KEN Wild enjoys his job as an HGV driver, but there is a downside.

Spending six days a week behind the wheel took its toll on his body. “My weight spiralled out of control,” he says, “It was so hard to keep it off.”

He made numerous attempts to lose weight, but that which he lost, he very soon put back on.

“Stopping smoking ten years before also did not help, as I was eating to combat the cravings,” he says. “My lifestyle was affected due to breathlessness on any exertion - I lacked energy.”

The weight gain - at his heaviest he was 20.5 stone - led Ken, 65, of Keighley, to suffer from low self-esteem.

“I really tried different ways to lose it, but when the novelty wore off the weight returned. It really got me down,” he says.

The turning point came when he spotted an advertisement in the Telegraph & Argus describing the benefits of a hypnotic gastric band.

“I was 18 stone at this point,” he says. “I had seen this advert of a number of occasions and was somewhat cynical about it. However, after much thought and consideration I dialled the number.”

Patricia Jackson was at the end of the line. Her Bingley-based Hypnotherapy Helps business addresses a wide range of issues including stopping smoking, phobias and weight loss. She uses various methods including past life regression and long distance phone therapy.

The expert hypnotherapist taps into the subconscious mind to change behaviour.

Ken, who has four children and six grandchildren with his wife Anne, was still sceptical when he sat down with Patricia.

“At my first session I continued to feel cynical about whether I could be hypnotized, however much to my amazement I sensed a feeling of tranquillity, a feeling that I have never experienced before.

“I was informed that I was not on a diet and it was more about controlled eating - choosing healthier alternatives and taking time eating food to help aid digestion. I found that I was at the beginning of new chapter and in turn this was the start of my weight loss journey.”

Says Patricia: “Ken really wanted to lose weight. His sedentary job was part of the problem - you can imagine the huge breakfasts they serve in transport cafes. The first thing I did was to associate some of the foods he had been eating with something he found distasteful.

“Using that technique, whenever that person sees food which in the past they could not resist, the subconscious mind associates it with food that they find disgusting. All my clients report back that since coming they have not touched biscuits, cakes, chocolate and crisps, or other foods they once found hard to resist.”

She adds: “I instruct people as to how to eat mindfully. If they have a biscuit they would have one instead of munching through the whole packet. A lot of people are programmed to eat everything on their plate - the subconscious mind is acting upon what they were told as children.

“My clients are not on a slimming diet, but a healthy eating diet. Nothing is prohibited, clients simply find themselves reaching for healthy options.”

People also feel full and satisfied after eating smaller portions.

After one session Ken felt different. “I was extremely relaxed, motivated and ready to combat my increasing weight,” he says.

“I was very surprised by how much the session helped me. I certainly don't think I would have continued to make the healthier choices I continue to make if it wasn't for this.”

In 14 weeks Ken lost two and a half stone and has not needed to return for further sessions.. “I am extremely pleased with myself and so are my family. Initially I was informed by Patricia that it is usual to return for another session a month after, however I continued to lose weight successfully and chose to carry on.”

He adds: “Patricia gets into your mind - we are programmed from an early age to eat what is in front of us or we don't get a pudding. Patricia alters the way we eat - once you are full you don't want to eat any more.

“You have to think of something that you don't like that really turns your stomach. It will taste like that and stop you feeling hungry.”

“I honestly believe that I wouldn't be where I am now without the support from Patricia and that of my family. I feel that my energy levels have increased and certainly my mood has lifted.”

Ken encouraged his son Carl - also a lorry driver - to have a session with Patricia. So far he has lost a stone.

Says Patricia: “The conscious mind is our logical mind and it can do five or six things at the same time. When someone thinks they have no willpower they are trying to use their conscious mind against the subconscious - where the emotions are stored - that can do three million things at once. If it was a tug of war the subconscious is always going to win.

“The only way to access the subconscious is through hypnosis.”

*To contact Hypnotherapy Helps T: 01275 510773 W: patriciajacksonhypnotherapyhelps.org