Stay focussed for weight loss this Christmas!

Of course they're obvious!  Of course you've heard it all before!  

But here's the list of tips to help you get through the holiday season anyway - just give it a quick read as a reminder! 

Hints and Tips for Christmas and The New Year

    

       1.  Buy healthy snacks for times when you’re going to be too busy to cook.

       2.  Plan your eating.  If you’re busy rushing around the shops or wrapping presents yourself time to eat

      3.  If you’re eating alone make it a salad!

      4.  If you have a big meal (and a pudding) skip the next meal or reduce the size of it dramatically! If you’re used to having your main mean at night then a big meal at lunchtime will probably see you through to breakfast the next day!

     5.   It’s ok to skip a meal if you’re having brunch and a main evening meal!

      6.   Drink plenty of water to avoid tiredness, headaches, general bad tempers – and hangovers!

     7.    If you are drinking alcohol have a glass of water in between each alcoholic drink – and start with water, after all it’s going to go down fast as the first drink is usually about thirst!

    8.     Don’t worry about how many calories you eat in a day – just make sure you balance a week’s calories and you won’t put on weight.

    9.    Don’t weigh yourself between Christmas and New Year – leave it until mid January when you’re “back to normal”. Or if you’re one of those lucky people taking a holiday over Christmas or in January enjoy it! Get on the scales a week after you get back.

   10.   Enjoy the holidays – get out and about.  Get some fresh air and exercise

         This is two weeks of your life. Don’t let it change your goals

 Believe me, you will be the size and shape you want to be...deserve to be!

Merry Christmas!

So what IS hypnotherapy?

I suppose because I've been a hypnotherapist for over 14 years, using hypnotherapy to help thousands of people, I understand what hypnotherapy is and how it feels and what it can do.

I forget that even though I have loads of clients out there talking to their friends, colleagues and relatives who I could help, many people still only recognise hypnotherapy as something weird and magic - or maybe just weird and scary!

So what is hypnosis - what does it feel like? Hypnosis is like that feeling you go through just as you're falling asleep.  You're very relaxed.  You can still hear.  You could still move if you wanted to - but you don't want to.  You are totally in control.  You are very relaxed.  Not asleep but not awake.  Drifting and drowsy.

When you're in this very relaxed state we can communicate with your unconscious, or subconscious mind.   It's where your memories are kept, and your habits.  In this relaxed state you are very open to suggestion but importantly you cannot be influenced to do anything that you don't want to do. So hypnotherapy is therapy whilst you're in that relaxed state we call hypnosis. 


I spoke to a client yesterday who stopped smoking with me in 2008 and he was telling me that he talks about me and what I did for him with friends and they say they too want to stop smoking or lose weight or whatever.  They find what he tells them interesting - and yet they never contact me.

He is as flumoxed as I am (just love that word flumoxed!).

So what is happening?

Have you heard the saying "I'll believe it when I see it"?  Well seeing it - success - for someone else just maybe isn't enough.  We have to see success for ourselves.  But why should anyone try something they don't understand?

Particularly with stopping smoking everyone has been conditioned to fail.  Years ago people stopped smoking with pure willpower, maybe started again, stopped again, many times.  If you're over 50 like me you'll remember relatives and friends doing this - you may have done it yourself.   Then the pharmaceutical industry got involved.  "We'll help you stop smoking" they said "stick this patch on your arm/back/bottom!".   And some people stopped.  And some people didn't.  And some that stopped started again.  And then some tried the patches again.  And they failed again.  The patches failed but the smoker then saw themselves as the failure.  So the pharmaceutical industry invented nicotine gum.  Then a mouth spray.  Then the drug Zyban.  Then Champix.  And people tried to stop and some stopped. And some started again.  And felt like a failure. Again.  But it wasn't them that failed it was the patches and gum and spray and drugs.

The best success rate of any of the "aids" I've mentioned is 25%.  So no more than 25% of people who tried ever stopped.

