Archives 2013

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

Once upon a time, daydreaming was considered a lazy person’s pastime. It was frowned upon, considered a waste of time.

Who can’t recall that kid in class whom the teacher was constantly deriding for being “away with the fairies again?”

Turns out, that kid was a jump ahead of the rest of us, with research now confirming that daydreaming is a very, very constructive habit.

Permission granted to daydream

In a massive study, therapist Dan Jones studied entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, geniuses including Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da Vinci, and creative types like Beethoven and Walt Disney.

What he found, was that they all spent time vividly daydreaming their goals – as if they were already achieved – long before they physically achieved them.

Daydreaming (AKA visualising, guided imagery or fantasising) creates such a powerful state of mind that some sports psychologists claim one hour of daydreaming is worth seven hours of physical practice.

Now, perhaps that’s a tall claim, but it makes an important point – daydreaming is a very, very powerful tool.

And has lots of positive implications for weight loss.  Yay!

Why does it work?

The reason daydreaming is so effective is that your unconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between something that’s real or something that’s vividly imagined.

So, if you want to create a ‘new fitter, healthier, slimmer you,’ you can get there by vividly imagining it. (Of course, some action is required too – but daydreaming is perfect preparation).

Imagine the ‘new healthy, fit you’ – vividly –and your own brain will start taking you in that healthy direction.

After a while, you won’t be satisfied with where you were, so you’ll slowly but surely change your habits so there’s a match between the real and the imagined.

Imagine yourself slim…

All you need to do is close your eyes and ‘see’ yourself at your happy weight. Make the image as clear, bright and as detailed as possible. Add movement by turning it into a movie if that works for you. Cue a soundtrack if that gets you going.

Focus on all the good feelings you’re feeling. Notice what you’re telling yourself, maybe you’re high-fiving yourself, and notice what others are saying to you.

It’s your day dream so own it! You are the lead actor, the script writer and the director!

Take five minutes before you fall asleep and another five upon waking to daydream.

With practice, it’ll become automatic. As you go through your day – hanging out the washing or looking after the kids – you’ll notice yourself daydreaming of yourself, already at your happy weight.

For those who are really serious ….

You can always take it to another level by noticing what your happy-weight-self eats, and what her portion sizes look like. Notice how she deals with the additional attention she receives. Notice how the ‘new fit, healthy you’ deals with stressful situations and how she deals with her emotions. See how she interacts with other people, notice what she does for pleasure. How does she relax?

And, now that you’ve met your ‘future self’, you can re-visit her any time you have a challenge or a question. Ask your happy-weight-self anything you need to know, she’s always there with the answers. If you just ask.

Trouble shooting: Imaging the ‘wrong’ thing.

Some people say daydreaming “doesn’t work for me”. The fact is, all of us, every day, are day dreaming, whether we know it or not.

If you’re overweight, you are using the power of daydreaming but you’re in the habit of daydreaming the wrong picture! As in, you’re probably worrying about getting bigger and bigger and sure enough by focusing on that, that’s what you achieve.

Because remember, the unconscious mind cannot process a negative, so daydream the outcome you DO want.

Every day.

It’s simple, easy and oodles of fun.

Imagine just how your health and life would be different if you did this small thing every day. Just imagine…….

Daydream believer, love etc, Avril

Today, a little story for you…

Once upon a time three monks decided to meditate together.

They sat cross-legged beside the beautiful blue lake, closing their eyes in concentration.

Suddenly, the first monk stood up exclaiming, “Uh-oh, I forgot my mat”.

He stepped onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side.

On the monk’s return, the second monk jumped up saying, “Oops, I forgot to hang out my washing”.

He too, walked calmly across the water, and returned the same way.

The third monk, who had been watching the first two carefully, decided he too should test his abilities and rushed to the water’s edge to walk across the lake.

Promptly, he fell into the deep water.

Undeterred, he clambered out and tried again, only to sink once again into the cool depths.

Again and again he tried. Each time, he fell in over his head, getting more and more frustrated.

This went on for some time while the other two monks watched, vaguely amused.

After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said……

“Do you think we should tell him where the stepping stones are?”

Ouch!!!!

The third monk’s frustration

Now, if you’re struggling with your weight, perhaps you can identify with the frustrations of third monk.

Are you attempting – and failing – to lose weight?

Again and again …. and again?

Do you feel like you’re missing a vital piece of the jigsaw or some secret step that ‘naturally’ slim people seem to just know?

Since you’re reading this newsletter (on a non-diet-blog), you’re probably already beginning to realise that dieting is NOT the way to permanent weight loss. It’s a great way to torture and deprive yourself for a period, that’s it.

A wee bit different…

If you’re like many of my clients, you’re realising that to achieve your happy weight, you need a new approach. Perhaps, something radically different from your previous efforts.

Maybe you’re starting to realise that something needs to change – something inside of you…within your own mind.

Here’s the thing:

The struggle to lose weight is in your mind …….and… so is the solution.

It’s about harnessing the power of your mind so you can have the body you love.

It’s about building the muscles in your mind, then the muscles in your body.

