Dieters often think they’ll feel dissatisfied if they make healthy choices but usually they actually feel MORE dissatisfied when they end up feeling badly about eating unhealthy food. It may be difficult (in the moment) to decide to eat healthy, but the lack of regret after feels great! Healthy eating is a way of life, not a quick trick to fool the scales.
October is National Eat Better, Eat Together Month. That is a time for families to eat together. According to Washington State University making time to eat together is not only important to the family unit, the meals tend to be more nutritious. There are even more benefits including:
Sitting at the table should be a pleasure time, not a battlefield. I advise parents of young children to encourage good eating habits by example. Take time to savor the aromas, the appearance of the food and the textures as well as the flavors. Enjoy and appreciate the preparation of the food as a part of the experience. Keep conversations positive and include everyone at the table. This allows for improved digestion.
Eating together doesn’t mean the meals have to be fancy. It is about the time together that counts! Not sure if you can fit eating together into your hectic schedule? Below are some ideas to help you get started.
How to Start to Eat Better, Eat Together
Include all of the family in planning and preparing meals. It adds to the fun when each person has a specialty they can contribute. However you find the way to fit eat together, eat better into your family, give it a try. You will discover the many benefits of a family meal. Make eat better, eat together a year long practice!
It never fails that when I tell people how I make my living—as a hypnotherapist hypnotizing people slim—they inevitably ask: Does it work; does hypnosis really help with weight loss? My answer usually brightens their eyes with something between excitement and incredulity because most people don’t realize that adding trance to your weight loss efforts can help you lose more weight and keep it off longer. Although hypnosis predates carb and calorie counting by a few centuries, I often hear from desperate individuals that this is their last hope. Because of stage and screen portrayals of hypnosis as mind control or at the very least parlor tricks the benefits of hypnosis has long been misunderstood. It isn’t until everything has been exhausted and people are feeling out of control that most people are willing to try hypnosis. Once they realize their goals, I hear “I should have called you first.” If only people understood that hypnosis is a non-invasive tool that can be used for focus and reaching goals. Hypnosis is also helpful in uncovering and discovering underlying, unconscious emotional factors that cause overeating or making poor food choices when stressed, anxious, bored, depressed, and so forth. Once these emotional eating factors are made conscious, hypnosis is then used to assist changing to more positive motivators and better choices. I understand that most people really want to do the right thing. They start diet after diet only to go back to old unhealthy habits when faced with the demands of everyday life. Most of my clients know every calorie or carb count, what exercises burn the most fat, etc. Ask anyone on the street about his eating or exercise habits and chances are, he’ll tell you he knows he should eat better and get more exercise, but … and they follow up with a litany of excuses. I hear excuses every day, yet those excuses aren’t changing the scales. When people call me about hypnosis for weight loss, I explain that I have several protocols I can follow. The Virtual Gastric Band has a huge 95% success rate according to test groups (my success has been similar). There are other methods that can be used as well, depending upon the needs and goals of the individual. There are as many ways to approach hypnosis for weight loss as there are people needing to make the change. My job is to find the proper fit for you, your job is to show up and be honest.
There are also as many excuses for not committing to change as there are people. I have heard many of these excuses, repeatedly. It’s always easy to come up with reasons to avoid getting started with a healthy eating or weight-loss plan. But all too often, these reasons are really just excuses. “I don’t have time to cook or exercise, I have too much stress to keep on a diet, it’s in my genes, I travel too much, etc.”
Although I have a commitment to building self-confidence in myself as well as my clients, I understand I am a work in progress. During this month of working on self-improvement, I find myself perusing all types of notes I have stored away for a rainy day. Ironically, as I am posting this, it has been a very rainy day. Part of my intent was to continue with my theme of clearing out clutter. Part of it was to continue my Happiness Habits and part of today’s perusal was due to the rain. I found the list below and I am not really sure where I first came upon it or who the author is. Most likely, Napolean Hill, as it seems like his style of writing. Regardless, I thought with this month being National Self Improvement Month and as building our self-confidence can only help us improve, this was worth sharing.
1. I know that I have the ability to accomplish all that I undertake. I know that to succeed, I have only to establish this belief in myself and follow it with vigorous, aggressive action. I will establish it.
Did you know that September is National Self Improvement Month? So, while we may not be the ones getting those new school supplies and backpacks, there is still no doubt about it – September has an energetic, back-from-vacation, back-to-school feeling. This is the month we want to make changes, embrace a fresh outlook and take advantage of all the new opportunities ahead of us. Really, do those memories of making this school year the best one yet ever go away?
As human beings, we are our own worst critics. Most of us are guilty of focusing on our weaknesses instead of our strengths. Luckily, because September is National Self Improvement month, it is a powerful month for changes and taking action. It is a part of our nature to want to improve; we just want to be careful not to become too critical of ourselves. If you are going to be using this month to accomplish the goals you created back in January, first take the time to reevaluate those goals. Are they realistic? Are they manageable? Did you just give up too soon?
In my opinion one of the best changes people can make for creating a healthy lifestyle is to eat healthy. Because of the negative health consequences of obesity, the positive influence fitness has on our self-esteem, and the effects of nutrition on our stress levels and our longevity, switching to a healthier diet brings some of the greatest benefits for wellness. I won’t tell you the best way to eat, as it is different for every individual. I can tell you that a diet full of fast foods and snacks is NOT in your best interest.
Getting regular exercise is another wonderful way to keep your weight in check, manage overall stress levels, and stay connected with others. Exercise has been proven repeatedly to help not only the physical body, but also the emotional part of you. Dr. Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist who has written numerous books on the brain and brain health (How to Make A Good Brain Great and Unleash the Power of the Female Brain are two of his books I’ve enjoyed) repeatedly says that 20 minutes of vigorous exercise is better than any drug he can prescribe.
People often underestimate the importance of getting enough sleep, and getting good quality sleep. However, lack of adequate sleep has many negative consequences. Stress can rob you of a good night’s sleep. It is important to utilize stress reducing techniques to enable you to sleep better. It is also important to include good sleep habits so that you are better able to handle the day’s stresses. Self-hypnosis and meditation are two great tools to improve sleep while better handling stress.
Whether it is a daily cup of tea and quiet contemplation, coloring in a coloring book or a daily yoga session, find something that brings you joy and practice it. Practice it on a regular basis, so that you are reminded of your value. By consistently practicing your ritual you have those feelings to draw on when you are feeling stressed or sad.
This past Saturday, I went out for bike ride with my husband (Greg). We both enjoy riding; have ridden many miles over the years. It has always been a source of exercise and a mood enhancer for us both. I had recently been ill and still was not feeling my full strength as we head out. I couldn’t keep up my normal pace. But, I was going to fight through it. 
Once up, I really enjoyed the flowers and took several pictures of them. All seemed well with the world in that moment. However, as we got back on the bikes, I allowed my thoughts to run away with me. I began to feel insecure. I felt old, clumsy, stupid and any other negative adjective I could come up with in those moments. At our next stop I began to lament my condition to Greg.
