LATEST PICTURE UPDATE

Weight loss update, this week I lost another 3lb taking my total loss to 14st 2lb, only another 4st 11lbs until target= BRING IT ON !!!

EXCUSES

If making excuses was an Olympic event, would you be a gold medalist? For many people trying to lose weight, making excuses not to exercise or modify their eating habits is often their greatest barrier to weight loss success.

If making excuses is one of your barriers to successful long term weight loss, adopting some of the tips in this blog will help you on your way to becoming the healthier and happier person you know you can be.

Why people make excuses

All of us make excuses from time to time. The most common reasons that we make excuses not to do things, like exercise regularly to lose weight, include: 

• Making excuses is easy.

• We have our priorities wrong.

• We are busy and have limited time available each day.

• We don't know how to start what we said we would.

• We believe tomorrow will always come.

• We lack commitment and integrity.

• We can always find more pleasurable things to do.

• We like instant gratification and are generally impatient.

• We don't have strong or well-constructed goals.

• We don't really believe that the benefits of action outweigh the costs.

• We have a negative attitude.

• We prefer to play the role of a victim of circumstance.

• We mistakenly think heart disease, diabetes & other lifestyle diseases will 'never happen to us'.

• We are happy to live in a state of denial.

• We have a very, very short memory (we've forgotten how bad we felt the last time we tried to put on our jeans or saw a photo of ourselves for example).

Here are some common weight loss avoidance excuses

• I don't have time.

• I have too many other priorities (work, kids, housework, etc).

• Nobody wants to help me.

• I don't get any support at home.

• I'm injured.

• I don't feel good.

• I'm too out of shape.

• I'm too upset.

• I'm too busy taking care of the kids.

• I do enough exercise at work.

• I'm too tired.

• My problem is hormonal.

• It's too hot, too cold, or it's raining outside.

• Exercise is boring.

• I'm too heavy.

• I can't afford to eat healthy.

• Exercise is really hard.

• I don't know where to start.

• I'm too old.

• I might fail.

• I'll start tomorrow.

• I hate exercise.

• I can't get motivated.

Overcoming these excuses

If any of these popular excuses are stopping you from achieving your ideal weight and becoming happier and healthier there is good news for you - they can all be overcome. Here's how:

No time. 

• Look at what you are actually spending your time on and eliminate unnecessary or unimportant things from your schedule.

• Reassess your priorities - your health should be high among them.

• Look for opportunities to combine things, like spending time with the kids and walking or exercising while watching TV.

• Keep a daily diary to plan your day.

• Simply get up earlier or stay up later.

• Remember exercising for even 15 minutes a day is better than nothing.

• Planning meals is the key to healthy eating for the time challenged among us.

Too many other priorities. 

• Change your priorities and let everyone around you know what they are.

• Remind yourself how important your weight loss goal is to your health and happiness.

• Keep a photo of yourself from when you started close at hand to remind you of your priorities.

• Simplify your life, maybe you're trying to do too much.

Nobody to help me. 

• Join a gym
• Speak to your consultant
• Talk to a friend

• Educate yourself by reading articles on exercise and healthy diets

• Don't confuse help with doing all the work for you - at the end of the day what you do will determine whether you succeed or not.

I don't get enough support at home. 

• Support is great, but you can succeed without it if you have to.

• You'll find those around you become more supportive if they know you're serious and see first hand the effort you're putting in.

• Get started anyway and you'll find the support comes as you prove how committed you are and begin to get the results you crave.

I'm injured. 

• Almost everybody over 30 has some form of injury or ailment to deal with; the key is to find ways of working around them.

• Find something you can do, if you can't run, walk, if you can't walk, swim, if you can't swim, cycle, or dance.

• Remember you goal is to lose weight, so any activity that uses energy will help.

• Get advice or help from your local GP, physiotherapist.

• Injuries aren't an excuse to eat poorly so don't try to manage your injury frustrations with unhealthy food.

I don't feel good. 

• Nothing will help you feel better than becoming fitter and eating healthier.

I'm too out of shape. 

• This is the reason you should exercise, not the reason you shouldn't.

