Be honest now, do you really BELIEVE you can lose weight?

IN my last blog I was so excited about Slimpod and myself making our TV debut on Channel 4’s How To Lose Weight Well and I explained how believing in myself and my goals was the critical part in making that happen.

Over the many years that I’ve been a weight loss specialist, I’ve noticed that people who’ve struggled with their weight for a long time, lose the belief that they CAN lose weight.

Then for many, it affects their self-esteem in general.  They’ve been so focussed on the scales and have literally allowed that contraption to control how they feel and believe about themselves as a person.

And that’s when things go very wrong, because even though you’re acting as if you want to lose weight, your heart isn’t in it because you don’t believe you can do it.

Then you give up.

To achieve lasting weight loss you have to take back control and believe in yourself!

This involves a daily habit-changing process because when you change your daily behaviour this begins to filter through and has a big influence in the way you think about yourself and your beliefs about what you can achieve.

If you’re making a habit of noticing daily improvements to your behaviour and to the way you feel, magical things happen because seeing is believing!

And trust me, the change can be truly dramatic.

For starters, it has an amazing effect on consistency because you’re focusing on the daily wins rather than the results (ie the number on the scales).

This process of daily actions and wins builds your belief and belief helps to build resilience.  It’s resilience and consistency that gets you to your goal!

The psychology of self-belief is process I teach to our Slimpod community and those who choose to adopt the advice get great results.

In Summer 2018 we ran a challenge in Slimpod Club which involved members recording their daily wins in a very short video on their phone and uploading it into our private group every day.

It really worked well and helped people to focus on the daily process, which in turn helped their self-belief.

The nurses who had taken part in the How To Lose Weight Well programme said it really helped them believe in themselves and their goal too.

They really got into the habit of doing their daily video because it helped them to reflect on the positive things in the day and they got a huge sense of achievement.  Crucially, they heard themselves speaking the positives out loud and this has a dramatic effect because it makes it real.

But one of the best things is that it helps with motivation. As you know, it’s the repetition of small daily actions which creates the results and when you get in the habit of focusing on the daily process, it becomes very motivational.

You get the opportunity to give yourself a big high five and it’s a huge vote for the person you want to become.

And finally, it’s truly inspiring for other people watching and creates a lovely positive and motivational effect all round!  Everyone gets to experience Nature’s happy drugs!

One of the people who took part in the challenge last year popped up in a video in Slimpod Club last week and it was SO lovely to see her.

I asked Christina McKay if I could share her message because it was such a powerful one.

Whether you’re a member of Slimpod Club or not, please do spare a few minutes of your time to watch the video because it’s truly inspirational.

Thanks so much Christina for allowing me to share this and inspire people via my blog.

I’m about to kick off another video challenge in the private group, so if you’re in our Slimpod Club community watch out for it!

If you’re not in the group, it’s no problem.  You can easily record a very quick video at the end of the day or any time you have a ‘Wow’ moment.

You could buddy up with a friend and help them to believe in themselves more by taking some daily action too!  Do scroll down and let me know if you struggle with your belief in your ability to lose weight.

It’s one of the most important things to get right and we cover it in the programme. But I can also create a special vlog next week to help you if I know it’s something you’d like more of.

Let me know by leaving a comment below. I love reading them all!

 

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How to lose weight well: Believe in your dreams and you will achieve

HOW to lose weight well is everyone’s goal and one of the key parts of our Slimpod programme is about personal empowerment – giving people back control over their food and lifestyle choices.  We base a lot of our system on positive psychology and we encourage people to share their wins.

When you share good things you feel good and you inspire others!

So I thought I’d share some of my big wins this week because I’m very proud of them!  I hope they’ll inspire you too!

For many years my dream has been to make a difference to the health of the staff working our National Health Service.

The people who work so hard to keep us healthy and alive are the least able to keep themselves healthy because their working environment makes it so difficult.

It’s not been an easy ride – and I had to really believe in my dream!

However, nearly two years ago it happened and I began working with the Chief Executive and staff at Tameside Hospital in Manchester to help staff lose weight and be healthier.

I’ve loved every minute of it and together we’ve been making a big difference.

A year ago the restaurant became the first hospital restaurant in the UK to go sugar free and it made the news!

Last June the producers of Channel 4’s How to Lose Weight Well asked if they could feature us on their programme. Well! That was a bit of a no-brainer!!

We spent a day filming and we enjoyed every minute of our time with Dr Xand!!

Here’s me being interviewed by Dr Xand for How To Lose Weight Well…

Throughout the 12 weeks the staff had to record their video updates in a Whatsapp group and it was so wonderful getting to know these wonderful people. Their eating habits changed and it was SO lovely to witness the joy and happiness.

The programme was broadcast on Monday evening and I was very nervous about what would make it on to the screen because we weren’t told in advance.

I must admit I was a little disappointed with how little time they gave to the results because we gave them loads of footage. Lovely Dawn, who was featured, felt they could’ve shown more too but I know there’s a limit to how much can be crushed into the show and I’m SO  very grateful to Channel 4 for the opportunity.

In case you missed it here’s some pictures and you can see it on the Channel 4 site. It’s in the second half of episode two.

