How to Conquer the Six Common Obstacles of Weight Loss

What happened to your weight loss plan on New Year’s Eve? Sure, most people start dieting on January 1^st, but in order to know what you’ve been doing wrong so far, it’s a good idea to look back at what you did at the last party you went to. Let’s say you diligently prepared for looking good by only eating lean chicken breast and working out more than you usually do. Great. But when you arrived at the party – expecting to eat dinner soon – you received a glass of pinot and some nibbles instead and didn’t eat until 8:30. By that point, you were famished, tipsy and had already munched on half a bag of crisps and dip. Let’s be honest; you wolfed down that dinner and regretted it later.

 

According to Celebrity Nutrition & Fitness expert JJ Virgin, author of NY Times bestseller The Virgin Diet and the bestselling Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy, ‘If I were at that party, I would encourage you to backtrack to figure out where things went wrong. I’ve helped countless people pinpoint common, yet debilitating obstacles that hinder fat loss.’ Over the course of her career, Virgin has seen six obstacles that, time and time again, get in the way of weight loss wellness. So which of these things are hindering your wellbeing?

 

1. Arriving Hungry: You have no way of telling what time food will be served at an event or when out for dinner, so make sure you have a healthy snack beforehand to ward off temptation. Virgin advises, ‘If having a meal isn’t possible before your flight or Saturday morning get-together, keep a bag of raw almonds nearby to stave off hunger.’

 

2. Neglecting Planning: As the saying goes: failing to plan is planning to fail. ‘Schedule and prioritise your workouts on your calendar,’ Virgin instructs. ‘Otherwise, mid-afternoon craziness usually usurps your fitness routine. Same thing with dinner.  If you don’t pre-prep and have a general idea what will on your family’s plates tonight, chances are you’ll succumb to your kids’ pizza or drive-thru pleas. Being lean and sexy doesn’t just happen. You need to plan ahead and make it happen.’

 

3. Not Tracking What You’re Eating: Virgin notes, ‘A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found people who wrote down every forkful they ate lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t.’ You can go the traditional pen-and-paper route, or try looking online for helpful tracking resources.

 

4. Not Having A Support Network: ‘Don’t attempt fast fat loss alone,’ Virgin warns. ‘Find a good friend who genuinely wants your success, and let him or her know what you’re trying to accomplish. A huge reason people in Weight Watchers and other programmes succeed is due to the power of the group support.’

 

5. Letting the Hijackers Get to You: Is your vegan co-worker getting on your nerves about the amount of protein you eat? Is your Mum making you feel guilty for not trying her famous apple crumble? Virgin points out, ‘Even with the best of intentions, some people in your life will try to derail your success. You need to be crystal-clear from the beginning about your purpose, set inspiring goals, continually visualise them, and manage your success. Don’t let the negativity dominate, and if you feel like someone’s intentionally trying to sabotage your success, call them out on it.’

 

6. Ignoring the Basics: ‘Every eating plan contains a blueprint to provide the nuts and bolts that help you to achieve your success,’ says Virgin. ‘You might be tempted to skip to the more advanced parts of the programme, mix or match programmes, or otherwise avoid what seems obvious and commonsense…Start with the foundation and build from there.’

Categories: Planning, support network, Weight Loss

How to Embrace Pain as a Way to Overcome Addiction

The path to overcoming addiction is a long and arduous one and is an emotionally draining experience for both the patient and their friends and family. The vast majority of addicts begin abusing substances as a way to mask pain or anxiety about some event or trauma that may have occurred in their lives. Self-medicating with drugs or alcohol is a common technique that many people use when going through difficulties, but the addictive nature of these substances can quickly grab hold of a person and begin to dominate their lives. When attempting to quit drugs or alcohol, the pain that was being suppressed will rise to the surface once the patient becomes sober, and it is often far greater the second time around. Rather than attempting to mask this pain, embracing it will allow you to finally come to terms with any deep-rooted emotions you may have and will also teach you some valuable coping skills for the future.

 

Forgive Yourself

 

Wallowing in self-pity does not help the situation and will only make it harder to move forward. Accept your past mistakes and realise that what’s done is done, and vow to start rebuilding your life a piece at a time. Overcoming addiction does not happen overnight, and will take huge amounts, of strength, endurance and patience from both you and your support network.

 

Seek Help

 

There are many different rehab programmes that use various approaches to help patients overcome addiction. The traditional 12-step program is the most well-known, but many consider this method of rehabilitation to be outdated. Non-12-step programs such as Non12StepRehabs.org have been found to have a greater chance of curing addiction and helping patients to remain sober years later. Complementary and alternative therapies have also been found to increase a patient’s chances of recovery, so look for any yoga classes, acupuncture clinics, drumming therapy groups or meditation workshops in your area.