• Start with simple exercise at a relatively low intensity (such as slow walking) if you can't manage anything more strenuous.

• Remember to talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program.

I'm too upset. 

• Exercise and healthier eating are great ways to help you cope with the many stresses of life.

• Try taking your frustrations out on a punching bag and I promise you'll feel better and burn valuable calories.

I'm too busy taking care of the family or kids. 

• Incorporate them in your exercise routine and make healthier meals for all of you.

• If you have very small children, push their pram around your local park, with older children walk next to them while they ride their bikes, go swimming together or take them to the zoo and just walk around.

I do enough exercise at work. 

• Even very active jobs aren't necessarily well balanced so plan your exercise programs accordingly.

I'm too tired. 

• Exercise and healthier eating will help you get better quality sleep.

• Exercise and healthier eating will increase your energy levels so you'll be able to cope better with all of life's challenges and be able to exercise as well.

• If you lead a busy lifestyle and add exercise on top you will feel a little more tired for the first few weeks, but after that your body will adjust and you'll have more energy than ever.

My problem is hormonal. 

• Exercise and good nutrition can help counteract the effects of and may sometimes even help stabilize hormones.

It's too hot, too cold, or it's raining outside. 

• If you know it's going to be hot, exercise in the early morning or late evening when it's cooler, or exercise in an air-conditioned space.

• If it's too cold, wear a few layers of clothes to start with and shed these layers as your body warms up from the exercise.

• If it's raining outside, exercise inside.

Exercise is boring. 

• Find an exercise that you like - there are plenty of choices.

• Remember your priorities - exercise isn't for entertainment, it's to help make you happier and healthier.

• Varying your routine can help you overcome exercise boredom.

• The fitter and stronger you become, the more you'll enjoy exercise.

I'm too heavy. 

• If you are very heavy, speak to your doctor before exercising to find the safest exercise program for you.

• Start out slow and easy.

• Being heavy doesn't stop you from eating less and more nutritionally.

I can't afford to eat healthy. 

• Natural healthy food like fresh fruit and vegetables is the cheapest food around!

• Try frozen fruits and vegetables

Exercise is really hard. 

• It doesn't need to be hard to be effective.

• Easy exercise is better than no exercise at all.

• Exercise becomes easier the more of it you do.

I don't know where to start. 

• Start by seeing your doctor for a health check.

• Join your local slimming world gro

I'm too old. 

• You're never too old to benefit from healthier living, just be sure to see your doctor first before starting an exercise program and take it easy to begin with.

• Don't believe the myth that as we get older we naturally become larger, becoming larger for most of us is a matter of lifestyle, not age.

I might fail. 

• You haven't failed until you give up.

• Remember losing weight is not an event.

• Think positive and stay committed.

I'll start tomorrow. 

• Be honest with yourself.

• Just do it today!

I hate exercise. 

• Exercise can be fun - try walking the dog or playing catch with your children for example.

I can't get motivated. 

• Setting clear goals and having a progressive plan combined with the right intensity of desire are the keys to motivating yourself.

• If you need help, get it.

• Being around others with the same goals as you can be very motivating, so staying at your group each week will help you.

Conclusion 

No matter who you are or what your circumstances you can lose weight if you change some of your lifestyle habits.

For many people trying to lose weight, making excuses not to exercise or modify their eating habits is often their greatest barrier to weight loss success.

If making excuses is one of your barriers to successful long term weight loss Ihope the information provided above will help you overcome this detrimental habit and help you on your way to becoming a happier, healthier you.

Final Thought 

If after reading all of the above you still feel the need to make excuses remember this thought from George Bernard Shaw:

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. 

Tip of the week

Stay positive – no matter what the scales say each week, keep a positive state of mind, draw a line under any slip ups and move on.

Recipe of the week

Ingredients

1.5-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 8oz pork shoulder, all fat removed
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard powder
500g passata
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp sweetener
salt and freshly ground black pepper 

1. In a small bowl, mix passata, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweetener and seasoning. Transfer to a small pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

2. Meanwhile, trim and remove all visible fat from the pork and sear all sides in a hot frying pan sprayed with low calorie cooking spray. Transfer to a roasting tin lined with aluminium foil and pour the sauce over the pork making sure all the meat is covered. Cover with the foil and bake on 160°C for 4-5 hours.

