Healthy relationships

How can relationships affect weight loss?  Surely weight loss is just about willpower.  If you know me you will also know that im saying this a bit tongue and cheek because I firmly believe in the interconnectedness of wellbeing and how different aspects of our lives affect each other.  In fact, as I write this now it reminds me of a personal experience I had with this.  In 2010 when I was dealing with the stress involved with going through a marriage break up and seperation I suddenly started having asthma symptoms.  Now my lungs have always been a bit dodgy and low performing when measured on a 'peak flow' asthma testing machine - but I had never experienced asthma symptoms of wheezyness or shortness of breath....until this time of emotional stress.  But then after the seperation happened and in January as the stress reduced the symptoms did as well.  Its not exactly a scientific study but it was a very clear example to me of how we have to think about wellness and weight management in the context of our lives as a whole.

This is the point the Gallup organization also trumpets in their 'wellness' book and online questionnaire.  Their research in to thousands of people in over 150 countries has confirmed that 'while it might be easier to treat these critical areas of our lives as if they are independent, they're not!'.  
It was chatting to a client this morning that reinforced this point again this morning.  She was quite proud because she had noticed her weight had gone down on the scales for the first time in a couple of years.  Good on her, I thought!  But as we chatted she explained how her daughter has a broken leg and so is in a caste and is stuck at home at the moment.  She was feeling down in the dumps because she could not go out with her friends on Saturday night so asked if they could go to McDonald together. Wanting to be a good mum, my client agreed and although she wasn't feeling hungry bought a cheeseburger because she was there.  Fortunately for her, because she is feeling more confident than a couple of months ago she only ate half the cheese burger then felt full so through the rest away.  This was a big win for her because a few months ago she would have forced it all down!

So its great to see her confidence growing, it really is what I live for! But the fact remains that if her daughter wasn't injured she wouldn't have been in that situation.  Or if she wasn't wanting to be a good mum she wouldn't have gone to McDonald's.  Until we really appreciate and embrace the idea that wellness and lifestyle change is not isolated from everything else going on in the world weight will just keep going up.  So to reverse the tide remember to take a holistic approach.  A great way to start is a holistic wellness check-in.  The spark check-in is a great way to do this.  Its also free and quick so why not give it a go now to see what your energy for wellness is like.  Click here to give it a go!

Yours in good health

Chris Eastham

RESEARCH PROVES LONG TERM LIFESTYLE IMPROVEMENT CAN CHANGE YOUR GENETICS

(AND WHY SHORT TERM DIETS DO NOT WORK!!)

In the Herald Sun, January 16, 2009, there was an article written, based on new research about genetics, diets and weight management. As it was a news story, the article had a one sided spin and was designed to shock. So i’ve taken the report and rewritten it in a more balanced way to highlight some very important points! Read on to find out more.....
The Article started: Melbourne scientists have proved for the first time that damage done by unhealthy eating is "remembered" in genetic controls - epigenetics - and turns off good genes needed to prevent diabetes, heart disease and other complications, the Herald Sun reports.

Lead researcher Assoc Prof Assam El-Osta, from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute team, proved that a single sugar hit, such as eating a chocolate bar, damaged the controls regulating the genes for two weeks.

This sounds shocking, and the article continued: The scientists said this meant that eating a chocolate would not only go straight to your hips, but also sit on your DNA. "It is this idea that you are what you eat, and perhaps that is a reflection of what your parents ate, and perhaps what your grandparents ate," he said.

Prof El-Osta warned that regular poor eating meant the damage would last for months or years, and the real problems caused by an unhealthy diet were deferred until later life.

Now this doom and gloom reporting carried on for a few hundred words when they should have mentioned that Prof El-Osta also said

"We think there is [ALSO] good epigenetic memory as well for individuals who have a good diet, not only for themselves but potentially for future generations”.

"If you have had five years [or a family history] of unhealthy control, where health enducing genes are switched off and ‘health damaging’ genes switched on, changing that for a couple of months to a good diet may not have a tremendous impact. "But going back to a good diet would have some effect 10 years later.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction!