 

Begin Rebuilding Relationships

 

It is important to remember that your loved ones have suffered just as much as you have during your addiction, so extending some compassion towards them is vital to begin repairing your personal relationships. Arrange to sit down with each of your friends and family separately to listen to anything they have to get off their chest. You do not have to grovel or beg for forgiveness during this time. An acknowledgment of how your actions have affected your loved ones and a simple apology will be greatly appreciated.

 

Recovering from addiction is a different process for each and every addict, and what works for the majority may not work for you. Don’t be afraid to try different rehab programs until you find one that works for you, and occasional relapses or difficult periods are all part of the recovery process and should not be viewed as failures. With the support of trained counsellors and a strong support network of family and friends, you will be able to get your life back on track in no time, and you might even consider putting your experience to good use and assisting others on their journey to sobriety.

 

Laura Richardson is an experienced psychologist. She frequently blogs about effective strategies for dealing with difficult situations.

Categories: addiction, drug addiction, Family, nbsp, overcome, overcome addiction, overcoming addiction, Pain, support network, time

How to Rebuild Relationships when Suffering with PTSD

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) takes its toll on your emotional health, and also your relationship wellness. Trauma survivors often have trouble maintaining or establishing intimate and family relationships or close friendships, as PTSD can interfere with your ability to trust, communicate, solve problems, be assertive or achieve emotional closeness. We humans were made to be together and in relationships with one another, so this outcome of PTSD can further damage your wellbeing, and begin a negative cycle.

 

When you survive a trauma, you can experience a great deal of emotional and physical pain, be it from the trauma itself or the emotional trauma afterwards. Not only does this impact you as the victim, but also the loved ones that surround you. You might not be interested in anything social or sexual, you may feel distant from others, or you may be numb to what’s going on around you. You may experience problems relaxing, socialising or being intimate without being tense or demanding, because you’re often in a state of irritation, anxiety, worry, nervousness or distrust. Plus, avoiding reminders of the trauma, reliving painful memories and struggling with the emotions that come out of them can interfere with your ability to concentrate, listen and make decisions.

 

All of the above emotional and mental problems mean that PTSD survivors and their loved ones often go through problems that aren’t resolved for a long time, as your friends and family struggle to communicate with you, and feel it’s impossible to work as a team. They might be hurt, alienated or discouraged by your lack of progress, or even feel angry and distant towards you because of how you’ve been acting. Then, if the PTSD is interfering with your sleep patterns, your partner may also suffer from a lack of sleep and, as a result, the emotional problems grow. In fact, living with someone with PTSD can cause the partner to experience vicarious or secondary traumatisation, which is similar to having PTSD.

 

PTSD is caused by a number of traumatic events, including childhood sexual and physical abuse, rape, domestic violence, combat, terrorism, genocide, torture, kidnapping, and being a prisoner of war. Understandably, survivors often report feeling a lasting sense of terror, horror, vulnerability, and betrayal that interferes with relationships. This means that you can be resistant to let down your guard and be emotionally or sexually intimate with another person, even if you feel a strong bond of love or friendship towards that person.

 

So how can you let down your PTSD guard, and create and maintain successful intimate relationships?

 

1. Establish a personal support network: You need a strong team of professionals around you to help you cope with the PTSD while you maintain or rebuild relationships with family and friends. However, the support network can’t do the job for you; you need dedication, perseverance, hard work, and commitment to get your relationship wellness back on track.

 

2. Create a safe environment in which to share your feelings: You and whomever you’re building a relationship with need to be able to sharing feelings honestly and openly. This should be done with an attitude of respect and compassion. When sitting down to discuss your relationship or the PTSD, it may be helpful to lay down these ground rules, in order to set the tone and ensure everyone is on the same page.

 

3. Work on yourself: Recovering from the emotional trauma of PTSD can be a lengthy process, and will take more that just a few conversations. You need to continually strengthen your relationship skills, with particular regard to cooperation, problem-solving and communication.

 

4. Have fun: Relationships aren’t all about feelings and deep chats; they’re also about enjoying life together. Make sure that you make a special effort to include playfulness, spontaneity, relaxation, and mutual enjoyment in the relationship, and the rest will come out of that.

Categories: Advice, emotional, emotional trauma, nbsp, ptsd, rebuild relationships, relationship, relationship wellness, Relationships, support network