Don’t let negativity and self-sabotage hold you hostage

THE thing I’ve noticed most during over a decade of helping people to lose weight is that after a few weeks of beginning the latest “new thing,” the excitement and buzz wear off and fear and panic set in.

The destructive little voice in your head starts up again: “You’ll never succeed” or “You always fail, what’s so different this time?” or “What if I don’t lose weight?” or “What will people think if I fail again?”

Well, if this happens to you, I can tell you that you’re not alone. This is such a common thing and it CAN be stopped. That’s what I’m helping you with today.

My new video below, Don’t Let Negativity Hold You Hostage, explains how negativity and self-sabotage can be such a problem.

We’re in week four of the Mindset Reset challenge and it’s around this time in any weight loss exercise that motivation can hit the brakes and our efforts come to a grinding halt.

I’ve seen this SO often over the past 10 years and it causes so many problems.

Of course, sometimes life just gets in the way and we struggle to continue with our new habits and healthy regimes.

But for so many people, self-sabotage is involved and the destructive little voice in your head takes over!

My aim in life is to help you succeed and to inject you with the motivation to overcome the obstacles in your life.

Self-sabotage comes in many forms and I’ll be discussing this on my FB and Instagram live chats in more detail this week – so join me then (scroll down for full details).

Many of the beliefs we have about our body image have started in childhood or during teenage years, and they create an idea that over time becomes an ingrained self-limiting belief.  This also sows the seeds of self-doubt.

Our thoughts really matter because our minds and bodies are linked.

We need to give ourselves kind messages and be nice to ourselves because otherwise we’ll find ourselves going round and round in circles and getting nowhere fast.

You must change the script of your life right now so that the soap opera in your mind isn’t on repeat all your life.

This is about believing in yourself.  Trusting yourself and having faith that you can bash through the self-doubt and knock down that negative voice in your head!

Have the courage and you will reap the reward.

Your final challenge!

Continue to listen to your Slimpod.

Continue to write your wins.

Be aware when your brain is being hijacked by negativity and reframe the thoughts.

Treat these negative moments as obstacles in life’s journey, keep calm and carry on!

Watch my Lives this week

Please join my Lives this week: tomorrow (Tuesday Sept 29) on the Slimpod public Facebook page at 7.30pm UK time, in our private Slimpod Club on Wednesday at 8pm, on our Instagram page on Thursday at 7pm and back on the Slimpod public page at 7.30.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

On the Slimpod Channel on YouTube  I have 80 videos about weight loss and wellbeing. They’re a great FREE resource for you. Subscribe to the channel and you’ll get priority notification every time a new video goes up. And make sure you smash those Like and Share buttons for me!

How’s the challenge going?

Please let me know by leaving a comment below. I read all of them – although I can’t always answer many –  and they help me to create new and valuable content for you.

New to my Mindset Challenge?

If you’re one of the hundreds of people who’ve joined the Slimpod Community in the past few weeks, then a big welcome! There’s still time to join my Reset Your Mindset challenge – you can catch up here:

Week One: Improve your health from the inside out

Week Two: Supercharge your weight loss

Week Three: 5 tips to reduce your drinking

The post Don’t let negativity and self-sabotage hold you hostage appeared first on Slimpod.

5 tips to reduce your drinking and start feeling better about life

MY Reset Your Mindset blog this week is very different – it’s got 5 tips to reduce your drinking and it’s been written by a lovely member of my social media team, Kirstin Chaplin. Her advice is all the more special because it comes from personal experience. Here’s her 5 tips to reduce your drinking…

Hi, my name is Kirstin and I haven’t had a drink for almost four years.

When I tell people that I usually get one of two reactions – ‘Wow! I wish I could do that.’ Or, ‘Wow! I could never do that!’

Now, I’m not here to tell anyone to stop drinking. What constitutes ‘problem drinking’ varies from person to person.

I wouldn’t say I had a ‘drinking problem.’ But I would say alcohol was a problem for me.

A couple of glasses of wine in the evening would make me feel jittery and tearful the next day. Any more and my anxiety would be through the roof.

Drinking’s on the rise

Worryingly, last week a report revealed the number of people drinking to dangerous levels had doubled during lockdown.

