Happy Christmas from everyone at the Life Practice
Year: 2012
Be Social and Healthy during the Festive Season
Can you be Social & Healthy at Christmas?
At this time of the year it seems an uphill battle to a healthy diet when there is so much temptation around. Christmas is a time of pure self-indulgence and most of us justify our actions by celebrating it to the max. After all Christmas comes but once a year, however, healthy eating shouldn’t, it should be a lifestyle change with occasional treats along the way when a special occasion arises.
Many women around the UK put in an extra effort to watch what they eat leading up to Christmas to get into that little black party dress so it seems a great shame to let it all go after the event just because you feel guilty about the binge eating and drinking over the festive season. After all, what are new year’s resolutions for anyway?
Accept that you may slide a little over Christmas and New Year but come 1st January you have the chance to get back on track and start a fresh for the New Year ahead. Don’t beat yourself up about the past and draw a line under it and move on.
During the festive season there will be many occasions from family gatherings to office parties which will divert your attention from “being good” to enjoying yourself. Eating out usually means that we have little control over how the food is prepared or how large the portion is. Also, foods eaten out tend to be higher in fat and research has shown that those who eat out regularly generally have higher intakes of fat, salt and calories.
Unfortunately, eating with friends can tempt us to overeat and drink. Meals with multiple courses eaten over longer periods and with alcohol are all associated with overindulgence. Endless canapé trays at the office party are also laden with foods containing high saturated fat.
As you have no point of nutritional reference with foods bought from cafes and restaurants there is no way of knowing exactly what is contained in that food and opting for the healthiest option might not always be obvious, or easy. However, with some knowledge and thought, eating out can be enjoyable and healthy!
The Eight Steps to eating out healthily
- If you are going out to a drinks or cocktail party, eat something substantial and healthy before you go, this will reduce the chance of gorging on canapés or finger food at the party.
- Always ask the waitress if you do not know what is in the food being served. If they don’t know the chef certainly will.
- Don’t be polite when it comes to pudding. Opt for a hot mint tea to be sociable but not calorific. Or if on the menu a small fruit sorbet or fruit dish. Avoid dairy based desserts that contain fat.
- Think about sharing a course with a companion if the portions look large.
- Don’t be afraid to be high maintenance. Losing weight is high maintenance and by asking your waitress to hold the mayonnaise or put the dressing on the side is perfectly acceptable and an easy way to remove these fat laden additions from your healthy salad.
- Opt for dishes which are grilled, baked, steamed, poached or cooked in own juice rather than fried.
- Order sides of vegetables or green salad to fill up on rather than chips.
- If you are drinking alcohol, try opting for spritzers instead or alternating between sparkling water and wine. It will reduce your calorie intake, as let’s face it alcohol is “liquid sugar”. It will also reduce the effects of the hangover the next morning.
So there you have it, a quick eight step guide to surviving a healthy social season. In the meantime, have a wonderful festive season from all of us at the Life Practice and Life Practice Nutrition
If you think you would benefit from a Life Coaching or Nutritional Medicine consultation contact us on 01462 431112 for your free 20 minute consultation.
Tired all the time? Perhaps you are suffering from Adrenal Fatigue
Are you tired and struggle to get out of bed in the morning even after a good nights sleep?
If you are, you may be suffering from a condition known as Adrenal Fatigue.
Many people every day say that they are stressed. It is a loose emotional term used to describe their current busy-ness of life. However, to some people, stress is a real and very problematic condition that can affect your relationships at work and home and your general well-being and functionality.
Although, a little stress in life is needed to function, a relentless non-stop amount can accumulate within the body to stimulate the organs, known as the adrenal glands, to pump out hormones on a constant basis. Should this constant output continue over a long period of time this can create a condition known as Adrenal Fatigue.