Walking on water

Just as it’s easy to look like you’re walking on water when you know where the submerged stepping stones are, it’s easy to get to – and remain at – your happy weight, when your mindset is sorted.

When you know where the stepping stones are you get to escape Diet Hell in all its forms: the weight and food obsession, the low confidence, the self-sabotage.

So, how would you like to discover what those first two monks know? Why not learn where the stepping stones are so the number on the scales can take care of itself?

Love etc, Avril

PS: If you’ve had enough of treading water, why not try something different a wee bit different? It’s not quite magic, but when you know where the stepping stones are, it can look that way! C’mon over, drop me a line….

Hey sweetheart. Repeat after me….

“There is plenty of food.”
“There is plenty of food.”
“There is ooooodles of food.”

So …. all we have to do now is remember this when we sit down at the table.

When you do remember this truth, you’ll eat as much as you need to satisfy physical hunger. Hooray.

When we forget this truth, our lizard brain runs riot, making us feel anxious and scarcity-minded. We’ve all been there, right? And then we eat to anaesthetise the anxiety. Which is the perfect definition of emotional hunger.

(We already know there’s no biscuit tin deep enough to satisfy emotional hunger, right?!)

So, remember this ….

E.N.O.U.G.H

There is plenty of food – oodles of it!

There is enough.

You are enough….more than enough.

Remind yourself of this truth before, during and after each and every meal, and notice how your silhouette shrinks to become the one you want.

Love etc, Avril

PS: If you have a feeling that you need a hand curbing your emotional eating or reigning in your lizard brain, hypnotherapy can help. Together, let’s get you to the shape and size you choose to be. C’mon over – let’s chat

“I’ve got soooooooooooo much going on…. I just don’t have the time to exercise.”

We’re all guilty of saying that, right?

We all know our bodies were designed to move. We’ve seen how our couch potato life style is killing us.

Research has shown exercise is the wonder treatment for weight loss – yet we still struggle to ‘find time’ to do it, even the NEAT way.

So what’s a busy girl to do?

We’re all busy in this day and age.

If we’re not dashing to work, we’re juggling children, ageing parents, school runs, committees, voluntary work, homework, housework….we’re so busy rushing to ‘get there, get it done’, that we’re constantly, vaguely stressed.

Rush rush rush

Bizarrely, it’s like ‘being busy’ is the new badge of honour in today’s society. It’s how we ‘keep up with the Joneses’.

Somewhere along the line ‘being oh so busy’ means that we’re alive, important and special!

“I don’t have time…”

But have you noticed how victum-y and passive it sounds when you say, “I don’t have time.”

Before the words even leave your lips you can feel how finger-pointy and pitiful it sounds. It’s the kind of thing a petulant three-year-old says – NOT the gorgeous woman that you are.

Here’s the thing, sweetheart

We often say “I don’t have time” when we don’t want to feel guilty about skipping something that we now deep down is important, but we kinda just don’t really want to do.

e.g.

If we “don’t have enough time to exercise”, it’s easier for us to be okay with wheezing after a flight of stairs.

If we “don’t have enough time to prepare healthy meals”, it’s easier to accept our next unhealthy meal from the pizza delivery boy.

Own your 24 hours

If you find yourself saying “I don’t have enough time”, it’s time to get real honest with yourself.

The one great leveller in life is that we all have 24 hours in a day. Every single one of us. It’s up to us what we do with them.

What are you doing with yours?

Watching telly? Sleeping? Working?

Do you need to drop an episode of Coronation Street or the Kardashians? Do you need to put yourself first, and actually leave the office at a reasonable hour?

All the while you’re claiming “I don’t have time” you’re literally giving away your power to do anything about it. It’s a very, very weak energy to send out into the world.

You already know about the power of language. Here’s another cool language trick to help you take control of your time.

Four little words

Starting right now, you’re no longer allowed to utter the words: “I don’t have time.”

Instead, you will be honest and say, “It’s not a priority.”

Saying “It’s not a priority” is honest and brave. Initially it might feel unfamiliar – that’s OK.

The gift is that those four words lift the fog of denial. It helps you own your own time. Suddenly you’re back in control – you’re reclaiming your power.

See how quickly your perspective shifts when you look at the time challenge this way:

“I’d love to exercise before work, I just don’t have time” becomes “exercising isn’t a priority.”

“I’d love to eat healthier, but I don’t have time to cook” becomes “eating healthy isn’t a priority.”

Suddenly, the lack of time excuse becomes an incredibly weak argument.

Stings a bit, huh?

And that’s a good thing. Sometimes we need that feeling of discomfort before we create change.

Releasing your excuses around time requires courage and honesty – but it is simple.

It’s only by getting honest with yourself that you can start finding pockets of time in your day. You are in control, you already have permission to do whatever you want to do…you’ve just forgotten this truth.

Using this one simple language tool will help you spot where you’ve been tricking yourself into feeling powerless.

You got this, sweetheart.

Love etc, Avril

PS: As a good friend of mine says, “If you think exercising is a waste of time ……. just see how much time being sick wastes.”

PPS: If you think you need help to re-write your excuses around time, exercise and putting your health first, hypnotherapy can help. C’mon over, let’s create the time together….