A poor diet could lead to very serious changes that are remembered for many months, or even years BUT conversely a good diet will also lead to some SERIOUSLY GOOD changes that will also be remembered for years. A person with a family history of weight problems and poor eating has the power to reprogram their DNA to break the cycle.

The discovery explains why artery damage persists in diabetics even after they have long periods of therapy....AND it also explains that even people with a family history of problems has the power to overcome their genetic disposition....whether it is ‘good or bad’!

This is evidenced by Ann Mennan. Having experienced the problems of obesity, Ann Mennan, 44, and her son Tom, 18, are working to break the genetic cycle. Last year Ms Mennan was Weight Watchers Slimmer of the Year when she dropped from a morbidly obese 105kg to 71kg, while Tom shed 20kg after seeing his grandmother suffer diabetes, heart disease and then a stroke.

"It's really hard to tell if it is nature versus nurture," she said. "My mother had diabetes, her mother had diabetes and I ended up being diagnosed with diabetes much younger than they did, so I think there is a genetic predisposition.

"To hear that I can, by eating well, actually physiologically improve myself so I keep improving over time is really good to hear."

The Herald Sun article lead with the line ‘FAT parents are condemning their children to obesity and disease. Fat people reprogram controls over their DNA and pass on fatness and disease not only to their children, but to future generations’.

But this article is not providing a fair representation of the research. The idea of ‘condemming’ assumes that children would be unable to also reprogram their DNA. The truth is actually that they can.

What the research does prove is that: Dieting doesn't work because what you ate two months or two years ago is going to be reflected now through your DNA."

BUT that making a sustained long term lifestyle change has the power to change your genetic programming and overcome the habits of your parents and even your even your grandparents!

Ultimately, short term crash diets will never work!

But you’re in control of your DNA, and can even change your genetics!

The findings were reported in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
To make sustainable lifestyle change visit www.sparkexecutive.com.au

First with the head, then with the heart!

‘First with the head, then with the heart’. This is the mantra offered by the heavyweight champion of south Africa to PK, the young boy in Bryce Courtney’ bestselling book The Power of One, who then went on to greatness. But how does this apply to me? You ask.
Maybe you want to lose weight, exercise more, eat less, enjoy life more, drink less or change your lifestyle in some way. An action is only the physical result of a corresponding thought. If people were simply machines designed to perform predefined tasks then maybe we could simply change the action and that would be the end of that.
But we are not and in fact these days even machines and new cars have computer chip brains. Little computers built into them to control their function. So to change the action we have to also go to the source of the action and change the thoughts that cause the action!

It’s not a new idea. In the 17th century the renowned philosopher Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) coined the famous phrase: 'I think therefore I am'. And over 1500 years earlier the roman poet Juvenal uttered the words:

‘Healthy mind, healthy body’
Yes people have been talking about the relationship between thoughts and actions for quite some time. But how does this relate to weight loss, or lifestyle change? Well if you want to start a new exercise regime or change eating habits (actions) then it makes sense to assume that you will also have to change the way you think about things!
WHY reasons dig you deeper into habitual holes
Habits only become a problem when we want to change them. Have you ever noticed that with an old habit, you will have 100 different reasons or justifications for sticking with it? Now, I’m a simple man and so I need to simplify things as much as possible. Sometimes I like to think that we have two modes of operation and the first is reason mode (or WHY mode..as in why am I doing this or thinking that…). ‘Why mode’ allows us to dig ourselves deeper into our habit. For example I like basketball and I could give you 100 reasons why basketball is a fun game to play! This is a really useful mindset if we have a habit we want to continue with like eating carrots or driving on the correct side of the road or being hospitable to our house guests, the problem with this mindset occurs only when we want to change a habit. If we have spent years justifying our actions and building up a list of reasons (or excuses) for doing it…they will all effectively act as barriers to change. So how do we get around the barriers?

