Could Your Diet Plan Do With a Boost? Try Hypnosis! – Ajit Patel UK
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ll know that half the battle
is in your mind. This is where
hypnosis weight loss
programmes come in. When you’re under hypnosis
— a state of inner absorption and
concentration — you are highly focused and more responsive to ideas
about behavioural changes that might benefit your wellbeing,
such as your eating habits. But what makes the hypnosis weight
loss diet different from any other diet?
According
to Nancy B. Irwin, PsyD, CHt, a speaker and author who uses hypnosis
to help people become aware of why they overeat, ‘My premise is that there is positive
intent behind every bit of human
behaviour. No one ever does anything to deliberately be bad or wrong,
or even evil…similarly, no one chooses to be obese.’ Clinical experience
has taught Irwin that the positive intent behind overeating comes
down to numbing
emotional pain, thwarting unwanted sexual
advances or to literally stand out/be seen.
A University
of Connecticut study, published in the Journal
of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
found that hypnosis weight loss programmes can provide a healthy way to address
these needs without damaging your wellness. When
participants took part in cognitive-behavioural
treatments for weight
loss reduction, they lost an average of 6lbs. However, when others added hypnosis to this treatment,
the average weight loss
was 12lbs. Irwin explained that hypnotherapists
can reprogramme dieters to follow proper nutritional
habits so they are able to commit to an ‘appropriate exercise
regime, and most importantly to manage their thoughts, which are self-hypnotic
suggestions 24/7.’
Bob Choat, fitness
trainer and author of Mind Your Own Fitness,
added that hypnosis can offer support to healthy
eating and an exercise plan — but it’s not a magic
pill. ‘What I’ve discovered regarding weight
loss is that simply using hypnosis alone is not enough,’ he said. ‘Immediate
action after a hypnosis
session is important. Also, special suggestions, such as eating healthy
veggies or increasing walking, is part of the solution.’
You can try hypnosis
at home using books, videos, or audio recordings and your own voice
to form a close connection between your body
and mind for a specific reason. Make sure you find a quiet, distraction-free
place for five to 30 minutes, making sure you’re as relaxed as possible. Breathe
in and out deeply to release any negative energy in your body
and mind, and imagine overcoming your weight
loss goal. Repeat the statement to reaffirm your confidence in accomplishing
your goal,
and slowly locate your body
and mind back to reality and open your eyes.
"Babies
weaned on pureed food tend to end up fatter than infants
whose first tastes are finger food,
researchers believe.
Spoon feeding babies
mashed up fruits and vegetables
appears to give them a sweeter tooth, a Nottingham University
team found after studying 155 children.
This early self-regulation
of what to eat keeps them slim, BMJ Open says.
The researchers found spoon-fed
babies were more often obese,
although, overall, most of the youngsters in both groups
were a healthy
weight.
Dr Ellen Townsend, who led the research,
believes baby-led
weaning – where the child is offered a range of chunky
foods to grab and self-feed – sets the stage for healthy
eating in early childhood.
The ages of the 155 children
who took part in the study ranged between 20 months
and six years.
Questionnaires filled in by their parents
revealed those children
who were introduced early to finger
foods developed a preference for carbohydrates
like toasted pitta bread
and pasta over sweeter foods
like sugary fruit purees.
This was despite the fact that along with sweet foods,
children in the spoon-fed group
had also been offered carbohydrates, fruits
and vegetables,
proteins and whole meals such as lasagne more often than those in the baby-led
weaning group.
Dr Townsend said: "It could be an age
of introduction effect that we are seeing. Carbohydrates
are ideal finger foods.
"But self-control of feeding may also be a
factor. You are handing over control
and letting the baby
decide how much they want to eat.
"With spoon feeding there is
the temptation to get
into them whatever is left in the bowl or the jar."
She said longer-term studies were now needed
to track the knock-on
effect, if any, of weaning method on weight in adolescence and
adulthood.
Rosie Dodds of the National
Childbirth Trust said the findings suggested
that it was safe to let babies
feed themselves and choose their own foods
when they were ready.
And Tam Fry, of the National
Obesity Forum, said it was "quite logical" that babies
might inherently know best when it came to which weaning foods
to eat.
"It is important that they experience all five food
groups and experiment with variety
as much as possible.
"If this also has the advantage of reducing unhealthy
weight gain and avoiding obesity, it's a win-win for mums."
Dr. Colin Michie, Chair of the Nutrition
Committee at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health,
said: "Although it has a relatively small sample size, this is an important
study
as it builds on the limited data currently available in this area.
"The findings are particularly valuable
and interesting as they suggest that altering weaning
patterns can have a direct impact on a child's food
selection when they get older.
"In other words, adjusting weaning could well help tackle the high
rates of obesity currently found in
the UK. This could be a key element
in the fight to prevent overweight children
becoming obese adults."