3. Remove the pork from the oven and place on a cutting board. Allow the meat to cool for approximately 15 minutes, then shred into bite-sized pieces using two forks

Enjoy!

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER - @PAULPALMER227

EXCUSES

Weight loss update – this week I lost another 3.5lbs which takes my total to 13st 13.5lbs lost, so I will be working hard to achieve that 14st award next week.

Last week I talked about emotional eating so I thought I would expand on that topic a bit further

Many of us learn that food can bring comfort, at least in the short-term. As a result, we often turn to food to heal emotional problems. Eating becomes a habit preventing us from learning skills that can effectively resolve our emotional distress. Depression, boredom, loneliness, chronic anger, anxiety, frustration, stress, problems with relationships, and poor self-esteem can result in overeating and unwanted weight gain.

By identifying what triggers our emotional eating, we can substitute more appropriate techniques to manage our emotional problems and take food and weight gain out of the equation.

How to Identify Eating Triggers

Situations and emotions that trigger us to eat fall into five main categories.

• Social. Eating when around other people. For example, excessive eating can result from being encouraged by others to eat; eating to fit in; arguing; or feelings of inadequacy around other people.
• Emotional. Eating in response to boredom, stress, fatigue, tension, depression, anger, anxiety, or loneliness as a way to "fill the void."
• Situational. Eating because the opportunity is there. For example, at a restaurant, seeing an advertisement for a particular food, passing by a bakery. Eating may also be associated with certain activities such as watching TV, going to the movies or a sporting event, etc.
• Thoughts. Eating as a result of negative self-worth or making excuses for eating. For example, scolding oneself for looks or a lack of will power.
• Physiological. Eating in response to physical cues. For example, increased hunger due to skipping meals or eating to cure headaches or other pain.

To identify what triggers excessive eating in you, keep a food diary that records what and when you eat as well as what stress, thoughts, or emotions you identify as you eat. You should begin to identify patterns to your excessive eating fairly quickly.

How to Stop Emotional Eating

Identifying emotional eating triggers and bad eating habits is the first step; however, this alone is not sufficient to alter eating behavior  Usually, by the time you have identified a pattern, eating in response to emotions or certain situations has become a habit. Now you have to break that habit.

Developing alternatives to eating is the second step. When you start to reach for food in response to an eating trigger, try one of the following activities instead.

• Read a good book or magazine or listen to music.
• Go for a walk or jog.
• Take a bubble bath.
• Do deep breathing exercises.
• Play cards or a board game.
• Talk to a friend.
• Do housework, laundry, or gardening
• Wash the car.
• Write a letter.
• Or do any other pleasurable or necessary activity until the urge to eat passes.
• Have a glass of water

·         

As time goes by you will find that you start to feel less attached to the types of food that are no good for you and develop new healthy habits.

On a personal note my Achilles heel was eating chocolate in the evenings whilst watching tv, I used to break up the bar and would sit picking at it, so I decided to limit the amount of time sat in front of the tv and when I did I replaced the chocolate with grapes or some other type of fruit that I could pick at. As the weeks went by I found myself no longer thinking about the chocolate and also breaking that association of watching the tv and eating chocolate.

You can’t expect to make this changes overnight, but if you work hard at trying to make a difference you will start to see significant results within a few weeks.

TIP OF THE WEEK

TALK- since I joined slimming world I have found that the most useful tool at my disposal is talking to someone when I am feeling a bit low and thinking about cheating. You could talk to a loved one or maybe a fellow member. Just by talking you will find that that you soon start to feel better and no longer want to cheat.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK 

INGREDIENTS

198g quark
¼ -½ tsp cardamom seeds, finely crushed
5 tbsp artificial sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 x 100g pots Smooth Vanilla Mullerlight yogurt
1 sachet gelatine
1 egg white
1 pomegranate, halved and seeds removed

METHOD

1. Whisk the quark. Add the cardamom seeds, sweetener, vanilla extract and yogurt, and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth.

