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HEalth & Fitness Tips

JANE's FITNESS SUCCESS STORY

4/6/2023

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The BIg M: what is Perimenopause?

1/11/2023

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Menopause, or "the change," as our older female relatives may have discreetly referred to it, is simply our ovaries going out of business and dismissing all their workers. But  they're not going out gracefully, stealing your sleep, emotions, sex life, and skin as they storm out. But, unlike our mothers and theirs before them, who had to grit their teeth and suffocate, decorum has now been thrown out the window, and we can finally talk about what the heck is going on with our bodies. Now there is a stage before that many of women tend to forget. Perimenopause.


But what is perimenopause? Let’s start at the beginning when we were all teens, Our two primary hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, made a big appearance when we reached puberty, and now the old ovary factory where they're created is shutting down, so all the hormonal turmoil you experienced in your early teens is occurring again, in reverse. Instead of fretting about maths  and organising your school books, you now have grownup concerns such as elderly parents, a hard profession, and maybe even hormonal adolescents of your own. Yes, some women's oestrogen and progesterone slowly fade away, clutching hands like sleeping otters. Then there is everyone else, whose hormones swoop and crash like a wave. The experts doing really know why some women have it easier than others but there is a suggestion that lifestyle could play a role.


Perimenopause is the stage of life that leads up to menopause which only officially takes place once women haven’t experienced mother natures gift for a year. Statistically women within the UK reach perimenopause around the age of 47. It’s seen by researchers to be one of the most complex aged parts of a women’s life and according to estimates, 80 percent of women suffer from insomnia, 70 percent from irritability, and 20 percent from depression. That's a lot of people going through tough times. There is a number of different things that can happen to your body at this time so lets get going shall we.


Periods. Feeling a little bored with your periods? Wonderful news! Sure, your periods may get lighter and less frequent during perimenopause, but they can also suddenly go rogue and continue for 12 days and arrive every 13 days—and they can be heavy. These could also be known as Superperiods or in medical terms, Menorrhagia. This means that your flow is is 80ml when the advrage flow is only 16ml or the equivalent to 2tsp. When this occurs during perimenopause you can usually put it down to an imbalance, quite often low progesterone.
It is oestrogens designated driver, the friend who steps in when things are getting out of hand. But as progesterone naturally declines in perimenopause, oestrogen can get unruly. One of progesterone’s jobs is to keep tabs on our uterine lining—without progesterone that lining will thicken and grow unabated throughout the month. This is what causes the heavy periods as there is more uterine lining to shed.

Superfeelings aka premenopausal moodiness, That’s a very nice way to describe the emotional train wreck PMS can bring on. Experts  recommends tracking your moods and cycles using an app. Once you get a sense of when your “superfeeling” times are, plan accordingly and clear the decks as much as possible. This means that you would avoid confronting your Mother In law over a perceived slight or talking to your co-worker about his excessive throat clearing. It it also advised when the superfeelings hit that you avoid social media because realistically the last thing anyone wants to see at that moment is to someone making star-shaped sandwiches for their crotch gremlins before heading to the gym with the boss lady hashtag.

Brain Fog, remember when your mother used to put their keys in the freezer and you used to laugh at them… who’s laughing now? Research tells us that two thirds of women who are going through perimenopause experience this and is caused once again by the changing hormone balance in out lovely friend progesterone.

Insomnia, due to our swoopy hormones, increased anxiety and the occasional night sweats can mean that sleep cycle decide to say bye-bye.  Now there is a lot of arguing research that tells you what you need to do to help you sleep. Now one thing it all agrees on, is being comfortable. That is the best thing you can do, create a nice calm environment, create a routine and avoid using modern technology in bed so it’s a place for sleep or any other bedroom activities that may take place.

