Secrets To Keeping Weight Off!

There is a lot of discussion on the internet and within the media about the obesity epidemic and consequently ways to lose that weight.  In fact, at this time of the year, about every second advert is for a weight loss company.

Did you know though, that it is estimated that only 20% of overweight and obese Americans that lose weight MAINTAIN that loss? 


I'm sure you've heard of the title "Yo-Yo Dieter" and this is the option for the majority of people who lose their weight through a fad diet, something that doesn't become their lifestyle.  How can you possibly keep up the grapefruit or lemon diet for longer than a week or two? It doesn't become your lifestyle, merely a fad that you can maintain for a couple of weeks before you lapse back into your old habits.

The National Weight Control Registry in the US was established to increase the conversation about maintenance of weight loss. It has monitored the habits of successful dieters over more than 20 years and recently published these tips. 

1. Ensure your diet is similar to your maintenance plan. This means that you are still eating meals, and following a dietary plan that is easy to follow when you have reached your goal weight too. No fad diets can be maintained for a period of time, how can you live on lemons?
2. Keep active. Ensure that the activity you have been doing to lose weight becomes part of your regular routine.  I would suggest you undertake about 3 - 4 hours of activity a week, and make it FUN!!! I include dancing in my fitness routine, as well as walking in nature - they're my fun things to do alongside my gym workouts.
3. Watching less TV.  Keeping active also often means that you reduce the amount of time you spend in front of the TV, as you're spending this time at the gym, or visiting friends to go walking, or going out dancing. The other reason for watching less TV is that this is the time most people snack - it's thoughtless eating, you don't take notice of the food you're eating, so you don't feel full until it's too late. It usually occurs whent the adverts are on, so the trick I use is to record a show, then you skip those 'boring' adverts!! Also, this snacking is happening in the evening, not a great time to be snacking!
4. Keep your meals consistent. Knowing what menu plans are successful for you to lose your weight, also gives you ideas for your maintenance.  Splurging and eating high calorie foods, if they creep back into your routine menu, will soon stop being a treat, and quickly become a common occurrence. Before you know it, the pounds are creeping back on again!  Keep your menus consistent to consistently maintain your weight.
5. Accountability, or a support team.  Keeping your accountability partner in your maintenance plan will ensure you are regularly following your plan. Support from partners, online communities or even your fitness app are great ways to ensure you keep regular in your fitness plans, your meal plans and your mindset. Support for any goals is vital to achieving those goals. In this instance, your goal is maintenance.  I have a workout partner and we catch up for a workout (and a great chat too) once or twice a week, depending on our schedules. We never miss!
6. Positive outlook. Maintain a positive outlook. I use a positive/joyful/gratitude diary to ensure my maintenance. This can include reflections on what you have achieved, what it's like to be able to enjoy your exercise, the types of exercise you can now do, how long you've maintained your weight for. Set yourself little goals, e.g., maintain weight for one month - then celebrate that achievement! Note it in your gratitude diary also, so you have something to reflect upon.
7. Get sleep.  Ensure you have a regular routine for sleep, so that you don't become sleep deprived. Do you know what most people do to fuel themselves when they're sleep deprived? You guessed it, they reach for food that stimulates them, and that is mostly food high in sugar!  Ensure you are not becoming sleep deprived.
8. Regularly measure your weight.  Once a week jump on those scales! This is an easy way to establish if a sneaky pound or two is creeping back on, and you can then quickly do something about it before it becomes a larger problem to deal with. Choose a day, I choose Wednesdays, and stick to weighing yourself every week on that day, at the same time, in the same outfit (okay, I do it before I shower, so it's simple to have the same outfit!). This way, it becomes part of your routine.
9. Never, ever, say negative things about what the scale says. Stick to number 6 above, stay positive. You've lost a lot more weight in the past, so you know how easy it is to lose a pound or two now.  When the scales tip back upwards for a week, get back into your routine of menu plans and exercise that aided you to your goal weight. Generally a week will do it, then back onto your maintenance plan.  Also take a look back at the treats you've been having, and possibly contributed to this creep. Once you know what they are, consider how you can swap them for a different treat that fits into your lifestlye of health!

