My blog is still alive and kicking. If you still have an interest in the trials and challenges of losing weight, then hop over to my new blog site and subscribe so the blogs are delivered to your email address! Hope to see you on the other side……http://timetosortit.com/blog/
Wishing you slenderness
Anna x
Greetings to you all and hoping that you have realised that it’s always a good idea to make the time to sort, whatever your current ‘IT’ is!
This is a very short note just to let you know that I have now moved my blog. Here is the link to it’s new home
If you would like to continue to follow it via email, then pop over to the new site and enter your email address to subscribe.
The next instalment will highlight the ‘whole life approach’ to managing your weight.
See you on the other side!
Anna x
It’s been a while since I’ve written Mr Blog and I have missed my time with you and with my followers.
I have had a very interesting and enlightening time on my current weight loss journey and will share more of that at a later date. In the meantime I wanted to let every one know that this blog will be moving to another place shortly, so watch this space to learn where and when this will happen.
I also want to share this question with you and would love to know your views:
For those of you with a current weight issue……..what do you believe comes first- being overweight or lack of self worth?
Is it the fact that you are unhappy with your size that creates a lack of self worth?
Or is it that you don’t consider yourself worthy that creates the weight problem?
And which should you focus on first?
Please post your opinion in the comments below- I can’t wait to hear what you think.
Ok so it’s taken me a while to build up the courage to admit to this- when I finally did weigh in 6 weeks after starting the experiment…….. I had put on 2 lbs. Please don’t stop reading though, because I still think not weighing in weekly is the general way for me to go, all I need are a few added extras, and I’ll share what these are later! Firstly let me run through the benefits of not weighing myself-
THE PROS
SO WHY DID I GAIN?
I think the problem was that I had no clear plan of when I would be weighing in- in my head I had vaguely considered weighing in monthly; but after 4 whole weeks of not weighing, it became REALLY SCARY to face the scales. Anyway the long and the short of it was, week 5 and 6 included a few social engagements, and also I lost my focus a bit (in the evenings again!). The result was that I undid all the good I had done in the first 4 weeks.
MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
My clients are seeing great success with their weight loss and yet they have also come to the conclusion that weighing in weekly impacts their motivation negatively. How come they are doing well and I’m not? The difference is…..wait for it…..they have a coach- ME! (And I don’t!)
They get the focus of their weekly or fortnightly sessions with me. Also they have a plan! During the sessions they are able to talk in detail about what will work for them and when the best times for them to weigh in will be.
So guess what? I finally decided that I could no longer afford NOT to invest (both money and time) in getting myself my very own coach to focus specifically on my weight loss! In our first session I set about constructing my plan for measuring my progress fortnightly- I committed to weighing in once a month and I also committed to measuring my waist once a month. It feels wonderful to finally get the 1-2-1 attention and the accountability I have been secretly craving, and to have the opportunity to think in more detail about what stops me from being successful now, when I have been so successful in the past. I’ll keep you updated as to how it all works out.
It’s all about learning as we go along, right? What have you learnt about yourself on your weight loss journeys so far? Please tell me in the comments below
P.S. For those of you who live in Berkshire, UK, and need some added focus in their lives, pop over to my facebook page Anna Jones-Time to sort it, for info on my new Coffee and Coaching group sessions which are happening in a couple of weeks’ time.
I’m going to keep this short and sweet as I have THE mother of all colds and don’t feel good. Most of us I am sure have heard the saying ‘feed a cold, starve a fever’ and as I don’t have a fever, I thought I’d better ensure that I don’t use the ‘feed a cold’ line as an excuse to stuff my face.
So here is my 5 pronged ‘I am poorly with a cold’ strategy:
I had planned a couple of sessions on the cross trainer this week, but as I am struggling to breathe I can’t do it and I’m NOT going to dwell on it. I’ll focus on what I CAN do instead -i.e. control my food intake.