Disappearance of Libido, this can be brought on in many different ways one main one is vaginal dryness which can lead to painful sex. Now fantastic news there is an intervention for this! There is options such as Vitamin E oil, over the counter vaginal moisturisers such as Replens or Zestica and one of easiest products to buy… Lube. Now there is a stigma that lube is for pornstars but for women during menopause or perimenopause it can take your sex drive from 0 to 60 in 2.5. On an emotional level losing your natural ability to lubricate can come with some complicated feelings for one or both parties and that’s is completely normal. Keeping communication open with your partner about your wants and needs is key.  A reduced level of natural lubricant can be sign of thinning vaginal walls and skin and not to scare you it can affect more than your sex life- it can cause a level of discomfort and potential itching. It could also mean that tearing can occur more often which could lead to infections. This is part of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause which includes vaginal and bladder symptoms.

Break outs, you might have thought that your skin would be safe after your mid twenties, nope sorry ladies, they are back. Now getting a spot in the middle of a frown line, add a newly found hair then you have the perimenopausal trifecta. You may also have observed an increase in skin tags and waxy, stuck-on lumps known as seborrheic keratoses. They most typically appear in regions that do not receive direct sunlight, such as beneath your breasts or arms, and on your trunk. These can be removed but more likely will come back, and are nothing to worry about, so no need to get yourself into a panic over them.   

The most important thing to remember for all of this is that it is all completely normal! As women for years we have been told not to talk about our heath and what goes on within our bodies. I don’t ever remember in school being told about what will happen to us as we get older apart from the whole period and pregnancy talk. Sometimes it could feel like life is collapsing and it is always a good idea to come back to our cornerstones of heath: sleep, food and exercise and within the next few weeks this is something that we will be talking about further.

If there is something that we take from this is talk, talk about your needs and what is going on with your bodies, talk to each other, your partners, your children, especially your daughters. Transitions are, by definition, quite unpleasant. And this is a significant one. As we progress along the conveyor belt, we must all keep conversing and sharing knowledge. Just like we'd check in with a new parent to see how she's doing, let's keep an eye on each through what could be difficult time in someone’s life. 
-Coach Hannah PH
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Too stressed to go to the gym?

12/8/2022

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Recently I had a chat with a member who has a stressful job, long hours and a lot of responsibility. 
 
In the past she admitted she thought she ‘never had time’ to go to the gym or do something for herself. She’s now and member and said to me…
 
 
“The time I spend here is the only time in the day that I don’t think about work.”
 
That might not seem like a big deal but if you are stressed out or on the verge of burn out 
 
being able to switch off for an hour out of the day IS a game changer.
 
As well as this, studies have found that stress can contribute to more central fat (mid-section) and consequentially then affect your tolerance to stress too.
 
‘The current cross-sectional findings support the hypothesis that stress-induced cortisol secretion may contribute to central fat and demonstrate a link between psychological stress and risk for disease.’
 
So if you feel like you’re stuck in a stress tornado, maybe you are… but there are so many ways exercise and healthy eating habits can help you take steps to change that.
 

 
Don’t forget to download our free Xmas Eating Guide using the link below:
 
https://bit.ly/BeatTheBulgeEBook

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The problem is not your weight…..

8/18/2022

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“The problem is not the problem.
The problem is your attitude about the problem.
Do you understand?”
-Jack Sparrow.

One of my favourite quotes ever.

The single biggest breakthrough any human being can achieve, is the realisation that it’s not WHAT we think about things……. it’s the thing that CAUSES our thinking (the lens or filter in our brains) that’s the problem behind ‘faults’ with our mindset.

What separates humans from animals, is our ability to separate ourselves from our thoughts - to ‘think about our thinking’ - and to consciously choose and decide to act differently.

I challenge you to consider that you - or anybody - doesn’t have a weight problem, or an eating problem - they have a thinking problem.
Or perhaps a fairer way to word it would be “there’s a dodgy lens in ye olde brain” and if that gets fixed, the actions and behaviiours get fixed, and if those get fixed, then the end result (healthier, slimmer, whatever…..) is a positive one.

I’m not talking about ‘PMA’ (positive mental attitude) and cheerleading yourself into being awesome.

I’m talking about paying closer attention to your thoughts - and devoting more effort to changing those first and foremost, than the effort you might be putting into to try and change behaviours.
We can change behaviours through brute force - for a while - but will typically revert back to older habits once ‘willpower’ exhausts.

