It's in the press!

Yet again this week there are stories in the press about issues we've been talking about for literally YEARS!

The first one is about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  Some researchers have been saying for a while now that this is an addictive sugar - if you have it you'll want more - and today's research highlights it's links to diabetes. 

Many food manufacturers have been remove HFCS from their biscuits, cakes etc. but it can still be found - so please read the label before you buy these high sugar manufactured "foodstuffs"!

If you want to cut your calories from sugar (and remember to always avoid artificial sweeteners) try Agave Nectar.  You can buy it in most supermarkets either with the other sugar products or in the "specialist" aisle.  A teaspoon has about half the calories of normal sugar and you can use it in your coffee and in baking and puddings!  So there's another easy way to cut calories without cutting taste!

The other piece of news today was about the research linking fizzy drinks to prostate cancer. In Swedish research the conclusion was that one "soft drink" a day can increase the risk of developing this cancer by 40%.

Now I always say - check the research!  For every piece of research saying one thing there will be another piece saying the opposite.

But whether it's added sugars like HFCS or just "fizzy drinks" it's got to be worth considering your options - for the sake of your health hasn't it?

What are you ready to change - for the sake of your health?

If you want some help then please call me!

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The best and worst diets

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) have again done their research on the worst diets for weight loss and health.

Well I think it's fair to say that any diet that removes a whole food group - carbs or fats - or has you being fed through a drip in your nose is probably going to be unhealthy!

The Dukan diet came third again for the BDA - an unhealthy diet that can cause constipation and wind at best and long term stomach problems at worst!

So have you been following my simple steps formula?

If you've kept up on steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 this week you are on your way to healthy weight loss and a healthier life.

Please remember that our bodies need protein, carbs and fats to be healthy and strong - and exercise (or let's call it moving more) will help us use up the calories we put in!

Eat less, move more.  The key to health and weight loss!

There's just time for a couple of hypnotherapy sessions before Christmas. If you need help to change what you eat, when you eat, why you eat and how much you eat then give me a call!

Help me here! Why would anyone think that being fed through a drip in your nose when you're perfectly healthy is a good thing?

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Tips for weight loss (2)

Did you did tips 1 and 2 from yesterday?  If you did - well done!! Keep it up!

If you didn't - GO BACK NOW!

So assuming you've 1) started using a smaller plate and 2) walked up a step or two then we can move on to

3)  when you're watching TV tonight stand up and walk about in every break.  If you go to put the kettle on do bends and stretches while its boiling.  Just move a bit more. Dance to the ad breaks!

4)  add an extra vegetable to your dinner - making your healthy foods more filling so you're less likely to want a pudding!

Each extra calorie used and extra calorie removed will help towards your weight loss  - and improved fitness!

There's just time for a Special Package of 3 sessions before Christmas (and you'll get one free after Christmas too!) so if you need some help to change your eating habits and give up those sugary snacks once and for all give me a call!

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Tips for weight loss - one step at a time

There are lots of websites out there with tips for losing weight aren't there?  Have you read them all?  Really?  Have you done what they say?  Really?

Most people have done one or two things once or twice, maybe for a few days.  And if they are not completely successful they give up trying - they teach themselves how to fail!

I was having a discussion only yesterday with a couple of people about vitamins and supplements.  They both admitted they'd tried a few things for a few weeks then given up.  Yesterday I had a potential client call and tell me all the ways he'd tried to stop smoking - well tried for a few days at a time!

Well what if you could just take one step at a time? Literally and metaphorically?

What if you stopped trying and actually did something?

Here's the plan.

1. Use smaller plates.  Ok you've heard it before I know - but have you done it?  Psychologically we don't like waste (there are starving children you know!) so we eat everything on the plate!  Using a smaller plate means you will eat less.  Simple!

2. Take one step at a time.  Yes I mean a step. Not a lift, a step. Walk up and down the stairs!  At work instead of using the lift.   Go up a flight of stairs to the toilet rather than using the ones on your floor.  At home run up and down stairs just for the hell of it!

3.  Oh no...too much information.  Do 1 and 2 first - I'll share 3 and 4 with you tomorrow!

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Fed up or depressed?