HOW options can dig you out of the habitual hole
Well if you have a barrier in front of you and you keep staring at it...all you will see is the barrier….not how to get around it. To get around it, you might like to step back so you get a different perspective, or move the side so you can see past it. Ask yourself, what habit do you want to change? When you notice yourself thinking about this habit, are you thinking about reasons, barriers and excuses? If you want to get a different result you have to start thinking differently about the situation. You need new options!!

Maybe you have spent years justifying why things have not been working, or ignoring things or talking about why the barriers are in your way….Well its good to know that whenever the time is right and whenever you choose to you can stop concentrating on the barriers and to start thinking about new options, thinking about how you will plan your lifestyle change and good your life will be in a years time when you are doing more of the things you want. Its about discovering new OPTIONS!
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948) was no weight loss guru but his approach to change resulted in the one of the biggest changes in the modern world. One of his best ideas is so simple it’s almost magical.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

If you want to be healthy, or slim, or to be exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet, it makes sense to start thinking like that successful version of yourself.
Maybe you could try this idea…Imagine yourself in two years time, living the life you desire. Maybe you are playing a sport, jogging or walking in nature, or involved in some activity you enjoy doing. If a problem arose would you immediately worry about it and get emotional? Or would you think about a solution. If you were going to motivate yourself to do a new activity would you stare in the mirror and put yourself down or would you tell yourself something encouraging? Your thoughts can dig you deeper into a hole or dig you out. So it’s good to know that ultimately it is you that is in control of the spade.

This is really important stuff! I know some people will scoff and question the relevance of Gandhi and dead Roman philosophers to weight loss, and that’s ok. But I have seen too many people join up at gyms and start on diet plans only to quit 4 weeks later on the 1st of February. So often we spend our time thinking about a result we want like losing weight and forget to think about the action required to get there and the thoughts and the best mindset to start & complete the action. I also personally know how good it is when you can live the healthy lifestyle you are aiming for. I love living the lifestyle of my choosing....it’s great! In fact it’s so good that I want other people to experience it too.

Our goals are all different. For some it’s all about achieving high performance and being in good shape so you can work hard and play hard, for others it’s more about getting a better work-life harmony. What-ever your goals and whatever you want to be eating, drinking and doing differently in a year’s time. Thinking about the way you are thinking, and learning how to control your mindset are powerful tools to have at your disposal. It’s good to think about problems briefly, because this balances up all the positive thoughts. But unless you want to, there’s no need to spend too much time worrying about or analyzing where you are at the moment If you want to make some sort of change. Thinking like that all the time will just dig you deeper into your existing habits. Worry & guilt create more worry & guilt.

Maybe, just to humor yourself for the rest of the day you could start thinking as if you were already comfortably on the road to achieving your desired goals. Go on, give it a try…I dare you! It’s just like riding a bike…you should be careful at the beginning and might come off the first couple of time if you try to go too fast…but take is slowly and after a few goes your balance and control improve…then before long you have another fun way to get to where you want to go faster!

So now we know we want to think more effectively, and why it will help…how do we start? There are many ways to tap into your inner resourcefulness. Personally I find mindset coaching works really well for clients and myself. But now you understand the idea, there are many alternatives you can explore...who knows… maybe you’ve already started.

For sustainable ways to improve wellbeing and enhance energy visit www.sparkexecutive.com.au

Dan Beuttners Top Ten longevity Tips

1. Make low-intensity physical activity part of one's daily routine,
2. Build good relationships with friends and family,
3. Eat a diet lighter on meat and excess calories and heavier on plants,
4. Find a purpose for and sense of meaning in your life.
5. Maintain a healthy lncome
6. Attend some type of spiritual activity
7. Eat seafood twice a week
8. Dont take medication to fall to sleep
9. Sleep 7 - 8hrs a night
10. Maintain a positive & 'realistically optimistic' mindset

Ive just started reading his book. Should be interesting

For sustainable ways to improve wellbeing and enhance energy visit www.sparkexecutive.com.au