Stress and Your Weight

When we get stressed we lose a certain mount of self awareness.

 When we become less aware, we tend to overeat, crave junk food, drink too much alcohol and feel that we have no time for exercise – or no time for anything! Yes, stress is destructive. It can totally destroy any efforts to lose weight and even if we succeed we tend to find ourselves putting the weight back on again.

So what’s the answer? In a nutshell anything you can do to reduce your daily stress will help. One good approach to stress control is through the practice of mindfulness: This is a form of meditation that is becoming very popular in the western world today.

Mindfulness meditation has its roots in Buddhism. Of course, you don’t have to be a Buddhist to practice it, anyone can benefit from this highly useful technique. So what does this have to do with weight loss? The answer: EVERYTHING!

When we develop mindfulness our lives change: we become much more aware of how we feel and our body’s real needs. We eat slower. We enjoy our food more. All this dramatically contributes to lasting weight control.

So if you’re interested in finding a practical way of bringing a bit more calmness and tranquillity into your life, along with the added advantage of  easier weight control, why not try `Mindfulness meditation`.

I recommend you read this book: http: //www.amazon.co.uk/Mindfulness-English-Bhante-Henepola-Gunaratana/dp/0861713214/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

Until next time.

Marcus

Gastric Band Hypnosis - Can it Work For You?

You might be reading this because you’ve heard about gastric band hypnosis. You might even be considering it, but scepticism is holding you back, right? Well hopefully this article will help you decide whether, or not, it’s for you.

Hypnosis as an aid for weight loss is nothing new. Thousands of people have successfully used it to shed unwanted pounds of fat, but what about the “gastric band approach?

The theory of gastric band hypnosis can be explained like this: while in a deeply relaxed state you imagine yourself going through the gastric band surgery procedure…seeing, hearing and feeling the whole process. As a result part of you feels as though your stomach is smaller and you need less food. So you eat less and you lose weight…

…but does it work?

Well, that depends on how good your imagination is and your level of hypnotic suggestibility. There is, of course, the question of how motivated you are to lose weight too. In a nutshell it works! But most people need a little more extra work.

Let me explain…

…the best approach when working with weight control is to use a variety of different techniques…not just imagining having a gastric band fitted.This might include suggestions to eat slowly, your stomach feels smaller, visualising your self at your perfect weight and parts therapy (dealing with inner conflict).

So yes, hypnosis is a fantastic way of assisting weight loss, but you need an experienced therapist/coach who can creatively tailor the session to fit your individual needs…

…you never know it might be the best decision you’ve ever made.

Until next time

Marcus

The Low Carb Diet Myth

If you’re thinking about trying a low carbohydrate diet because you’ve heard it’s the best way to lose weight—think again!

Let me ask you this: Can you imagine living the rest of your life without bread, rice, or pasta? Would you be happy not eating porridge or cereals EVER again. I wouldn’t and I don’t think many people would. The truth is, there’s no point in starting a diet that you are not prepared to follow for the rest of your life. It makes no sense. 

Yes, you will lose weight, but unless you have a will of iron you’ll just put it all back on again

…let me explain:

There’s been a lot of interest in the low carb diet approach in recent years. But of course it’s nothing really new, it’s only the names that change: “South beach”, “Atkins” and there are many others.

In fact, many of the new so called wonder diets are based on low carb approaches, but the results are ALWAYS the same: People stick with them for a while and then usually rebel and pig out on any sweet thing they can get their hands on. Of course, there’s always a few who will stick with the plan— but the truth is — most don’t.

Some people reading this blog might want to point out that you can gradually bring carbohydrates back into the diet, but I tell you now it’s tough to get the balance right.

 Here’s the important thing to remember: if it’s not a diet approach that you can see yourself following for the rest of your life, it probably won’t work! Not for long anyway.

Until next time
Marcus