And of course I could talk about failing at diets in the same way couldn't I?

But now you are conditioned to fail.  You need to see it to believe it if someone offers you an alternative way to stop smoking (or lose weight).

Hypnotherapy is, of course, a very alternative way!

It's not weird and it's not (I'm sorry to say) magic!

If you'd like to learn more about how your unconscious mind works - and how we can use hypnosis and hypnotherapy (therapy in hypnosis) to change your habits then give me a call.  I've got a really good CD for you to listen to so you can experience hypnosis at home.

Then you can decide you want to stop smoking or lose weight or get rid of a phobia or build your confidence.  Let me help you understand how hypnotherapy can work for you.  If you want it to.

Recipes

Do we really need to be told what to eat?  We know what's healthy don't we?  Really?  I don't share recipes with my clients because I think most of them are quite capable of buying a cook book or googling!

But just in case anyone wanted to know, here's what we're having for dinner tonight!

Greek Briam (my version)
4 tomatoes, sliced
2 potatoes, sliced
an onion, sliced,
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 average sized courgettes, sliced
Some recipes add aubergine (sliced!) and/or red and green peppers.

Put all vegetables in a deep oven proof dish, tomatoes at the bottom.  Add a splash of oil and some herbs and cover with foil.
Place in a hot oven gas mark 6 for 45 minutes.  Uncover and cook for a further 30 - 45 minutes.

Serve with anything that takes your fancy though I like mine with a piece of lamb cooked in the oven for about 30 minutes and my husband likes his with vegetarian sausages - and he likes a few peas with it too!

This takes about 5 minutes to prepare but a good 90 minutes to cook.  It's the only thing I cook that takes more than about 40 minutes!

Confused?

Are you as confused as I am about the all the information coming out in the press about e-cigarettes?

I'm pretty sure I read a few weeks ago that the UK health supremos has decided that e-cigs are safe, they do not encourage younger people to smoke and they will be available on prescription becuase they do help people to stop smoking.

Yet today I read that the EU supremos (you are voting today aren't you - think of it as a practice for the "in or out" vote in June) have decided that e-cigs don't help anyone to stop smoking, are potentially harmful and most of them, particularly the flavoured ones should be banned!

Oh and packets will have to be a boring green or brown colour.  And you'll only be able to buy 20.  And a packet will be £25.  Sorry I made that up!  Or actually I didn't because that's going to be the price for a packet of cigarettes in Australia.

So I'm confused as a non-smoker. So how do smokers feel?  Ill probably.  Sick and tired too I bet!  But seriously, wouldn't it just be easier to stop playing this game.  Feeding money into the tax system and the greedy tobacco companies coffers?  Did you know that it's British American Tobacco that make e-cigs?

You don't need to put anything in your mouth for comfort.  I'm sorry if this is a bit confrontational but you're not a toddler.  Sensible adults are becoming non-smokers.  Because it makes sense. One session to stop smoking.  No confusion.

Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk

Are you avoiding getting help?

Have you got a problem that really needs fixing?  Are you at the end of a painful dry January - or losing the will to live on your new year diet?

Maybe you're standing outside in the driving rain because a cigarette took control and said you just had to go!

You may be reading this because you found something about me that said - "hey! I can help you!"

Or did a friend send you a link?

So yes, you know you need help!  But are you avoiding getting help?

23% of the adult population in Leeds are smokers - that's about 3% above the national average.  So we know you're out there!

I've lost track of the latest figures about obesity, or pre-diabetes, or diabetes, or anxiety, or stress.....

So why are you avoiding getting help?

Do you think it'll be too hard to do without your cigarette/glass of wine/chocolate bar?  Are you still convincing yourself that you are addicted and it will be too painful to stop? Maybe you've already tried and failed - and can't face failure again.  Maybe you've even tried hypnotherapy before and failed.

