New way to lose weight: Think thin

Thinking that you're thin might actually make you lose weight!Hypnotism can help you shed those extra pounds.

According to the Daily Mail, in a successful clinic in Spain, hypnotherapists Martin and Marion Shirran are using a combination of hypnotism and an educational program to help patients lose weight without having an operation.

The Shirrans, in their new book, 'Shirrans' Solution: The Gastric Mind Band,' describe the technique they say convinces users their tummies have shrunk - and that they must eat less, reports the New York Daily News.

The program called 'gastric mind band,' uses hypnotherapy to put their patients through the process of getting a virtual gastric band - right down to the hospital sound effects and smells.

Apparently, the point is to make patients think and feel like they've actually had the banding surgery. In a gastric band surgery, the banded stomach is reduced to the point where the most the patient can consume per meal is about six tablespoons of food, compared to a typical meal that would measure the size of two clenched fists.

The Shirrans expand upon the ideas they say have helped their clients.