Why we eat the way we eat: Once upon a time we ate just as nature intended…when we knew we were hungry or thirsty…we would cry…and when we were full, we would just turn our heads to signal no more…yes, I’m talking about when you were a baby! However, over time, we lost this natural ability. Why? The power of suggestion ruined it… remember being told not to leave the table until you’ve eaten all of your dinner? Or that you wouldn’t get pudding unless you’ve had your dinner…and if you don’t eat your pudding, there won’t be sweets afterwards? What was that doing to us? Do you ever hear your parents/guardians say things like “you’ll be a big girl if you eat it all up” or to boys “you will be big and strong”? Then what happened? Yes, it came true (but not in the way our elders intended…their intention was good based on what they learnt). Another one I heard was “there’s starving children in Africa” to which my reply was “send my leftover dinner to them then”. Cheeky but you get the idea… I didn’t need the excess food…when consumed, its got to go somewhere right? The body stores excess food as fat. We have been conditioned (probably out of convenience) to eat breakfast around 7am, lunch around 12.30pm and dinner around 6pm…whether we’re hungry or not! Just because its “meal time” I hear some of you saying I’m starting my diet after Christmas…so I’m going to tell you why that’s a bad idea… Why diets are bad: It doesn’t deal with your mindset…I’m talking about the real reason why you gravitate to the glass of wine or chocolate (dealing with stress or having a bad day)…if you ever got sweets as a kid for being good, then having sweets will replicate that feeling (even though as adults we know it’s bad for us). Diets implies a temporary fix. They go against your normal eating patterns which are controlled by your subconscious mind. E.g. when pregnant your body knows what it wants. You may lose weight but it is usually only temporary. As soon as you stop dieting, your old eating habits and beliefs return again and your body goes back to what it was before it was doing the diet, often leaving you bigger than you were before you actually started the diet. Most of us are goal driven when it comes to diets…a holiday, a big birthday, a wedding or Christmas…but when the goal is reached by the time period in mind, we fall back into our old eating patterns again. Just like training for a sporting event but once its finished, if we don’t keep exercising, we become unfit again. Most traditional dieting systems will program your mind to think about food all the time, counting calories, planning meals, avoiding certain foods. In my opinion, this is wrong! I’ve been there and done the diets too! Once a client, always a client! You need to keep attending the classes to keep your weight off. However, there is a system that works, where your relationship and attitude towards food and eating is brought back under control so that you can control your shape and size in the way nature intended. Keep reading… The only reason we need to eat is to stay alive... Action plan: Eat mindfully (slowly)…and chew your food… …work out whether you are emotional or hungry.. …only eat the optimal food that is right for you…listen to your body…eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. Easy, right? However, whilst our conscious mind knows what you should do…the subconscious mind can be set in its ways. It is possible to reprogram the mind.
What is the subconscious mind?
Our mind is made up of 2 parts…the conscious mind (the logical, analytical, time aware part of our mind) which is just the tip of the iceberg (makes up 20%). It’s relatively weak. The subconscious part of our mind is said to be around 80% and is responsible for protecting us and keeping us alive…its responsible for our heart beating, breathing, blood pressure, body temperature, blinking etc it takes things literally and run all programs it considers protective to the owner…you!
How do we reprogram our subconscious mind?
Using a natural phenomenon that we go into, several times a day. Something we experience when we start to wake up, when we daydream, when we go onto auto-pilot, just before we go to sleep… it is during these times that we go into an altered state of heightened awareness/concentration.
This is the time when the subconscious mind is ‘awake’ and listening. Where we can reprogram our outdated belief systems and maintain a healthier relationship around food…where there are no diet plans…where no food is off limits...where there are no weighing scales. Your subconscious mind will accept the upgrade and carry out the new suggestions. We form a new habit and mindset.
A way to control your eating habits, using various techniques including psychology and NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) - this is a 4 week program that can be attended online via zoom.
My last client lost a stone in 3 weeks from just stopping snacking!* However, this is designed to be a long-term shift in mindset...just think of me as the voice of that angel sat on your shoulder, keeping you on the straight and narrow whenever the devil/temptation comes into play.
* results vary depending on current weight and other conditions.
But how? I am offering a limited number of places for my group weight loss mindset program starting on the 12th January. This will be a 6-week program, covering letting go of the past, reprograming the mind and dealing with cravings! You will get live access to me for an hour a week via zoom (6 sessions) and will include a book, MP3 audio track and access to a Facebook group so we can all help each other out and celebrate our wins! This is priced at just £25 per session! For anyone that had started my program in the past before but did not fully commit/would like a kick start, please send me a message as I want to continue to help. I hope you took a lot of information from above and that it gave you ‘food for thought’. I look forward to seeing some of you in my group next month.
For those of you who are unable to attend group sessions due to other commitments, there is another option…
There is an online program with 4 pre-recorded sessions that are accessible to you whenever convenient for you…you must still listen to the weekly session + the daily audio track. This option is just £125 for the 4 sessions + book + audio.
If you want a more bespoke treatment plan…perhaps that combines alcohol reduction, emotional eating, increasing exercise etc – book in for a free consultation for 1-2-1 sessions
The quality of your life is only as good as the quality of your thoughts… Change your mindset, change your life!