Ditch the Diet

Diets don’t work, well actually that is not 100% true, they can work for a limited period of time but for most people the sad truth is that after they finish the diet they not only gain the weight they originally lost but end up weighing even more than they did before they started the diet. Amazingly only 1% of people who diet lose weight (Datamonitor 2007). Many people who diet are dieters for most of their adult lives, with their weight see sawing between diets and un beknown to the majority of dieters is that repeated dieting has been linked to heart disease, to strokes and to adversley affecting your immune system. Time to give your body and mind a break I think and ditch the diet. Did you know that people who are happy with their weight and slim don’t actually try they just think differently and the good news is that thinking in this way is easy, anyone can do it. Reprogramming your mind via hypnotherapy combined with CBT and Mindfulness achieves outstanding results which leave you feeling empowered and in control.
In this blog I am going to get you started with a few easy to implement tips, they do not involve depriving yourself or starvation or following an expensive regime. After all eating is one of lifes great pleasure and denying yourself one of the greatest pleasures known to man seems counter productive, not only that but depriving yourself leads to feelings of misery and martyrdom….. not most peoples idea of fun at all, certainly not mine.
One significant difference between those that are over weight and those that are not is that those who slimmer tend to only eat when they are hungry and to stop eating when they are satisfied or full…. although I think full is too late personally, at that point yoiu have over eaten, so let’s aim for a feeling of satisfaction instead. Along with this I want you next time you go to eat a snack is to ask yourself if you are actually hungry…..if you are not then what is driving you to eat ? are you bored, depressed, anxious, lonely, irritable,sad,angry ? ask yourself what is going on with you ?  instead of depriving yourself and berating yourself for wanting to eat just check it out first …..try to identify the emotion that is driving you. Don’t worry if you can not at this stage recognise the feeling but may be have a glass of water instead and give your self a break of say 30 minutes. If you still want your snack after 30 minutes then fine go ahead, after all you are all grown up and you can choose to eat something when you are not hungry or you can choose not too.

When you eat your snack it is very important that you place all your attention on it-being mindful- do not eat whilst engaged in another activity like watching the tv or sitting at your computer for there is no enjoyment in this. Place all your attention on what you are eating, savouring every bite, focus your mind on your snack to the exclusion of everything else and when you are satisfied simply stop eating, as you really can not take another bite. Thye same principle applies to when you eat your meals, put all your attention on what youare eating, do not eat infront of the tv, concentrate instead on enjoying your food, talk with your family if you are eating together but if you are alone focus on savouring every mouthful, try to put your knife and fork down between every other bite and this way by eating more slowly, you will enjoy your food and you will simply stop eating when you recognise that you are satisfied even if this means