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The study found that patients may experience sensations similar to those after actual surgery, including reduced hunger, greater restraint, and renewed motivation.
By Shula Rosen
Researchers in Israel are reporting early results from an unusual approach to weight reduction that mimics the effects of bariatric surgery without anesthesia, incisions, or surgical tools.
The method places patients in a medically staged environment and leads them through a simulated procedure under hypnosis to trigger a psychological response that limits appetite and increases self-control.
The project, conducted at Hadassah Medical Center and led by certified hypnotherapist Maya Mizrahi, brings participants into an operating room prepared as if for gastric surgery.
Patients are given a briefing on what would normally occur during sleeve gastrectomy, then guided into hypnosis while connected to monitors.
Over roughly 50 minutes, Mizrahi describes each stage of the imaginary operation and the equipment involved.
According to the research team, the technique is based on the idea that the brain “doesn’t distinguish between reality and imagination,” a phrase Mizrahi repeated to explain that patients may experience sensations similar to those after actual surgery, including reduced hunger, greater restraint, and renewed motivation.
The study has not yet been published, but interim findings include 41 adults—some of whom had previously undergone bariatric procedures.
Most began losing weight within three months. Early data indicate that 86% of participants lost weight during that period; among those with a history of surgery, roughly two-thirds lost more than 20% of their body weight. Others who had never undergone an operation showed similar progress, Ynet reports.
Two participants described significant changes. A woman identified as “Rose,” who had regained weight years after bariatric surgery and struggled with the side effects of GLP-1 injections, said she feared requiring another operation.
After completing the hypnosis protocol and following a liquid-to-soft-food diet recommended by the team, she reported losing 37 pounds in three months. “I thought I wouldn’t manage,” she said, adding that avoiding pastries at cafés “is no longer difficult.”
Another participant, 45-year-old Yuval Wollhandler, said the experience felt convincing enough that he naturally adhered to the dietary restrictions typically required after real surgery. He reported losing 55 pounds in about five months and said several habits “remained even eight months later.”
Mizrahi said the aim is to help patients reconnect with their physical and emotional cues and break patterns of automatic eating. Final study results are expected later this year, and she hopes the approach may eventually be used alongside traditional treatments. Donate to vital charities that help protect Israeli citizens and inspire millions around the world to support Israel too! Now more than ever, Israel needs your help to fight and win the war -- including on the battlefield of public opinion. Antisemitism, anti-Israel bias and boycotts are out of control. Israel's enemies are inciting terror and violence against innocent Israelis and Jews around the world. Help us fight back!
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