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
Friday, 16 October 2015
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
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
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
Thursday, 25 September 2014
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!
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!
Wednesday, 27 August 2014
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!
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!
Saturday, 19 July 2014
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!
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!
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Valentie's Day Gifts
Have you got her anything yet?
Are you struggling to get him something he'll actually like?
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!
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
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
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?
Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk
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?
Back to www.breakthehabit.co.uk
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