Of course I know that you can stop smoking in one session with no pain at all!  No cravings! No withdrawal!

I know that you can cut down on your drinking or change your eating habits easily - no pain, no cravings...

I know because this is what I do, day in, day out.  I help people just like you to change. To get better.

And I will spend as long as it takes on the phone or in the office to explain all this to you.  That's my promise.

Maybe you're worried about spending money on something that won't work?

I often speak to people who think "it's too expensive" to get professional help.  But compared to what?  Your health? Your happiness?  Your family? Your longevity?  How can we put a price on those things?

Here's a question for you.  If you could meet your goal (stop smoking, reach your ideal weight, remove panic attacks or whatever your goal) tomorrow - how much would you pay?

You can work out how much you will save with things like stopping smoking, cutting alcohol or sugary foods.  Work it out over, say, a year.  How much?

You can try and put a price on your health or longevity.  How much?  How much do you already spend every year on looking and feeling good - haircuts, nail extensions (ladies!), gym membership, new hats!!!!

I would like to bet that all of the figures you calculate - or guess at - will be more than what professional help will cost.

So if it's time to stop making excuses.  If you're ready to get help.  Make the call.  Make the appointment.
Ask me the questions you really want answering. Call 0113 834 5424.

Your New Year's SOLUTION!

What's your 2016 New Year's SOLUTION?

No, it's not a typing error!

Most people I know don't bother with New Year's Resolutions any more.  Let's face we just don't stick to them, do we?

The most successful changes these days are made - and intended to only last - short term.  Think about Dry January or Stop Smoking October.  Most of us can make changes for a month!

Whilst there is research that says we only need to do (or not do) something for 21 days for it to become a habit (or not!), if we only intend to make the change for 31 days then we're just focussing on the 32nd day when we can go back to our old ways!

So what has caused you a problem in 2015?  

Why is it a problem?
Why do you want to change?
Make the reasons as strong as you possibly can.  Remember we move away from pain much faster and easier than we move towards pleasure.  The stick works better than the carrot!  So how is the problem affecting your health, wealth or happiness?

Now, how are you going to SOLVE that problem?

What's your New Year's SOLUTION?

(Remember you can't change other people, you can only change yourself).

What is the FIRST step you are going to take to SOLVE your problem?

Do it, schedule it, diarise it, organise it.  NOW!

Happy 2016!

In the news today..it's in your genes!

So it seems that Gene Taq1A plays a role in processing the hormone dopamine in the brain.  Dopamine is linked to a feeling of pleasure and reward but is also released in smokers.  So "experts" have discovered that anyone with this gene will find it harder to quit smoking.

Fortunately, if you have the A2 version of the gene you will find it easier to stop smoking!

Now this Chinese research was taken from pooled data from 22 studies involving nearly 10,000 people so far be it from me to question the findings!

Of course another study found that the gene known as CYP2A6 also makes it harder to stop smoking.

Oh dear! More ways to make it harder to stop smoking!  More reasons why people can't stop!

Many of my clients talk about hypnotherapy with me being their "last chance" to stop smoking.  They've tried "everything" and not stopped or stopped for a while then started again.

I explain that trying things that don't work doesn't make them failures!  Patches, Zyban, Champix, e-cigs all have their place but all have a very low proven success rate when it comes to helping anyone quit smoking.  You try them.  You fail.  You think you can't stop.

Well I think you're wrong!

Hypnotherapy generally does have one of the highest success rates.

I just wish I could test all my thousands of clients for theTaq1A and A2 genes - just as a matter of interest!!

Stoptober #fail?

Have you been trying really hard during October not to drink alcohol? Or maybe you've been trying really hard to stop smoking?

Are you "dying for Sunday" when you can drink or smoke again?

Why is it SO HARD to stop smoking?  Is it because it's SO ADDICTIVE?  Or because you're SO WEAK?  NO!!!!

It's because you taught your unconscious mind an automatic habit and it's job is now to KEEP DOING IT!!