If you think back to when the caveman lived he woke up every day with the job of survival. He hunted for wild boar, which in itself was a life threatening event and therefore did not happen on a regular basis. When faced with this stressful situation his adrenals would excrete adrenaline and nor adrenaline and enter into the “Fight or flight” response. His heart rate would increase, pupils dilate, his blood would be transported away from the digestive system (taking his
mind off hunger) and into the muscles in the arms and legs to help him run faster. He would become alert and his blood pressure would rise. At this point the caveman would either “fight” the wild boar or run for the hills “flight”. After this experience he would either return to his cave with a successful meal or empty handed, either way he would have a restful period whereby to regain equilibrium.
Going forward to today’s modern world with its consistency of accountability, increased output, greed and constant communication and our stress episodes are lining up one after the other. There does not seem to be enough restful opportunities between each episode either which is when the problems start.
The three stages of stress:
- Alarm Reaction: This is when the adrenal glands are healthy and you can function normally whenever the need arises.
- Resistance Stage: Stress continues and the adrenal glands enlarge but you can still respond normally and handle situations.
- Exhaustion Stage: The adrenal glands fail to meet the demands required of them. You could become fatigued, dizzy and faint. You would have trouble getting out of bed. Anxiety can set in.
Over stimulation of the adrenals can cause a decrease in immune function as stressful episodes use up very quickly the nutrients in our bodies, therefore, stressed people tend to catch colds more regularly. As blood clotting is increased when the body is stressed, prolonged stress can cause a build-up of plaque in the arteries and lead to heart disease. During stress the blood is shunted from the digestive organs to the muscles which can lead to indigestion and irritable bowel disease.
There are different forms of stress:
- Emotional stress which is the most well-known form usually associated with separation, divorce, death of a loved one, job loss, financial worries, exam nerves etc.
- Thermal stress which comes from being exposed to extreme temperatures.
- Physical stress from obesity, excess physical work, sleeplessness, skeletal and muscular pain.
- Chemical stress from consuming sugar, alcohol, food additives, exposure to pollutants.
All of these different types of stress affect the body in the same way; the adrenals do not distinguish between them.
Obviously, it is impossible to control all stressful situations but it is possible to control some of them and you can certainly do this in a few ways as mentioned below:
Diet
This is one area that you can control by eating frequent meals utilising protein and complex carbohydrates together. For example tuna (protein) and whole-wheat pasta (carbohydrate). By using complex carbohydrates i.e. foods made using the whole grain rather than processing, bleaching and adding to it, the carbohydrate offers the energy that you need to function and the protein allows it to burn slowly so that you maintain a steady blood sugar level.
By avoiding sugar this reduces the sharp peaks in blood sugar which give you a burst of energy but are always followed with a low trough leaving you exhausted and craving for the sugar again. Avoiding stimulants like tea, coffee, smoking, and alcohol as these all affect your sleep patterns and blood sugar levels. Lack of sleep can further stress your body so using alternatives to caffeine can help immensely.
Many people suffering with stress complain that they do not have time to eat or prepare food and so skip meals. This has a dramatic effectof dropping your blood sugar level which can result in exhaustion and fatigue. By looking at planning meals that take minutes or organising your meals by batch cooking so that all they need is to be heated up can save time. Food that does not require cooking such as, salads and crudités, fruit and nuts are great ideas for lunches on the run. By
taking control of your diet you can start to regain momentum to return to your normal functionality.
Controlling your Emotions
Try not to focus on relationship problems that cannot be solved. For instance, if you find your boss is unappreciative of your work and never seems to recognise your efforts, focus instead on the fact you have a job. Many people do even have that these days.
Emotional health can be controlled to a certain extent mentally by accepting that a certain situation is happening but that you are unable to change it therefore worrying about it only causes you further upset. Take control by accepting the situation for what it is and move on to more positive things that can be changed or enjoyed.