And here’s the real stars of How To Lose Weight Well, some of our lovely Tameside hospital staff…

The TV publicity has attracted tons of people to Slimpod so a very warm welcome if you joined us after watching the programme.

If you didn’t watch the show, here’s where you can see it.

How To Lose Weight Well

Slimpod’s always in the national press, it seems, and this week saw us pop up in three places.

The Daily Mirror did a lovely piece on how we’ve helped the staff at a hospital to be healthier and happier. You can read the Mirror article here.

The low calorie healthy eating hospital

Then our lovely nurse Laurabeth Ives, who’s lost an amazing amount of weight with Slimpod and looks just sensational, was featured in the Daily Mirror and two other national newspapers.

Here’s the Mirror article

As a result, I’m so proud that several hospitals have been in touch about the work we’re doing at Tameside and a lot of NHS staff have become part of the community. It warms my heart so much.

So there’s my Win Of The Week! I hope it’s helped inspire you to believe in your goals – because when you believe, you achieve! That’s how to lose weight well.

Tell me more about your dreams and goals by dropping me a comment below.

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Boot Camp 2: How to eat to lose fat, by Dale the Medicinal Chef

HI THERE, Boot Campers! I’m so happy you’re taking part in the four week challenge!  Following on from last week and the work we did creating our Goalmaps, in week 2 we get down to business!  The food!!

Obviously Slimpod motivates us to automatically make healthier food choices, which is key,  but I know there’s a lot of confusion about what food is best to help you lose fat.

So this week I thought I’d bring in some expert advice and the Medicinal Chef, Dale Pinnock, is here to help you get a step closer to achieving those goals you created!

Dale has written 14 books and appeared on TV many times so he knows a thing or two about healthy eating!

I asked Dale to join me to help you with your mission towards lasting weight loss and here’s the video:

The link to Dale’s programme is here and if you insert the code SLIMPOD you’ll get a 15 per cent discount.

So let’s put Dale’s advice into practice over the next few weeks and build some healthy habits!

Use food to our advantage, whether it’s for weight loss, wellbeing or general health. Remember you are what you eat.

How to eat to lose fat

So for the next three weeks I would like you to focus on loving your body – and I mean really loving it!

Imagine it’s your most prized possession, something you worship and care about.

You could even imagine your body is a six-month-old baby – how careful would you be about what went in its mouth?

Healthy eating means cutting refined carbs!

Here’s the task!  For the next 21 days, I’d really like you consciously be aware of the refined carbs and processed food you’re eating and gently cut them down.

This means cake, biscuits, white bread, chocolate, white pasta and anything that you know in your heart is not worthy of going into your mouth!

Slimpod will be nudging you towards the healthier choices but there’s so much food that looks healthy but really isn’t nutritious or good for you at all!

There’s SO much hidden sugar in processed foods so aim to avoid them.  I’m not asking you to give them up completely, all I’m doing is asking you to be a bit more aware of what you’re putting in your shopping trolley and then in your mouth!

I bet you’ll be amazed how easily you can do this and imagine how much good you’ll be doing your body.

Remember, we’re not dieting here.  We’re just making a few good changes to your daily eating habits.

One of the main action points for this week is to make sure you eat protein twice a day. Lean meat, fish and eggs are packed with healthy protein.

This is the only thing I’m going to insist on.

So just to recap: It’s really simple. Cut down on the refined carbs! That means less processed food. And pump up the protein!

You’ll naturally be losing interest in most of the sweet stuff and snacks but sometimes we’re fooled by the marketers and we fall prey to the 3 for 2 offers – so beware!!

If you don’t buy them they won’t get into your mouth!

I’m hoping you’ve taken your measurements last week, but if you haven’t do it now!

If you have a tight pair of trousers or a skirt then in three weeks it should be easier to get into.

So there you go!  Your Slimpod will support you with your healthy eating and I’d love you to write down your daily wins below or if you’re a member of the Slimpod Community share them with us there.

Here’s to your success!

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The art of goal-setting made easy when you’re losing weight

IN my first blog about Boot Camp on Monday I said I had an amazing goal-setting expert to help you create goals that will serve you through 2019 and help you succeed.  Brian Mayne is great friend, mentor and a world leader in personal development.

He works with corporates and celebrities worldwide, helping them achieve great things in their lives. In the video below Brian takes you through the process of creating a goal map by using his system – and it’s free!

Brian explains how his unique and exciting goal-setting system works and shows you how easy it is to create your own goal map that you can use to help visualise your goals and help you to lose weight.

Brian and his Goalmapping system helped to change my life many years ago and I still use it all the time so I’m sharing the magic of goal-setting with you today. He explains everything in this video which I’m sure will inspire you and capture your imagination they it did for me when I first met BRian many years ago.

The art of goal setting

I would REALLY encourage you to spend a few minutes creating your own goal map.   Please do take a picture of it and post below or in Slimpod Club if you’re a member of our private group on Facebook.  I’d love to see them!

Look out for next Monday’s blog which will star another one of my expert friends, the Medicinal Chef Dale Pinnock.