With these tips, you are more likely to become one of the 20% that maintain their weight successfully. 

Are your kids eating well?

Everything in moderation is okay

In today's society parents globally tend to agree that everything in moderation is okay for their children.  Do you agree?

Does this mean that of the 17,000 new processed foods introduced to the market every year, these are foods you want to be giving to your children in moderation? (1)

At what point does moderation become excess?

I feel that moderation becomes excess when we are giving similar ingredients in foods that are multiplied in processed foods.  These ingredients are not necessarily those that we wish our children to be getting on a daily basis.

The foods children need to grow include:

• fruit
• veges
• whole grains
• proteins
• healthy fats

The best way for your children to get these healthy food types, including their vitamins, minerals and micronutrients that are all required for their growth and brain development, is through eating locally grown organic wherever possible.  If not locally grown, then organic, if not organic, then locally grown in season.

What do you do though if you cannot access these all year round? Or you  have fussy eaters?

Did you know that our soils are depleted of minerals? (2)  Did you know that over 80,000 environmental toxins are released yearly and many are not tested for? (3).  How do you think this is affecting the nutritional content of the foods you are feeding to your children?

Are they receiving the nutrients they need to grow into healthy adults? To grow up without the added risk of Type 2 Diabetes? To grow up without the risk of obesity?

There are statistics available (4) that highlight that children in the US today do not get enough fruit and vegetables, and that this is a greater problem as children age.  What foods do your children eat that contain high sodium levels (lots of extra salt added), high fat levels (fried foods), high sugar levels (sweets, cakes, processed foods, even 'low fat' foods)??

How to change this for your children?

Switch to superfoods that have natural ingredients, no artificial sweetners, flavours or colours to supplement your healthy food choices.

• Look to locally grown, inseason organic foods to cook with,
• skip processed foods,
• reduce your concept of 'moderation' for processed foods or treats
• increase exercise for your children, go to the park and run around for 1/2 an hour every evening

Change the eating patterns of your family by joining a revolution of good quality foods that provide nutrients for healthy growth, increase exercise routines in your family to have more fun as a family. Ask me about how.

Home grown bananas

By doing these things, and following a healthy nutritious diet, you are more likely to be creating a foundation for your children to grow into healthy, strong adults.

Ask me how now!

1. Pollan M. Food Rules, An Eater’s Manual. The Penguin Press, New York, 2011.

2. Davis DR, Epp MD, Riordan, HD. Changes in the USDA food composition data for 43 garden crops, 1950 to1999. J Amer Col Nutr, 2004;23(6):669-682.

3. Reuben SH. Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now. President’s Cancer Panel, Annual Report 2008-2009. Retrieved from: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/annualReports/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf

4. Cohen, E. Ten Ways To Get Kids To Eat Their Veggies. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/06/02/kids.eat.vegetables.ep/

 

Easy Steps to Breaking Habits

I know that it is difficult to get into good habits, but how easy is it to break those habits?  I remember reading somewhere, once, long ago, that it takes 3 weeks to create a 'good' habit, and 2 days to break it!

Well, for the last month, my routines have gone out the window.  However, in my mind I have been

• blogging daily,
• writing out my gratitudes daily,
• writing up my daily intentions,
• exercising daily,
• maintaining my healthy eating routines,
• working on my business
• and generally doing all my routines!

Does this work for you? Did it work for me?  Well, the answer to this is yes, and no.

I did keep up with running every second or third day.
I did mentally, and electronically, 'write out' my gratitudes, intentions and blogging ideas.
All this occurred while I was on holiday in New Zealand.

The 'trouble' was when I came home!!  How crazy is that? I immediately stopped my writing, I did keep up some exercise and generally healthy living options.
Though, to put it into perspective, when I came home, it was a short work week, I took the Thursday off as it was my birthday (perks of 'knowing' the boss!!), then it was Easter and now we're coming up to Anzac Day weekend.  All up, many more days off my routine than my mindset had prepared for.