Physical Activity
Obviously, there are some situations that really do test people, for instance caring for an elderly or sick family member can cause an immense amount of stress and emotional guilt. By looking into support for yourself and time away from these situations can be immensely beneficial to your wellbeing. By having the time to go for a gentle walk or swim, or just meeting a trusted friend to talk to this can be a great stress reliever.
Meditation, yoga and pilates are also great stress relievers as they offer gentle physical activity, rather than vigorous exercise which can cause further stress on the body. Obviously, doing the gentler types of exercise is not going to change your situation but it can change the way your internal body perceives the stressful event and change its
response to it.
Whatever stress you have in your life, you can put in place a programme to cope with it. Life is not always going to be easy and there will certainly be times where you find more on your plate than you would like but there are strategies to help you cope. By addressing the above areas in your life now and taking control of them you will at least be in a position to face whatever life throws at you in the future.
Finally, click on our video to learn about a technique that can be used immediately to help release stress.
To find out more about this article or adrenal fatigue you are welcome contact our Nutritional Therapist Karen Shields at The Life Practice Nutrition clinic . Tel: 01462 431112
Is your boss bad for your health?
Mark Shields Takes a Closer Look
As we progress on through the worse economic crisis since the 1930s many relationships are suffering under the stress and pressure of it all. One of the most important relationships affecting many of us is the relationship we have with our boss.
This relationship can always be a difficult one, however tighter budgets, higher demands, increasing attrition rates and with the competition for jobs increasing, the boss / subordinate relationship is under as much pressure as it’s ever been.
A recent study looking into the impact of a manager’s behaviour on his direct reports initiated the following
Study Results
Source = Swedish psychologist, Anna Nyberg, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm 2008, reported that
- Workers saddled for four years with managers who were inconsiderate and uncommunicative, were about 60 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or other life-threatening cardiac condition.
- Bad Bosses have a greater negative effect than if the employee smoked, didn’t get enough exercise or was overweight, or had high cholesterol. .
- There is an “undisputed” relationship between a manager’s leadership style and workers’ productivity and mental health.
Obviously all bosses are different and some are very competent however the results below suggest, often it’s the things we would naturally assume bosses would do and know that cause relationship problems with their member of staff.
Survey Results Top 3 General
Moving the Goal Posts 52%
Impossible deadlines 17%
Unachievable targets 31%
Survey Results Top 3 Behaviour
No Staff Development 40%
Lack of support 30%
Poor Communication 30%
How much Stress can be caused by the Boss?
75% of bosses misunderstand their employees on some level and cause some form of stress
50% have staff with long term stress issues or long term sick
15% of staff are forced to change their job due to stress at work.
Most staff working within a tense relationship with their boss feel constantly de-motivated, uninspired, and constantly stressed.
Why do Bosses behave in this Way?
Inexperience leads them to Micro Manage as they can’t delegate.
Lack of Proper training and ongoing development
Understand the principle not the practical
No personal motivation
More all round pressure being put on Bosses. The Everest effect. Pass it on down the line to the employees.
The Key Big 5 Solutions to Help.
1 Update your CV
Make sure this is really good if an opportunity reveals itself to you. By engaging in this task, it will confirm to you of your skills and successes and certainly remind you how good you really are. Great for a major confidence boost.
2 Self evaluation
Have a good look at your own behavior.
The first solution is an honest analysis of your actions and behavior. How have you been handling yourself in your job?
3 Try Talking to your boss.
Compile a list of bad boss behaviors Make a list of all the things that your boss does that drive you nuts. Next, rank the list from most annoying to least annoying.
Once you feel comfortable that your suggestions are positive and helpful, consider scheduling a meeting with your boss to discuss. Perhaps suggest meeting outside the office for breakfast or lunch.
Leave your emotions at the door, but be prepared for your boss to have an emotional reaction. It’s possible that your boss is unaware of his/her actions, and this meeting could be very positive for all involved
4 Find a mentor with the company
If you love the company but hate the boss, another solution is to develop a mentoring relationship with a boss/supervisor in another part of the company. Mentoring is a fantastic strategy that you should consider even if you have a good boss because a mentor is someone who can help you in many ways, from offering advice to suggesting you for a promotion.
