Lose Weight - Top Tip

Often when I meet new people and mention that I am a hypnotherapist, the conversation turns to losing weight.  I generally ask one question, get the same reply and then give them my top tip to lose weight.  Some accept it but many say "I can't do that.  I enjoy my food".

When I work with people on weight loss I am really working to change their relationship to food.  The first thing I do is break old habits associated with eating and search out any negative emotions that are tied to those habits.  If food is a crutch, I don't want to kick the crutch away until the client is strong enough to stand up on their own.  This isn't about punishing people or stopping them from eating things they enjoy, it's about putting them back in control so that they can chose what they like to eat and how much of it.

So what is my question?  "Do you eat quickly or slowly?"  Most people who are overweight reply "Quickly".  So I tell them my top tip is slow down.  Really take your time when you eat to enjoy every mouthful.  If you do that, your stomach has time to send the signal when it has had enough and you can stop eating before you've had unnecessary calories. 

It works, honestly!

MIND Report on Stress at Work

The mental health charity, MIND, have published a survey today as part of their Taking care of Business campaign (see http://www.mind.org.uk/ ).  They surveyed 2,000 people and asked them about their stress levels and what support they received at work.

The results showed that people felt that work was the most stressful thing in their lives.  20% of people believed that if they mentioned their stress levels to their boss they would be first in line for redundancy and 48% of respondents are scared to take time off sick.

MIND are concerned that unaddressed mental health issues are “reaching fever-pitch as hard-pressed businesses pass on the strain to workers”.  They are calling for employers to create an open culture where employees can discuss mental health issues and to treat them with the same importance as physical health issues.

If you are feeling stressed at work what can you do?  Does your employer have policies for mental health issues?  Is there a welfare officer you can talk to in confidence?  Are you a member of a Trade Union or Staff Association with a welfare officer?  Do you need to talk to your doctor or another health professional?  Where else could you look for advice and support?

Don’t let stress build up.  Don’t suffer in silence.

Seve Ballesteros - motivating a genius.

It was sad to hear last week about the death of Seve Ballesteros at the age of 54.  Ballesteros won 87 tournaments around the world, including three Opens and two Masters and a record 50 victories on the European Tour alone. In the process he became the leader of a pack of golfers who changed the face of the game.  As well as being brilliant he could also make mistakes and recover from them by playing unbelievable shots and that endeared him to golfers at all levels.

I am always interested to know what motivates top sportsmen and women because being successful at that level takes thousands of hours of practice. His caddy, Dave Mosgrove, talking on BBC Radio 4, said that Seve hated losing at anything.  As a young player, if he lost a game, he would go to bed and read a book and not eat.  The pain and anguish he inflicted on himself for not succeeding drove him to win.

Now, some people are motivated by moving towards pleasure (the carrot) while others are motivated by moving away from pain (the stick).  It would seem that Seve was an 'away from pain' person who did not take so much pleasure from his amazing successes. 

Whether you are a 'carrot' or 'stick' person, the important thing is to keep learning from your experiences.  There is always more to learn from the times that don't go so well but even in success you can still think "What have I learned?"  What will I do better next time?"  That is a real motivator.

So what motivates you, the carrot, the stick or the learning experience?

If I can, you can

I have just spent the weekend on a Winning Mind Coaching course taught by Trevor Silvester of the Quest Institute.  I knew it was going to involve juggling and, as someone who has trouble with coordination, balance and catching a ball, I knew it was going to be a challenge.

Winning sports performance depends on so much more that physical fitness.  Top sports men and women also have to pay attention to their mental  and emotional fitness.  Most traditional coaching approaches are based on goal setting and planning to achieve those goals.  This is important because we tend to get what we aim for and also the achievement of goals releases ‘happiness hormones’ into our blood stream.

The cognitive hypnotherapy approach to sports mind coaching considers the issues that can support or stop us from achieving such as motivation, resilience, self-belief and focus.  It can also help with improving physical performance through accelerated practice, modelling excellence and visualisation.

So, did I manage to learn how to juggle over the weekend.  Well, I was officially the worst performer at the beginning of the course and had to start from learning how to throw one ball from hand to hand – and catch it!  By day 3 I was throwing and catching two balls with some consistency.  More importantly I had let go of the limiting belief that I couldn’t catch a ball and I was enjoying the experience of learning.  I will definitely be carrying on until I master 3 balls.

Successful Revision

When I was at school (cue violins!) not much was known about individual learning styles.  As a result, we were all taught the same way, sitting at desks, looking at the blackboard and listening to the teacher.  The only experimentation that went on was in the science lessons, dissecting cow’s eyes and constructing milk bottle xylophones.

So much more is known now through advances in neuroscience.  We know that we all receive information through our five senses but what varies is that we will favour one sense above the others.  If you favour visual information, the blackboard and book approach will be ok.  But if you if your preferred input is kinaesthetic, ie what you touch and feel, you will learn better by experiences and experiments.

Our learning is also affected by our personality traits.  Some people like ‘big picture’ information while others learn better from detail.  Extraverts like group discussions and making presentations while introverts prefer individual study.

If you are revising for exams at the moment, here are some tips to make your study more effective:

1.      If you have been revising and the information isn’t sticking, try something different.  If you are very visual, mind maps will be useful.  If you prefer sounds to images, try recording your revision notes and listening back to them.  If you are kinaesthetic, try walking with your notes or tracing key words in the air with your finger.

2.      Exercise first thing in the morning to increase your brain power.  Exercise increases levels of hormones that are important to neurotransmitters and generates new brain cells.  Study the subject you find most difficult after exercise.

3.      Have some peppermint or rosemary essential oil in your revision room.  Both scents have been shown to stimulate the brain.  If you find it helpful, you can put some on a tissue to take into the exam room.

4.      Baroque music is frequently used by trainers as background music to aid learning.  You can try playing Bach, Handel or Vivaldi while you are studying.

5.      Have a laugh!  The Von Restorff Effect predicts that material that is outstanding in some way is easier to remember.  That distinctiveness can come in the form of humour or by making something bizarre or funny.  So if you are having trouble remembering something see if you can put it into a joke or cartoon or make a humorous mnemonic for it.

Good Luck!