If you’re questioning your relationship with booze, ask yourself these questions:

Does alcohol disrupt your sleep?

Does it make you feel tired or lethargic the next day?

Do you often regret drinking and scold yourself in the morning?

Do you feel anxious, irritable, or weepy the next day?

Does alcohol make you crave unhealthy foods?

If yes then there’s no better time to take action and cut down.

5 tips to reduce your drinking

Here are my 5 tips to reduce your drinking:

1. Change your social media habits

‘What has social media to do which how much wine I drink?’ you’re thinking. Quite a lot.

You see, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter show you more of what you engage with.

So every time you like or laugh at a ‘Wine O’Clock’ meme you’re telling the algorithm ‘Hey, I want to see more of this.’

This then creates is a drip-feed of information to your brain which says ‘it’s OK to crack open the vino every night. Why not? Everyone is doing it!’

Simply stop liking, sharing and commenting and you’ll soon stop seeing those posts.

2. Change your triggers

Have you noticed how a familiar TV theme tune can make you crave a certain food or drink?

This was something I struggled with until I recognised what was happening and took action 

Now, when a new season of a favourite show starts, I make sure I build new habits. For example, I’ll make a cup of tea as the Bake Off titles roll.

After a few episodes, when I hear the music, my first thought is ‘tea!’

3. Distraction tactics

I remember speaking to Sandra not long after quitting and explaining how flat life felt. Saturday nights were as exciting as a Tuesdays with nothing (and by that I mean booze) to look forward to.

Sandra explained that I was missing the ‘buzz’ that alcohol gave me and I needed to replace it with something else.

It’s worth bearing in mind that life might feel a little drab for a while and you’ll need to find a distraction. But, once you’re over this particular obstacle, it will be worth it.

4. Try low alcohol alternatives

When I first stopped drinking, I leaned on no-lo (no and low alcohol) drinks. There are so many fantastic alternatives out there you’ll never feel like a sober-saddo at a party.

5. Never say never

As you know, feeling deprived is not a great motivator for success. When I first gave up drinking, I couldn’t contemplate never drinking again.

Instead, I committed to giving up for a year. This had two advantages:

* I had a get out of jail free card at the end of 12 months

* My friends stopped hassling me to ‘just have one’

I believe committing to a longer period of abstinence is easier not least because the longer you go for, the better you’ll feel. And you never know, you might, like me, love it so much you decide to never go back. 

********************

If you need some extra help

Thanks, Kirstin. The 5 tips to reduce your drinking will really help a lot of people, I’m sure.

Lots of Slimpodders find they need a little bit more help with cutting down on alcohol and use our special alcohol pod as well as their other pods.

It normally sells for £39.99 but for my valued Podders I give a £25 discount – use the code GOLDTHANKS at the checkout and the pod is yours for £14.99.

Here’s a link where you can buy the pod: Cut Down On Alcohol

How’s the challenge going?

Have you been eating extra spinach, avocado and broccoli for the past week? What differences have you noticed so far in your energy levels and your weight management?

Please let me know by leaving a comment below. And do please let me know if alcohol is an issue for you.

I read all your comments and they help me to create new and valuable content for you.

Watch my Lives this week

Please join my Lives this week when I’ll diving deeper into all of this: tomorrow (Tuesday Sept 22) on the Slimpod public Facebook page at 7.30pm UK time, in our private Slimpod Club on Wednesday at 8pm, on our Instagram page on Thursday at 7pm and back on the Slimpod public page at 7.30.

New to my Mindset Challenge?

If you’re one of the hundreds of people who’ve joined the Slimpod Community in the past few weeks, then a big welcome! There’s still time to join my Reset Your Mindset challenge – you can catch up here:

Week One: Improve your health from the inside out

Week Two: Supercharge your weight loss

The post 5 tips to reduce your drinking and start feeling better about life appeared first on Slimpod.

These three superfoods will supercharge your weight loss

YOU possibly see them every week when you do your supermarket shop and don’t give them a second thought.  But there are three amazing superfoods which can supercharge your weight loss and give your body a wonderful health boost.