But baby-led weaning
may not stop the child becoming a fussy eater though – a
similar number of youngsters in both groups were deemed by their parents to
be "picky" about the foods
they would eat."
It’s a staple
part of almost every household’s kitchen
but it’s easy to find that your freezer
is not being used to its full potential.
If your freezer is full of half filled ice-cube
trays, out of date ice-cream and
several unidentifiable tubs of food
it might be time to have a clear
out and put your freezer to better use.
Lots of different foods
can be frozen – not just those commonly found in the supermarket
freezer
isle. Things that you might not expect such as grated cheese
and milk can be frozen. And if you find that your family
doesn’t get through a whole loaf of bread
before it starts to go mouldy, split the loaf into smaller sections and freeze –
individual slices can then be defrosted
quickly in a toaster whenever you need them.
Whenever you cook a dish, double
up the quantities and freeze
individual portions so that you always have some of your favourite recipes
ready to cook at a moment’s notice. Making your own pasta
sauce and freezing several portions is ideal
as you can use the sauce as the basis of many dishes
– not just pasta but chillies
and shepherd’s pie too.
Often a problem with large
shop-bought desserts, big pizzas,
and ingredients such as frozen pastry is that you might
not want to eat all of it in one go but once it’s defrosted you cannot refreeze
what is left. The solution is to cut the items
into portions before you freeze
them so that you can just take
out what you need.
Think your ice cube
tray is just for freezing water?
Think again! You can make tasty fruity
ice cubes from fruit
juice – ideal when you need something cool and refreshing
on a hot day. Or try putting sprigs
of fresh herbs into
your ice cube tray and then cover with water.
This is an easy way to freeze
fresh herbs ready to defrost
when you need them. And if you have a baby,
you can even use your ice cube
tray to freeze tiny portions of homemade
purees – perfect when weaning.
Today, depression
and anxiety affect nearly everyone
you know, as it has become an almost intrinsic
part of modern
life. Stress
is there in your working week,
your home life
and even in your bed
at night, which makes it hard for you to handle
your emotions
and consequently you end up entering an anxious or depressive
state of mind. These psychological
states have physiological
repercussions, leading to such symptoms as excessive
fatigue, muscle
weakness, nausea,
palpitations, headaches,
sweating, tremors, shortness of breath,
indigestion, stomach
upset, interrupted sleep, nightmares, feelings of dread, easy irritation and nervous habits like foot tapping or walking up and down out of restlessness.
The question is, then; could Ayurveda
be the answer?
Ayurveda
is an ancient Indian healing
system, developed by yogis
and vaids as a means for treating any and every ailment on earth.
John Douillard, a famous professor of Ayurvedic
medicine, explains that, according to Ayurveda,
your self resides in your heart,
which is the seat for the blissful
sheath or Anandamaya Kosha. Your mind is another kosha
that governs you strongly,
which is the seat for the Manomaya
Kosha. Shock or sad incidents cause you to use your mind
to construct a protective barrier around yourself,
which, in some cases, leads to a loss of access to the essential
‘self’ in the heart. In this circumstance, you also restrict your flow of energy
or Prana Shakti, which means you gradually lose interest
in life, and develop depression
and anxiety.
In treating depression
and anxiety, Ayurveda
takes a different approach to Western medicine.
Whereas your GP might prescribe you antidepressants,
Ayurvedic
practitioners take steps to strengthen the nerves
instead of suppressing them. Through holistic
herbs, minerals, massages
and external therapy, Ayurveda
aims to correct the imbalances created amid your doshas,
taking both your physical and mental wellness
into consideration while doing so. Gradually, you move into a state
in which your doshas are balanced, known as your natural
Prakriti, and the Mansikrog (anxiety & depression) vanishes.
However, your progress will depend greatly on your willingness
to abide by the guidance of the Ayurvedacharya
(Ayurvedic teacher/healer) and to make the necessary lifestyle
changes.
In Ayurveda,
little lifestyle changes can make a huge difference
– especially when it comes to depression
or anxiety disorders. Therefore, aside from your depression
or anxiety treatment,
you also need to make sure that you follow these simple Dos and Don’ts to help
alleviate your emotional
problems further:
2. Expose yourself
to bright sunlight: This promotes a life force in your
system known as Prana.
3. Meditate
or listen to soft music: This calms your mind.
4. Avoid bad foods: You should avoid alcohol,
sugary foods and processed foods
and limit your caffeine
intake and calorie consumption.
5. Take a long hot
bath: When stressed,
immersing yourself
in hot water relax your muscles and soothe your nerves
6. Try massages: These help to promote better blood
circulation and the soothing scents and aromas of natural oils also bring
relief if you’re suffering from emotional
imbalances.