And no I’m not talking hot toddies! I’m drinking lots of hot drinks and I am especially enjoying hot sugar free blackcurrant squash-no calories to speak of but strangely nurturing! (Also better than tea as there isn’t the same link to biscuits and cake….)
Isn’t that what the doctor orders when you’re under the weather-plenty of rest? And the positive weight loss side effect is that if I am in bed, I’m not roaming around the kitchen looking for snacks.
How clever was I? I made a batch of butternut squash and carrot soup when my throat started getting sore-full of nutrients and low on calories. It’s kind of what I am fancying for lunch anyway, and again a great way to nurture myself and still stay on track.
Instead of moping, I’m using my extra time in bed congratulating myself for not succumbing to extra treats just because I feel ill, and picturing how I want to feel and how I’ll look when I’m wearing the next size down jeans!
So how are you this week? And how are you managing to stay on track? Please feel sorry for me in my sick bed, and leave a comment.
P.S. If you want to take advantage of my reduced rates on 1-2-1 coaching be sure to get in touch with me before the end of February 2015-anna@timetosortit.com
Not a drop of alcohol passed my lips from 30th December 2014 to 1st February 2015 and I feel proud. To be honest, I have to admit it all happened by accident-at least to start with. I had a migraine on the 30th of December which lasted into New Year’s Eve and the last thing I felt like doing was partaking of my usual glass of wine let alone the Prosecco I’d kept back specifically to celebrate the New Year. And then unfortunately, on the first Saturday of the month I didn’t feel 100 % either (I DO like a tipple on a Saturday night!!) and again didn’t fancy a drink. At this point having come so far (6 days to be accurate!) my stubborn streak kicked in- and I decided to test myself and see if I could survive the whole of January without a bevvy.
Here are the 3 very important things I learned from my abstinence-
I was surprised at how much better I felt about myself as a result of this new found sense of control. At the risk of sounding like an alcoholic (and truly I am not!!) abstaining from my beloved wine was the very last thing I imagined I could do.
‘Why should I give up everything I enjoy?’, ‘Life’s too short,’ and ‘It’s my main way of relaxing and de stressing’ was what I’d say to myself to justify my habit. I guess partly these justifications were camouflaging the fact that I was scared that if I made a commitment not to drink for a month, I might not be able to do it, and I would therefore feel a failure. Actually now I have achieved the improbable, I feel like I can achieve many other improbable things too…..so there you have it- the happy outcome is that I definitely feel more confident.
I believe that in the past I may have been guilty of telling myself that feeling deprived is not good for me. That somehow if I don’t have what I want on a regular basis-let’s stick with the alcohol theme here as an example-so if I don’t have a little tipple on a Friday and Saturday then I might feel so deprived, that at the next opportunity (maybe even on the Sunday) I’d go mad and totally overindulge. When I tried to lose weight in my teens-that’s sort of what happened. I’d decide that in order to lose weight I’d never eat chocolate again. I’d manage 5 days and then give up, have a whole bar of Galaxy, feel a failure and then have some Maltesers as well. (My parents both worked for Mars)
I now realise that there is a difference between telling yourself you can NEVER have something ever again, and deciding that you are going to abstain for a short period of time, like a month. The difference with short term abstinence is that the end is always in sight-it’s not a forever thing and therefore isn’t as scary. And anyway now, because I’m feeling smug that I’ve managed to do it, I realise that my cravings have lessened ( yes really!) and I even appreciate my glass of wine more. All positive don’t you agree?
Yes I know that having a horrible migraine gave me a head start and helped me on my way, but hey I still did it-and not only that, I am still in one piece and here to tell the tale! Who’d have thought it? The cravings were nowhere near as bad as I thought they would be and I learnt to substitute what wine was giving me i.e. relaxation and stress relief, with other things that gave me the same i.e. a cup of tea, a sit down and Headspace the meditation app (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!). The other thing that made it easier was breaking up the challenge into smaller goals; by taking each Friday and Saturday night as it came and asking myself ‘What do you want to do tonight-have a vino or stick to your commitment?’, the decision I made was only for one night at a time. Breaking the journey into smaller steps made the biggest difference to my success-it put less pressure on me.
