Adopt a Skinny Thinking Routine to Help Your Weight Loss

I recently re-joined my local Slimming World class to help me shift the extra pounds that crept on last year. Aside from the weight loss goal there is another reason for going back to group and that’s the social aspect. I love the camaraderie at the meetings, and the support at weigh in.

I spent a huge portion of 2016 climbing on my scales only to find that needle kept getting higher. I would then spiral into doom and gloom and end up attacking the biscuit tin. Why we choose to abuse ourselves by adding to the problem can probably be explained by using the techniques I wrote about in last week’s post – avoiding self-sabotage, which you can read HERE.

There have been plenty of articles and books written about the benefits and pitfalls of slimming groups. I fully believe that

Taking Small Steps Towards Better Health #ThursdayThoughts

If you follow my blog, then you’ll be aware that I’ve struggled with my health over the past couple of years. I remain undiagnosed and, unfortunately, I still suffer from symptoms and pain.
It’s safe to say that I sulked – for a long time – and still have bouts of the blues over this issue, however, as September arrived, I was filled with an overwhelming desire to feel better – even if it was just a little bit.

As you all know, I do love a challenge and what better way to push myself than to sign up for the 90 Day Shape Shift Sustain plan (yes, 90 DAYS!!) developed by the hottie, Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach.

Make Time For What Matters - Now!

Everyone knows how much I love writing lists and goal setting, and it’s commonly known that I enjoy a good New Year resolution or two. The New Year is a great time to work on new beginnings and fresh starts. However, you don’t need to wait until January 1^st to make relevant changes to your lifestyle, career, health, or wellbeing.

September, for me, is the perfect month to embrace those new adventures, start a new academic course either online or at night school, or begin a health regime that will keep you mentally and physically fit during the winter. It’s a month of crisp weather, the promise of home grown apples and blackberries, and let’s not forget the oodles of back to school stationery just waiting to be purchased.

For years I put off getting started, not just with my writing projects, but with my health, and wellbeing. I would grumble about my muffin top and back fat but then demolish a cream bun at the local coffee shop. I would tell myself that ‘this year’ was when I’d finally write that book. Year after year I did this until finally, something clicked – I was only letting myself down.

How to Use One Month to Make Small Changes That Last.

If you’ve just experienced that horrific realisation that you go on holiday in a month and are having those ‘where is the svelte figure I promised myself’ thoughts then panic not.

There’s still time to turn your bad habits around and install a better mind-set so that you can enjoy your holiday and return with a clear focus for the remainder of the year.

Here’s how:

Days 1 – 6

Turn to your trusty journal and note everything down. Write down all the times you reach for the biscuit tin, or smuggle a Mars bar under your t-shirt so the kids don’t spot it. While you’re at it, jot down how you were feeling at the time (angry, upset, etc.) and the time of day. By doing this, it helps to give you an insight into your activities and the behaviour associated with each act/habit.

Project You! Self-Love Starts On The Inside

Project You!

Week 4: Self-love starts on the inside.

Last week we looked at abandoning our to-do list, you can read that post HERE.

Today, I want to talk about self-love. It’s a phrase that many of us struggle with and one that I’ve pondered over many times. Last year I joined a slimming group in the hope of shedding the two stone in weight that crept on during the initial months of my ill health. I thought that by losing the weight, I would start to feel better about myself.

Losing weight and feeling fitter and healthier, slimmer and more energetic is a worthy goal but it doesn’t change the essence of who we are. I look in the mirror and still see the dark circles under my eyes, the stretch marks and ‘laughter lines.' Losing weight won’t change that. I just need to embrace everything as a whole – inside and out.

Project You! Abandon the To-Do List

Project You!

Week 3: Avoid Goal Setting and Abandon the To-Do List

Last week we looked at how to stop feeling guilty, you can read that post HERE.

Today, I want to talk about NOT setting goals. Don’t adjust your monitor; I did just suggest that you avoid goal setting – me, the queen of resolutions!

Over the past year, I’ve had to abandon some challenges due to my health; it was upsetting and unnerving as I saw this as a ‘failure.' As the year rolled by, I began to understand the importance of living without a purpose.

My to-do list was, and still is but in a much smaller scale, a great comfort to me. I love a schedule and a deadline, and I find it helpful to run the household events/tasks using a paper diary and calendar.

However, how often have you looked at your to-do list and felt defeated? Not because you haven’t managed to tick off all the tasks but because you find those particular duties hold no meaning. It’s just ‘stuff to do’ instead of activities that drive your real goals forward.

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago, my life changed direction. I was fighting with a health issue that not only depleted my energy but caused me pain, anguish, and fear.  To this day, I remain undiagnosed, left with the doctor’s parting remark, ‘we’ll probably never know what it is or why it happened.’ I translated this to mean ‘just get on with it.’

