Monday, February 24, 2020

How to step over obstacles in life and reach your weight loss goals

THE journey to thinking like a slimmer person is always going to be an interesting and eventful one. Just when you think it’s going so well, bang! An obstacle appears which throws you off course and you stumble.

Obstacles are a real pain but they need to be looked at for what they are – an obstacle and not something that’s going to make you fail for the umpteenth time!

Life is full of ups and downs and obstacles – and so is your journey to sustainable weight loss.

Recently a lovely lady called Catherine posted a message in our Slimpod Club and it helped so many people.

So with her permission I’m sharing it with all our lovely people outside the group because it’s so useful and enlightening. This is what she wrote:

“Apologies in advance for what is bound to be a long post. I’m going to use this as a way of working out all the many complex feelings I’ve been having this week. Spoiler alert – it has a happy ending!

“I’ve just started week 10 and it’s been two weeks since my last update. Some of you may know that I’ve been one of the lucky ones who noticed changes very quickly but I’m also one of those who has been happy to take this journey slowly.

“I don’t weigh and haven’t since the end of week one. I have lost 7 inches from my waist and have noticed quite a change in my body shape.

“My wins have been largely based on my transformed attitude to food – I’ve gone from being a serious binge eater who would secretly raid cupboards to being able to enjoy treats without guilt and in moderation.

“I listen to Chillpod and Slimpod every night before bed and have just introduced Fitpod. Last Monday I woke up feeling dreadful. Not ill, just inexplicably miserable and down.

“I soon realised it was the dreaded PMT but it hit me like a train and I began to feel what I haven’t done since starting this – like I was going to ‘fail’ and that, once again, I would not be able to sustain the excellent start I’d enjoyed.

“Same old, same old  

“I commented on a previous live chat that this programme has helped me to be a more positive person, that by nature I’m quite cynical. When I first heard Sandra talk about the need to keep things positive in the group, I knew I’d find that a struggle.

“I’m used to having a good old whinge when things have ‘gone south’ as they have always done.

“So, mindful that I couldn’t come on here and moan (although I did post a brief message at the start of the week and really appreciated the support I got) I have waited until today to come on here and write my update.

“I’ve kept writing in my diary, trying hard to write three things I’m grateful for and my three wins even when I felt like I just wanted to give into the slump and give up.

“At my lowest point this week the only win I could come up with was ‘I did my best’. But it was better than nothing.

“I’ve still come on and interacted with people – liking their wins and giving support when I felt I could. Having to stay positive for the sake of the group has been really good for me.

“So, I kept going and this morning, although still not feeling great, I got up and prepared to face the day. During a phone call to my mum this morning, who I’m going to be seeing later this week for the first time since the beginning of December, I was telling her about my progress and, as I was talking, something clicked in my head.

“I told her all about my wins and my inch loss, about the clothes that fit better and about no longer finding myself eating all the biscuits, about my changed attitude to food and my new found walking habits (thanks to Heather for organising the Fitbit challenges!) and I realised something important…

“This week does not define me. It is not the end of the journey nor have I reached my destination or come as far as I can. I don’t have to ‘give up’ or ‘throw in the towel’.

“I can keep going. I can keep putting one foot in front of the other. In fact, when I think about it rationally, I haven’t even been that ‘bad’ this week. I haven’t gone back to bad habits or wiped out all my good progress.

“I’m still ‘winning’.

“So, storm Dennis is raging outside and I’ve finally cleared the ironing pile. Then, feeling more motivated than I have all week, I finally got around to trying a Lucy Wyndham Read workout and – guess what – I finished one 7 minute ab workout and loved it so I did the next one that popped up – 7 minute legs. Then I found a 20 indoor walking and toning workout and did that too.

“So I suppose what I’ve learnt – and the message I want to share – is this. It’s normal to have ‘off days’ – even a number of them. But they don’t have to turn into off weeks. Even off weeks don’t have to be off months.

“We are human and life throws so much at us. Sometimes we have to roll with the punches, pull up our big girl pants, step over the bump in the road, pick ourselves up, pat ourselves down and keep moving forward. Only that way will we ever reach our destination. “

I’m so grateful to everyone here who has supported me. If you’ve given up half your life to read this ridiculously long post, thank you. I hoped reading it has helped someone. It’s certainly helped me to write it .

“Stay safe everyone and keep podding.”

How has Catherine’s story resonated with you? How do you step over the obstacles in your way? Please leave a comment below – I love reading them all and they inspire everyone else more than you could ever imagine.

The post How to step over obstacles in life and reach your weight loss goals appeared first on Slimpod.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Break emotional eating: Three ways to change evening habits

break emotional eating

EMOTIONAL eating is a BIG problem for so many people. Recently I’ve been having lots of conversations about how to break emotional eating within our Slimpod community and in my Facebook live chats.