2. Place 2 tbsp of hot water in a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle with the gelatine. Stand the bowl in a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Cool, and then whisk into the yogurt mixture.

3. Beat the egg whites until softly peaked and gently fold through the yogurt mixture. Spoon into four individual moulds. Chill into the fridge for 3-4 hours, or overnight, until set.

4. Dip the moulds in hot water for a few seconds and tip out onto serving plates. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and serve immediately.

Tip: *Pregnant women, the elderly and babies should not eat raw eggs.

THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF DIETING            

Weight loss update – This week I have lost 6.5lbs which takes my total loss since joining slimming world in April 2012 to 13st 10lbs which when averaged out is over 3lbs per week.

This week I wanted to touch on the emotional side of dieting, most people who decide to go on a diet are probably emotional eaters.

What is Emotional Eating?

Sometimes, the desire to eat has nothing to do with a rumbling in your stomach telling you that you need to eat. We get a strong longing for foods, particularly fattening, comforting foods, when emotions spike or plummet. We want to eat and (we think) nothing else will do. 

Are you an emotional eater?

If you eat to change your feelings, especially when you are not hungry, then you are probably an emotional eater.  Emotional eating means you let your emotions tell you when and how much you eat.

• Do you crave certain foods like chocolate when you're upset or stressed?
• Do you ever eat without realizing you're even doing it?
• Do you often feel guilty or ashamed after eating?
• Do you often eat alone or at odd locations, such as parked in your car outside your own house?
• After an unpleasant experience, such as an argument, do you eat even if you aren't feeling hungry?
• Do you feel the urge to eat when you see others eat like seeing food advertised on television?
• Do you eat because you feel bored or there's nothing else to do?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are an emotional eater. 

Emotional eating can sabotage your weight management efforts. Getting a handle on your tendency to eat in response to emotions can be one of the most important factors in achieving long-term weight loss success. 

I know that for a long time before I joined slimming I could answer yes to most of the points above. So how did I overcome this situation, truthfully I don’t think you can get over those feelings but more of a case of learning to manage them. One of the best exercises I was taught by my consultant was to create a for and against list of reasons I wanted to lose weight, this makes you take stock of your life and really think about things

I have mentioned in previous blogs about the reasons I joined slimming world, most of these reasons were only highlighted when I made my list, I keep that list to hand so if I have a day when I feel I could slip back into old habits I can look at it and it reminds me why I am dieting in the first place.

With all the best intentions in the world we are still only human and occasionally little hiccups may occur and how we deal with them is the important thing. I personally try not to let them get to me but to just draw a line under it and start again, if you dwell on the mistakes you are more likely to fall back into bad habits.

I believe that the main reason for my success is slimming world itself, having that network of people in group who are all trying to achieve the same goal means you always have someone to talk to and support each other.

People around you can also have an effect of your weight loss, I have spoken to people in my group and they have told me about friends telling them “how great they look all the time” or “you don’t need to lose any more weight”, these types are things are said as compliments but can often have adverse effects on your weight loss, if you are continually being told that you look good you can start to believe it and get lazy and then see your losses come to a halt and then you put more pressure on yourself to start losing again which in itself can have a negative effect so you get stuck in a bit of a vicious circle, it is at times like this to get out that list to re motivate yourself.

Losing weight can also have an effect on people around you, I know that the further I have come in my journey the more time I spend going to the gym or playing squash etc. so you have to be mindful of loved ones not feeling left out but include them in your journey, it is all too easy to get wrapped up in the whole losing weight thing that you can easily forget how you are effecting people around you.

TIP OF THE WEEK

DON'T OVER DO IT, Over the last couple of weeks I have been becoming a bit obsessed with exercising and found myself doing 2-3 hours a day which resulted in my weight loss slowing down quite dramatically, I was still losing inches but not a lot of weight, which again can affect you emotionally, so this week I cut it down to about an hour a day and saw my loss creep back up again.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp ground cumin
500g extra lean minced beef
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into small bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g can red kidney beans in chilli sauce
400g can mixed beans in brine, drained
300g dried long-grain rice
Coriander sprigs, to garnish (optional)
Chunky salad (cucumber, red onion and tomato), to serve

1. Place a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper or paprika, cinnamon, cumin and minced beef and stir fry for 5-6 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes and peppers and bring to the boil. Season well, cover tightly and cook over a low heat for 20-25 minutes.