So, at home, the routines had gone out of the window, as I had prepared for the change of scenery while I was away (even when my plans changed dramatically), but not for the change of daily routine when I was back.

This made me start to think this week about how important my organised routines were in my daily maintainence of my healthy living journey and my mindset around them also.

I've now implemented my routines again, so I'm back on track!  The daily writing is occurring again, the healthy living routines are all occurring again and being more organised is definitely returning.  Life journey back on track!

How important are your routines to you? What happens when they are disrupted?

Life Journey Update

I've been following a life journey over the last 7 months.  It's involved a changing body shape and interestingly enough a changing mental shape too.

I wanted to give you an update on where I'm at with my physical body - today I weighed in at 100g under my personal goal.  I set this goal when I first began back on 23 July 2013. The last time I was this weight (60kg) was in 1999 and I think I maintained it for all of a month before slowly following the typical rebound scenario, up and up and up and oh yes, up again!!! Until finally arriving at a never before reached peak of 82kg.  Isn't this the typical scenario for so many people?

Avoid Yo-yo dieting

This is called Yo-yo dieting in the media today.  It's also a heartbreaking situation.  For those of you who, like me have been through all of the different types of diets recommended, pushed, tantalisingly held in front of us over the last 30 years, you will know that I'm at a point of 'how long will this last".  Physically though, I now know about nutritional rebalancing as a lifestyle, I'm confident this won't occur because my insides have had a shower!

However, interestingly, things have also changed for me mentally this time.  Usually I think great, and I slow down everything I've been doing, hence the yo-yo scenario begins.  BUT, what I've learnt over my last 6 months journey (by the way, this was 18 months faster than the last time I reached this goal) is that it's not about reaching the goal, it's about maintaining the lifestyle you have created.

About a month ago, my gym membership ran out.  At that time I was stil 3 kg away from my goal weight.  I had to make a DECISION.  The decision was about whether or not I would maintain my exercise regime, was it important enough for me to maintain it without the incentive of a gym to attend?

My DECISION was that it mattered to me for my health and for my well being and sense of joy in life to have the purpose in my morning routine to still get out of bed and attend my gym sessions.  Yes, I'm fortunate enough to have a treadmill and weights station conveniently located on my back patio!

My DECISION was also that it was about more than just the weight, it was about me showing and mentoring others into believing there was another way, that yo-yo dieting does not have to remain in your life.

Over the last 7 months, my personal development journey has been along the lines of self-belief and also about understanding WHY I'm here, what is my role in my life journey.

My WHY came in for me with a bang on Tuesday!  Here it is: 

I believe that everyone deserves to be nurtured to step into their Greatness,

with love, integrity, strength, passion and fun

I'm here to do that for others.  I've always understood that my role in life is one of servitude, that I'm here to serve mankind, but to truly discover what it is that I'm to do in that servitude has given me a bounce, a joy and a passion that is beyond description.

In my mind this blog today was to be an update on my weight loss journey, so I'll also give you those details now, not just my passion about my WHY!!

I began my journey at 82kg, I'm now 60kg, a loss of 22kg (or 48.5lb).

My waist has gone from 95cm (37.5inches) to 75cm (29.5inches)

My chest has gone from 105.5cm (41.5inches) to 92cm (36inches)

My buttocks have gone from 110cm (43inches) to 92cm (36inches)

My abdomen has gone from 107.5cm (42inches) to 85cm (33.5inches)

I'm feeling AWESOME!!!

Here are some before and after shots as well

26 July 2013

7 Sep 2013

10 Dec 2013

5 Feb 2014

5 March 2014

Thank you universe and followers for making my journey so enjoyable.  

This journey will be continuing as it's only just begun - my mission now is to help others achieve their greatness - come along for the ride, it's going to be filled with passion, love and fun!!

Crash & Burn - Valentines Day Aftermath

There's always a lot of pressure on women to look stunning for Valentines Day - even though I play into it occasionally, it is still a big commercial venture that seems to pay off for all businesses in the community, from florists to newsagents, to bakeries, bottle shops and dress shops!!