So there we have it- who knew I could learn so much in a month simply (?!?) by abstaining from alcohol. I might abstain from chocolate sometime soon just to test myself again……fancy joining me in a bit of abstinence?
Have you given something up for a while and learnt from it? Or, if you were to test yourself for a month, what would you benefit from giving up? Please leave me a comment below.
Come on, don’t most of us deep down, know what we need to do to lose weight?
We may not have university degrees in nutrition, and it can be confusing to know what we should and shouldn’t be eating with all the conflicting information out there, but deep down I believe that most of us know when we should be eating a little less and moving a little more; really we do, don’t we?
So why is it so easy for some of us (even when we have seen success and lost a couple of stones) to get stuck? I believe it all comes down to ‘motivation’. Motivation is the key. Staying motivated forever and ever is hard work at the best of times, but when a set of scales is involved it can become complicated!
So let me clarify this before I get thousands of comments about how wrong I am. (In my dreams!….thousands of comments…yes please! It can be lonely here you know….with just Mr Blog for company!) I have weighed thousands of people in my time, and witnessed first-hand how motivating it is to see a positive result at the scales. When you are doing great and on a roll and the number on the scales is going down each week-that can be incredibly motivating and is also great feedback on behaviour changes you have implemented in the previous week. (I have explored the best way to use the results at the scales before-click here if you want to go there.)
HOWEVER there is a very high chance that standing on the scales could demotivate you. There are only 3 possible results- a loss, a gain or a stay the same. One of those results will almost certainly result in disappointment, which in turn could result in a sense of ‘what’s the point’ which equals ‘not motivated’. Here are some other possible scenarios:
An unexpected gain could mean devastation which = de-motivation.
A stay the same after a ‘good’ week could = de-motivation
Even a loss that is not big enough could = de motivation
If you are in a fat rut (or a weight-loss plateau-you choose which you want to call it), I urge you to ask yourself this question- ‘Is standing on the scales every week beneficial in keeping me consistently motivated?’
I have asked myself the question and the answer is ‘NO! That’s not to say I will never weigh myself ever again because weighing is one of the simplest ways of getting feedback on your weight loss efforts. But I have decided that I will only weigh myself monthly, and only on a ‘slim’ day (I know you know what I mean) and on a day where I feel I can handle any result- a day when I am feeling strong and positive. This feels like a scary experiment to me and I will feed back the results honestly to you, I promise. I guess in the end I am doing it because what I was doing before –weighing each week- was not working for me anymore. So far not being preoccupied by the scales is working-I feel so much better about myself and I’m focussing more fully on my food habits and behaviours. Ultimately that’s what needs to change (and stay changed). The number on the scales can end up being nothing more than a niggly distraction.
Please comment below and share your thoughts on how the scales effect your motivation-good and bad. I’m really interested to know……
So it’s that time of year again (Happy New Year and all that…) and the pressure is on to make ‘resolutions’ and become all round better people. At the time of me writing this, I wonder how many resolutions have already been broken? And therein lies the fatal flaw of this whole concept-there is a very high chance that making a resolution to ‘do something’ will result in us eventually not doing it, and hey presto, there it is- a big sense of failure.
So that was it- the ONE very good reason NOT to make a resolution.
If we want to stay motivated to achieve better things in 2015, my proposal is as follows- get rid of the RE and just focus on the SOLUTION. (Get it?)
The one very useful thing about the New Year is that it makes it easy for us to focus on a fresh start, on drawing a line in the sand and (just one more cliché now…..bear with me) turning over a new leaf. This in turn encourages us to think of all the positives changes we want to have happen in the future.
So here is my solution- instead of focussing on all the things we need to be doing, or need not to be doing, we should be focussing on our goals and aims and using those as the starting point.
