Don’t panic! Keep calm and carry on losing that weight https://t.co/RhTsM93CNy

Don’t panic! Keep calm and carry on losing that weight https://t.co/RhTsM93CNy

— sosnicaragua (@sosnicaragua) August 31, 2018

from Twitter https://twitter.com/sosnicaragua

Summer eating and drinking – hot tips for staying cool about it https://t.co/BhVEKhLkrk

Summer eating and drinking – hot tips for staying cool about it https://t.co/BhVEKhLkrk

— sosnicaragua (@sosnicaragua) August 7, 2018

from Twitter https://twitter.com/sosnicaragua

Summer eating and drinking – hot tips for staying cool about it

WE’RE seven days into August and the holiday season has well and truly started (unless you’re reading this in Australia, New Zealand or South Africa!) I’m constantly hearing people say “I’m a little bit worried about how I’m going to cope with food when I’m on holiday – I usually pig out and I love having a cocktail or two in the evening.”

So I thought it might be a good time to give you a little help on how to get through all the temptations of Summer and stay in control of your weight.I’m sure you know the story – it’s almost as if your mind is saying “Woo hoo we’re on holiday and that means I have permission to eat anything you want to eat – and lots of it!”

Then you get disappointed because you feel like you’ve fallen off the wagon and you beat yourself up.

This time of year can be really difficult and create all sorts of challenges, concerns and anxieties about food and your weight. Most people coming to my Slimpod programme do so after years of unsuccessfully trying to lose weight and have almost been conditioned to what I call “seasonal dieting”.

Here’s how it goes (and do let me know below if you recognise it!).

In January the media lures you into the latest “amazing” weight loss revelation (it’s a diet).  You are into it for four to five weeks, lose some weight and then lose motivation – because willpower doesn’t last, sadly.

Then you’re feeling a bit rubbish for the next few months until May/June comes and – yes, you guessed it – the next revolutionary, all singing, all dancing Summer bikini diet is launched!

You’re on that until your summer holiday (around now) and then you just can’t keep it up because it’s Summer and dieting is miserable and boring in the holidays isn’t it?!

All those nice things you’re depriving yourself of while everyone else is having fun and enjoying themselves. So rather than feeling rubbish you break the diet and blame your Summer eating again on your own lack of willpower!

Then you limp along and around October time the media starts up again!  “Lose two dress sizes in time for those Christmas parties,” the headlines shout!  You hop on because basically you’re losing it to put it all back on again over Christmas…and so it goes on!  Nightmare!

If you’re on a Slimpod programme, this may well have stopped already and you’re noticing you’re far more in control.

You’ll also be noticing you don’t want much of the sugary stuff – which is great. However I do know that dieting behaviour is really hard to shift and can sometimes be triggered if you’re not aware of it.

Summer eating and drinking – how to handle it

So here’s a few tips on Summer eating which will give you a boost!

ONE: Summer puts you into what I call a “Summer diet trance state” – in English, this means you’ll be out of routine and be in a very different state of mind. “l’ll just put my weight loss on hold and enjoy myself for a few weeks” kind of trance state!!  If you feel this is you – and I know I’ll get lots of comments saying I’m reading your minds – PLEASE PLEASE wake up from that trance and shake yourself off!  You don’t need to eat for Britain this month!

TWO: You can still ENJOY the summer AND lose weight. Just be in the right mindset.. The CRUCIAL thing is to build little rewards into your life over the next four or five weeks and don’t let ice-creams, cocktails etc become obstacles to your success and derail you. Lots of people think they’ve blown their healthy eating regime just because they’ve had some ice-cream. This then becomes a very useful excuse to eat, too.

The important thing to remember is this is an automatic pattern of behaviour that’s been running in your life for quite a while and you need to be aware it’s happening before you can do something about it. So if something like this is happening now – chill!. Stop thinking it’s the end of the world because it isn’t! Recognise it’s happening and do something about it.