What did you do that was special for Valentines Day that you would not normally be doing on a Friday night? I'm very lucky as I get spoiled with wonderful meals every weekend that make me smile at the effort that goes into making them and the love that is lavished in the kitchen.

Now, for many years I have struggled with Valentines Day, mainly because I've felt frumpy, overweight, tired, unattractive and many, many more negative words.  Have you ever felt like that? How can you feel great about yourself when you know you're overweight?

This is a shot of me 6 months ago - feeling very much fair, fat and forty - as the saying goes!!  How was I ever going to be attractive to my husband again, let alone to my own self image!

I was 82kg, or around 180lb, the heaviest I'd ever been in my life.  The feelings of disgruntlement, sadness, struggle, self hate and many more were all there in large amounts (actually this photo is one week into my change process - I was too terrified to take a photo at the very beginning!!!).

I've now been changing my lifestyle and routines for 6 months, and I've managed to get back into my wedding dress (in fact it's a little loose) for the first time in 13 (ok, well nearly 14 years now) years.  It's an amazing feeling to be so motivated, with energy and without all those extra pounds/kgs.  I've now lost 19kg, which is about 42lb, a lot of extra weight this little short girl was carrying around!!!

I'm now selling the products that I have been using with such success, and I really want to share them with you too, so you can create the self image you truly deserve. 

Click on the contact form to the right, and I'll be in touch with you to discuss how you can get started this week, with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee - yes, you read that right - try going to your local chemist and getting a system where they'll give you your money back if you don't see a change you like in the first 30 days - it's incredible stuff!!

So looking forward to working together to get the best possible outcome for you in your self image, your motivation and your overall wellbeing!

Who's Supervising Your Diet?

Valentines Day - Dieting Dinner

Another wonderfully easy, yet simple 2-course dinner, with a glass of wine is following.  The dessert for this meal can be made ahead, and the fun and games you get up to while eating it, is entirely up to you!!

This meal is a wonderful dish to warm up your wintery Valentines Day - enjoy!!

Pork Chops with Orange & Fennel Salad

Serve with 1/2 a cup of quinoa that has fresh tarragon chopped through it

For your dessert try the Banana Pudding Pops - these are fun to eat, depending on what you decide to do with them!!  If you don't like bananas that much (a bit like me), you might like to try mangos!

 Accompany this with a glass of white wine (a glass is 5oz or approximately 150ml)

All up the calorie count for this meal is:
Pork chops - 257
Quinoa - 111
Banana pops - 82
Glass of wine - 116
Total: 566 Calories - within your 600 calorie budget!

Have fun xx

Sexy body

A Sexy Body

What is a Sexy Body?  In terms of the media, it's usually the body of a model, a swimsuit model generally, such as this

This is ultimately what a lot of us are told we desire, what we work so hard to maintain and why we stress over the size of our body.

However, if you do really want to start losing weight, then the mindset has to be right before you even begin.

I was listening to a podcast recently on setting goals and these are the steps that will get you on track for the beginning of your journey.  I know that these principles are what I've been following, though without knowing the structure or reasons behind it - but, hey, it works!!

Step 1: only ever set one willpower goal

By setting yourself only one willpower goal, you're not overwhelming your whole mind.  Imagine if you set too many (as many people do at New Year), such as I will stop eating junk food, I will lose weight, I will exercise more, I will be a nicer person, I will..........   As you can see, you're starting to ask a lot of your will power.  

Willpower is extraordinary in so many ways, but if you overwhelm it with too many things to do, it will begin to crumble as it is scattered in what it's trying to achieve for you.

OVERWHELM!!!!

By choosing only one willpower goal, that's the only one you need to focus on, it's the only one that has to be successful.  For example, focus on "I will exercise more".

Now, if you exercise more (without worrying about any other willpower goals or thoughts), there will be a change in the other goals you were originally thinking about, as a consequence of your one willpower thought.

So, if the one willpower goal is to exercise more, make this the focus.  Make this your mindset.

How do you make it your one mindset willpower goal?