It's the same principle as driving.  You learn and at first it's hard, you make mistakes (crash the gears, crash the car!) and then it just "clicks".  Now you can do it.  Now you can drive.  And you never really have to think about it again.  In fact it's best if you don't think about it.  Let it happen.  Automatically.

Of course it can be the same with drinking.  Do you get home and open a bottle or a can?  Or go to the pub after work? Or maybe you go out on a Friday or Saturday night and drink one drink after another after another after another...

You developed a habit.  You're not an addict.  You're not an alcoholic.  You learned a process and your unconscious mind just kept doing it for you.

So when Stoptober comes around - or New Year's Resolutions - or your birthday - you try really hard. And you stop.  You don't stop thinking about smoking or drinking though do you?  You think about it all the time?  It drives you crazy!!!

Then finally it's the first of November, or the end of January or Friday night !!  And you're back.

You didn't break the habit.  You didn't break the connection at the unconscious level.

Some people will stop completely, forever with willpower or as some like to call it "cold turkey".

Some won't.  In fact the majority of people won't stop.  They will start again at some point.  They think they can "just have one".  Their mind - or their friends - persuade them they can "just have one" that they're in control.   You've been there haven't you?

But it's just like riding a bike or driving a car.  You didn't forget how to do it (whatever it is).  And now you're back.  To Square One.

It's why I'm here.  The NLP and hypnotherapy processes I use get into your unconscious mind and break the habit at the that level.  So you don't have to think about smoking ever again.  You don't automatically open a bottle or can when you get home because you, once again, YOU have a choice!

Read some of the letters from my clients and you'll see what we can do.

I can give you a choice.

Go back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk

Christmas IS coming!

Two months on Sunday.  Yes, that's right, two months on Sunday it will be Christmas Day.

Does that fill you with dread?

There's the normal type of dread.  Maybe you haven't bought a single present yet - and have no idea what to get.  Maybe you haven't started soaking your dried fruit in rum.

Then there's that horrible, underlying anxiety.  That dread deep inside which says "oh no" another Christmas.

I'm sure there's been loads of research about how anxiety for many, is a major issue around Christmas.

Me, my hubsand and my son always spent Christmas with my parents.   Sometimes we'd stay for a few days, eating together, watching TV,  visiting friends and relatives.

After Mum died it was harder.  For one thing I had to start doing all the cooking!  But we still all got together.

In 2010 I took Dad to my brother's in New Zealand - we had a great "family" Christmas with the grandchildren and great-granchildren.

But then my Dad died and there's just the three of us.  And it's just not the same.

There are two major causes of anxiety for some people when they think about Christmas.
One is the thought of having to socialise, mingle, eat, drink and be merry with "the family".
The other is the thought of being alone.

One event, two ends of the spectrum, one emotion.  Anxiety.

You can read advice in all the magazines and newspaper columns.  What you could do.  What you should do.  How to change your feelings.

The way I deal with it is to treat it as any other day.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Anixety is just thinking about something.  Giving it more meaning than perhaps it deserves.

I won't presume to give you any more advice. Except this.  It's another day.  It will be over soon.

How To Start a New Habit

As you know I'm all about breaking habits, stopping doing things. But how do you start a new habit?

Well let's think about the logic.  To break a habit we need to break a connection.  Think of the things you do, automatically, without thinking about it.  For example having a biscuit with a cup of tea or a cigarette with a coffee.  Every time!  You don't think about - you've done it before you think about it.
You get in a car and drive it.  What do you do first? Next? Are you sure? The pattern is that one thing happens then the next, then the next.  You don't have to think about it anymore because you've programmed yourself.

If you practise something enough times it will become a habit.  Research tells us it is 21 times.  So after 21 times the habit is established.

But what about the first 21 times?  How can you remember when something isn't yet a habit? How can you form a new habit?

