Importance of Downtime for Teens this Summer

You can read Nancy's latest post on helping teens with overload and get tips to recognize and prevent your kid’s stress overload and to promote a healthy balance...

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Free Goal Setting Reminder Tool

Have you set any goals yet?

Some people set goals throughout the year, but many take advantage of the New Year to kick themselves into action.

If you'd like help with your goals, use this Goal Setting Reminder Tool that explains why setting 90 day goals and chunking them down into smaller goals works.

You'll get sent a reminder of your goals, the first action your committed to make, and your goal setting milestones or steps along the way to your 90 day goal.

New Year's Giveaways and Help with New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year. To get 2009 off to a good start I’ve found some great giveaways for you, as well as some tips on setting your goals.

The experts tell us we should be setting and reviewing our goals throughout the year, but many of us see the “fresh start” a New Year offers as the best time to create new goals and set New Year’s Resolutions. The best advice I can give is you is to follow Nike’s advice and “just do it”. One of the biggest mistakes people make in goal setting is failing to take action. They wait for the timing to be perfect, or for their plan to be perfect. Obviously jumping in without an iota of planning can lead to unwanted consequences, but spending all your time writing nice neat goals and planning can see opportunities pass you by.

If you want your New Year’s Resolutions to stick - set your goals, prepare your mindset for change, write an action plan and then DO IT!

To help you with your New Year’s Resolutions I’ve found some giveaways on the net that give you free advice on everything from being the next King or Queen of ebay to improving your health and understanding the Law of Attraction.

Self improvement giveaways

• 777 Self Help - a huge variety of self improvement products on just about any topic you can imagine.



• New YOU Year Blast Off - mainly personal improvement (mindset change, weight loss, health, parenting) with a few of the inevitable make money on the internet programs



• Happy New Years Giveaway - mainly downloads and ebooks on making money online, as well as software giveaways and graphics packages



• New Year Gifts - more downloads and ebooks on making money online, as well as software giveaways and graphics packages



• There is also a Daily Software Giveaway that lets you get your hands on software for free, so long as you download it before the day is up. I strongly recommend you read the feedback before you download the software. Some software isn’t worth downloading, but you can also find some gems.

Clothing Size Maketh The Woman

What’s more important to you - buying clothes that fit you well, or, the label size of those clothes?

You may be surprised to find that in a recent survey by a clothing alteration firm that Australasian customers, and in particular women, would opt not to purchase clothes that fit them well, if the label says it is in a larger size than their usual size. When you consider that most clothes don’t have the size label on the outside, why are we so worried about this invisible measure?

The answer lies in a common body image issue. For many of us our self-esteem is dependent on how our body looks, and how we perceive that our body looks to others. Buying a larger size can lead people to feel dissatisfied with their body, which in turn can lead to emotional eating, yoyo dieting and despondency.

I’m sure a lot of readers can relate to the thrill of finding that they can fit into a smaller size of jeans, and the disappointment when their usual size doesn’t fit. Some people use it as a form of motivation – they intentionally purchase clothing that is too small for them in the hope that this will inspire them to lose weight, but others do it because they can’t bear the thought of purchasing a larger label size.

Canny manufacturers recognising the psychology of clothing sizes often opt for roomy clothes and increasing the measurements to allow people the comfort of purchasing clothes in a smaller label size. This is on top of adjustments that have been made to accommodate the growing girth of the population.

Experts estimate that today’s size clothing in New Zealand is approximately 5cm (2 inches) larger than the same label size 20 years ago.

Two-thirds of customers surveyed by clothing alterations chain LookSmart said they owned clothing in different sizes, and half said sizing variations made them feel frustrated, depressed - or fat.

Mr Hatoum said inconsistent sizing was demoralising to shoppers, many of whom were unwilling to change sizes for emotional reasons.

Hatoum sums it up neatly when he says,

"A size tag is more than a number - it relates to how people see themselves."

So what is the solution? Some in the industry want to see standardised sizing across all apparel manufacturers, but I think the real answer lies in not becoming overly attached to the clothing size label. Scales and clothing sizes are useful measures to help you track your progress toward your goals, but when you get on the rollercoaster of feeling good or bad about yourself depending on the result of those measures, they become self-esteem killers.

If you can learn to be confident and happy with your body and opt to purchase clothes that are comfortable and fit well it will be one less trigger to emotional eating, which can stop people from losing weight and keeping it off.

Free 75 Minute Audio on Why Diets Don't Work

If you missed the free teleclass with tips on beating mindless eating, emotional eating and overeating by changing your thinking, you can grab a free copy of the audio by registering here.

Free Help for Emotional Eating

I’ll be conducting a free online training session on emotional eating, common diet myths and why diets don’t work for everyone.