Are you depressed - or just fed up?  I speak to many people who call me to help them with depression.  Some of them have been diagnosed with depression and even given anti-depressants by their doctor.  Some of them are just fed up.  Or lonely.  Or feeling down.  Or being affected by the weather. Or their hormones.

So what can you do? And what can I do for you?

Well if you're feeling anywhere on the scale from a bit fed up to very depressed you can do some things straight away which will help you feel a whole lot better!

First of all stand up straight.  Yes, I said stand up straight!  Lifting your body lifts your mood - it's proven to work as your mind and body are linked and, well, we all know what "depressed" looks like - don't we?

Now go for a walk.  Today with this horrible weather that may just be a walk around your house or office but still go for a walk and walk up straight, head held high.  Try it.  It works!  Of course, even better would be a walk outside in the fresh air and sunshine - yesterday was a much better day for that I will admit!!

Now take a look at your diet.  Not "diet" but your diet.  What do you eat and drink?  Here's some things that will make you feel worse:
missing meals, eating (or drinking) too much sugar, alcohol, caffeine, lack of nutrition and vitamins.

So that's easy then isn't it?  Eat regular, healthy meals and drink plenty of water.  We can all start doing that today!

Now to the head stuff!  Our emotions and imaginations are in the unconscious mind. - and that's the one I'm talking to when you come to me for hypnotherapy.  So if something from the past is still hurting you.  Something that happened to you.  Someone who hurt you.  Close your eyes and put the event or person behind you.  Make them smaller and smaller and push them (or it) further and further behind you. 

Sound too easy?  Yes, everything we can do is easy.  That's probably why we don't do it.

Give it a go.....then come and see me to help you take it all a step further...

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7 weeks to Christmas - what can you do in 7 weeks?

Christmas Day is 7 weeks tomorrow! Yikes!  What can you do in 7 weeks to make a difference to your health, wealth and happiness?

Stop smoking - that's takes 90 minutes with me and you'll be a non-smoker for ever!  You can start 2013 healthier and wealthier - saving about £3000 a year for ever!

Lose weight.  By changing your eating habits (we don't do diets) you can lose 2lbs a week on average.  Starting tomorrow that would be a stone lost by Christmas Day.  So start tomorrow! Call me and book a single session to get a kick start - or maybe a Special Package  of 4 to change what you eat, when you eat how much you eat and why you eat - and get motivated to move more!

Slow down.  Book in a couple of stress relief sessions and I will send you a great Stress Relief CD to use at home - ensuring you breeze through Christmas!

What are you waiting for? 
Give me a call! 0113 380 1758

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You're never too old!

A client asked me the other day if it was really worth her stopping smoking.  She'd read in the press that smokers die about 10 years younger than those who don't smoke - but to make sure you get those 10 years back you have to stop smoking before you're 30.

Well she was quite a bit older than 30 and I can see how her thought-process was working. 

But sometimes it's not how long you live but the quality of the life you live!

Smoking related diseases are often painful and slow.  We all know we're going to die and I don't think we're scared of dying - we're scared of how long it will take and how painful dying will be.  What we're all trying to avoid is suffering.

Of course, I'm sure there's someone reading this thinking well, I'm only 24 so I don't need to stop for another 6 years!  Yes, there's always some reasoning, some creative thinking - some excuses!

So maybe you will live 10 years longer if you stop smoking.  Maybe you won't.  But you will certainly feel fitter for longer, be able to breathe and probably sleep better too!

Which brings me to an other piece of information in the e-mail bulletins this week.  According to new reserach in the British Medical Journal, people who take sleeping pills have a 5 times higher risk of early death than people who don't.


The study compared over 10,000 people who took sleep-aid drugs, with over 23,000 who didn't.
and the results showed that the people taking the sleeping pills were up to 5 times more likely to die during the study period.

To add to that on average, sleeping pills only get you about 11 minutes extra sleep a night!

So instead of sleeping pills why not look at why you're not sleeping.  Could it be stimulants like coffee, alcohol, watching TV, playing on the internet or, yes you guessed it smoking that's keeping you awake?

So when is a good time to stop smoking?  NOW!

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