Let me use this example to explain what I mean. Last year I said to myself: ‘I’m going to stop drinking wine and I’m going to start running; I’m fed up of being the size I am so I’m going to make these changes and that will sort me out.’ By day 2 I’d had a glass of wine which of course meant that I was ‘rubbish’ and ‘useless’, and all I gained was a sense of hopelessness. I sulked a bit and then put the concept of New Year resolutions to the back of my mind. (It’s now 2015 and the most action my trainers have seen, is a brisk walk!)
This year instead of resolving to do this, that and the other, I have decided to identify my aims for 2015. One of those aims is to lose 18lbs so that I can feel totally comfortable and confident in a size 14 pair of jeans (they’ll be pretty loose if I lose 18lbs-bliss!). I am trying to visualise how amazing I’ll feel when I jump out of bed one morning and slip on those jeans. (Oh yes…..I’m visualising it now….ooh love it………….can’t wait to feel that way!) The important thing is to be really specific and clear about what your goals for 2015 are; it then becomes easier to identify the actions you need to take to get there.
Do you see the difference? Identifying my aim will of course mean that I’ll have to make some behaviour changes, but I can think about those each week and adapt them, and of course I’ll learn as I go along. If I do accidentally have an unplanned glass of wine at the weekend it doesn’t mean that I have failed to achieve my overall aim. So I therefore won’t be demotivated like I was last year.
Research shows that if we have a clear idea of what we are aiming for then we are 3 times more likely to achieve it. So come on……what is your AIM for 2015?
Please share in the comments so that I can encourage you, by following up on your goals later on in the year.
As well as starting up my Coaching practice, I also work at my local library and I love it. I get paid to touch books and talk to people (and try my very best not to confuse the two!) Maybe I should have started working there years ago, as the majority of the other women who also work there are beautifully and enviably ‘naturally’ slim. Their slimness is fascinating to me, more so because the coffee table in the staffroom is cluttered with biscuits and cakes and chocolates, and also empty boxes that used to contain the afore mentioned items.
I have taken to observing their tea break and lunchtime habits in a David Attenborough type way.
Imagine Mr Attenborough’s hushed tone’s uttering the following question-‘How is it that these lovely library ladies can chomp on these treats and not gain weight?’
So I sit quietly and watch and listen for clues……
Deb is eating soup and fruit for lunch.
When Lesley asks her if that’s all she’s having-she replies it’s what she usually has for lunch. She is careful at lunch time because she likes to eat more in the evening and at weekends. The other thing I observe is that Deb always cuts her fruit up and eats much more slowly than I do-she eats mindfully (Remember? I talked about that before- here.)
After finishing her usual very healthy lunch of pitta, cottage cheese and sliced pear (it’s what she likes) Lesley contemplates having a mince pie. She ponders a while and then decides against it. There’s no angst, no turmoil, just a considered and informed decision that it’s high in saturated fat and she’ll be having a different treat later on. Besides she’s not really hungry. (David Attenborough voice again- ‘Species Library Lady has evolved over the years to understand when she has had enough food! Remarkable…’)
That’s not to say that if my colleagues fancy a biscuit or two or a mince pie that they don’t have one- they simply (!) pause and think first and then totally enjoy (The mince pie box was empty anyway as was the three quarters empty box of Ferrero Rocher- let’s just say everyone except me seemed to know they tasted good-how does that work?)
Although I haven’t yet managed to infiltrate their home environments and spy on them when they are on their own in their kitchens at night, I am pretty sure that my colleagues behave in the same way in private as they do in public. No declining chocolates in public and then scoffing them when no one’s looking. They’ve been practicing this behaviour all their lives; David Attenborough might comment that their sensible eating habits have now become second nature.
