Think positively in the pandemic and you’ll feel in control

THINK positively! That’s today’s message. With lockdown in full swing again, I felt it was time to really ramp up some positivity. So I asked my friend Brian Mayne, the author, international speaker and creator of Goalmapping.com, to join me on a Zoom to inspire and add some much-needed light to our lives right now.

We went live in Slimpod Club last Wednesday, and everyone loved it so much I thought I’d share the session so that the whole Slimpod community could benefit.

One of our lovely Podders has used Goalmappingcom with her Slimpod and has lost seven stone!  They really are the dream team!

Let me know below how you’re doing and whether you’ve created your own goal map.

Brian and I also have some very exciting news in the video for all Slimpod users – an exclusive new resource we’ll be launching shortly.

Here’s this week’s video:

While you’re on The Slimpod Channel watching the video, please hit the Like and Share buttons so more people can receive this totally-free help and advice. If you Subscribe to the channel, you’ll get priority notifications every time I post up a new video.

Think positively – 30-second summary

**  We’re all different and unique but we are all a combination of our thoughts, feelings and actions

**  Thoughts you repeat often enough become beliefs’ they can be negative or positive and empowering

**  Our thoughts influence our feelings and this shapes who we are as a person – our authentic true self

**  All we are starts with our thought; with our thoughts we are able to shape our world

**  If you think positively it releases the chemical serotonin into the brain – better known as “the happy chemical”

**  Feeling good about ourselves and about life has a powerful effect on our behaviour and our wellbeing.

Please leave a comment below to let me know if you’re going to think positive now. Have you created a goal map for your future? Do let me know what’s on yours and how it’s working.

You can create a free goal map at Goalmapping.com

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Lynn’s amazing story will lift you up and inspire you

FEELING supported is the backbone of any weight loss journey, whether it’s by family, friends or a group of like-minded people.

I’m SO proud that people say the support they get on our programme is one of the best they’ve experienced.

Within Slimpod Club, our private Facebook group, we have amazing support from the community, a buddy system and mentoring.

We also have a constant programme of motivational challenges. In addition, of course, I do my weekly live chats, which are designed to motivate and inspire.

But we recognise that the group support up until now has only been available if you’re a Facebook user.

So our lovely community managers, Kate Morris and Lynn Haddrell, are going to be hosting weekly Zooms called Gold Gatherings to support the whole community whether you’re on Facebook or not.

Kate and Lynn recently joined Team Slimpod. They’re both Slimpodders and have great stories to tell.

I asked Lynn to introduce herself to you all and you’ll be amazed by her video:

This is the inspiring takeaway from Lynn:

“Slimpod has made me feel like a completely new person but in truth this me was always there, I just didn’t know how to find her.

“I am slimmer, fitter, healthier and I can look in the mirror and smile.  I am a positive, calm, resilient and happy person who loves life.

“I’ve always been kind to others but am finally kind to myself too.”

What a wonderful, uplifting, full-of-hope story – just when we needed something to make us all feel better about life.

The Gold Gatherings are kicking off tonight (Monday Nov 2) at with a test run at 8pm for Slimpod Club members.  It’s an informal gathering for Slimpod Club members who want to meet up for a chat and get support.

If you’re in Slimpod Club, we’ve already posted details on how to log in to the Zoom chat.

The community managers do not give weight loss advice but they can share their wisdom about Slimpod and point you in the direction of help if you’re struggling.

Next week’s Gold Gatherings will be a coffee morning on Wednesday Nov 11 at 10am. This will be held at GoldGatherings.com and will be open to all Slimpodders.

However, don’t go searching for GoldGatherings.com until next week as it won’t be open until shortly before each Zoom meeting takes place.

I’ll email you full details about next week’s Zoom chat, including a password, nearer the time.

Meanwhile, please leave a comment below to let Lynn and myself know how her story has resonated with you.

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Let’s meet up and help support this wonderful cause for women

FANCY having coffee with me on Wednesday morning? It will obviously be a virtual coffee, rather than face to face and it’s in aid of a wonderful cause – the Prince’s Trust campaign Women Supporting Women.

Personal empowerment is hugely important to me because it’s what the Slimpod programme is all about – empowering you take control over food, sugar empowering you to live and love your life !

This week the Trust is encouraging women to support women by holding  virtual get-togethers called Brilliant Breakfast. But I’m renaming mine Brilliant Brunch because I know so many people don’t actually have breakfast (which is no big deal).

The aim is to raise money for young women in the UK who need our support, helping them to wake up to a more positive future.

Young people are among the hardest hit by COVID-19. Prince’s Trust research says over half of young women say their anxiety has increased because of the crisis and say finding a job feels impossible – this is why it’s more important than ever to support young women.

According to The Times, 80 per cent of those who have lost their jobs since the crisis began are women and two-thirds are aged 18-34. Women are a third more likely than men to work in a sector that is now shut down.

How you can help

One of the patrons of Women Supporting Women is Holly Tucker (pictured below), the founder of Not On The High Street. Holly’s one of the most inspiring women I’m fortunate enough to know and I’m delighted to be giving my support.

She has set up a JustGiving page and I’m going to be adding to that page with my donation.

There’s absolutely no pressure but I’d love Slimpodders to donate to this wonderful cause as well. Even a £5 donation will help give hope to a young woman somewhere.

Holly’s told me she’ll try to pop in to our Brilliant Brunch to say hello so fingers crossed!