When we change our programming (when we start thinking differently) - we’re kind of ‘rewiring’ ourselves so that old habits simply aren’t allowed to run freely anymore.
It’s like breaking a circuit.


“It’s just the way I am”

“It’s not that easy to change”

“I’m different”

“It’s ok for you / her / him”

“I’ve been like this for so long, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to change”

These are common. And normal.
But if you find yourself thinking our mouthing those - then this post is even MORE relevant to you.
Because those thoughts ARE the problem. 
They’re unhelpful as ‘default responses’.

Imagine if you trained yourself to think the OPPOSITE of those.

“I get you, and I want to, but it’s hard to train myself to think differently after all these years…”

and round we go……..you HAVE to catch yourself thinking those thoughts /responses and “check yourself before you wreck yourself”

Once you start catching yourself defaulting to these ‘reasons’ why it’s hard, you won’t magically change overnight.
But you’ll have taken the first huge step in rewiring yourself.

Because the problem is not the problem (the problem is not your weight).
The problem is your attitude about the problem (the problem is how you think about your weight problem).
Do you understand?


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3 uncommon reasons to eat well and move more....

7/4/2022

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Most people think about aesthetic reasons for exercising and eating well.
‘Look good naked’.
‘Feel confident in how look (in clothes)’.
More confidence is what people are after when they’re wanting to change (improve) how they look.
And confidence tends to breed a higher quality of life.

However, aesthetic goals can go from being ‘most important’ to ‘least important’ in the blink of an eye.
Motivation can be turned upside down in a second.

All it takes is a diagnosis of a health condition that’s debilitating - or even worse, life-threatening - and all of a sudden, ‘getting better’ far outweighs any concerns over more superficial aesthetic goals.



There’s plenty of talk about eating and exercise in relation to obesity, some Cancers, and type 2 Diabetes.
But here’s 3 less common conditions that many people face - especially as you get older - along with how improving your eating and exercise can do wonders for controlling or even preventing them.


1. High CholesterolWith high cholesterol, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. 
Eventually, these deposits grow, making it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Sometimes, those deposits can break suddenly and form a clot that causes a heart attack or stroke.

Regular exercise affects your cholesterol and triglycerides in two key ways. 
a) Exercise helps to lower triglycerides, which at high levels are linked to coronary artery disease. 
b) Exercise also raises your levels of HDL, or the “good” cholesterol.
And in terms of nutrition, high cholesterol is highly correlated to a bad diet full of too much sugar, too much processed food, and not enough ‘good’ fats and fruit & veg.


2. OsteoporosisOsteoporosis is a health condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break. It develops slowly over several years and is often only diagnosed when a fall or sudden impact causes a bone to break (fracture). The most common injuries in people with osteoporosis are broken wrist s and broken hips.

Early warning signs can also include receding gums, weaker grip strength, and more brittle fingernails.
A loss of height, a stooped posture, back or neck pain, and bone fractures are often the most common symptoms of later-stage osteoporosis
Although the condition is not reversible, people can prevent further bone loss and rebuild bones with medication, a nutrient-dense diet, and weight bearing exercise.
Prevention is very much preferential to cure here.
Resistance training (lifting weights) not only increases strength, it also helps to increase bone density - or at worse, reduce or significantly slow down bone-density loss.
Your body will thank you for making resistance training part of your routine, in your 40’s and onwards, 


3. DepressionSymptoms can range from lasting feelings of unhappiness and hopelessness, to losing interest in the things, increase anxiety, and feeling very ambivalent about life.

Often there are physical symptoms too. The hormonal changes in our biochemistry affect our physiology too.
Feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive, or various aches and pains.
Whilst there’s no one cure all for this drastically ‘broad’ condition, which is unique to each individual, countless studies have shown that exercise is at least as effective as pharmaceutical interventions (and often, more so).