2. What Got You Here

Take a step back from your life as it is now.  How did you get to this point of no exercise? Did you ever exercise in the past?  If so, what did you do, how often did you do it and what made you stop doing it?  These are important questions to ask, as you're now looking at why you are now at a place of no exercise and wanting to do more exercise.  You're looking back at your history and seeing what obstacles you have put into your way to stop you exercising.  List them out on a piece of paper

3. Where Do You Want To Be?

Now you make a list of where you want to be.  For example, how often do you want to be exercising, what will you be doing, for how long will you exercise, when will you exercise?  All questions that will begin to make you focus on what you want to achieve with your willpower goal.

4. Why Do You Want To Do This?

This step will keep you focused on your willpower goal. It's important to work this one out.  A good way to do it is to list 20 reasons that you want to do it, and 20 consequences of you not doing it.  Sometimes it helps to stand in front of a mirror when you're doing this step.

Write out your reasons you want to do it in this format:

I must...............So That.....................

Look at different areas in your life, what will be the impact on those if you exercise more.  The areas of your life to look at include what can be called the "7 Al's"

Spiritual

Mental

Physical

Vocational

Social

Familial

Financial

What will be the consequences of you exercising more in all of these areas - very soon you will find that 20 is easy to obtain!  List these down on a piece of paper or in a journal.

Next, write out the 20 statements that look at the consequences of you not doing the exercise.  Write these out in the format of:

I must................Or Else....................................

Again, if you're struggling to find 20, go to the 7 Al's and work out some more.  List these in your journal too.

By doing this exercise, you begin to get to the core of why you really want to do this willpower goal, your true deep WHY 

This step is not an easy step to do, but it will certainly focus you on your reasons WHY you are taking this step of setting a willpower goal.

It's the WHY that will keep you on track when you feel yourself waivering, it's the WHY that will motivate you to do the exercise when you'd rather hit the snooze button!

5. Repeat Step 4 FOUR More Times

Repeat step 4, writing out 20 positive and 20 negative outcomes FOUR more times.  This will result in a list of 100 positive and 100 negative outcomes.  Reinforcement of your WHY is the motivating factor to ensure you stay with your one willpower goal. Once you have a WHY that outshines the excuses, you will easily obtain your goal of exercising more.  This goal will change other areas of your life also.  When you begin to exercise more, you see the value of having food that supports your increased energy requirements, you take on board more water, you start to see a change in your body (muscle develops and fat is replaced) and your 'feel happy hormones' are released (endorphins).  What an amazing outcome from just one willpower goal being achieved!!

My willpower goal was set 6 months ago, to lose 18kg (40lb) of excess weight, I achieved that, and more within 6 months, my only goal was to lose weight, I make exercise or my eating patterns another willpower goal.  In the past I've overwhelmed my mind with too many of these, and it was just the one I needed to focus on, the rest fell into place once my focus was on the one thing - diet, exercise and health all changed as my progress continued!

I want to thank a couple of mentors of mine that helped me develop what I've done into a system, these include Paul O'Mahoney and David TS Wood

Let me know how you go with your willpower goal, what it is, and how you feel when you've achieved it! 

Valentines Day - Dieting Dinners

I absolutely love salmon fillets - had some cooked in a manner very similar to this last weekend when we were out for a special dinner with friends. The main difference was that our salmon wasn't marinated, and we had a herby crust over the top instead of sesame seeds. Superb though!

Salmon always brings something special to the table and the atmosphere around the table. I don't know why, but it certainly does for me.

Honey-soy broiled/grilled salmon

Serve this with a hot & sour slaw salad

Depending on your tastes and the time of the year, I'd also look at a cold salad to accompany this, e.g., a rocket, cherry tomato and feta salad, with a wholegrain mustard vinegar and oil dressing - that would be scrummy for me.  Also the calories would be kept in check with the salad.  Another option would be to add steamed vegetables to the dish, e.g., asparagus if it's springtime would be special (though I wouldn't suggest you drizzle them with butter, defeats the purpose of keeping in your calorie budget for the day!!!).

Also serve with brown rice.  ½ cup cooked rice per person, with 1tsp of sesame oil & a squeeze of lime (1 cup of brown rice in 2 ½ cups of water make 3 cups of cooked brown rice, takes 40 – 50 minutes to cook)

Again, this can all be served with a glass of white wine (5oz or 150ml) to make the meal a special evening.  