Here’s her fund-raising page:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Holly-Tucker1

How you can join me

So I’d love you to join me on Wednesday (October 14) any time between 10 and 11. It’s really easy – just hit this link www.GoldGatherings.com on Wednesday and use the password Slimpod.

Important: Don’t search for GoldGatherings – it won’t work. The only way to join me is by clicking on the link in this email.

Put the kettle on, prepare yourself a nice healthy brunch and we’ll have a lovely chat.

If you don’t want brunch, just have a drink with us. Tea, coffee, water, whatever you fancy.

And you don’t have to stay for the whole hour – just pop in for a few minutes if you’ve got a busy morning ahead.

Would just be nice to see your face and meet you.

Here’s some extra special news

One of the things I’ll be sharing at the Brilliant Brunch is details of the launch of a new online support service for Slimpodders – whether you’re in Slimpod Club or not.

If you can’t make it tomorrow, I’ll be revealing all in a blog next week.

Please let me know in a comment below if you’ll be joining my Brilliant Brunch on Wednesday.

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Stop eating sugar right now and feel the amazing benefits

SUGAR:  Do you cut down or go cold turkey? The benefits of either are amazing!  Slimpodder Ava Brodie used her sugar pod, which comes as part of the Slimpod Gold programme, then decided she needed to take more drastic action.

I hope her video story will inspire you to realise that sugar doesn’t have to be the enemy that destroys your weight loss ambitions.

Like it did with Ava, your Slimpod will rewire your brain for peace and serenity around food.

Ava, who is 62 and lives in Lancashire, was a size 18 before she started listening to Slimpod in February 2020. She lost weight and felt good about herself – but she knew she could do better.

So she did hours of research into the harmful effects of sugar and what she found out was the trigger that made her decide three months ago to ban it from her life for ever.

Today, Ava is a size 8 and has lost three and a half inches from her waistline since stopping sugar in the summer.

“My BMI has dropped from 29.5 to 23.5 – which means that I’m no longer overweight, let alone being on the verge of obesity,” she says.

“The sugar pod just hit a nerve and made me realise I CAN stop eating sugar.”

Click on the image below to watch her video on The Slimpod Channel:

Ava’s advice on how to stop eating sugar

Ava admits: “Since I was a girl I can’t remember a day going by without eating sugar! I used to call myself a sugarholic…until now!

“I’ve gone just over three months without eating any form of sugar or sweeteners in food and drinks and here’s what happened!

“For the first 10 days or so I had these side effects: headaches, spots and rashes on my face, sleep disruptions, fatigue, irritability and cravings for carbohydrates – sugar!

“Then after that I started to feel so much better. I had more energy, better quality of sleep, a clearer complexion, a feeling of contentment – and no more sweet cravings!

“What helped me was drinking two litres water a day, eating protein with each meal, eating  more berries and citrus fruit and replacing coffee with hot water and a slice of lemon, or green tea.

Ava: I’m so happy and thrilled

“I still have one coffee daily with unsweetened almond milk and make it frothy in my blender – it’s lovely.

“I also found it important to distract myself when I got cravings.

“I can’t begin to tell you how happy and thrilled I am to have done this! I’d lost quite a bit of weight and a lot of inches with my Slimpod but then I got stuck and nothing was moving.

“After one week of going sugar free my weight started to come off again and I’ve lost 36lbs in total since starting Slimpod in February of this year.

“At 62 I feel more energised and happier than I have in a long time. To be finally free from sugar is such a relief.

“If anyone is thinking about it…just do it. Don’t be afraid to listen to your sugar pod.

“For me, going cold turkey was the option I took and I feel that was the only way that I could really and truly give up the sugar!”

Why you should stop eating sugar

The NHS recommends that adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 sugar cubes).

Free sugars are those which are added to food or drinks, and sugars found naturally in honey, syrups, unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and purees.

They should not make up more than 5% of the energy (calories) you get from food and drink each day.

Free sugars are found in sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. For example, a can of cola can have as much as 9 cubes of sugar – more than the recommended daily limit for an adult.

Most people go way over their daily limit because processed food, takeaways and convenient ready meals are jam-packed with sugar.

Stop eating sugar and lose weight

When you pour excess sugar into your body it plays havoc with hormones like insulin and leptin.

Insulin converts sugar into energy but large doses of sugar hamper its work and wreak havoc with your body. This is called insulin resistance.

Leptin is a hormone which controls your appetite. When you become insulin resistant, leptin gets overwhelmed and you constantly crave food – especially sweet things.

Cakes, biscuits and fizzy drinks pile on the pounds around your middle and you become a fat storage machine.

This is because high blood sugar levels release a flood of insulin through your body and over time make fat build up around your belly.

This is especially dangerous because these abdominal fat cells release hormones that bring on the kind of inflammation that can cause heart disease and cancer.

Read more in this blog post:

Stop eating sugar and feel better, look younger

Watch my Lives so you can stop eating sugar

All this week I’ll be doing deep dives on how to stop eating sugar. Please join me tomorrow (Tuesday October 6) on the Slimpod public Facebook page at 7.30pm UK time, in our private Slimpod Club on Wednesday at 8pm and on our Instagram page on Thursday at 7pm.

Do leave a comment below!

Please let me know what sugar’s doing to your life! I read every comment and although I can’t promise to answer every one, they give me invaluable help in creating new content for you.

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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

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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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