Use the treats to help with your success instead of letting them make you feel guilty. It’s all in your head after all! Use the treats as a little reward for reaching a mini goal – which could be anything you choose.

If you’re going on a trip then rather than feeling bad after having an ice cream, give yourself permission to have one. It’s truly not going to be the end of the world and when you do this you change your mindset from throwing in the towel and “struggling” to being kind to yourself and honouring the time of year.

Summer eating and drinking really is that simple. If you want a cocktail, have one. You may be surprised and one might be enough. It’s really all about flipping your mindset from “I’ve blown it and I don’t care” to “I’m going to have these little treats but I can still be in control.”

There are people coming back from holidays and rejoicing in the fact that they’ve enjoyed themselves and put on no weight when they would ordinarily have pigged out and be at least 8lbs heavier. The lovely Elaine, one of our Tameside nurses, recently came back from holiday and was so happy because she put no weight on.

Keep up your activity because in the summer we tend to be a bit lazier if the weather is hot. Raise your heart rate for just 15 minutes a day! This will really help to manage the treats too!

So have fun and enjoy your holiday and your Summer eating without worrying!

The post Summer eating and drinking – hot tips for staying cool about it appeared first on Slimpod.

Like Helen, let Slimpod unlock the secret of the Power Within https://t.co/LewZhJSfGR

Like Helen, let Slimpod unlock the secret of the Power Within https://t.co/LewZhJSfGR

— sosnicaragua (@sosnicaragua) July 20, 2018

from Twitter https://twitter.com/sosnicaragua

Like Helen, let Slimpod unlock the secret of the Power Within

I’VE been so blessed over the past week to have the privilege to watch lots and lots of videos that Slimpodders have sent me. Believe me, I’ve had a few teary evenings because it’s the most amazing feeling seeing the astonishing difference in people in the space of just seven days.

We all have a very special power within our minds and  all we really need is the key that will unlock it.

Over the years I’ve noticed that the first big step for most people is making a decision to do something about their weight.  They’ve often had a long journey of failure and set-backs and they really don’t start with much enthusiasm.

Then when they do get going and make the decision to take action,  confidence and self-esteem levels can be at their absolute lowest and the thought of sharing their journey on video would most probably be the last thing on their mind!

However, one of the most powerful ways to motivate yourself to reach your goals is to share your daily progress and also witness how other people are getting on.

Seeing how others who started off like you have progressed, overcome obstacles and changed their lives is a powerful emotional incentive.

That’s one of the reasons I started our Video of the Week challenge. And I know from the many comments I’ve had that it’s really paying off for so many people.

I’m really grateful to lovely Helen Martin, first winner of my Video of the Week award, for allowing me to share two of her videos with you. She’s only been on the Slimpod programme for two weeks and already she’s noticing wonderful differences.

In the first video, as you’ll see, she was very emotional about her weight and the way she felt about herself.

In the second video, which she shot the next day, she’s very happy about the way her attitude to food is changing.

By the end of the week Helen was even happier and more confident – so much so that she’s talking about becoming a Zumba instructor! Amazing!

Helen says she now has a different mindset and has  learned an important lesson about herself by completing her daily video blogs. “It’s not just about losing weight, it’s also about gaining self-respect,” she says.

“We should be kinder about ourselves, learn to love ourselves more for who we are. Life is for enjoying, not for blaming ourselves.”

Isn’t that so true? I’m sure Helen is going to inspire many, many people with her success.

So it will be wonderful if lots more of you can share daily videos in Slimpod Club or with a friend if you’re not in the group.

Imagine if one person saw your progress and used that to take action to change their life. How would that make you feel?

Then imagine if hundreds of people saw that and took action. How would that make you feel??

Inspiring others is the one of the most rewarding feelings and is one that can then be used to encourage you even further than just your physical and emotional journey.

Please leave a comment below to let me know about your video diary and to tell me what you think about Helen’s success.