In week two of my Reset Your Mindset challenge I’m telling you all about these superfoods  and I’m also introducing you to a lovely Slimpodder who’s masterminded an exciting special project to investigate their effects.

The challenge I’m setting you for the next 21 days is to add these three things to your daily eating and cut right down on sugar! In that way we can supercharge your weight loss.

Remember, this isn’t about resetting your Slimpod programme – it’s about resetting your mindset so you achieve even greater success.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been listening to Slimpod for one week or one year – this is definitely for you!

Let’s start with Michelle Budd, a blood specialist I met a year ago at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham. As well as being a scientist she was also a size 18 sugar addict, a pre-diabetic and was very close to being insulin resistant.

This is a really unhealthy combination because insulin resistance is by far the biggest reason weight loss is challenging.

In this video, which she shot a year ago, Michelle talks about how Slimpod helped tackle her sugar addiction.

Then, as Slimpod helped her take control of her sugar consumption,  Michelle was intrigued by how her blood was reacting to the changes in her eating.

She knew it was vital to stimulate her metabolism to help her body cells become more efficient at burning fat.

Were there specific foods which could help her do that? With the help of a small group of fellow Slimpod community members she set out to answer that big question.

She studied their eating and their weight loss over a six-week period and here’s what she found:

Three foods in particular helped give a major boost to people on the Slimpod programme – avocados, spinach and broccoli.

In Michelle’s case, she has lost 18lbs in the three months she’s been eating them while listening to her Slimpod and is down to a size 14!

Here’s the three superfoods I want you to add to your daily eating for the next 21 days:

Avocados

Avocados contain a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 vitamins and minerals. They don’t contain cholesterol or sodium and are low in saturated fat. Most importantly, they are rich in fibre, indigestible plant matter that reduces blood sugar spikes and makes you feel full quicker by raising levels of the hormone leptin, which controls your full signal. A quarter of an avocado a day is all you need to eat.

Broccoli

Probably the greatest superfood of all! Broccoli is a good source of fibre and protein, and contains sulphur, iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K and a good array of B vitamins. Eating steamed broccoli regularly reduces cholesterol and lowers the risk of heart disease and the fibre in it needs more energy to digest it, raising your metabolism.

Spinach

Popeye knew what he was doing when he guzzled spinach! It contains a nutrient that helps your body turn food into energy and keeps you feeling active all day! The vitamin C in spinach is known to have the ability to prevent wrinkles (what’s not to like!) and it also contains lutient and nitrite that reduce the risk of heart attacks. Try sulphur-rich spinach uncooked in a salad because cooking reduces the nutrient value.

So there’s the three foods I want you to add to your shopping trolley. It’s as easy as A-B-S…avocado, broccoli, spinach.

Try to eat them every day because Michelle has shown that doing this makes your Slimpod even more effective.

Now for the one thing I want you to take out of your diet – sugar.

The full signal that tells you to stop eating comes from the hormone leptin, which is produced in the gut. Sadly, sugar and processed food destroy millions of good bacteria colonies which help keep leptin levels healthy.

The latest research shows that more than half the food we eat in the UK is ultra-high processed (ready meals, takeaways, sauces, cakes etc) and contains fructose-based sweeteners, preservatives and colourings.

Ready meals from freezer to microwave make our lives easier and quicker – but they may also be making our lives shorter, scientists fear.

Because ultra-processed food tends to be rich in refined carbs, energy-dense, heavy in saturated fats and salt and is very low on dietary fibre.

By eating more avocado, broccoli and spinach you’ll automatically be moving towards preparing more of your meals from fresh ingredients.

Cook fresh fish and meat rather than frozen and you’ll be adding important protein as well.

Result: you’ll be giving your weight loss a supercharged boost and making life for you and your family a good deal healthier!

Please join my Lives this week when I’ll diving deeper into all of this: tomorrow (Tuesday Sept 15) on the Slimpod public Facebook page at 7.30pm UK time, in our private Slimpod Club on Wednesday at 8pm, on our Instagram page on Thursday at 7pm and back on the Slimpod public page at 7.30.

And do let me know below how you’re getting on with the challenge so far. Your positive comments are always so helpful for others.

By the way, if you subscribe to The Slimpod Channel on YouTube you’ll get free access to nearly 80 videos.