5 Embark on Stress Management Program.
Regular exercise and a healthy diet help combat stress. Exercise produces the body’s natural opiates endorphins which directly combat stress hormones
Mark Shields
Managing Director Life Practice Group
Coach, Author, National Media Coach
Tel: 01462 451473
info@lifepractice.co.uk
Sunday Night Syndrome
It is Sunday night and you should be relaxing, but instead of enjoying a warm cosy Sunday evening with the family your mind is somewhere else. Somewhere it shouldn’t be, you are thinking and worrying about work tomorrow.
Even though you understand how important balance is in your life, do you find yourself worrying about that Monday morning client as you tuck into Sunday lunch with your family. If so, you may be joining the millions who find themselves suffering with The Secret Sunday Night Syndrome.
For as long as I can remember Sunday evenings have always seemed dull and an evening of preparation for the looming Monday mornings. As a child, a bath and an early night is something we can all recall. “It’s Sunday night you have school in the morning, you need an early night”. Does that sound familiar? So, from as long ago as our school days we have been programming ourselves that Sunday is the day before tomorrow, the day before school, or in adult life the day before going back to work.
What is Sunday Night Syndrome?
A neurological pathway is created through habit and repetition. If we do or think something enough times, direct associations are made and a connection is formed. Therefore many of us will have formed firm views about Sundays from early childhood and still connect them in the same way to Monday mornings; the first day of school or the first day of work.
With things getting tougher in the workplace a leading psychiatrist was recently quoted as saying he was seeing three times as many workers with work related stress and depression than he was a year before.
Sunday Night Syndrome is a name I have given to a common set of feelings normally associated with the outset of stress or worry before returning to work on a Monday morning. Similar to the famous Monday morning blues but more unique as it seems quite natural to feel a little low on a Monday morning.
Symptoms
Symptoms are very common, and include agitation, insomnia, anxiety, and a feeling of unexplained nervousness or worry.
Some people can begin to feel low, and can lack motivation and energy on a Sunday, with thoughts constantly focused on work, or work related worries and problems.
Top NLP Solutions to help you beat Sunday Night Syndrome
- It is common to believe the job has changed when in fact the people directly around you such as your boss, clients or a member of staff are the ones that may have changed. Once you realise this the problem immediately appears to reduce in size, as a relationship is far easier to put right than the whole business.
- Measure your success by what you learn at work rather than what you achieve. Unconsciously this puts you as the benefactor of being at work rather than the company.
- Stress affects our levels of confidence and self-esteem. A way of combating this is to ensure you have appropriate goals and strategies in place to further your own personal development and knowledge
- Mentally start your weekends early. Think of Thursday night as the beginning of the weekend and ensure you go out or do something different.
- Don’t lose sight of the fact that Sunday Night Syndrome is simply a slow build up of stress, so ensure you implement a stress program with regular exercise and a balanced diet.
- Stress is a feeling of being out of control or overwhelmed. Once you have a strategy to overcome your feelings of stress you are halfway there. Having a strategy and plan gives you back control and puts you in charge.
- Try a great strategy that I have used in the past which is known as “The Red Book Plan”. As part of your strategy write down what your ideas are and who you need to contact and what you need to do to bring your business alive. Make progress entries everyday. Record conversations and plans. Remember you can’t achieve everything all at once, as long as you are making progress this will give you momentum and ultimately help you succeed.
- Do not be afraid to employ your own coach or mentor to help you with your own stress and challenges.
Summary
Never lose sight of the fact that Sunday Night Syndrome is simply a slow build up of stress and worry. Recognise the symptoms and implement the plan.
Remember symptoms of stress and anxiety are directly linked to feeling overwhelmed and out of control. Once you have a plan and strategy you are automatically taking back control and working within parameters appropriate for you.