Regular exercise may help by
  • Releasing feel-good endorphins
  • Take your mind off various worries
  • Get you out of your head and into your body
  • Increase in confidence 
  • More social interaction
  • Trigger other healthy habits, like improving eating or wanting to prioritise self-care in other areas


Whilst we shouldn’t go through life constantly worrying “what if this goes wrong” and “what if that goes wrong”, we also don’t want to be blinkered to the fact that things DO go wrong, and that we have a lot of power to prevent, influence and sometimes reverse various health issues.


Remember, prevention is better than the cure


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broken weight loss mindsets: part 5

6/24/2022

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innovatefitness.as.me/discoveryWe’re at the fifth and final installment of this series.
If you’ve been following all week, I hope you’ve had some food for thought - and maybe one or two insights.

Today we’re going to recap - and extracf the simple, clear lessons from the past 4 days.



PART 1: Expectations
​(click here to read)

- Having unrealistic expectations is faulty thinking

- You would never deem it a failure if you didn’t lose weight just from one afternoon or two days of healthy eating, so what is it about 7 days / a week, that suddenly makes it ‘not acceptable’ to not lose weight if you’ve been eating well? 

- What is it about that specific measure of time that takes your belief from “no expectaitons” to absolute expectations”?

- Question your beliefs around things - they’ve often just picked up over the years from other people without actually aksing how true they are.


PART 2: Reactions
(click here to read)

- When you drop your phone and crack it, you don’t whip out a hammer and smash it up

- So why would you then start binging, just because you had a minor ‘slip up’ with your eating?

- Fixing that thinking pattern (how you respond to setbacks) will do wonders for long term progress



PART 3: Undoing hard work at weekends
(click here to read)

- OVERLY rewarding yourself at weekends, because “you’ve been good all week” is dumb.

- It’s the same as saving £300 all week towards a holiday, and then spending that £300 at the weekends, and wondering why you’ve no savings (progress).

- You don’t have to be perfect either - even if you ‘saved £300 all week and then only spent £150 of it at the weekend, you’d still be saving money whilst not sacrficiing all the fun in life’.

- For clarity, the analogy of saving cash, is being compared to being in a calorie defict all week, then eating them all back (and then some) at the weekend.




PART 4: Organisation
(click here to read)

- You treat hair appointments, holidays, doctors visits and taking the kids to their clubs as ‘non negotiable’ appointments that you schedule in advance.

- Why don’t you also do the same with things that will help you with your weight loss and health?
- Like 30mins to plan a meal, 30 mins to find some new recipes, scheduling exercise sessions for the week ahead.

- Treating those things as importantly as other “appointments” will do wonders for removing many of the ‘excuses’ that crop up with poor eating habits.



WANT SOME HELP WITH ALL OF THIS?

Working with a Coach is one of the best investments you’ll ever make in yourself.

Eating and exercise alone, doesn’t address the route cause of faulty thinking (broken mindsets) and reversing bad habits.

A coach will hold you accountable.
A coach will help you look at the bigger picture.
A coach will keep you motivated.
A coach will keep reminding you - until it becomes the norm.
A coach will help you develop a new mindset. 
A coach will stop you ‘smashing your phone when you drop it’
A coach will help you learn how to lose weight whilst still enjoying the weekends.
A coach will help you to prioritise yourself.


Can you see how working with a coach will do 100x more than just trying to eat and exercise your way out of bad habits?

Addressing ‘broken mindsets’ as part of your program, will literally alter the direction of your life.

To discuss more about how we work, CLICK HERE to schedule a free consutlation with one of the team.

We’d love to help you work on the inside (your mindset) aswell as the outside (your body).

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broken weight loss mindsets: part 4

6/23/2022

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In part 4 of ‘Broken Weight Loss Mindsets’, we’re going to look at the habit of proactivity.
And how often, due to “faulty thinking patterns”, many people are proactive in the wrong areas - or at best, certainly not proactive in the areas that matter.

As a result of this, it causes poor eating habits, and unnecessary weight gain.

Which is then compounded by a misunderstsnding of the what the REAL problem is.

Other things get blamed - like “this just doesn’t work” and “I’m just too busy” - but those AREN’T the real issues.


By the way, you can check out the other posts in this series here: part 1  part 2, and part 3,


Pause for a second and ask yourself what you MAKE time for in your life, and what you “try to find time for”.

