Quoted by Release Wire: "Philip Winston, clinical hypnotherapist in Oxford has developed a very effective protocol called H.A.P. (Hypno- Aromacology Programming) to create a virtual gastric band that is food specific. Winston says, "It is a lifestyle change that ends the need for dieting forever”.
Winston further explains that “A lot of weight gain problems come from over eating seemingly innocent snack foods such as: cakes, chocolate, bread, sugar, starches of all kinds, chips, chocolate, cheese and dairy. These are higher in calories than you might expect. Just a little snack, and the calories soon add up."
Winston is also an Aromacologist. He studies the psychological effects of smell. He observed that if you eat food in a place that has nice aromas you will enjoy and eat more food, and in places that have unpleasant smells you lose your appetite, an obvious and simple conclusion. However, when examining this more closely he realised that smell has a way of changing taste, and therefore the appeal of what you are eating. Taste in fact is 80% smell, and salt, sour, and sweet are the only flavours that we actually taste in our mouth.
Smell directly links to our brain. This is called the Limbic system. It influences many important functions: our memories, desires, hunger, thirst, artistic abilities, emotion, and even our sexual desires. For example, you may have recalled a memory of a person associated with a particular scent, perhaps their favourite perfume or aftershave. Or an aroma of a certain food that makes you salivate with expectation. Supermarkets in the USA have used the smell of baking bread, or fresh ground coffee to induce shoppers to stay longer and spend more.
Philip Winston’s development of the H.A.P (Hypno-Aromacology Programming) Protocol integrates the elements of taste change through smell and effectively links it to the client's subconscious through the use of Hypnotherapy. After first speaking with the client to identify the foods that cause them to gain weight, Winston formulates a special fragrance from natural essential oils, and has the client smell it under hypnosis, while at the same time eating one of their agreed upon problem foods. The combination of smelling the special fragrance and eating at the same time changes the taste of the food.
This new association with the less pleasant taste is remembered by the client and this protocol is repeated with several different selected problem food items. It does not take too long before the client is making better food choices in their everyday diet and avoiding their problem foods. Even chocolate which is quite difficult for most people to moderate can be controlled. As a result the new diet replaces the old habits and desires, and the new food selections are balanced to take account of the client’s best food selections that keep them trim."