So I did! I chose to take control of my life and health - it was the hardest decision to make but in hindsight, it was the right one. After seven years of hard work, I closed Body & Soul Holistics, my holistic health spa. A small business that had evolved and flourished until I had an eight-month waiting list for ladies wanting treatments.

My clients were incredible and supported my decision, having watched my health deteriorate before their eyes. They were also wise and intuitive about where my life would take me.

Positive Thinking Series - Are you a victim or a survivor?

Over the past six weeks, I’ve shared my Positive Thinking Series.  Last week we talked about how failure was a good thing, you can read that post HERE. 

In the final post of this series, I want to discuss ways of moving forward and not letting your past hold you back.

We’ve all experienced a setback or two in our lives.  Sometimes they are small inconveniences, and other times they are life altering situations.  How you react to these events frames the way your future self copes with other circumstances.

Have you ever listened to someone as they grumble about a physical ailment, knowing that you, or a friend, suffer from the same problem?  We all learn to cope with our setbacks in different ways. However, some people are unable to do this and live a ‘victims’ life instead.  Which would you rather be, a victim or a survivor?

Positive Thinking Series - Taking it one step at a time

When I started this blog, it was to record the weekly activities of my yearlong challenge.  Fifty two challenges in fact; from weight loss to de-cluttering, and zip wires to novel writing competitions. 

 

Setting such a challenge would make anyone feel overwhelmed, I know I was!  Coping with any change in our life can also feel overpowering, such as quitting smoking, losing weight, redundancy or health issues. They all set up a mammoth task that can feel like it’s too much to handle.

To enable me to succeed in my fifty two challenges, I had to break this huge goal into small chunks.  I took it one month at a time.  January was all about weight loss.  In February, I concentrated on fitness.  March was a creative month, and so on.  Adopting this principle helped me see my goal as more achievable.

Visualisation techniques for a happy life

Way back in the depths of winter I decided to cheer myself up by pre-booking a summer holiday.  It gave me something to look forward to when the weather was grey, and my mood was even darker. 

As I chomped my way through the mince pies and turkey leftovers, I believed that the extra weight I was carrying would be a distant memory by the time my holiday arrived.  Fast forward seven months and my stomach still wobbles when I walk, my boobs get in the way when I bend over to tie my shoelaces and don’t get me started on bat wings!

There is a personal development tool that I should have used to motivate myself toward that bikini fit body.  A technique that can show you what your hopes and wishes will look like, and guide you to make the right choices to manifest them.  That technique is Vision Boarding.

I’ve written about vision boards before as they are one of my favourite personal development tools.  I love the simplicity and the creativity. 

Why We All Need A Cheerleading Squad

As an outgoing and fairly confident woman, I have recently found myself hiding away and sulking – yes, sulking – over a health issue that has taken me by surprise.  I thought only kids had the sulky genes but apparently not.  It appears that I can sulk with the best of them. 

Any health problem can cause anxiety to arise.  Even a common cold will make everything you do seem that much harder. When your body begins to tell you to slow down, you need to listen – I didn’t. 

I have always taken on any task, challenge and goal with enthusiasm, but I’ve also taken them on alone.  It’s a trait that gets me into trouble with my friends and family, as they are so eager to help, and yet we all do it.  Asking for help can sometimes be harder than the actual challenge itself.  Why is that?

Helping Yourself To Heal

A couple of weeks ago I shared a post about Numerology and Lucky Charms; you can read that here http://myresolutionchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/looking-at-numerology-and-lucky-charms.html

I am a great believer in reading the signs around you.  Of course, this may be my inner writer looking for a new story arc, either way we are sent messages on a regular basis.  It’s up to us to tune in and hear them or carry on regardless.

When I host my vision board workshops, I help students tap into those messages to create a vision of how they would like their life to be.  If you are interested in learning more about Vision Boards you can read about them here http://myresolutionchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a-new-vision-for-new-year.html

At the start of each year, I prepare a board for all the exciting things I want to achieve, be, have or work on during the next twelve months.  I’ve done this for years, and I continue to be astounded at how varied my boards are from year to year. 

Could You Do The Water Challenge?

During a normal working day I say 'drink more water' a hundred times over.  As a reflexologist it is plainly evident when a client is suffering from dehydration, however, many people are still unaware of just how beneficial drinking water can be.

I remember reading an article in the Daily Mail back in 2013.  Sarah Smith, a 42 year old mother, had taken on a challenge to increase her water intake for four weeks and written up her findings.  The article was eye-opening - you can read it here.

The before and after photographs were what initially attracted me to the article, I had to check she hadn't been photo shopped! I was intrigued to discover how she had succeeded.