Really try to disceminate between the two - what you truly MAKE time for.
And what you either try to find time for, or what you fit into spare blocks of time as they arise.

By the way, “making time” for something, isn’t “I make sure it gets done by the end of the day”.
That’s not making time - that’s finding time to fit it in.

For clairty, making time, means 
1) Planning it in advance
2) Scheduling it for a specific time

What’s on your list of “make time for” ?

Chances are, if you’re honest with yourself, the list isn’t huge.
That’s normal.
It’s normal to think we’re on top of things and making time, when in reality we’re just ‘somehow getting a load of things done” through sheer brute force.

Expand your thinking not just from the day to day, but to your life in general.
What things do you ALWAYS make time for ?
What do you ALWAYS a) plan in advance and b) schedule?

Here’s a list of the typical things that get planned and scheduled (diarised):

- Hair appointments
- Holidays
- Doctors appointments
- Taking the kids to their weekly club
- Agreeing to meet a friend for coffee
- Sunday lunch out with the fam

What’s the common theme here?

They’re all ‘appointments’ of some sort.
An agreed time and place in which to do something, go somewhere or meet someone.


Now, ask yourself this:
How often do you ‘make appointments’ for the following:

- Sitting down the write a meal / menu plan for the week / next 3-4 days
- Sitting down to write a shoping list based off that meal / menu plan
- Going shopping with a very clear list of things to buy, based off a consciously thought-out meal plan
- Blocking out 30 minutes to find 10 new recipes on sites like bbc good food, so that the excuse of “I’m bored with what I eat” vanishes into thin air
- Scanning your week ahead, to asess when and where you might ‘slip up’, or even just be likely to over eat and drink? 

Again, the list could go on - the above is to make a point - and contrast it against the previous list of appointments.


It’s not normal or healthy, to plan every minute of our life.
It’s too restrcitive, and stuff comes up that knocks us off course.

But if you have a weight problem - which is an eating problem 90% of the time - then if you’re prioritising a hair appointment and taking little Jonny to cubs, but not prioritising organising your eating intentions for the week, then you have a “broken weight loss mindset”.

You have a ‘faulty thinking pattern’ around what else you should be prioritising.

Of course, your hair needs cutting, and jonny does need to go to cubs.
But addressing your weight problem (and this post is speaking to those who are unhappy with their weight) will do more for your self-esteem than a new perm.
And Jonny will no doubt value seeing his mum healthy and happy, as much as he does learning how to tie a reef knot.


Exercise:
Block out one hour, right now, for Sunday. Literally do that right now.
Morning’s are best, as the later things get left, the more likely we are to ignore them.

Make that appointment with yourself, a non-negotiable commitment.

Decide what you will use that 60 minutes for.
Suggestions:

1) Plan your week’s meal for you / the family, and write a shopping list based off of it.
SCHEDULE when you’ll go and buy that stuff

2) SCHEDULE your exercise for the week - ideally at least 3 days of a minimum of 30 minutes. Even if it’s just going out for a brisk walk, which may involve skipping Eastenders on an evening.

3) Block out and schedule the following Sunday’s appointment with yourself so that you always have a point in time where you can review things.


However, whatever you think will work for you, do it.
But make that appointment with yourself right now - so that you can start blocking out other IMPORTANT appointments with yourself - based on what you want (which, if you’re reading this series, includes addressing your weight and your health).


Fix that broken mindset around what gets prioritised and what doesn’t.
It’s a game changer :)


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Broken weight loss mindsets - part 3

6/22/2022

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In part 1 of this series, we looked at "messed up thinking" around expectations.

In part 2, we looked at "messed up thinking" around dealing with setbacks.

In part 3 today, we’re going to look at the psychology of money management - and how we can use some of this common sense to manage our eating and weight loss / management.

Let’s say that you’re wanting to save for a family holiday.
The cost of the holiday is £3,500.
In order to save for the holiday, you need to create a surplus - eg save more than you earn - of £3,500.

You want to save this money in the space of 14 weeks.
So you need to save £250 a week.

