“I’m trying to lose weight, so what foods I should avoid?”

It’s a good question.

When I’m out and about, and people discover I help women lose weight through hypnotherapy, it’s one of the first questions they ask.

Frequently, the asker is hoping for a list of instructions of the Stay Away From Sugar or Never Let Bread Pass Your Lips variety. Or some such ‘secret’ tip.

My answer is simple.

So simple it’s often overlooked.

And it’s never what the asker expects.

Ultimately, I believe What Not To Eat Lists are unhelpful, at best, and at worst, they actually set you up for weight loss failure.

Why?

Because the repressed becomes the obsessed

Intuitively you already know what I mean.

As soon as you declare certain foods “out of bounds”, you immediately start obsessing about the exact thing you said you were going to avoid.

Well, don’t you?!

It’s like, what’s repressed, becomes the obsessed.

You didn’t even fancy bacon, but now that you’ve decided it’s the enemy, all you want is bacon. Mmmmmm baaaacon…

True or true?!

So, my rule of thumb is to eat whatever foods you want.

There are no good or bad foods. There are simply some foods which are healthier, more nourishing and more alive than others.

But nothing is actually off the menu.

One recent client was scandalised at the idea of having no forbidden food list and still being able to lose weight. You see, she adored cookies and cream ice cream, and believed that if she was allowed to eat it, she would eat that to the exclusion of everything else.

She didn’t.

Sure, for the first meal after learning that nothing was off the menu, she had her ice cream. But she hasn’t touched it since. It’s been 12 weeks and she’s got control of her eating. All the former cookies n cream allure has evaporated, the craving’s gone.

Crave the healthier choice

The curious thing is this. Clients find when nothing is off the menu, instead of diving into all the previously forbidden sugary, salty or fatty treats, they find themselves seeking out fresher, direct-from-the-garden, healthier, lower processed foods.

When they really start listening to what their body’s want, they’re thrilled to find they actually crave the healthier version on the menu.

Yay.

You see losing weight is all about tuning in to your body’s natural hunger signals. We’re all born with the blue print to perfect health and our perfect weight. We just need to re-learn how to listen.

It’s simply a matter of tuning into what our body is telling us, and not what someone else says we should do (yes, I get the irony that I’m telling you what to do!).

Permanent, long term weight loss comes when you learn to listen to your own beautiful body.

Inflexible advice sucks

So, next time you’re tempted to lose weight with extreme food rules or low calorie diets, which we know never work in the long term, the question you need to ask yourself is:

1. “Is this something I can do for life?”

2. “Is it ease-ful, do-able and fun?”

BTW: In my experience anything that is easily do-able and F.U.N will get done. And you will lose weight, naturally.

So, rather than accepting someone else’s Forbidden Foods List, failing to stick to it, and then beating yourself up, I’d encourage you to listen to your tummy.

I dare you….

Love etc, Avril

PS: If you struggle with food cravings and you’ve had enough of everyone else’s food rules and want to learn to listen to your own tummy, maybe you’re ready for hypnotherapy. Why not drop me a line, and together let’s get you back in control of food and living in a body you love.

Even if you don’t think so, stick with me for second.

Do you frequently tell yourself…

“That’s it - this time I’m gonna lose the weight!!!”

Yet find yourself behaving in ways that conflict directly with what you say you want?

Perhaps you dream of participating in the local 10km walk for charity?

Or, maybe you just want to feel confident in your swimmers, but when push comes to shove, you find yourself repeating habits – the exact ones you swore you’d stop.

Unbearably frustrating, hey.

If this sounds like you, then it’s highly likely you’ve got a toxic belief lurking in your unconscious mind, which causes you to self-sabotage.

See, it doesn’t matter how much you say you want to be slim and healthy, if there’s an unhelpful belief lurking deep inside of you that equates being slim with some kind of pain you will NEVER allow yourself do what it takes to become the shape and size you want to be.

But you can change it.

Beware the power of an unrecognised belief

For most of us, our unconscious minds are uncharted territory. We don’t really know what goes on ‘in there’. It’s somehow ‘beneath the radar’.

Which, when you think about it is a wee bit careless of us, because the unconscious mind is an absolute powerhouse. It has the power to help you create the body of your dreams…or the power to sabotage your best efforts.

Safety first

Many people aren’t aware of this – but one of the roles of the unconscious mind is to protect you.

It wants to keep you safe n sound, and away from pain.

And, in its effort to keep you protected, it will do whatever it takes to keep you safe- no matter how illogical it might seem.

For example, earlier this week client shared how she was attacked while walking home from a friend’s sixteenth birthday party. At the time, she was a “slip of a thing”, unable to fend off her attackers. Somewhere, deep inside, she made a decision that being slim meant she was vulnerable.