Well go back to the beginning.  Our minds make connections.  Everytime this happens I do this.  Every time. There's a trigger effect.

So to start a new habit we need to link it to something else that we already do.  Something we always do.  Without thinking about it!

Would you like to start exercising?  What do you do every day already?  You get out of bed.  So how about putting your trainers by the bed and stepping straight into them when you get up?

I have a joke.  It's a weak joke I know but I quite like it!  Have you heard of kettle bells?  Those weights in the shape of a very old fashioned kettle?  Do you know why they are called kettle bells (they certainly don't resemble today's modern kettles!)  Here's the joke: because you keep them by the kettle!!!  OK I know it's not that funny but if you did keep some weights by the kettle you could lift them a few times everytime you put the kettle on.  You wouldn't forget because they'd be there.  Waiting for you.

If you do have a tendency towards putting the kettle on quite often then the kettle is an ideal trigger.  Do you need to drink more water?  Every time you put the kettle on have a glassof water.

A lot of my clients come to me because the have a habit they want to break.  A common one is opening a bottle of wine or beer when they get home from work.  Get home. Take off shoes.  Open bottle.   So if you want to exercise more maybe change it to get home, take off shoes, run up and down stairs twice. Or get home, take off shoes, drink water.

I'm simplifying here but I think you'll get the idea!

To develop a new habit:

1. Choose something you want to do regularly.
2. Choose something you already do regularly.
3. Link the thing you want to do to the thing you already do.
4. Continue for 21 days/times and notice if you're then doing the new habits without noticing!

Of course to break a habit:

1. Call me
2. Come for a session of NLP and Hypnosis
3. Break the Habit
4. Help yourself by putting a positive new habit in place of the old negative habit.

Remember my new number 0113 834 5424
Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk

Menopausal moments

If you're a woman in your 40s, 50s or 60s you're either worrying about the menopause, suffering from the menopause or getting over the menopause!

First of all let me say - ME TOO!  So I know a little bit about how you're feeling, how it's affecting your life.

Of course we're all different - I'm told that some people breeze through these years of their lives without any issues at all - and yet others suffer every day.

Hot flushes, problems with sleeping, stress and anxiety, weight gain.  The list goes on.

And at the same time we've got the usual problems of getting older.  We worry about our looks and our general health.  Our jobs get harder.  Our kids leave home - or come back!  Our parents need our help more.  Our parents pass away.

There are hundreds of books and websites about how to cope with the menopause.  The Daily Mail are currently running a daily series on how to cope.  They talk about anti-depressants and other drugs too often for my liking.

Some of us may just need a bit more support from our friends and families.

Some of us may need to review our jobs and working lives.

Some of us may need to change our eating habits, our drinking habits, lose a bit of weight, learn to manage stress.

Here are my four steps to feeling better:

1. Call me and get a copy of my Stress Relief CD.  It will help you relax, feel better and sleep better.
2. Call me and let me tell you how I can help you cut down on your drinking or change your eating habits.
3. Call me and let me tell you how I can help you reduce stress and anxiety.
4. Call me for a chat.  Sometimes we all just need someone to talk to!

Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk

Habits versus addictions

Research says that if you do something 21 times it becomes a habit!

But what is a habit?  It's something you do, automatically, without thinking about it.  Usually it's a triggered effect - so one thing leads directly to another so fast it "just happened."

Like indicating when you want to turn in your car.

Like having a biscuit with a cup of tea.

Like putting a cigarette in your mouth after a meal, or with a coffee.

The more you practice a habit the better you get at it!

I developed a habit a few years ago.  As soon as I get up and go in the kitchen I have a glass of water.  Every day.  Without fail.

When a clients leaves me I always give them a bottle of water to drink on their way home, or back to work. It helps them "wake up" after a relaxing hypnotherapy sessions.

I also want them to develop a habit of drinking water (it's good for you, you know!) and to replace the cigarettes or glasses of wine with water.