Up until now, you’ve been spending about £500 a week on living expenses, socialising, and other bits.

So as things stand, it’s impossible to save.

However, because that sunny holiday is so important to you, you make some diligent decisions, and reduce your outgoings to £250 per week.
Which leaves another £250 of ‘surplus’ - you’re doing the right things and are on track to achieve your goal of jetting off to sunny Marbella and getting your white bits out!
Now all you need to do is repeat this every week.

However……
You get to Friday.
And the broken mindset kicks in.

“Whoop whoop, it’s Friday. And I’ve been sooooo good all week. I’ve not spent a penny over my £250 budget.
To reward myself for being awesome, I’m gonna let my hair down a little”.


And with that, you proceed to go on a shopping spree and splurge £250 on ‘stuff’.

You wake up on Monday.
“Sh*t!……I’m back to where I was a week ago.
I’ve made no progress to my goal. But I was sooooo good all week. It’s just not fair. Saving money just doesn’t work for me.”



This analogy should now be obvious.
It’s how you view weekends.
It’s seeing life as something to divide into two separate parts.
5 days of work and ‘trying to be good’.
And 2 days of ‘let’s completely stop giving a shit, after all life is for living’.

Spending all your surplus on a weekend, is the same as eating back the calorie deficit you creates during the week.

It just doesn’t work.

Of course, weekends are often times for a bit more socialising or a meal out.
That’s not the point.

The point is that it doesn’t matter whether you - or I - like it or agree with it. 
It’s just a fact of life that if you “blow all your savings on a weekend”, you’ll have nothing to show for your efforts.

“Lifestyle Change” is a term that’s thrown around a lot.
In reality it means “mindset change”.

It means changing your outlook.
Changing your attitude and beliefs.
It means asking if the current belief of “weekends are for escaping, via the medium of too much food and drink” is working for you.
And if you’re stuck in this pattern, then asking what you can expect to EVER change, if you don’t first change how you think.

Even if you ‘saved’ £250 during the week, and then spent £150 on a weekend, you’d still having some savings.
It just means it’ll take a tad longer to pay for your holiday.

The goal is simple. 
Don’t allow weekends to blow every penny you saved during the week.
Because if this is a weekly occurrence, you’ll be stuck …. Forever.

Get your thinking right. The rest will follow 🤓



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broken weight loss mindsets - part 2

6/20/2022

5 Comments

 
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In part 1, we dug into ‘expectations’ - and how we have these weird little (and unhelpful) beliefs that we never question.

In part 2, we’re going to look at how we respond to minor setbacks.

I’ve often used an analogy with clients over the years, which centres around what we do when we drop our phone.
Ironically, I actually dropped my phone yesterday - and a corner of the screen cracked - so this is super relevant!

I don’t know about you, but when I drop my phone, and it gets a crack, it’s a tad frustrating.
Yep, I’ve got one of those screen protector thingies, but it’s still annoying. You have to peel it off and then order a new one, and then attempt to put it on straight again.

Anyway, the point is that dropping and cracking your phone, is annoying.

However………what I don’t do, and I presume you don’t do, when our phones are dropped and cracked…….is any of the following:


1) Whip out a hammer and start smashing the sh*t out of it

2) Hire a JCB and drive back and forth over it

3) Grab a rifle and use it as target practice

4) Drop it in a tub of acid

5) Use it as charcoal for a bbq


We don’t do those things, for two reasons:

Reason 1 is because they’re stupid.

Reason 2 is because they’re a disproportionate response to dropping your phone and getting a small crack in it.

Just because something goes slightly wrong, it’s stupid and disproportionate to then make matters worse.

But that’s what many folk do with their eating.
They’ll have a little “slip up’ - maybe a minor binge on a weekend.
And instead of just thinking “ah well, that’s life. Better take more care next time”……… they proceed to start mainlining doughnuts and Haribos!

In what world of logic, is this a sensible and proportionate response to having a big of a binge?

It’s the equivalent of smashing your iphone up just because you dropped it and cracked it.

This series of ‘broken mindsets’ is all about getting your thinking ‘right’.

What goes on between the ears dictates what goes on behavour-wise.