We’re about to record another video together and in this next one, Dale will be giving you tips on how to eat to lose that excess fat for the last time!

Enjoy!

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New Year weight loss Boot Camp – no pain, lots of gain, plenty of fun

THE New Year is here so let’s attack 2019 with gusto in my four-week fun Boot Camp! There’ll be no pain but lots of gain – and most of all, I’m going to make it really enjoyable. At Christmas so many people completely lose the plot with food and drink and daily routines go out of the window. So here’s the chance to slip back in the groove and get motivated to shift some more inches with my New Year weight loss Boot Camp!

Work with me over the next four weeks and we’ll get you achieving your goals!  This first blog is a quick recap on goal-setting and a couple of tasks to kick you off. Then we’ll follow this with lots more advice and tips.

This year I’m involving two of my expert friends in my New Year weight loss Boot Camp and they’ll be helping you succeed – so there’s NO excuse!  The first expert is Brian Mayne, who’s a goal-setting expert.

For over 20 years his Goalmapping system has been helping companies and individuals worldwide to achieve huge success. Bryan’s also an international speaker on the subject.

He’ll be helping you to create amazing goals using his Goalmapping system. I’ve been good friends with Brian for nearly 15 years and his system helped me transform my life so I thought I’d share the magic around a bit!

Brian will be taking you through the Goalmapping process and his system is free to use. You might like to take a look here . I’ll be recording a video with Brian later this week and I’ll be sharing it with you.

So firstly – let’s kick everything off by quickly revisiting the whole reason for setting goals.  A goal provides a target on which to concentrate your effort.

Our brains are like goal-seeking missiles – they love it!  Goals give you direction and allow you to focus on what you want to achieve.

And a hugely important part of this process is that it helps you KNOW specifically what you want so you’ll be aware when you’ve achieved it.

If you have a destination in mind, you have to know what it will look like when you get there!

By setting goals you’re also able to measure your progress because you have start and finish dates. They make you accountable.

So we’ll kick off my New Year weight loss Boot Camp by thinking about the big goal.

When you’re creating your goal, please make sure it’s meaningful – getting attached to the emotion of WHY you want this goal is essential because that’s what’s going to help to drive you!  Here’s some possible goals:

* A size goal.  These are the BEST goals because one of the major aims of losing weight will be to get into smaller clothes and you’ll FEEL GREAT when you do! You could easily set a goal to drop a size during this four week Boot Camp.

* A health goal.  Some people want to get their diabetes under control…great goal!

When you’ve worked out your goal, the next step is to break it down into baby steps.  This is the key to consistency and habit formation.

Habits give us the results we want but the real reason habits matter is that each action you take is like a vote for the person you want to become. And we become what we repeatedly do.

Small daily actions and small wins take you towards your goal, enabling and empowering you to form good eating and lifestyle habits which will result in sustainable weight loss.

And this is where the importance of small wins comes in. Small wins help you feel like you’re regularly accomplishing something.

You need the big goal but the small wins motivate you to keep on going – and eventually that big goal is reached.

The small daily wins trigger a shot of dopamine, the pleasure neurochemical, and this is crucial for motivation.  If you have dopamine working with you rather than against you then you’re on to a winner.

This is why it’s important to jot down three small wins at the end of each day because that’s the power that will help motivate you to succeed.

The small wins can be improvements in what you’re eating, your movement or the way you’re feeling. How you’re feeling is fundamentally important to your weight loss journey because that’s what’s going to give you the fuel to keep going!

So the task for the first week of my New Year weight loss Boot Camp is to identify your goal and during the week you’ll have Brian’s help if you choose to create a Goalmap.  It’s a lot of fun and can be used in every area of your life, so I thoroughly recommend you do it!

For the next week I’d like you to identify those baby steps which will take you towards your goal and make sure you achieve two or three of them every day.  Here’s a suggestion:

ONE: Listen to your Slimpods EVERY day. Obviously, listening to your Slimpod (and other pods if you have them) is crucial if you’re to lose some inches!  It’s only nine minutes (and you’ll be asleep in two!) so make it your first task to focus on this.

TWO: Complete your success log and write down your wins at the end of the day. This is easy to do if you’re following the habit plan and have identified your baby steps because all you have to do is block out a little time each day to complete your action and there you have the win! Couldn’t be simpler. And of course Slimpod makes habits so easy to create that soon you’ll notice you won’t even have to think about what you’re doing.

THREE: Could be to consciously change your diet slightly and buy fewer processed foods or refined carbs.  You’ll notice you won’t miss them at all. OR you could do 15 minutes exercise every day (or you could do both!!)

So now’s the time to get to it with my New Year weight loss Boot Camp and lose some inches! For the next seven days, feed back every day by using the comments section below or post in Slimpod Club on Facebook.

I’ll be looking out for you! If you have any questions for Brian, please post them below and I’ll make sure he answers them in the video.

If you’re a member of our private Slimpod Club group on Facebook, then we’re running some special motivational threads in there for the next few weeks.  If you’re not on Facebook then watch out for my blogs/vlogs over the next four weeks because they’ll really help you.

Do let me know how you’re getting on with my New Year weight loss Boot Camp. I love reading your comments.

 

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