So in my vlog this week I’m telling the story of a lovely lady who has struggled with emotional eating in the form of mindless snacking in the evening for many years .

Now I’m helping her stop – and in the video I tell you how.

If you’re like so many others who just can’t control their snacking in the evenings – even though you’ve eaten your dinner – then this is a video for you!

I know you’ll find it useful and please do share with anyone you think will find it helpful to break emotional eating, too.

Please drop me a note at the bottom of the blog to let me know if you relate to the story I’ve spoken about today.

 

SUMMARY

**  We all have the answers within us, we just get a bit bogged down in life and can’t see the wood from the trees – especially when we don’t seem to have any control over the behaviour and it really stresses us.

**  Take a bit of time and answer this: if there were just ONE action you could take which would move you towards your goal of stopping emotional eating, what would it be?

**  Stop and think about your daily routine and see what you can do to change it. Even emotional eating becomes a habit, but it can be unravelled.

USEFUL LINKS

Ease the stress of emotional eating

One little task that will help you

Take control of evening danger time

FREE VIDEO RESOURCE

Subscribe to The Slimpod Channel on YouTube and you’ll have instant access to more than 60 of my videos offering free guidance on everything to do with weight loss, better health and happiness. So click the link below to go to my channel then hit the red Subscribe button. And if you find a video helpful, hit the Like and Share buttons!

The Slimpod Channel on YouTube

DO A FRIEND A FAVOUR

Please share my blog with any of your friends who might be in need of a little bit of help. Or tell your followers on Twitter and Facebook. There’s some share buttons below and you could be making an amazing difference to someone’s life.

 

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Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Now the magical Slimpod Live chats are on video every week

SINCE the start of January I’ve been hosting our regular Slimpod Club live chats via video within the private group on Facebook.  I’ve been chatting about some crucial elements of our programme and why certain daily actions are important for your success.

So far we’ve covered:

The psychology behind sharing wins.

How to set wins up so you feel the dopamine buzz.

How to create a shift in your identity so you’re thinking like a slimmer person.

We also talked about the emotional eating spectrum, because we have a LOT of emotional eaters within our community.

This new approach to our Wednesday chat has proved a great hit with our lovely Slimpodders, but I’m very aware we have thousands of members who are not part of our Slimpod private community on Facebook and I really want to support you, too.

There’s probably even a lot of people who ARE members of the Slimpod Club group but who missed the live chat.

I know you’ll benefit from the knowledge shared so here’s the live chat video from last week.

Please do let me know in the comments below if you’ve found it useful and would like me to share video chats with you on a regular basis.

If you’re not a member of the private group I would really urge you to join it.

I know some people are reluctant to be on Facebook, but you can join under any name purely to access this group and nothing else.

We have a hugely supportive community of people and do everything we can to help you succeed.

We also have a buddy system and mentoring programme. Slimpod Club is waiting for you as a massive free benefit if you’re on the Slimpod programme- simply email customerservices@thinkingslimmer.com and ask to join the group.

If you’re not on the Slimpod programme – why not ! What are you waiting for?

Here’s how you can try Slimpod free for 10 days with my special no-risk, no-obligation trial:

Start your free trial today

 

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Monday, February 3, 2020

Your brain’s a learning machine so teach it good daily habits

FOR the past few weeks I’ve been running a free Boot Camp to help everyone get 2020 off to the best possible start. This week I’ve got an extra bonus week for you!

If you’ve only recently joined the Slimpod family you can quickly catch up because I’ve put links lower down in the blog to the first four weeks. So you’ll be able to watch all the videos and catch up on the advice I’ve been giving.

This week I’m looking at habits. The secret of success is in your daily routine!  This is what I talk about in this week’s video plus a whole lot more!

Here’s the video…

Summary

**  Our daily life is one big habit.  Habits are the repeated small decisions you make and the actions you perform every day. Your life up until now is basically the sum total of your habits – and that can be a scary thought for some!

**  Your brain is an amazing piece of kit and is incredibly adaptable.  If it’s taken you in a direction that’s unhelpful, it can just as easily switch direction!

**  Consistency and repeating the good behaviours is the key – but it’s what people find so difficult to do!  The most effective way is to start with something small that you can build into your life without too much effort.

**  This then starts to become automatic, which is when your subconscious takes control – you just don’t have to think about it anymore.

This week’s task

Go back over the goals you set at the start of the month. Which ones have you achieved? And which ones are getting closer every day?

Now re-set those goals for the next four weeks if you need to. This will help you keep the momentum going – and use your groups or the people in Slimpod Club to keep you accountable.

Useful links

Boot Camp week one

Boot Camp week two

Boot Camp week three

Boot Camp week four

Leave a comment

Drop me a comment below and tell me how you’re getting on with creating new healthy habits – and how you did it! Would love to know if my video has helped you in some way!

The post Your brain’s a learning machine so teach it good daily habits appeared first on Slimpod.