Chocolate bar casts a stronger spell than weight loss app

Believe in Weight Loss with Hypnosis with Benjamin P. Bonetti US$3.99 Rating 5/10

The first app I downloaded for weight loss through hypnosis was the free Ultimate Weight Loss Lite.

The approach was to talk to my subconscious, telling me to picture piles of disgusting fatty foods and imagine myself throwing up after eating them. You'd think this would put me off my mid-afternoon chocolate bar, but no. It seems my subconscious is OK with picturing a disgusting pile of fat, and eating it.

As I have been successfully treated by a real hypnotist for a fear of heights, I put this failure down to the quality of the app and decided to try what I hoped would be a more effective treatment.

I chose Benjamin P. Bonetti, who has a voice you'd expect of a hypnotist - mellow and ... chocolatey. After the induction, where the hypnotherapist gets you to relax 'deeper and deeper', Bonetti tells your subconscious: 'You'll stop eating as soon as you feel satisfied, and before you are full.' It continues with imagery of yourself in a garden, then on a swing: 'Imagine yourself on a swing at the perfect weight and size and that as you swing higher ... I want your metabolism to adjust to the perfect level.'

On the first two days using the Bonetti app, I could manage without my chocolate bar. On day three I took the session before going to bed as recommended, but I fell asleep and things unravelled from there. The chocolate bar was back on the menu, and because the session takes half an hour, I found it hard to fit another session in. Unlike a real hypnotherapy session, in which you may only need two treatments, Bonetti recommends you use the app every day for three weeks!