I usually hand the bottle to them and say "and this is your new hobby".  But why do I say hobby instead of habit?

When I first thought about this I thought maybe I should change to saying "and this is your new habit".

But then I realised something.  What is a hobby?  It's something we do because we enjoy it.  It's something we do as often as we can.  It's something that makes us feel good.

So perhaps drinking water is best seen as a hobby?  As well, of course, as a really good habit!

Nuts!

Do you eat nuts?  I eat loads!  So many people tell me they don't eat nuts because they think they're high in fat and therefore calories but there is so much research that says that nuts are good for us.  Of course the fat is natural, vegetable fat not harmful fat.

Many people eat nuts to help them lose weight and if you think about it, they probably lose weight because they replace harmful fattening sugary biscuits and cakes with the nuts.

I recommend cashews nuts as research has said they can have similar effects as prozac!

I also recommend pistachios partly because they come in shells and "peeling" them means we eat slower and chew more!

I just read an interesting article quoting research about pistachio nuts so I thought you might like to share it.

1. Eating two servings of pistachios a day lowered stress-related narrowing of arteries to lessen the load on your heart.

2. If you want to lower harmful LDL cholesterol and improve your heart health then you need the powerful anti-oxidants which are in pistachios.

3. Nuts are a good provider of monunsaturated fats which can help reduce fat stored around the belly.

So for health and weight loss why not try pistachios?  And remember they can be a healthy replacement for sugary snacks - but they must be a replacement!

Why you don't need a gastric band (real or hypnotic)

Gastric bands.  The latest fad or the answer to all our problems?

This week the NHS have decided that more people will be able to get gastric band surgery to help them lose weight - and more and more hypnotherapists are offering Gastric Band Hypnotherapy.

But what is the real story we should be reading and learning from that's in the press?

Yes, it's the "new" discovery that we've been given the wrong information for the past 30 or so years about what really makes us fat!

The research has been done.  Again.  The books are being written.  Again.  But this time it's finally the answer that some of us have been talking about for the past 30 years! And what is this major piece of information?

It's sugar that is making us fat.  Not fat.  Sugar.

Yes, I will say it again.

It's sugar that is making us fat.  Not fat.  Sugar.

Yes it seems that all those sugar laden cakes, biscuits, ready meals, take-aways, high carb-low-fat diets have actually made us fat! Well not me actually!

Because I knew all along what we all knew all along.  That you simply can't snack every day on sugary foods and stuff yourself with breads, pastries and pies and not get fat!  Or at least very unhealthy!

Now I'm not a nutritionist.  I haven't studied to be a chef.  OK I did Domestic Science at 'O' level (yes I am that old) but what I have done is a lot of reading.  And I've worked with a lot of overweight, unhealthy clients.

And that's where we need to really focus. Health. Because a gastric band will only stop you eating large quantities of food.  A hypnotic gastric band will make you feel full quicker.  But neither will help you eat healthy food.

So here's why you don't need a gastric band or a hypnotic gastric band, or a gastric by-pass, or a gastric balloon or a gastric anything!

You just need to eat healthy foods in moderate amounts.  I know that isn't as easy as it sounds but that's what I help my clients to do! In a nutshell don't eat too many things which have labels. Eat fresh.  Cook from scratch.  Extras should be exactly that extras not everyday occurrences.  Cakes and biscuits, puddings and pies need to go back to being treats not part of every day's food intake.

By changing to healthy foods (and moving more - but more on that later) then we can lose a couple of pounds a week.  And that's a good half stone a month.  So that's 6 stone in a year.  So how much do you have to lose?

Most of my weight loss clients are surprised when I divide how much weight they want to lose into 2lbs a week and come up with a result that they can be their target weight in just a few months!

Try it yourself.  A stone to lose?  2 months.  That's mid September. Two stone to lose?  That's 4 months.  That's before Christmas.  Six stone?  By next summer's holiday you can be in those shorts looking great!

