity.

Hypnosis is a powerful tool for stress relief as well, helping us deal with our stressful feelings and relieve tension without eating. As a relaxation tool, it calms the mind, helps you develop strategies to cope with stress, and boosts your confidence to promote natural weight loss.

Hypnosis can also be used to remove the emotional anxieties that keep you from losing weight. Many overweight people use their weight for emotional protection. For example, after ending a relationship, people often find themselves becoming overweight so they can avoid new relationships and avoid experiencing emotional pain again. Through hypnosis, we can turn our negative thoughts into positive ones and focus on having better health instead of becoming overwhelmed by our thoughts.

Not only is hypnosis an ideal motivation tool, it relieves stress, eliminates the conditioned responses that trigger overeating, and can be used to overcome many mental obstacles that prevent weight loss. Hypnotherapy for weight loss is enormously effective at helping people stick to a diet plan, such as the Atkins program, and lose weight.