If you don't drink alcohol, you can have soda water with slices of lime in it, and use the calories to have double the sweet treat, such as the chocolates I use.  My suggestion would be to melt 4 chocolates, and dip strawberries into the chocolate - very yum, and so beautiful for a special evening.

Overall the calories for this meal are:

Salmon - 161
Slaw - 64
Rice - 149
Wine - 116
Chocolates - 100
Total calories: 590

Have fun!!

Valentines Day - diet dinners

I know there are many people today who like a vegetarian option for their main meals also, so here is a meal that will be acceptable to vegetarians as well.  What I love about this dish, is that it cooks like a lasagne, but there is no pasta in it!  The eggplants are used as the pasta.

Bruschetta

When making this recipe, I would consider making it the traditional way, so toast, then rub with garlic and drizzle with olive oil (rather than brush it with a pastry brush).  However, instead of drizzling ½ a tsp of olive oil on each slice (15 calories per slice), you could consider spraying the side of the bread after rubbing with garlic.  Fresh tomatoes and fresh basil make this a very tasty starter - 2 slices are a good starter size.



Eggplant lasagna with ricotta and asiago (orparmesean) 

The total calories for this meal are:
Bruschetta - 170
Lasagne - 378
Total - 548

The two courses are close to your 600 calorie budget for the day, a glass of wine will take you to 664, though one chocolate that I use (50 calories) will take you to 598 - within budget!

Have fun

Valentines Day Dinner - While Dieting

Valentines Day and romantic meals - do they go thegether?

I believe they do, you can maintain your calorie intake for the day and still have a beautiful dinner, with a glass of wine, or even a sweet treat!!  Follow this blog this week to discover some very tempting dishes I've found and put here for your convenience, which come out as less than 600 calories for all the courses and the treats!!

If you are maintaining a 1200 calorie a day way of living while you're taking your weight loss journey, Valentines Day does not need to be dreaded.

Enjoy these recipes and come back to see more each day.

Today, we are looking at a special main course meal, a glass of wine and a special sweet treat.

Toasted Quinoa salad with scallops & snow peas, 

Serve the scallops with a Japanese cucumber salad.  

A glass of white wine with the main meal, and for afters, I have some special Green Tea infused chocolates, wrap these in a beautiful silk or gossamer purse as a sweet treat after the main meal.

Overall the calories for this wonderfully simple, yet special meal are: 588 calories

Have an amazing meal on Valentines Day xx

Going to lose that darned last few kgs!!!!

Ever find the last few kgs/lbs are the hardest to shift?  I'm at that stage now, only have 3.5kg (or around 7lb) to go - and it's being a little stubborn!!

What I find is that I need a goal - so today I signed up for a challenge, the Isabody Challenge, it lasts for 12 weeks, before photos and measurements, during photos and measurements, final photos and measurements, plus an essay - too easy!!!

Here are my before shots - it'll keep me on track, as I don't think they look that fab at all!

I'm such a short little thing - I'm sure if I was 5' 8" it wouldn't look quite so bad!!!!

Have a fun day

Which antioxidant??

Love the animation in this video, as well as the message - enjoy your antioxidants!!

Addicted to Avoidance

Avoiding making a decision on your weight loss?  What is it that is holding you back?

List out 10 benefits of you losing weight.
Examples could be:

I have lost my weight, SO THAT I can now keep up with my kids when they play in the park

I must lose my weight, SO THAT I can celebrate 50 years of marriage with my wonderful husband/wife

Now, list out 10 negatives of you not losing weight
Examples could be:

I must lose my weight, OR ELSE I won't be able to enjoy my grandchildren as I will not be alive anymore

I must lose my weight, OR ELSE I will be a burden on my partner when we retire

We must look at our journey in a balanced way, why we need to look at both the positives and the negatives for any decision we are going to make

Looking to begin the journey?  Then check out whether or not you're addicted to avoidance

Don't avoid the decision, make the decision today!!