But best of all you will be healthy!  Your blood pressure will be normal, you won't be heading towards diabetes and you will have more energy.

So no, I don't offer gastric band hypnosis.  What I can do is help you eat healthily.  Change what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat and, perhaps most importantly why you eat.

So if you're ready to change.  I'm here for you!

Valentie's Day Gifts

Have you got her anything yet?
Are you struggling to get him something he'll actually like?

How much do you now about your partner (or partner-to-be)!

In NLP we talk about people being more visual or more auditory or more kinesthetic.  Of course we generalise, no one is just one or the other!  But just knowing which way your partner favours will help you choose the perfect gift!

Have you ever bought what you thought was the perfect gift - and got it completely wrong?  Maybe you based the choice on your preference, not your partner's!

Does she like to look good, is she maybe artistic and creative? Then she'll love flowers or a piece of jewellery - you could book her into a salon to get her nails done - something that she can look at will make her feel good. 

Or is she more into comfort and keeping warm? Then she's more likely to appreciate a massage at the beauty salon - or a DVD box set of her favourite show.  This lady will appreciate a hug as much as the words "I love you".   Auditories like to hear those words!

Does she love music - well that's an easy one it's a CD or concert tickets! 

Or would she really love just staying in, keeping warm and having a nice meal!

The thing is if she's into comfort and good food, jewellery will be a short lived "it's the thought that counts" present!

And of course, don't revert to chocolates if she's into keeping fit and staying slim!

For women who're more into feelings and emotions a hug and "I love you" will mean more than the most expensive red roses - but if she's very "visual" then the flowers will be a WOW.

For him the rules are the same. Visual (things that look good) auditory (things that sound good and that includes music and whispering sweet nothings!) or kinesthetic - feelings and emotions.

Not sure?  Buy flowers, gifts, "experiences" and hug and kiss and say "I love you".  Better to be safe than sorry!

Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk

Diabetes cure

Yesterday's papers were full of headline news about a cure for diabetes.  Actually researchers have said that there could be a cure within 10 years. So maybe the key word is "could".

If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes (don't change and you'll be there) then you know the cure yourself!

You need to change your eating habits, cut down on sugars in your diet and lose weight.  There is a lot of evidence that a near starvation diet for just a few months, or a very low calorie diet will cure diabetes.

So you have a choice. Starvation, low calorie or change - or wait for the miracle pill!

The point is that it is your choice. You do have a choice.  Type 2 diabetes is a choice.  All you need to do now is choose your cure!

Don't try. Do it!  Get a coach, a helper (I know a really good hypnotherapist :).  

The most important step is to change what, when, how much and why you eat. That's what I do with my clients.  It's not fast weight loss but it is easy and it does get you to the same point. Diabetes free. Now, how does that sound. How would that feel?

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smoke free or e-cigs?

I was just watching TV and the smoke free advert came on. It showed a man smoking a cigarette and the "dirty blood" going through his veins into his lungs, heart and brain. The voice-over was something like "if you knew what it did to you, you'd stop". But you still keep smoking. You turned the advert over didn't you? Flicked channels?

Today the newspapers are saying that e-cigs will be banned for under 18s. Some are saying why bother? Under 18s aren't taking up e-cigs in big numbers.  But they are still taking up smoking.

So if you knew you could stop, stop putting something in your mouth for comfort, stress relief or whatever else you do it for would you?

Well the good news is you can stop. You can stop smoking. Maybe you have conditioned yourself to fail. Maybe you've tried dozens of times to stop. Maybe you've been "trying" too hard. Maybe now is the time to stop "trying" and to just do it.

It is possible. You don't need a comforter. You just need to know how to become smoke free and e-cig free. Free. In control of your own life.

Call me!

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New year, new you? Or just the old you again?

Did you make any new year's resolutions?  Or didn't you bother in the end?

