Despite the popularity of the Atkins Diet, it is often greatly misunderstood! Popular, if slightly exaggerated depictions of the program portray dieters eating nothing but huge portions of meat and fat. Although the diet is not quite that simple, many dieters following the program have successfully lost weight and improved their health.

On this plan, dieters follow a highly specific program based on restricted carbohydrate intake. Emphasis is placed on the nutritional aspects of the diet over exercise and other factors, although exercise is encouraged. There are four stages to the Atkins program:

Induction: During this two-week phase at the beginning of the diet program, dieters can only consume up to 20 grams of carbohydrates each day. Dieters can consume high protein foods such as meat and eggs, fats such as oils and butter, and other foods with little to no carbs. Many foods with carbohydrates are not allowed at all during this phase, including alcoholic drinks.

This early phase is intended to help the body go from burning carbohydrates for energy, as it usually does, into burning stored fat (a process known as ketosis). Most dieters begin to lose pounds during this phase.

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

Pre-maintenance: Dieters use this stage to find out the maximum amount of carbohydrates they can ingest without experiencing weight gain. During this stage, dieters increase carbohydrate intake by 10 grams a week. Once dieters reach their target weight and can maintain it for a month, they move into the Lifetime Maintenance phase.

Lifetime Maintenance: For lasting results, the Atkins program is designed to be maintained throughout the dieter's life. Using the techniques that helped the dieter reach their goal weight, the dieter maintains an eating and exercise program to stay at their target weight. Individuals can revert to previous stages if they ever begin to regain weight.

Dieters who can stay on the Atkins diet are often successful in losing weight; unfortunately, many people are unable to maintain the program and end up quitting early on in the difficult induction phase. In general, most diets fail 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, can't control their appetites, or simply do not feel motivated to lose weight. Getting over 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 sad or angry. 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 again.

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

For example, if you tend to overeat when you get bored, hypnosis can disassociate boredom from eating in your unconscious mind. Hypnosis techniques can then be used to replace the compulsion to overeat with another activity, such as exercising. That way, the next time you experience boredom, instead of overeating, you will feel motivated to exercise, resulting in natural weight loss.

tool as well, helping us cope with our stressful emotions and relieve tension without eating. As a relaxation tool, it calms the mind, helps you use new strategies to manage stress, and boosts your .

Hypnosis can also be used to end the emotional stressors that keep you from losing weight.  Many overweight people hide behind their weight for emotional protection. For example, after a painful end to a relationship, people often find themselves becoming overweight so they can avoid new relationships and avoid having to endure 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 emotions. 

Not only is hypnotherapy an ideal motivation tool, it relieves tension, eliminates the conditioned responses that cause overeating, and can help you overcome the mental obstacles that prevent weight loss. Hypnotherapy for weight loss is tremendously effective at helping people stay on a diet plan, such as the , and naturally lose weight.