3. Add the beans, stir to mix well and return to the heat for another 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile cook the rice according to the packet instructions, drain and keep warm.

5. Remove the chilli from the heat and serve in warmed bowls with the rice. Garnish with the coriander, if using, and serve with the chunky salad.

Remember you can follow me on twitter @paulpalmer227

Staying motivated.

This week I thought I would talk a bit about what motivated me to join Slimming world and how I keep myself motivated as the weeks and months go by.
As I mentioned in a previous blog I used to suffer with health problems such as high blood pressure and back and joint problems, but these weren't the only reasons that motivated me to join the group. Another reason I joined was that in early 2012 my father was diagnosed with a Aortic aneurism and in February he had surgery to try and fix the problem, the day after the initial six hour surgery he was rushed back into theatre with kidney problems and it transpired that he had suffered total kidney failure. A couple of days later he was once again rushed back into theatre and ended up having his spline removed. He was in a bad way and his consultant had a chat with me to explain that I would have to have a scan when I reached the age of 55 as I would be at a higher risk of a similar problem, he also added that because of my size they might not be able to operate or if they did the odds of surviving would be greatly reduced. Hearing this made me step back and have a good look at my life and it made me realise that I had been living in denial over the previous years. It is all to easy to fall into a bad routine, sitting down at night once the kids are asleep with a bar of chocolate, eating convenience foods, you just become lazy.
So that's what made me join slimming world which in some ways is the easy part, staying motivated is where it can become tricky. When I first joined I made myself a spreadsheet to track my weight loss and also took measurements of my chest, waist and hips, every 4 weeks I remeasure so I can see the difference losing the weight is making. As well as taking measurements every 4 weeks I also take photos of myself which is a great motivational tool, seeing yourself shrink as time goes really pushes you on to achieve more. Another great tool I use is a folder I made which I keep my slimming world awards in, I call it my " SLIMSPIRATION" folder, as well as my awards I have pictures of me before I joined to remind me what I was like before, if I ever feel a bit lacking motivation I pull out my folder and I soon feel better. Obviously these tools are for me to use at home the biggest tool I have at my disposal is the  slimming world group I attend, it is full of inspirational people at all different times in their weight loss journey, we all share ideas and I personally think that without that group experience I would not have achieved what I have so far. Our group consultant Katrina always knows the right thing to say, and as all slimming world consultants have done the plan you can really trust what they are telling you.

I think that another great way to stay motivated is to keep changing things and to try new things, the plan I follow is very flexible as does not restrict what you can eat so I enjoy cooking new recipes on a regular basis so I don't get bored with the same sort of stuff all the time.
Also as I now enjoy exercising I like to try different forms of exercise, last week I went to my first step class and have done 2 others since, things like that break up the monotony of the gym. My step instructor has told me about all the different classes she runs so I have a lot of scope for the future. Her name is Debbie Bidmead and she runs the fit for life Pilates website which can be found via the following link. www.fitforlifepilates.co.uk
She also has a great offer for slimming world members where you buy one class and get one free.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Stay calm and don't beat yourself up. When following a plan like I do you are going to have good 
Weeks and bad weeks, which is completely normal, for instance this last week I have done these
New classes which have worked different muscles to my usual regime and built up those muscles
and as muscle weighs more than fat I only lost one pound this week, now I could let that bother me
but because I do my measurements regularly I lost 4 inches over the 3 areas I measure in the last
week which proves that the exercise is working.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK


Magic Muffins.
Take 35g of porridge oats and mix with a muller light yoghurt and leave to soak in the fridge for a couple
Of hours, take out and mix in 3 medium eggs and sweeten to taste with powdered sweetener .
Place the mixture into silicon bun cases and bake in the oven for 25mins at 180.
These make an ideal low fat snack..... enjoy.

For more regular updates and ideas you can follow me on twitter,  @paulpalmer227