Yes, in the short term they really can work. As long as you stick to all of that counting, measuring and weighing. The green days, the red days, the cabbage soup, the separation of carbs from protein, the 'meal replacement' sachets and bars can all be effective.
All of those devices will indeed help you to shed the pounds - in the short term.
But what happens when the diet is over or when you just cannot stand yet another day of discipline and denial?
Well, I'm sure you know the rest of the story. On go the pounds - and the fat - and you end up feeling even worse than before because now you can add guilt and failure to the mix.
But why is this and does it have to be this way?
Well, the reason why diets just don't work for very long is because they're based on the principle of denial. Yes, the logic appears to be sound - fewer calories equal fewer inches.
But the reasons you overeat have very little to do with logic.
They have everything to do with feelings and emotions. And feelings and emotions spring from the subconscious mind.
You see, you use the conscious mind to decide that you need to lose weight. So then you resolutely and courageously force yourself to eat less, to deny what you really feel like doing.
Yet it is the subconscious mind that produces the feelings which compel you to eat more.
And the truth is that permanent weight loss can only happen when the emotional cues and ties that compel you to overeat have been properly understood and processed.
Usually these triggers and cues emanate from that part of the mind we call the subconscious.
If it is to produce a real and lasting affect, any change process, including weight loss, must be undertaken with the inclusion and consent of this powerful part of the mind.
It's the subconscious mind that governs feelings of satisfaction and contentment. It's the subconscious that tells us when we've really had enough to eat - and this permits us to continue eating far beyond that.
And it's here that hypnosis can be of such tremendous value.
If you've had enough of on-again-off-again dieting, why not take the time to learn self-hypnosis and apply its principles to your own weight management programme.
Or you could find a good hypnotherapist who will work with you and your subconscious mind.
Hypnosis and hypnotherapy can empower you to eat in a more balanced, reasonable and natural manner - without the feelings of deprivation and denial that diets bring.
