​18 tips to kick start your weight loss in 2016

 
 Are you ready?
I’m ready to shed the unwanted kilos and be the healthiest version of me that I can be.  If you’d like to join me on this journey you’re very welcome!   Let’s begin with some back to basics tips and let’s get serious about making this our year!
 
Before you read the tips below I’d like you to stop for a moment, ask yourself this question:
How do I want to be? 
Think about it, think about how you’d like to look, to feel, to move, how does it really feel?  Get a really clear and vivid sense of it.  How it will feel when your body feels lighter, when your clothes fit better, when you can run up those stairs without jiggling of being out of breath? When you can walk into that boutique and pick the outfit that you want, not just the one they have in your size?  Imagine it vividly, clearly, imagine yourself in that place you’d like to go, feeling confident in that outfit you love, feeling full of energy, healthy and vital…. Feel the temperature, hear the sounds around you, and experience feeling completely comfortable in your own skin.  Now when you have that vividly imagined as though you are there,  as though you are experiencing it…. repeat to yourself “I am”.  Touch one of the knuckles on your hand and capture that experience, so that whenever you need to go back there you simply touch that knuckle again and you can easily recall it.  That is you.
 
So here are some tips to get us started:

1. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, keep a bottle with you.  Start the day with some nice cold water to get the metabolism going.
2. Plan your menus for the week ahead and write your shopping list accordingly
3. Never do your food shopping  when you are hungry and stick to your list
4. Try to stick to regular meal times and don’t skip breakfast this will make your metabolism sluggish when it should be entering it’s peak
5. Your metabolism is always higher earlier in the day, so eat light at night
6. Drink 2 glasses of water before each meal
7. Eat slowly, chew your food well, it takes 20 mins for your stomach to let the brain know you are full!  Don’t eat whilst doing other activities like watching TV
8. Wait 5 mins between each course, and if you are still hungry, then eat
9. Be aware of how different foods make you feel: full, bloated, energised? , take a moment to do a body scan before eating, straight after eating and then 20 minutes later.
10. Stop when you are satisfied when you are getting the full signal it’s because you’ve eaten too much.
11. Always picture in your mind how you want to be and tell yourself: ‘I am achieving this’
12. Include protein in every meal and make it the star.  If you are vegetarian combining foods like beans and rice will give you the protein you require.
13. Don’t eat lunch at your desk, you’re not so busy that you can’t walk away and eat mindfully elsewhere. This will give you a break and allow your mind some refresh time.
14. Go for a lunch time walk
15. Make it your mission to learn a new healthy recipe every week, create a folder of new go to recipes
16. Make sure your gut is balanced, inflammation is often to blame for unexplained weight gain.  Try taking pro-biotics. Check out the illustration below of foods that inflame vs foods that reduce inflammation.
17. Get your vitamin levels checked; ensure that you are not deficient in Vitamin D, B and that you are not gluten sensitive.
18. Reduce stress. (I really can't emphasise this one enough)  Stress and Anxiety can cause your body to be flooded with Cortisol, this can lead to exhaustion and weight gain.  Regular and prolonged elevated levels of Cortisol results in triglycerides being mobilised from storage and relocated to visceral fat cells deep in the abdomen,  it can also result in blood sugar-insulin problems resulting in hunger signals being sent to the brain and resultant overeating.  Studies have also shown a direct association between cortisol levels and calorie intake

 I’ll be providing more detailed tips and information via the newsletter.  This month I’m including some information on controlling cravings and habits using Emotional Freedom Technique.
I look forward to sharing this journey with you.  
If you'd like to use Hypnotherapy to help you on your weight loss journey I'm a certified Virtual Gastric Band Practitioner and can offer a couple of weight loss programs designed to suit your specific needs.  I'm located in Mentone, South East Melbourne. Hypnotherapy is an effective way of resetting your mindset to create a new and healthier relationship with food as well as healthier ways of dealing with emotions that you may currently use food to suppress.  Give me a call on 0435 923 817 or use this contact form.  There's more information on the weight loss programs I offer at this link.  If you'd like to discuss your options with me please don't hesitate to call.


​* Results may vary