Measuring the waist is better than using the scales

25/05/2012

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Apparently, since the 1950s, waistlines have gone up from an average of 28inches then to 34inches now. This is because of labour-saving devices such as electric mowers, washing machines and supermarkets which do the cooking for you, and more of us doing jobs where we sit. More of us in offices and fewer of us doing physical work. And we eat more calories too. In the 50s rationing was still an issue.

Measuring our waistlines is a good way to check on the progress of our weight. When we go on the scales, sometimes a sort of magical thinking takes place. Even if we are not taking to try to reduce our weight, many of us still go on the scales every day, as though weighing ourselves somehow will cut down our weight. So we weigh ourselves at different times of the day, and are delighted when the 6.30pm weigh-in shows one pound less. And we get miserable when the 3pm session shows the weight going up. Our weight varies quite a bit during the day, week and month, even when our overall weight remains the same. If you use the scales, then the same time every day is more helpful.

Measuring your waist not only shows you if you are putting on weight, but helps with your general health too. The fat deposited in this area is more risky than the fat under our skin (around our backside and thighs or bingo wings). Waistline fat is associated with a risk of illness too, known as Metabolic syndrome, which includes heart problems and diabetes.

A friend of mine makes this recommendation. Never wear elasticated waistbands. 
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How to lose weight

24/11/2011

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Most of us want to lose weight. Even normal weight people believe they should be thinner. And yet as a population, we are gaining weight. The average weight has gone up by over 10 pounds since the 70s. And yet there are diet foods in the supermarket, slimming clubs are busy, and we all have a pretty clear idea of what constitutes healthy eating. Despite all of this, most of us continue to gain weight. So what to do?

Well, the research shows that diets don`t work. Most people who go on diets put on more weight. But you can lose weight and keep it off. How`s that then?

Making little changes to your diet works well.Rather than completely change the way you eat, what little changes could you make? Well, for me, first of all over a weekend I gave up sugar in my tea and coffee. Nasty at first, but I prefer it now. Then I gave up milk in my tea. My weight stabilised a bit lower down the scale. I focused on breakfast for my next trick. Rather than 2 slices of toast, I cut one slice in half. (I realised I thought it was inefficient using just half the toaster!) That change took my weight down by 8 pounds over about 3 months. What now? My current change is to cut out the butter on the breakfast toast. I just have the jam. I am on day 3, after a friend hypnotised me. So far so good.

So, small changes. Get them bedded in and move onto the next. If you can reduce your food intake by 150 calories a day in each change, then you will be able to reduce your weight and maintain it. A hypnotherapist can help you focus on the best change to make and help you stick with it, until it becomes second nature.
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Chocolate cravings

05/06/2011

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Lots of people exclaim that they couldn't imagine life without chocolate. But we didn't eat it till the 17the Century.  It was first discovered by the Spanish Conquistador Cortez when he defeated the Aztec King Montezuma in 1519. Perhaps our love affair with chocolate is the real Montezuma's Revenge.

And many people experience powerful cravings for chocolate, which they feel are overwhelming. Why is this and what can we do about it? After all, if we are wanting to lose weight, eating chocolate at 150 calories an ounce won't help. 150 extra calories a day could end up meaning 10 pounds heavier at the end of the year.

There are a number of possible reasons for these cravings. Here are a few.

1. We allow ourselves for whatever reason to get overhungry. See my earlier blog. Eat regularly, little and often (every 4 hours during the working day).
2. We read lots of magazines and watch lots of telly, so we get a lot of advertising messages encouraging us to eat chocolate. Next time you are settled down to watch your favourite programmes, make a written note of the products being advertised and the time. It is not random. Research demonstrates that the foods advertised on the telly (not a lot of adverts for broccoli I notice) trigger cupboard raiding. If chocolate is in the house, whoops, it is in the mouth.
3. We have unresolved emotional problems. There are chemicals in chocolate which lift our mood. So some people might be using chocolate to self-medicate, instead of seeing a cognitive behavioural therapist.
4. Chocolate manufacturers know what our brains are hard-wired to like - the sweet sugar hit, the smooth creamy texture. And we think we shouldn't so we mentally ban it, then the cravings come. If we give in to the cravings, the cycle begins again. Read this great article from the BBC on recent research about chocolate cravings.
5. We have got in the habit of fulfilling our every desire. You're worth it. You deserve it. Why shouldn't you be allowed to treat yourself, you have worked hard. Why shouldn't we have it if we want it? This kind of thinking usually ends up costing us dear. We have got out of the habit of a bit of self-denial which builds our resilience to protect us when the hard times come.
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To control your weight, cut down 150 calories a day

02/05/2011

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Just eating an extra 150 calories a day will increase steady state weight by 10 pounds.

What does 150 calories look like? Well, a 35g bag of Walkers Cheese and Onion crisps is 184 calories. Cadbury Cream Eggs come in at 173.6 calories.

For most of us, it is the snacks and the eating between meals, that put on the weight. A hypnotherapist can make avoiding snacks completely automatic.

Saving just 150 calories a day goes a long way to avoid getting heavier every year. So losing weight doesn't seem quite so difficult any more, does it?
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