If you’re sick of diets or struggling to get a handle on comfort eating, overeating or binge eating then register for the free seminar and I’ll send you all the details with your passcode, times and dates so you can access the training.



You can tune in via your computer or dial in with your telephone, and you’ll also get the chance to ask me your burning questions about emotional eating and why diets don't work.

Chocolate Manufacturer Most Trusted Brand

For the fifth year in a row, Reader’s Digest readers have rated chocolate manufacturer, Cadbury the most trusted brand in both Australia and New Zealand.

At a time when governments are worrying about rising obesity, the New Zealand public voted Cadbury the most trusted brand, closely followed by Tip Top, an ice cream manufacturer. In Australia, Cadbury also won for the fifth year in a row.

Reader’s Digest says

It helps that chocolate is one of our most-loved products; a reliably available instant mood lifter.

They go on to add that Cadbury has a solid reputation during its 86 years in Australia for keeping its promises to consumers.

According to social commentator Bernard Salt, it's not always rational - people are emotionally attached to trusted brands. "Curled upon a cold night with a glass of wine and a Cadbury chocolate, you feel great."

Other brands that rated highly in New Zealand include Panadol and whitegoods manufacturer Fisher & Paykel.

The poll gives readers a list of brands to rank, which includes “healthy” brands but it seems Reader’s Digest readers love their junk food.

What do you think about the love affair we have with chocolate Down Under?

Skinny Songs Review

I love the idea of combining upbeat music with motivational lyrics to help people make lifestyle changes.

Skinny Songs aims to do just that with a collection of songs that Heidi Roizen put together, writing her own lyrics and collaborating with professional musicians and producers. Describing the songs as empowering, tracks include Objects in the Mirror Will Get Thinner Than They Now Appear, The Incredible Shrinking Women, You da’ Boss, I’m a Hottie Now, You Can’t Buy Thin and Skinny Jeans.

Unfortunately, the songs - which she describes as celebrating commitment, strength, and sex appeal - reinforce all the stereotypes that see people’s self-worth dependent on their jean size or their image in the mirror. I’m realistic enough to know that a lot of people feel better when they lose weight, and I applaud anyone who can come up with new tools to help people break old habits and motivate them to make lasting changes.

However, these lyrics just seemed plain silly. I’m sure they reflect the fears and fantasies of many women and more than a few men, but I’d rather not perpetuate them. Some of the songs are positive, but many have negative messages about being unattractive until you lose weight, and the importance of fitting into “skinny jeans”. I’m not convinced that everyone can realistically aim to be thin or skinny (or even desires to be skinny) nor do I think it's within everyone's means to wander into Saks to grab Gucci and Versace clothes.

At the end of the day, it’s about what works for you. Heidi swears this music helped improve her bottom line to the tune of 30 pounds (13.6 kg).

Here is a selection of lyrics. You can check out all the lyrics and listen to samples of the music at Skinny Songs and make your own decision.

I’m a Hottie Now

I spent years in misery
‘Cause everyone who looked at me
Was thinking evil thoughts about my thighs get back, into you somehow

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

You see I'm a superhero, with powers of epic might
I use wills of steel, at every meal, to control my every bite
And with my xray vision I can see without a doubt
There's a skinny girl inside me, I’ve just got to let her out

She’s the Incredible Shrinking Woman! Incredible Shrinking Woman!
Incredible Shrinking Woman! Incredible Shrinking Woman!

Poor Body Image Makes You Unhealthy

People who are happy with their weight experience fewer physically unhealthy or mentally healthy days, than those that want to lose weight.

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have concluded that there is a direct correlation between people’s weight loss goals and the number of days they report being unhealthy. They suggest this indicates that pressure to lose weight and low body-esteem is a bigger contributing to mental and physical well-being than body mass index.

Apparently if you’re overweight but don’t give a toss, your health is better than that of people that want to lose even a small amount of weight. For example, if you weigh 180lb (81.8kg) and want to lose 1% of this weight i.e. 1.8lb or 818grams, you will be marginally less healthily than those who are happy with their weight.

However, if you set your sights on losing 10% of your current weight (18lb or 8.2kg) then over a period of a month you’re likely to report almost one extra day of feeling unhealthy compared to your body satisfied counterparts. Over a year it amounts to nearly 11 extra ‘unhealthy’ days.

Ramp it up to a goal to lose 20% of your current weight and the figures jump to an extra 4.3 days per month of reported feelings of being physically or mentally unwell. Extrapolate this over a year and you’re talking about feeling unhealthy on a whopping 51.6 days.

This all points to the need to making changes from the inside out, and to get away from measuring your self-worth as a function of your weight.

