Mum 'tricked' into thinking she'd had gastric band fitted loses 70lbs

Daily Mirror

29-05-2025

Laura Bell lost five stone in a year without any surgery, jabs or fad diets
A mum shed five stone after being 'tricked' into thinking she had had gastric band surgery. Laura Bell dropped from a dress size 22 to a 14 without surgery or fad diets.
The 42-year-old, from Hertfordshire, spent years yo-yo-dieting and even considering going under the knife. Before committing to gastric band surgery, the mum-of-three decided to try hypnosis instead after a chance encounter with a hypnotherapy teacher.
‌
The therapy was a major success – seeing her go from 18.5st to 13.5st in a year. 'I was actually thinking about having a gastric band and surgery," Laura said. "I thought, before having the gastric band, I'll try hypnosis.'
‌
Gastric band hypnosis is a therapy that uses guided relaxation and visualisation to make someone's mind believe they've actually had a gastric band fitted. It aims to help people feel full with smaller portions and change their eating habits.
The four gastric band hypnosis sessions, which cost around £500, were spread over a week – and Laura says she saw immediate results. Each face-to-face session included deep relaxation, calming music and vivid visualisations – including the sounds and smells of the hospital.
‌
Laura explained: 'When you're doing the suggestions during the gastric band one, you envision you having the actual surgery. The smell of Dettol to help you visualise being in hospital.'
During the hypnosis, new suggestions were planted – like only eating until full and ditching snacks and alcohol. Laura added: 'When you're in the space between falling asleep – the bit where someone can plant new suggestions in your mind – such as you're going to drink more water, you're only going to eat until you're full, not use your tummy as a waste bin.
'When you wake up, your brain automatically believes that.'
‌
After just one session, Laura found herself reaching for soup instead of pizza at lunch. The mum says the technique left her only wanting small food portions and her cravings completely disappeared.
She said: 'We went for lunch and I went for the soup and not a pizza. I didn't want anything more. I'm not even thinking about crisps, cake or chocolate. I'm not interested.
‌
'I've stopped drinking alcohol for the last year or so – it's empty calories. If I'm not having any of the other stuff, why would I have alcohol?'
Laura now goes to the gym three to four times a week and says her energy has soared. She said: 'I feel like I've had a glow-up, my energy is so much better, and what I'm able to do with the children is so much better.'
But she still listens to monthly recordings from her hypnosis sessions to keep her mindset topped up. She said: 'I listen to them mainly once a month just to keep me topped up. Once the gastric band is done, then that is done.'
‌
Laura discovered the programme through a client as part of her work in strategy for small businesses. The hypnotherapy teacher invited her to join a workshop as part of her own self-care. Inspired by her own experience, Laura went on to become a qualified clinical hypnotherapist herself.
She now runs her own business helping others change their relationship with food. Laura said: 'I was at a pretty bad place when I started my hypnosis journey. I thought, enough was enough. I was going into my 40s, I was a mum of three co-parenting.
‌
'I needed to do something that worked once and for all. I always yo-yoed with weight. I wanted to do something that would change my relationship with food forever where I could do it on autopilot and wasn't following a routine or anything.'
Now Laura believes she's finally cracked it. She said: 'The hypnosis undoes all the things you've been told through tradition and society. It means when you are losing weight, you're doing it on autopilot, you're not even thinking about it.
'I've had a similar experience to if I'd had the actual gastric sleeve. I only eat when I'm hungry. I only have small portions and that was immediate – straight after I had my first session.
'I've forgotten my body shape has changed. I still buy the wrong size clothes or look at things and think there's no way I'm going to fit into them – but I do. It's been life-changing, to say the least.'