The post Like Helen, let Slimpod unlock the secret of the Power Within appeared first on Slimpod.

70-day challenge will keep you on track through the summer https://t.co/WbBs5121yj

70-day challenge will keep you on track through the summer https://t.co/WbBs5121yj

— sosnicaragua (@sosnicaragua) July 9, 2018

from Twitter https://twitter.com/sosnicaragua

70-day challenge will keep you on track through the summer

JULY and August can be really difficult when you’re trying to eat healthily and lose weight – because these months are full of temptations and distractions. So I’ve been giving a lot of thought about how I can help you stay on track.

Last week I told you I’d been speaking at a conference in Manchester to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS, where a 70-day Ditch Sugar challenge was issued to 250,000 people in Tameside. One of my fellow speakers was the leading cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, an expert on healthy sugar-free eating, and as we chatted during a break I had a light bulb moment…

Why not issue a similar challenge to all my Slimpodders and readers of my blog! So that’s what I did and here’s the details of what you have to do.

If you’ve been listening to your pods for a few weeks or more, chances are you’re already being nudged away from sweet things. But you’ll no doubt be grateful for some extra motivation and guidance.

If you’re not on my Slimpod programme, here’s your chance to experience the remarkable benefits of healthy eating.

Towards the end of this blog I’ll be giving you a link to an article about the foods that can give your body an amazing boost as well as helping you to be in control.

Aseem and I at the conference

But first here’s how the 70-day Ditch Sugar challenge can give you extra motivation to keep you on track through the summer.

A project I’m doing with the Channel 4 programme How To Lose Weight Well has got the staff at Tameside hospital recording a short video each day and uploading it to their own private FB group.

This was originally so the programme’s producers of the programme could track progress but it’s had a whole host of other benefits too which have been quite remarkable.

One thing it has done is hold the group members accountable. They’ve really got into the habit of doing their daily video because it helps them to reflect on the positive things in the day.

Crucially, they can hear themselves speaking the positives out loud and just like seeing, hearing is believing. This really is fabulous for self-esteem.

One of the best things is it helps you to focus on the process NOT the scales. As you know, it’s the repetition of small daily actions which creates the results.

And finally, it’s truly inspiring for the people watching and creates a lovely positive effect all round!

So to help you be truly successful and to help motivate you during the 70 days of the Ditch Sugar challenge, four members of staff at Tameside hospital have agreed to lead the challenge in our very own Slimpod Club group.

They’ve been posting videos for the past four weeks in their Channel 4 group so they’ll lead by example by posting in Slimpod Club and I know they inspire you with their success so far!

Here’s all you have to do:

STEP ONE

Make a short video every day on your phone (it doesn’t have to be too long!) telling everyone about your positives, how you’re cutting down on sugar and what healthier eating is doing for you.

STEP TWO

Post your video up in Slimpod Club if you’re a member. Add the hashtag #70daychallenge

STEP THREE

Sit back and bask in the praise you’re bound to get from other Slimpodders!

I can’t wait to see all your videos. It should be great fun – and hugely valuable.

Now, as promised, here’s some expert guidance from Dr Malhotra’s ground-breaking book The Pioppi Diet, which I’m always raving about.

The simplest way to ditch sugar is to stop buying processed food such as ready meals, takeaways, things in tins and packets.

Buy fresh food and cook it yourself so there’s no danger of hidden sugar creeping in, which is the real danger with non-fresh food.

You might be surprised how good you feel after just a day or two on healthier food because it creates a virtuous circle in your body and your mind.

Once you start to get your buzz from eating fish, lean meat and vegetables instead of pizza, pasta and curries it just becomes easier and easier to keep up the good work for yourself and your family.

Ten Great Foods To Boost Your Healthy Lifestyle

Do leave a comment below this blog to let me know how your videos are coming along. And how your healthier eating is going this summer.

The post 70-day challenge will keep you on track through the summer appeared first on Slimpod.