Never forget at the end of the day, you can only do your best, focus on the important things in life and ensure you have some fun along the way.
Changing Lanes
Our lives are made up from a range of experiences and it is these experiences that give us our belief system. For instance and keeping it simple, as a child if you burned yourself on the stove, you learnt very quickly to keep away from it if you did not want to feel pain. In my NLP training courses, I teach my students that it is human nature to move towards pleasure and away from pain. So this experience was an easy one to learn as it follows the natural habit of human nature.
During our lifetime, we will be party to many learning experiences which will shape as a person and form our own belief system and these experiences give us the reasoning behind why we act in a certain way. Over time the way in which we behave is built in to us subconsciously in that eventually we do not really think about acting before we do it. Think about people eating popcorn at the cinema and reaching the bottom of the box and finding it all gone and asking ourselves how did that happen so quickly?? So as we are all driven towards pleasure, the subconscious behaviour is not always a positive one i.e. over-eating, binge drinking, gambling etc.
For example, some smokers tend to lack confidence in themselves. The act of smoking puts them at ease and gives them back their self-esteem in social situations. The smoker would need to understand why they lack confidence. Did they have a controlling parents? or is smoking their subconscious act of rebellion against their parents?
It is when an experience creates un-helpful or negative behaviour that we then find ourselves in a downward spiral which culminates in low self esteem and low mood and eventually pain that we try to move ourselves from but the vicious circle of negative self-talk and thinking prevents change from happening.
Once we really understand why we act in a certain way and what our triggers are, we can consciously change this until it becomes subconcious behaviour. It just takes a little conscious work on our part for a period of time until the message becomes part of our make-up. Some people can do this on their own and others seek alternative therapies such as hypnotherapy.
By using hypnotherapy as a tool this can also help us to effectively re-program the thinking behind the behaviour and change it to a more positive behaviour or thought. The technique of hypnotherapy is the art of taking a client into a deep relaxed state to the point where the therapist can access the client’s subconscious mind and talk to it to remove the unwanted behaviour and replace it with something else.
It’s like changing lanes when driving, if the direction in which you are going is not going to reach your destination you need to mirror, signal, maneovre in order to change lanes. Once you understand the reason behind your behaviour and recognise the triggers you can take back control and change that behaviour to reach your goal.
My Integrated NLP, Hypnotherapy & Coaching courses teach this technique as well as a range of other useful tools that can help people to make long and lasting changes to their lives. If you wish to learn more about a career in Life Coaching, NLP or Hypnotherapy call me today on 01462 451473 or visit our website at www.lifepractice.co.uk
My First Blog
I find it amazing that new technology has increased the number of “new” words used on a daily basis now that never existed just a few years ago. “email”, “facebook”, “inbox” and “blogs”. This world of social media is expanding fast and is an area that I am riding along with and quite enjoying the ride.
As a Business Coach it is something that originally I have conformed to through necessity rather than desire. As one of the things that is clear to me as a Business Coach is that I need to keep up-to-date with all new technology and tools that help the effectiveness and profitability of the companies or individuals that I may be working with.
I can now say in the last few years I have discovered the art of Google Adwords to understand how to promote my business, the social network tool Facebook to share with my clients and interested parties my work and knowledge. I have also enjoyed “Linkedin” to keep in touch with old colleagues and make new relationships with other similarly like minded business people.
So here I am, writing my first blog and so far so good. What is remarkable about all these internet tools is the ease of use. For instance, after seting aside some dedicated time (which I have to say is not the easiest thing to do these days) I started by searching for WordPress.com. No sooner had I clicked on the WordPress link and I had completed my registration and within 3 minutes I was at this page writing to my virtual audience. It’s that easy. The hard part is finding something to say and on that note I will sign off and see what other treats this internet revolution have in store for me.
Welcome to the Life Practice 