Ask someone who overeats why they do it and they rarely say hunger. Usually they knew they had had enough. The trouble is that a second voice keeps talking after the body has gone quiet, and it usually says the same thing: a bit more will feel better.
In my clinic I find it helps to stop treating that voice as a character flaw. It is a habit of mind, and it has a logic of its own. Once you can see the logic, you can start to argue with it.
More is not the same as better
There is a simple idea running through several of my sessions: wanting more than you need is a habit of mind, not a hunger. I do not mean that as an insult. Everyone has a part that reaches for extra, and with food on every corner that part gets a lot of practice.
The odd thing is that the extra rarely adds pleasure. The first few mouthfuls of a meal you love are the best ones. After that, the taste fades and you are eating on momentum. Gratification is the quick hit of having something. Pleasure is the slower, fuller feeling of enjoying it. Overeating trades the second for the first.
The opposite of greed, as I see it, is discernment: choosing the best of something rather than the most of it. A person with discernment still loves food. They simply refuse to waste their appetite on food they are not really enjoying.
Seen this way, eating less is not a punishment. It is a way of getting more enjoyment out of the food you do eat.
Hearing the voice for what it is
Compulsive eating often comes with a running commentary. It might sound like ‘you deserve it’, ‘it will go to waste’ or ‘one more will not matter’. These thoughts feel like your own because they arrive in your own voice.
In hypnosis I sometimes invite that part forward so the listener can hear what it actually wants. Often it wants comfort, reward or a break, and food has simply been the fastest route. When you know what it is after, you can offer it something else, or agree on when it gets a say.
It also helps to notice when the voice is loudest. For many people it is late in the evening, when they are tired, or in front of a screen. Attention drifts, and eating carries on without anyone really deciding. Bringing a little attention back is often enough to give you a choice again.
Something to try at your next meal
Before you start, decide roughly what enough looks like on the plate. Then, about halfway through, put your cutlery down for a few breaths and ask one question: am I still tasting this?
If the answer is yes, carry on and enjoy it. If the answer is no, notice what is pushing you to continue. You do not have to stop. The aim is only to catch the moment where pleasure turns into habit.
Some people like to repeat this for several meals in a row. Each time, the moment of choice becomes a little easier to spot.
- Decide on enough before you start
- Pause halfway with your cutlery down
- Ask whether you can still taste it
- Notice the thought that says keep going
Episodes to listen to
These four sessions all work with the part of you that wants more, each from a slightly different angle. Start with the one whose idea sounds most like you.
Quietening The Inner Voice of Compulsive Eating
This session starts with a daydream on a long run, then brings forward the part of you that wants food whether you are hungry or not. You negotiate with it rather than fight it, agreeing on when it is allowed a say. The idea is that urges you stop feeding tend to fade.
Good if your overeating comes with a chatty inner voice.
The Greedy Pig Protocol: Hypnosis to Eat Less
I built this one around a blunt idea: taking more than you need tends to spoil the food you love. The session contrasts two pictures of yourself, one that grabs and one that chooses with care, then rehearses that choice at home and when eating out.
Good if you respond well to a bold, memorable image.
Hypnosis to Stop Overeating
After a slow body relaxation, this session uses a three plates idea to show that the value of a meal comes from the attention you give it, not the amount. You practise eating slowly and leaving a little behind, and treat that as a quiet win over an old rule.
Good if you always feel you have to clear your plate.
Hypnosis to Destroy the Desire to Snack
Set during an imagined dive in warm, clear water, this session gives you a simple test. If you are still empty after eating, your body wants proper nourishment, and if you want more when already full, that is habit talking rather than hunger. It then rehearses enjoying meals out and celebrations without guilt.
Good if you tend to graze between meals.
Common questions
Why do I keep eating when I am full?
Often it is habit, emotion or the belief that more will feel better, rather than hunger. The signals from your stomach are quieter than the pull of a tasty plate, so it helps to slow down and check in partway through. Many people find the urge eases once they can name it.
Can hypnosis help with overeating?
Hypnosis can help you work with the habits, feelings and attention that sit behind overeating. It is not a medical treatment and it does not replace advice from your GP or a dietitian. The aim is to make calmer choices feel more natural.
Is overeating the same as binge eating?
Not always. Eating a bit too much at meals is very common and usually a habit. If you regularly eat large amounts while feeling out of control, or feel very distressed afterwards, please speak to your GP, as that may need different support.
Please read
Hypnosis works with habits, feelings and attention. It is not medical treatment and does not replace your GP. If you have, or think you may have, an eating disorder, or you are pregnant, diabetic or taking weight-loss medicine, please speak to your GP first. Beat, the UK eating disorder charity, is on 0808 801 0677. The podcast sessions are for adults: listen somewhere comfortable, never while driving. If overeating feels like more than a habit, for example if you feel out of control around food or very distressed afterwards, the right first step is your GP or Beat, the UK eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677.
Where to go from here
Listen on The Hypnotist Podcast
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