A mother of two has dropped three dress sizes in five months after being hypnotised into believing she had a gastric band.
Nasireen Chaudhary, who weighed nearly 12st and was a size 16-18, had the ‘hypnoband’ fitted by Sara Ellis, a Harley Street hypnotherapist.
The 38-year-old hairdresser from North London said she was styling Miss Ellis’s hair when she mentioned that she was considering having an operation to restrict her food intake but could not afford the £5,000 fee.
I said to Sara: “I wish you could hypnotise me into thinking I’ve got a gastric band around my stomach,” and she replied: “I think I could.”
‘I had the first session in a quiet room in the salon that day but I am quite a cynical person, so I wasn’t convinced it would work. I even went out for dinner with a friend that night. I felt fine and thought, “Oh, it hasn’t worked”.
‘But the next morning I felt sick. I rang Sara and she told me that if I had a gastric band that’s exactly how I would feel.’
Mrs Chaudhary now weighs 9st and is able to fit into her old size ten jeans – the first time in more than a decade.
Miss Ellis, who has used the technique on more than 200 people, said: ‘I place a common rubber band on a client’s stomach. Afterwards they will feel like their stomach is smaller and will feel uncomfortable if they overeat. If the person is open to it, it will work.’
Nasireen began to put weight on after the birth of her two children, Daughter Amirah, 13, and son Shakur, 10.
‘During the day at work I’d eat lots of sweets and biscuits, and snack on pizza,’ she said.
‘Then when I got home I’d make dinner for the children, but I’d make too much so they’d leave some and then I’d finish their food off too.
‘I also wasn’t getting enough exercise.’
Though desperate to lose weight, she couldn’t afford the £5,000 needed for a gastric band operation.
The hairdresser, who is just 5ft 2ins, was once a size 16-18 and covered her body up in saris, but now loves showing off her perfect 10 figure.
In the past five months, she has kept to her smaller portion sizes and says she no longer craves sugary foods.
If she ever overeats, Mrs Chaudhary feels sick and is forced to stick to a healthy diet.
Hypnotist Sara said: ‘I guide the client through a simple procedure of placing a common rubber band on their stomach.
‘Afterwards they will feel like their stomach is smaller, and feel uncomfortable if they overeat, just as if they’d had a gastric band fitted.’
She added the process is down to positive thinking, saying: ‘If the person is open to it working and wants it, it will work, I have seen around two hundred people, and with massive success.’
‘It’s completely changed the way I look at food,’ Nasireen said.