I find it so interesting that people who struggle to manage their weight, think that slim people are ‘naturally’ slim and can eat whatever they want and still stay slim. Some slim people believe the same. I believe that in reality slim people do generally eat what they want, but (and this is the significant bit) they simply don’t WANT the same foods or the same VOLUME of food that many overweight people ‘want’. The library ladies are a great example of how the slim stay slim-they put some thought into maintaining their healthy weights; their good habits help too.
So now I have a great opportunity to keep watching, and to attempt to copy those slim eating habits until they become second nature (normal?) to me too. I know it won’t be easy as I have spent the last er-hmm years practising my own unique bad habits (I do have some good ones too-just saying!). This week I’ll keep practising mindful eating (I’m getting better at this and I enjoy food much more when I am mindful) and I will make a huge attempt to pause before I snack. Pausing will enable me to ask myself-‘do I really need to eat this?’, and I’m hoping sometimes the answer will be ‘No!’
What have you noticed about how slim people behave around food and what could you copy that could lead to better weight management skills for you?
Please leave your comments below-I’m curious to know your thoughts. And if you decide to share this ……well I’m not sure how I feel about the ‘naturally slim’ reading it (giggles nervously) – it might encourage them to start watching us more closely!
I have been quiet for a few weeks and here is my excuse…………there has been a major change to my life! Just over a week ago I delivered my last ever Weight Watchers meeting; I have left the job that I have done for the last 12 and a bit years and briefly, it has left me bewildered. I still don’t know how I feel…….relieved, sad, excited, bereft, free, alone, grateful, empty, proud……hungry? (By the way ‘hungry’ was a joke J and emotional eating is a subject for another blog post.) Seriously though I’ve had so many emotions and also new routines to work through, bewildered is a good way to describe how I have felt over the last few days.
Another bewildering realisation is, that just like that, (abracadabra), I have removed, what over the last few years, has become my number one weight loss barrier. Let’s see if I can explain this in a way that makes sense to me, to my readers, (and of course to you Mr Blog):
There is an assumption, that working in the weight loss industry is all the motivation one could possibly need to stay at a healthy weight. I know I am not alone and that many of my ex-colleagues will agree, it’s not quite that simple. That’s not to say that everyone who works in the weight loss industry struggles-of course that’s not true and many admirable people lose weight and keep it off forever. There are however, challenges that present themselves specifically to people who spend many, many hours in the week thinking and talking endlessly about losing weight, eating less and being slim! Over the last few years I have felt as though I have pretty much become ‘immune’ to it all. It has ended up being a subject that I know lots and lots about, but I appear to have forgotten that what I talk about can be applied to me too! Someone along the way must have given me a sneaky booster jab, which has made me resistant to weight loss!
The other side effect of trying to help others to lose weight, is that the focus is on THEM and not on me. I’m not saying this in a ‘woe is me’ kind of way. I have found it incredibly pleasurable and rewarding to see others change their lives for the better. It was and still is my job, after all………..but come on……..who wants to take work home with them every day of the week? We all need a break right? I was recently coached myself, and one of the most interesting things that came out from the session for me, was that I may have been deflecting the desire to be a healthy weight onto others! (Bing! Switch that light bulb on!)
Here is one more ‘reason’ it is challenging to lose weight when trying to help others do just that- some members find it reassuring/comforting that their leader is not a ‘stick insect’ (who remembers that television programme?). Many members have told me that they like the fact that I totally understand how challenging it is to lose weight. And who am I then, to take that comfort away from them?
As I write this down now (why didn’t I do it years ago??) I realise what a big, giant excuse I have woven for myself. What an enormous barrier to overcome! And now it’s GONE! And I have 2 choices………..I can dip into my big bag of excuses and come up with a different one……………OR I can ditch the excuses and look for a way to achieve my weight loss goals.
What is your BIG EXCUSE? And what needs to happen for you to get over it?
Please comment below-I’d love to know how ingenious (or not!) you all are. And if you know anyone else who may have their own weight loss excuses please share this blog with them.
Time to sort it..... 