Too often I see people going through the emotional roller coaster of battling with the scales. Periods of restraint and feeling pleased with themselves, followed by periods of overindulgence and dealing with the resulting guilt and disappointment. This research suggests that the route to good health comes from loving your body now, rather than making that self-love conditional upon attaining your desired jeans size or weight goal.

“Our data suggest that some of the obesity epidemic may be partially attributable to social constructs that surround ideal body types,” said Peter Muennig, MD, MPH, Mailman School of Public Health assistant professor of Health Policy and Management. “Younger persons, Whites, and women are disproportionately affected by negative body image concerns, and these groups unduly suffer from BMI-associated morbidity and mortality.”

Approximately 66% of the more than 150,000 U.S. adults studied wanted to lose weight, and about 26% were satisfied with their current weight. With respect to BMI, 41% of normal weight people, 20% of overweight people, and 5% of obese people were happy with their weight. Older persons were also more likely to feel positively about their weight than were younger persons. However, in all models, perceived difference was a stronger predictor than was BMI of mentally and physically unhealthy days.

Researchers now conclude that the additional stress that people experience from negative body image is affecting their health. Body image (measured as desired weight loss) was a stronger predictor of poor health than body mass index (BMI). Or, put in simple terms it’s not how much you weigh that matters, it’s how you feel about your weight that influences your physical and emotional health. Not surprisingly, this was found to be more predictive of health in women than men, and in Whites than among African-Americans or Hispanics.

The paper, I Think Therefore I Am: Perceived Ideal Weight as a Determinant of Health, will be published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Why Diets Don't Work

Anyone who battles with periodic bingeing, emotional eating or overeating knows how difficult it is to lose weight and keep it off.

Diets often work well in the short-term, but the majority of people regain their lost weight within the next five years, and some end up weighing more than they did before they started. But why does this happen?

I think there are several reasons why people diets don’t work long-term including:

• underlying thinking errors
• unhelpful beliefs
• feelings of deprivation and restriction
• poor body esteem
• expecting instant results
• lack of motivation
• not finding new coping mechanisms to deal with stressful situations

If you want to hear the full list of issues that could be sabotaging your goals and get tips on creating a healthy relationship with food you can call in to my free webinar to find out Why Diets Don’t Work.

I’ll also be discussing the different types of overeating and I’ll be taking questions at the end of the call.

There’s no charge for the tele-training seminar, except for your usual long distance calling charges. If you log in to the simultaneous webcast it's completely free. Just sign in and listen.

Updated:
I'm running another seminar in July, so if you missed out on the last one you can sign up now to receive all the details.

Light Therapy Pros and Cons

The Mayo Clinic has an excellent article on the use of light therapy for treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and some sleep disorders. The article includes the benefits and side-effects of using light boxes as well as instructions on using a light box.

The Mayo Clinic makes the point that the effectiveness of using light boxes vary, from being as good or better than medications for some people, while others get little or no benefit. This is possibly due to the large range of light boxes available and the different theories on the appropriate spectrum of light to use and the duration of treatment.

Light boxes can be expensive to purchase, however it is also possible to rent them on a trial basis to see whether they are effective for you. The Apollo GoLite box is a popular model that a lot of people have recommended (I've never used one as I find the winters here are quite mild and I can usually get enough natural light to keep depression at bay). In addition to using the light boxes there are also special light bulbs and desk lamps you can purchase.

Once you have purchased the light box, most models will last a few years, but it pays to check out the replacement at the end of this time. Some will allow you to replace the bulb, other models require you to replace the entire box which can be costly. However, if you don't have insurance the light box can still be cheaper than medications without the stigma or side-effects of anti-depressants.

This doesn't mean that light boxes don't have side-effects, however most people find them tolerable. Some people with bipolar disorder may experience manic episodes, while others may find that the light box affects their skin, or induces headaches or eyestrain but the majority of people that I've spoken to have nothing but praise for their light box.

Free Happiness Seminar Online

Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times Best-selling author has written a new book on happiness, which she says will help people find the feelings of inner peace and life satisfaction which she describes as the "Happy For No Reason" state.

Marci describes experiencing a lot of external factors that she expected to make her happy and couldn't understand why she felt dissatisfied and unhappy. She decided to investigate the source of happiness and find out why some people could be happy for no reason at all!

As part of her quest Marci interviewed people from all walks of life to find out what made them happy. One of the questions she asked was, “What do you think is the most important thing necessary to experience the Happy for No Reason state?” The result was what Marci describes as the 21 Happiness Habits.

You can download a free sample from her book, which includes the 20 key questions that Marci says determine your state of happiness and your "happiness set point" and listen to a replay of her free teleseminar online or download it to your mp3 player. You can also send her your question on being Happy from the inside out in your personal and professional life.