Physically Inactive Weight Loss

Well, I hope the same too. It all started because the brain is what controls everything in the body, so if a person can gain control, whether consciously or unconsciously of the metabolism and the "state" the body gets to keep fat as store energy, that would be a huge benefit to those in bigger need of help.

To have an idea about what metabolism is, it is basically all the chemical processes that occur in the body. I'm going to use the wording of my book to express myself better. Metabolism is composed of two phases which are catabolism, the breakdown of complex chemicals substances into simpler components and anabolism, which is the building up of complex chemicals substances from smaller, simpler components. In other words, metabolism is an energy balancing between catabolic and anabolic reactions. The molecule that participates most often in energy exchanges in living cells is ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which couples energy-releasing catabolic reactions to energy-requiring anabolic reactions.

About 40% of the energy released in catabolism is used for cellular functions (including physical activities like working out); the rest is converted to heat, some of which helps maintain normal body temperatures. Excess heat is lost to the environment. Compared with machines, which typically convert only to only 10-20% of energy into work, the 40% efficiency of the body's metabolism is impressive. Still, the body has a continuous need to take in and process external sources of energy so that the cells can synthesize enough ATP to sustain life.

Since the brain is behind all of these, whether directly or indirectly by the use of endocrine system, that's where my curiosity comes into play about whether or not hypnosis could have an effect on speeding up the metabolism rate. Along with this thought, also comes the fact that when a person thinks is moving an extremity, the part of the brain that is related to that specific physical activity lights up in scans just as it does when the person is actually moving the extremity, and because we don't control the subconscious but we can influence it in different ways, hypnosis being one of them, it brought me to the main idea of this thread.

I think it is fascinating the possibility that this could be done.

By the way ShadowSoldier, although the thyroid is involved in certain metabolic process, it is not controlled by it.

LOL sorry I keep coming with more ideas. I was just thinking about the placebo effect where certain individuals (patients in this case) have experience recovery and even healed from certain diseases because how the brain basically tricks the body to do so unconsciously due to the believe they are given real medicine. This is also part of what the brain can do when being tricked.

Well, in a certain way there are a few factors that are intriguing. One of them is what I mentioned before about the placebo effect. Would those who say hypnosis worked for them to lose weight loss it because of the hypnosis or because of the placebo.

Also, hypnosis can be easy for some but extremely hard for others to achieve. Personally I tried it a couple of times with an audio CD for a regression from Brian L. Weiss, MD and as good as I know the guy is, all the successful experiences people have with him and his CDs, I was unable to get hypnotized. He actually explains that it might take several tries until it can happen for certain individuals.

The thing with hypnosis is, because it affects the subconscious, which is not the reasoning mind, we don't really have to think about something or even notice what's going on when the subconscious is working. An example is, when someone is learning how to drive, the person is paying 100% attention to the gas and brake pedals, the steering wheel, the mirrors, other cars, the speed, etc. While this is going on, this person will avoid and stop if possible any outside distraction like someone talking to them, cellphones, etc. Once that knowledge passes on to the subconscious, the person will be able to talk to someone and even use a cell phone (remember this can cause accidents lol) without affecting for the most part the driving because the subconscious is controlling all the factors about driving. Some people experience getting to a destination and trying to remember the last few minutes of the drive because their conscious mind was thinking about other stuff, yet they drove the car correctly. So if hypnosis affects the subconscious mind, you as an individual won't really be aware of the effect the therapy has on you, or so I believe.

How far can hypnosis go in regards of affecting internal functions of the body for this purpose, I have no idea, but like I said and it was mentioned by another user before, it can have an effect on those with eating disorders and diet/exercising will, encouraging them to make a change.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in this thread. Hopefully more people will join in and someone who either works in the field or close enough has any information about this.

The brain can't speed up your thyroid if it doesn't work, I was born with my thyroid not working and have been on medication since I was a baby, If it was possible for the brain to learn to speed it up itself at any point I wouldn't still have underactive thyroid 42yrs later! Things like this are part of the autonomic system that your body does autmatically without you having to think about it like your heart beating and organs working etc

I think hypnosis is meant to tap into your conscious thought processes such as your likes and dislikes to just try and get you to change them for example they might suggest you would feel sick if you smoked, if you were trying to stop smoking. This is a different part of the brain to the part which regulates hormones and is sometimes more open to external suggestion. some people 'go under' easier than others so hypnotists pick people who go under easiest for funniest results like when they get people to pretend they're a dog or that they've lost something or something daft.

Actually, the automatic actions and processes the body does is part of the subconscious part of the mind. Things like breathing, heart beat, etc. Everything in the body is controlled by the brain whether directly or indirectly. The thyroid glad is controlled by the pituitary gland located in the head, and the pituitary gland is controlled by the hypothalamus which is part of the brain.

Hypnosis taps into the subconscious not the conscious mind, but it does affect the conscious in some degree, meaning, the subconscious is also related to emotions, so if you feel anger, it is not your subconscious the one controlling your impulses and actions when throwing an object to the wall or hitting a table, that would be your conscious mind doing it as a way of expressing your emotion and releasing that anger.

In regards of your thyroid gland, which by the way I'm sorry to hear that, the brain speeding up internal processes like the metabolism wouldn't really be related to make the thyroid work or not. Now, that some people believe the brain/body has a way to heal itself through holistic practices, that would be a total different topic which is pretty delicate in my opinion and it is a matter of what people which to believe.