We all have faulty thinking patterns (like little software bugs) - but we can change them pretty easily if we want to. 
We just first need to be aware of them. And then commit to correcting them.

If the response is then “Oh, it’s really hard, it’s just the way i am”, then you’re fighting to defend a mindset that doesn’t serve you.
You have to then ask yourself WHY you’re so addcicted to the struggle.

Personal responsibility starts with accepting that we’re all in control of and capable of changing our ‘scripts’ - the stories we tell ourselves and the mindsets we hold.


Even if you just practice applying part 1 (expectations) and this part 2 (a more ‘adult’ response to setbacks), you’ll see signifcant changes in your eating and weight loss efforts :-)

Over to you!


5 Comments

Broken weight loss mindsets - part 1

6/20/2022

51 Comments

 
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This is the first of a 5-part series about mindset aspects of losing weight.

My intention is to use some day to day analogies of how we live our lives (completely unrelated to weight loss), and compare them to how many people approach and treat their weight loss attemps.

The purpose of this is to try and ‘hold up a mirror’ so you can see just how ludicrous some behaviours really are.


In this part 1, we’re going to look at ‘expectations’.

“Boring” I hear you cry.
“Yeh yeh, I know I should be more realistic….”

Of course you know this.
But the whole point to all of this, is that generally speaking, you DO know what to do - it’s just doing it that’s the problem.

So with that in mind, consider the following…….

After waking up feeling a bit fuzzy and grotty from too many vinos and maltesers last night, you scoff down a full english to take the edge of it.

It gets to early afternoon, your head has cleared, and other than been a tad tired still, you feel much better.

You make the decision to ‘sort yourself out’.
You mentally profress to yourself that “that’s it, I’m going to clean up my eating and get back on track with my exercise”.

All good so far.

Not only do you tell yourself that, you actually START doing something about it. Right there and then in that afternoon.
No ‘diet starts Monday’ for you!

So, from 1pm to bedtime, you manage to quaff 2 litres of water, eat a huge salad full of goodness, and take yourself out for an hour’s walk.
The pyschological benefits of doing this feel just as good as the physical ones.

Now, what you DON’T do - you don’t even consider doing - is weigh yourself before bedtime to see the impact of this avo’s salad a trot.

Why?
Because you’re not stupid.
You have ZERO expectation that one afternoon’s good work is enough to make any difference.

However, subconsciously, you have a set expectation that 3 days, or certianly a week is DEFINTELY enough to make a difference.
So you start weighing yourself again.

At no point do you question why you think this way.

You don’t ask:
 “where does 7 days as an arbitary measure of time, come from, that causes me to have expectations of weight loss? 
Even though I don’t have any expectations of weight loss in 1-2 days?”


Now, tracking progress weekly is no bad thing.
It can be helpful to keep an eye on it - but only from a bigger picture.
To see TRENDS.
“OVERALL, over many weeks, am I gradually going in the right direction?”

But the point remains that ‘tracking progress’ (or keeping an eye on it) is not the same as ‘expectations’.

     Frustration comes from unmet expecations.
If we have too many expectations of things beyond our control, we will be frustrated far too often.

On the flipside, if you reduce your expecations of things you can’t control (weight loss, other people’s behaviours etc) ……and INCREASE your expecations of things you can control (YOUR habits and behaviours) then you’ll see things change dramatically.

You begin to become less attached to the numbers on the scale.
You begin to trust that by focussing on YOU - the numbers on the scale will change as a byproduct of your improved habits and behaviours anyway.


The take home message today isn’t just “have more realistic expectations”.

It’s 2 things:

1) QUESTION your beliefs regularly - with such things as “why do I have zero expectations of losing weight in 2 days, but absolutely expect it in 7 days? Where does that belief come from?”


2) Recognise that having too many expectations of things you can’t control, will cause frustration (which can cause compounding ‘bad’ behaviours), and instead focuss ‘inwards’, and have more expectations of yourself and the things you can control and work on.



In part 2, we’re going to look at a cool little analogy between our smart phones, and our response when the scales don’t budge.

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