For most of setting new year's resolutions is a bit like reading a personal development book or going on a seminar. A week later life and work take over and we forget about the changes!

To make a change things have got to get too painful to stay the same!

But once we need to change what do we do? We go for BIG even MASSIVE change. And we fail don't we?

So this year why not change just one small thing?

Cut out one pudding a week. Drop one packet of crisps a week. Cut out one coffee a day. Make 6 packets of cigarettes last 7 days. Go for a five minute walk every day.

Prove to yourself that change is possible. Prove to yourself that change is easy. Prove to yourself that you can change.

Then when you're ready to make a big change you can make a really good New Year'sResolution:  Call Julie!

P.s My resolution is to blog more often!  Let's see how THAT goes!

So where does an 11 year old get the money for cigarettes?

New research says that the number of 11 to 16 year olds taking up smoking rose in 2011 to 207,000 from 157,000 in 2010.

When I put this on my facebook page the first comment I got was from a mum of 4. "Where does an 11 year old get the money for cigarettes? The answer I suppose is they pinched them from parents or older siblings or they pinched the money to buy some. Of it was their lunch money. (most of us did that, didn’t you?)

So isn't it illegal to sell cigarettes to under 18's? Yes it is - but still they get them!

But the question for me is why do kids still want to smoke knowing the damage it does? We all know someone who's suffering with the side effects of being a smoker - every child has seen someone with lung disease or cancer - if not someone they know, then someone on TV.

The answer is the same as it’s always been. It’s the answer that 95% of my stop smoking clients give. Peer pressure. Or as some people write on the questionnaire I give them "pier pressure" which conjures up a weird picture!

So what is peer pressure? It's our automatic response. The automatic response of human beings. We like to be liked. We like people who are like us. We like to join clubs. So whatever our age, when someone says "join us, we're having a good time" we join! OK not all of us – but a high percentage. And we’re more likely to join when we’re in our teens.

Most of my clients started smoking in their teens at school, at university or starting their first job. They did it because “everyone else was doing it”. Then they’re stuck. Even when “Everyone else” stops they carry on!

Teenagers have always seen “grown ups” smoking. So if you’re 14 how do you think you can look 16 or 18? Yes, do something that you have to be 16 (or now it’s 18) to do – smoke! Isn’t it the same with drinking?

Our parents do it, TV and pop stars do it – and we want to be like them!

I believe that the only way we will stop children smoking is to stop adults smoking. When TV “celebs” and pop stars take responsibility to say NO. To show youngsters that it isn’t “cool” to smoke (and drink to excess). Then we will see less young people starting to smoke.

When the government and NHS realise that they need to help people to stop smoking – not threaten them with ugly photos or blank packages. When everyone realises that they only failed to stop because they were trying methods that DON’T WORK. Then young people won’t want to smoke. There will be no point. If no-one else is doing it, if it’s not cool and doesn’t help stress (no, it really doesn’t) then there will be no point.

Until then I will be in a job. I will be helping people stop smoking. I fear that long after I am gone there will still be a need for someone to help people to stop smoking. Someone to help the 11 year olds of today when they are in their 40’s with the first signs of COPD, heart disease and cancer. How very sad.

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6 Things we Forgot about Sleeping

1. Every living thing needs to sleep.
2. Sleep is our body’s chance to repair and re-energise.
3. All living things have a body clock which is pre-set.
4. Human beings need about 6 – 8 hours sleep a night on average.
5. We cannot make ourselves sleep – force is the very opposite to sleep.

6. There can be physical, chemical and emotional reasons why me don’t sleep

All of these can be overcome because of point No.1: Every living thing needs to sleep.

So to be able to sleep “like a baby” you need to follow some simple rules, set up some new habits, follow a simple plan – and allow yourself to sleep.

I would like to share with you the answer! The simple rules to follow and a wonderful, relaxing, sleep inducing hypnosis!

If you're having problems sleeping give me a call.  You will, won't you?