Since the attack, the weight has steadily piled on.

Logically, she knows that being overweight doesn’t guarantee her free from attacks in the future.

But her unconscious mind, operating as it does beneath the radar, is keeping her overweight because it believes “being slim = being unsafe.”

You see, any time we feel unsafe, we trigger the Stress Response in our body. This means that our body floods with the hormone, cortisol, which causes us to comfort eat and encourages our body to lay down fat.

So, back to you darling….

What makes YOU feel unsafe?

Do you feel unsafe when you get interest – wanted or unwanted – from the opposite sex?

Did you skip the gym today because you “didn’t have time”, but deep down you know it’s because you’re afraid of what people might think of you?

Do you spends hours and hours procrastinating, having “just one more cuppa” because you’re afraid you might do ‘it’ wrong or less than perfectly?

Any time you feel unsafe, whether you feel unsafe specifically around being slimmer or you feel unsafe in the general way, cortisol will flood your body.

What’s your thing, darling?

If you’re not already at your happy weight, then there’s a good chance you’re harbouring a toxic belief about the safety of being slim.

The good news is, you can change all of this.

The most powerful and quickest way I know is hypnotherapy.

But if you’re reading this at home (or work) right now, there is something you can do.

You might want to think of it as the antidote to the stress response. I encourage you to employ it every time you feel afraid or unsafe.

Heads-up: it’s very ‘low tech’. I get that. All that matters is that it works.

How to trigger your Relaxation Response

Mentally remind yourself that you are safe. Right here, right now you are safe. And breathe. I did say it was low tech!

Just breathe, because nothing communicates to every cell of your body that you’re safe, more eloquently than your breath.

Most of us breathe incorrectly. Here’s how to do it properly.

1. Put your hand on your tummy and, as you breathe in, make your tummy push your hand out. Notice your chest and shoulders stay still.

2. Count to three as you inhale, and three again as you exhale.

3. Repeat 10 times. (Feel free to panic after your 10th breath…but you probably won’t because you’ll feel so chilled!)

Notice how you can actually feel a physical relaxation response kick in. The cortisol dissipates and you’re now in a safe mental space where you can lose weight.

Calm.
Serene.
Safe.

Love etc, Avril

PS: If you’re trapped in the cycle of saying one thing but doing another, hypnotherapy can help. Why not drop me a line? What if being your happy, healthy weight was only a phone call away….

For many years, doctors have warned us about the negative effects of coffee.

We’ve heard how it can encourage ulcers, heart disease and Osteoporosis.

We’ve also heard how it can be beneficial to our health. Plus, it tastes soooooo darn goooood.

So which is it — good or bad for you?

Celebration time…

If you’re a coffee lover, I’m about to make your day – because a number of recent studies indicate that coffee may not be the ‘devil’s drink’ after all.

In fact, it’s beginning to look like coffee— in moderation—may have a number of previously unrecognised health benefits.

Whoop whoop!

So put the kettle on and let’s jump into a quick summary of the benefits of your daily cuppa.

Type 2 Diabetes

A 2010 study has revealed that coffee consumption encourages a protective effect against type 2 diabetes.

Cancer: colon, liver + kidney

A Japanese study found those who drank a cup of coffee daily, had about half the risk of liver cancer, than people who never drank it. Reduced rates of colon cancer in women and kidney cancer have also been linked to the anti-oxidant-packed little bean.

Stroke

A 2011 study found that women who drank more than one cup of coffee per day had about a 25% lower risk of stroke than women who didn’t drink any.

Parkinson’s

Coffee significantly cuts your risk of Parkinson’s disease. In fact, coffee is so preventative against Parkinson’s that drug companies are designing experimental drugs that mimic coffee’s benefits.

Gastrointestinal Flora

A study in 2009 showed coffee produced an increase in the metabolic activity and numbers of Bifidobacterium. These are the ‘good guys’ in bacteria world. Typically, the closer you are to your healthy weight, the more of these guys you have in your tummy, and if you’re overweight, chances are, you have very few of these good guys in yours.

Alzheimer’s

A 2011 study revealed that coffee protects you from Alzheimer’s disease.

Good or good?!

As in all things, moderation is the key. If you already drink a cup of coffee each day, these studies indicate you should keep doing what you’re doing.

However, if you frequently find yourself starring at the rafters every night, feeling anxious or irritable and you’re drinking, say, four to seven cups of coffee a day — you might want to moderate your daily dose.

As always, thanks for reading. I’m off to put the kettle on…

Love etc, Avril

PS: We all have our little habits – some support good health, some, not so much. If you know you’ve got some habits that are keeping you unhealthy, hypnotherapy can help. Together, let’s get you to the shape and size you choose to be. C’mon over – let’s chat