Practicing good oral hygiene is the key to
maintaining good overall health of your family.
Few people pay much attention to their mouths,
other than cleaning their teeth twice a day. Some may use dental floss or
interdental brushes to ensure their teeth are extra clean, but then rinse and forget! But
most people have some form of gum disease,
caused by dental plaque bacteria creeping beneath the gums. This infection
slowly erodes your teeth
foundations, so gums
start to shrink, the teeth loosen and, if left untreated, can lead to dental
abscesses or tooth
loss. But that’s not all.
Research shows that gum
infections are linked with harmful conditions throughout the body,
including heart
disease, damaged heart valves, and worsening of pre-existing conditions such as
diabetes. Women with
active gum disease during pregnancy
are also more likely to have preterm and low birth weight babies.
The understanding of how gum disease can affect
those with serious health conditions which compromise their immune
system is growing daily. Rheumatoid arthritis has now been linked with gum
disease, and more recently bowel cancer,
asthma, and even erectile dysfunction.
More and more health
problems are now associated with the ongoing silent infection found in most
people’s mouths, and it is clear that highly toxic bacteria
lodged underneath your gums
are a cause for concern even when they do not cause pain, swelling
or other alarming symptoms. However, gum disease may not be the root cause of
any of these associated diseases
– it could be the other way around! If you have a medical condition, which
compromises you immune
system, it becomes increasingly unable to control the dozens of species of
bacteria that normally inhabit your mouth.
So, if you or anyone in your family
suddenly develops signs of gum disease, is it because something has weakened
their ability to keep their mouth healthy?
If this is so, then the mouth is the mirror of the body.
A healthy mouth may reflect a healthy immune system while a mouth with swollen,
red, or bleeding gums
may mean that all is not well somewhere else.
If you or your family
members detect signs of gum disease, or suddenly develop them for no apparent
reason, you should take this seriously and see a dentist,
hygienist, or periodontist (a dental specialist in managing gum
conditions). And, importantly, you should also ask yourself when you last had a
medical check-up with your doctor.
When did you last have a blood test to check your sugar levels? When did you
last have your blood
pressure taken? Are there any grumbling
symptoms you keep ignoring?
Making sure that your immune
system is in tiptop condition gives your body the best chance of maintaining wellness
and successfully dealing with other conditions if and when they occur. So, when
you look in the mirror, always look in your mouth
too.
If you or your family
members notice any of these symptoms, or if you think you or any of them may
have periodontal (gum) disease, see your dental
professional and ask specifically for a periodontal (gum) examination.
Early periodontal disease is symptomless so you should have this checked even
if your mouth seems healthy.
What is also important is that because parents are responsible for ensuring
that their children practice good
dental hygiene, they must introduce proper oral
care early in a child’s life – as early as infancy – so that the children grow up into
well-informed adults who, along with their smiles, will also safeguard their health.
You’re finally pregnant and your dreams are coming
true. How do you make sure that you have a healthy
pregnancy, though? Follow these tips for helping things stay as smooth
as possible while you wait for your little one to arrive.
Make sure to get great prenatal
care. Obstetrician’s like Gilbert Webb MD who have over 23 years of
experience will put your mind at ease. If you have yet to find an obstetrician,
visit your primary care physician
or ZocDoc for recommendations.
Yes, you’re eating for two people now, but you
don’t need thousands more calories per day – in truth, you only need to add
about 300 calories to your regular diet. Pack in plenty of protein
(about 70 grams) and make sure to meet your normal calcium requirement, which
most people struggle with. When it comes to the food you’re putting in your body,
pay attention – you don’t want to eat
any eggs or meats that have been undercooked. There are also guidelines when it
comes to dairy, juice,
seafood and more, so make sure to talk to your doctor about what’s healthy
to consume.
Pick up prenatal vitamins, which
have the right amount of folic
acid and iron for pregnant women (more than is in a normal multivitamin).
Folic acid helps prevent your baby from developing birth defects. It’s actually
best to start taking extra folic
acid even as you’re trying to get pregnant,
so long as you don’t take too much.
The good news is that you don’t
have to give up your morning cup of coffee
entirely, but the bad news is that you do need to skip that second cup. Caffeine
consumption should be limited to 200 mg each day, which is approximately eight
ounces worth of strong coffee.
Women
who drink too much caffeine are at a higher risk for miscarriage and it also
makes it harder for your body
to absorb iron. Oh, and that heartburn you now feel after every meal? Coffee
will only make it worse. Limit your coffee drinking and switch to decaf
when you just need another cup of joe.
Do you need more advice about staying healthy,
strong, and happy while pregnant? Visit BabyCenter.com, a website
that has a host of great resources and articles to help every mom-to-be through
each and every step of pregnancy.
