One friend really made me shake my head in puzzlement at his posts recently. He posted at least ten posts on the Valentines meal he was preparing for his wife. This included recipes, cooking tips and a blow by blow of the meal as it progressed. And apparently it went very well.

But then over the next few days he was telling everyone how he needed to get into the gym.

His writing about the food was way more enthusiastic and passionate than his comments about the gym so it’s not difficult work out what he enjoys more.  Funnily enough both his and his wife’s waistlines tend to agree.

Don’t get me wrong, I love food, but I love being slim and healthy more, what about you?

Posted by Stephen

Now whether they’re doing it for religious reasons or because it’s a way of helping them diet I don’t know, but what strikes me is that they often follow the public declaration with a moan about how much they don’t really want to, or with a comment about how hard it will be.

Either way it shows how much power they give to this food and how much it will be in their thoughts right up to the time they allow themselves to eat it again.

No food should have that much control over anyone.

Posted by Stephen

She had been over weight for a while because she was in a very controlling relationship and her partner, although loved how she looked, could not handle her being attractive to anyone else. So in fact he was a massively jealous guy who would give her food to show her ‘how much he loved her’.

So after leaving him in a traumatic break up she dropped a pile of weight but then got caught up in the stress of the change and stopped eating with an “if I’m slim I’ll be happy” belief. So she dropped too much weight too quickly and fainted on more than one occasion.

She finally got the point that this was not good and, as she sorted her life out, put a little weight back on then stayed there for quite a while. Life was good but the weight very slowly crept back on and this is when she asked for my help.

To cut a long story short it was guilt that was doing it. She had dealt with all the other things to do with the break up but what she did not realise was she was putting weight back on to be a good mother. In doing her best to look after her children she would give them treats and nice meals to compensate for the turmoil they had gone through.

So in an effort to feel better about herself because of the guilt from the stress of the relationship break up and not always being able to do everything that she wanted to do for her children she used her own favourite tool of food to make them feel better. And she ate these treats too as a way of bonding with her kids.

Luckily the kids had never learnt to use food in this way and so enjoyed the treats but always stopped when they had had enough and are all slim and fit. She on the other hand became a victim of her own desire to be nice.

So whether you use food to feed someone up because you are consumed by jealousy, or as a way of showing love, it doesn’t actually work for either.

But now she understands what she was doing she has found another way of being the best mum she can be and she can be slim as well for her own self esteem.

Posted by Stephen

Do you really have to succumb to the marketing tactics of your local supermarket?  Be strong, remember that they just want you to part with your money. Do you think they care if you break your diet?  Probably not, after all they could always sell you the latest celebrity fitness DVD to help you burn it off!

Posted by Dawn

Just how long do you spend thinking about food, calories, diets etc?

I used to be the kind of person who would research a diet, buy the book, make a list of all the food and ingredients I would need, shop for these foods, make a menu planner for the week, diarise the times I was going to the gym etc etc  Did it help? NO!  I got slim when I stopped thinking about food as something that had to be denied and controlled.

Pick a diet that works for you, stick to it and start thinking about something more interesting than food!

Posted by Dawn

Although food can be an enjoyable part of your plans, does it really have to be the main part of your enjoyment?  Surely it’s the occasion and the people that you are with that are more important than what ‘goodies’ you are going to eat?

Posted by Dawn

When you solve WHY you eat you will join the ranks of those slim people who stay slim without thinking about it.

Posted by Stephen

Pick the food you eat based on what really makes you feel good.

Posted by Stephen

To get an accurate reading just look at your hips. As Shakira said, “Hips don’t lie”.

Posted by Stephen

Posted by Stephen