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!

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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The best and worst diets

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) have again done their research on the worst diets for weight loss and health.

Well I think it's fair to say that any diet that removes a whole food group - carbs or fats - or has you being fed through a drip in your nose is probably going to be unhealthy!

The Dukan diet came third again for the BDA - an unhealthy diet that can cause constipation and wind at best and long term stomach problems at worst!

So have you been following my simple steps formula?

If you've kept up on steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 this week you are on your way to healthy weight loss and a healthier life.

Please remember that our bodies need protein, carbs and fats to be healthy and strong - and exercise (or let's call it moving more) will help us use up the calories we put in!

Eat less, move more.  The key to health and weight loss!

There's just time for a couple of hypnotherapy sessions before Christmas. If you need help to change what you eat, when you eat, why you eat and how much you eat then give me a call!

Help me here! Why would anyone think that being fed through a drip in your nose when you're perfectly healthy is a good thing?

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