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It’s time to focus on improving your health from the inside out

IT feels like the last six months have been all over the place and the focus has been on everything and everybody else rather than our own health.  So let’s press the reset button in our minds and head for success right now!

Most of us have been out of our usual routine, with some bad habits creeping back in again. These habits are very sneaky and they find ways to get back into your life when you least expect them to!

This four-week Reset For Success Challenge is all about your health and wellbeing. It’s about your mindset, your food and your exercise working together. And it’s crucially important to achieve consistency over the next 28 days.

So make the focus of your goal about improving your health from the inside out. When you think about things differently it will bypass all the insecurities about what the scales say.

For so many people the obstacle to lasting weight loss IS the scales. So if this is you, for the next four weeks take the focus off the scales and put it on to your health and your daily routine.

Click below to watch the video (and while you’re on my YouTube channel please hit the Like, Share and Subscribe buttons so I can spread the word to others!):

The important points to remember:

*  This is all about motivation, intention and commitment for 28 days!  It’s about moving towards success not being paralysed by limiting beliefs and fear.

* Get rid of the voice that says “I Can’t” and replace it with the one that says “I Can.”

* If size goals fill you with fear,  reset for success by setting a health goal rather than a scales goal. Let’s kick the scales out of this challenge!

* However, if a size goal motivates you – happy days – use that.

* It’s all about working out what works best for you so you can achieve the healthiest outcome both mentally and physically.

* Let’s power up and smash our goals in September!

Make sure you join my Lives this week:  Tuesday 7,30 on our FB public page (Slimpod for weight loss);  Wednesday 8pm (Slimpod Club) Thursday 7pm Instagram and 7.30 FB public page.

And please let me know if you’re going to take up the challenge and why. I love reading all your comments.

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If summer’s put you in panic mode, just try my Mindset Reset

IT’S been a summer like no other hasn’t it?  Staycations, social distancing, kids at home for months and of course, if you’re in the UK, we’ve had Eat Out to Help Out and we’ve all had money off our restaurant bills!  Now September is here and normality is returning.  So it’s time to get back on track.

Many of us have been eating and drinking far more than we do during the rest of the year (with the obvious exception of Christmas!).

I know from the emails you send me and the posts in Slimpod Club that quite a few of you have gone into panic mode, which is perfectly understandable – but totally unnecessary.

If you’re struggling to stay on track, it’s important to realise two things right away:

ONE: You’re not alone!

TWO: It’s normal behaviour.

I know exactly how you’re feeling because (as you’ll know if you follow me on Facebook) August is a crazy month for me. It’s always full of birthdays, anniversaries, cake and alcohol.

Every year when September arrives I breathe a sigh of relief that things are about to go back to normal. Within the next day or two my eating routine and exercise habits will reset themselves and with the right mindset my clothes will soon start to feel a little bit looser once again.

The secret is that I prepare for summer. I realise that there are going to be obstacles in my way (like husband’s birthday on August 13, our wedding anniversary on August 20 and my birthday on August 27) which will mean I’m not eating the same things I usually do and I’m having a few more glasses of fizz than normal.

By building this into my mindset, I don’t worry. I enjoy myself because that’s what life should be all about.

And when September rolls around, I take a few simple steps to get back on course.

I know that those extra pounds will disappear as quickly as they appeared. I’m totally confident that in 30 days’ time I’ll fit into everything in my wardrobe.

Now, because I KNOW you’ll probably be in a similar place to me (even if you’ve not had birthday celebrations etc) I thought I’d help get some motivation going and kick off a free September Mindset Reset Challenge next week!

I’ll be telling you more about this on my live chat in Slimpod Club tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 2) at 8pm UK time and I’ll post another blog next Monday kicking it off, so watch out for that too!

It will go on for the month of September and all it needs is your commitment – easy!

Let me know below how your Summer’s going and whether you’d like to get motivated to get back on track in September!

Would love you to join me so make sure you look out for my blog next Monday!

If you haven’t got yourself a Slimpod yet – now’s the BEST opportunity to grab yourself a free 10-day trial and take advantage of the extra motivation the challenge will give you!  What’s not to like!

This page tells you all about the 10-day trial

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