Peace of Cake and Mind

Although I haven't blogged about much in the last few months, I have purposely not blogged about weight loss or diet.

My reason?

I haven't been on one.

Do I feel guilty about this?

Hell no! It's been great.





What the hell am I thinking?

Finally, I have found some peace of mind. I think I have finally discovered the answers to which I have been searching for answers to for the past 12 years. So I felt it was time to share it with you and the rest of the Mumentum crew over at Liska's weight loss linky.

It all started with a man called Trevor. Some of us in the blogosphere know and love Trevor very much and go to bed with him every night. He is the voice of Thinking Slimmer. I bought a slim pod (a bit like a 10 minute hypnotherapy track) from them in July. I listened to it religiously and started to see changes in the way I felt and reacted around food. My goal from the beginning was not really about the weight but more about my control around food.

I often felt out of control around food. I would diet strictly and buy into the latest diet but the problem was that these diets all depended on some sort of willpower. The issue with willpower for me is that it is like an elastic band that gets stretched, tighter and tighter and tighter until SNAP.

When my willpower band inevitably snapped I would go on an almighty binge, eating enough to feel sick and I often was. I would feel incredibly guilty which would lead me then to eat for comfort with the mentality that I might as well fall of the wagon in style. It was very much an all or nothing approach.

So what  has changed?

Trevor was reprogramming my mind but I also came across two ladies whose ideas about weight loss and diets really spoke to me. Sophie and Audrey  are the two chocolate fairies who wrote a book and hold workshops under the title Beyond Chocolate. They speak of throwing away the diet books, ditching the exercise regimes and finding your inner guru. After all, who knows better than you when it comes to what is best for you? They offer wisdom from their own experience and from their experience of working with other women. They offer 10 principles which need not be seen as prescriptive but more suggestive. I won't go into the principles here but they have really helped me focus on small things I can do to regain my control around food. I eat when I am hungry, I eat what I want, I stop when I'm satisfied and I try to move my body in a way I find enjoyable everyday.

How much weight have I lost?

Absolutely none. So far. However, it's not about the weight loss. I have maintained my weight for quite a while now and I know that the excess weight was gained through binging after a diet and I have now broken that cycle. I am eating less but not feeling deprived. I am exercising more but not feeling under pressure. I know that if I continue as I am I will lose weight but the weight loss is simply a side effect of my regained control. Considering all I have going on in my life right now and every thing I have done since starting thinking slimmer and finding Beyond Chocolate, it's a miracle that I haven't piled on the pounds recently. I hope that when I move house and this settle down that the weight will start to shift.

What have I learned?

I have finally realised that I will be the same person I am now when I am thinner. I am a person who is worth more care than I have been giving myself over the past 12 years (since I started dieting). I should enjoy the life I'm living now instead of waiting for my life to start when I'm thinner. I live in the now. I don't let food control my mood but I enjoy eating every morsel that goes in my mouth. I have faith that I know what's best for me and that with time the weight will continue to come off until I stabilise at a weight that is just right for me.

I hope this has interested you and I should also point out that this isn't a sponsored post. I bought my slimpod and my Beyond Chocolate book and nobody is paying me to write favourably about either company.

Think Yourself Slimmer

I have been listening to my slimpod which I bought from Thinking Slimmer and I have just finished my first 21 days. There is no effort involved, you just listen to Trevor's lovely voice every night before bed. The recording lasts for 10 mins so even on the latests of nights, I still managed to plug in my earphones.

Their website states that you will see results within 21 days. This doesn't mean that you will lose loads of weight in 21 days but that you will starts to see changes in your feelings towards food, activity levels and general thought processes around food. Everyone will respond differently but these are some of the positives I have experienced since starting my Thinking Slimmer journey.

•  I no longer obsess or what I am going to eat, what I have eaten or how 'well' I am doing. This is such a freeing experience. 
•  I have had loads of my favourite 'naughty' foods in the house but I have barely touched them and when I have eaten them, I haven't felt guilty or binged at all. 
• I have felt the urge to move more. I have found myself being more active without even thinking about it. I just realise at the end of a day that I have never stopped, barely sat down. 
• I have dropped a dress size. I haven't weighed myself but I know I am losing as my clothes are looser.
• I am eating delicious food but I always stop when I have had enough. I don't feel the need to stuff my face at every meal because I know that there will always be enough food.
• I have started thinking carefully about how I want to change my life for the better. How I can make my life more active and less stressy. 
• I get to sleep quicker and have a better quality of sleep when I listen to my slimpod. 

So far so good and I am really enjoying this 'thoughful' approach to changing my life. I am going to continue for another 21 days. Even though I am going to Florida on Saturday, I don't feel worried about it like I usually would with holidays. I will eat what I want, when I want, I will stop when I'm full and I will be really active when I'm there. I really don't see it as a problem at all. 

For more weight loss stories and inspirations check out the Mumentum Ladies over at Lovely Liska's blog

See Food Diet

Yep, it's been a see food and eat it diet for the past few months. I just haven't been interested. I keep starting Monday diets with grand plans and schemes but by Wednesdays I have fallen off the wagon or simply just forgot about it. So last week I blogged here about changing from the inside. I told you that I was having a think about it and would get back to you.

So as promised, this is the revised plan where I feel I have really though about what helps and hinders me. I should mention here that this isn't a sponsored post just my own opinion.

Mind

I bought a slimpod from Thinking Slimmer it's the 'lose two dress sizes' one. I used to feel that the Paul McKenna one I listened to was too long so I was attracted to the fact that this one is only 10 mins and that you are encouraged to listen to it when you go to bed. So I am officially starting this today and I am hoping for good results. I would like to try the chocoholics slimpod as I am a bit of a chocolate lover and have been really craving chocolate buttons. 

Body

Image courtesy of Zaggora

I am eagerly awaiting my HotPants, the exercise shorts that help you get more out of your workout. I am training for my sponsored 15 mile walk at the end of July so I hope that wearing them on my walks will shape up my thighs and bum.

Image courtesy of Devotion

Soul
On a recommendation from NewMumOnline, I bought 2 Kundalini Yoga and meditation DVD's to try and shape up on the inside (thanks for the guidance Gura Liska and that isn't a joke!). Hopefully these will bring my stress levels down and take me to a place where I can manage my life better. I left my church (Catholic) when I was 18 and have never really connected with anything spiritual since. My issue isn't with religion, it's the institutions that run them. I have found that since I had JC and have really struggled with PND I have felt a bit at a loss as I don't feel I have anything spiritual to turn to in my life. I don't know if this type of yoga is for me but I am willing to give it a try. Lynne over at Ooh Baby - All thing Cuteable is trying out Dru Yoga and there is a new class that has just opened in my area so I might give that a go as well.

So will this be a lasting plan?

I hope so *fingers crossed*

I am linking this up to the Mumentum blog hop and to Lynne's Thinking Slimmer link up.