Cathy's Health Coaching

Great to be back on derval.ie last prepping for the week ahead of the challange..

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY..

So many people ask us as coaches what's the best exercise for me, what's the best food for me etc.

The truth is that we can guide you and give you information but you must make a habit of listening to your body and trusting your instincts based on the feed back it gives you, becuase at the end of the day ...

YOU ARE YOUR BEST COACH

Let's get off the merry-go-round.. It ain't merry!!! 😒😒😒 And you deserve to be merry 😁😁😁

YOU ARE MORE THEN A NUMBER ON A SMALL SQUARE OF GLASS ON THE FLOOR!!

I'm not saying not to measure your progress, I'm just suggesting you find something you VALUE to measure your progress on..

Do you value a good s*x life for instance...(for the wk that's in it 😉😘🥰) If so but you've felt too self conscious to enjoy s*x with your partner, maybe you could build your goal around that. .. Instead of watching for numbers going down you could watch for your self consciousness to go down..

Or if you love fashion but have lost the motivation for dressing in anything but baggy jumpers, you could set a goal around feeling comfortable in a dress you love again..

Find a goal that means something to you. Something that focuses on the way you deserve to feel in your body.. If the scales has an emotional hold on you, fire it IN THE BIN!!

'YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GREAT TO START, BUT YOU HAVE TO START TO BE GREAT'

Overcome analysis paralysis...

Don't wait to start until you find the perfect programme or it feel like the perfect time...

Just pick 1 food change (e.g. have 2 healthy snacks daily) and 1 lifestyle change (commit to an earlier bedtime consistently) and repeat those things every day until they are habit..

If you change nothing else, you'll have progress made..

It's better to take small steps on the ladder and be ON the thing, then try to take massive steps and end up on your back on the ground looking up at it after falling off!!

You are not for everyone!

And that is okay!!!

Let go of the people pleasing.

Let go of the 'shoulds.'

Stop trying to fit in.

Stop trying to do the 'normal' and reasonable thing.

Stop limiting yourself.

Stop caring what people think of you.

Stop trying to mould yourself into somebody you're not.

Embrace your uniqueness.

Embrace your 'faults'

Embrace your strengths.

Your desires.

Your dreams.

You do you. That is who you were always meant to do. And that is where you will find peace, success, authenticity, freedom and your true power.

xoxo

HOW TO AVOID OVER SNACKING IN THE EVENING...

1. MAKE SURE YOU ARE EATING ENOUGH FOOD IN THE EARLY PART OF THE DAY... Particularly Healthy fats, Protein and Fibre. These keep you feeling fuller for longer and help control blood sugar balance by slowing the speed at which your carbohydrates are released.

2. COME AT IT WITH CURIOSITY..

Ask yourself, am I actually physically hungry or just emotionally craving. If you are physically hungry, eat a significant whole food based snack first.. If you still want something sweet after that, you will definatly have less of it.

If you are craving emotionally due to boredom or stress but aren't actually hungry, acknowledge that and address that first before eating. If you are stressed release some of those stress hormones by going for a fast 10 min walk, playing with your dog, doing 2-3 mins of deep breathing, journalling on the issue, picking up the phone to a good friend. Again, if you still want something after that, you will likely make a better choice around what and how much you eat.

The Brain/body just wants the reward hormone Dopamine to be released to ease the stress/boredom etc. and it's screaming at you to take action but we can choose different ways (examples above) to give it that reward. Once it gets that, it won't shout as loud at you!!

3. CHANGE UP YOUR ROUTINE AROUND YOUR MOST TRIGGERING TIMES

If you keep everything else around that particularly triggering snacking time (e.g. sitting in the same seat watching the same programme at the same time) it is SOOOOO much more difficult to change the habit of snacking itself. Get creative with the ways you can change things up so that you are not simply relying on will power.. Will power comes and goes. It's the building of new habits in place of the old that will support you when that will power inevitably disappears!

You're starting point is awareness. Start to bring awareness into what times and situations you feel most cravings and then you can start to do something about it.

Happy Friday everyone,
Cathy

An absolute pleasure to talk to the members of derval.ie live tonight on Facebook.. I'll be honest I was brickin' it going live to hundreds of people but what a fab bunch!! I was chilled out doin' my thing in no time with the warm reception I got.
Derval.ie is an amazing health and fitness platform run by the fantastic down to earth, passionate and driven .rourke.. I'm looking forward to being back there next Tuesday night to cover more nutrition and lifestyle topics. If you haven't checked out derval.ie I highly recommend her 7 day free trial ASAP!!

I'll be live on derval.ie for a nutrition Q and A this Tuesday at 7.30. If you're not a member, I highly recommend trying the 7 day free trial. It really is an amazing supportive platform if you are interested in looking after yourself through food, fitness and general wellbeing.. Highly Recommended!!

YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU EAT, YOU ARE WHAT YOU ABSORB!

Maximising Absorption tips...

Tip 1. The vitamin C in lemons help us to absorb the Iron in our food so adding freshly squeezed lemon to veg (greens in particular) helps our bodies to absorb the most amount of iron possible from them. Also, it's yummy!

In addition, if you are someone who has issues with low iron, it is helpful to avoid drinking black tea with meals containing iron as the tanins in the tea block the absorption of the iron in your food. Try using herbal teas with meals instead. Sweet ones like liquoirce and peppermint or cinnamon can be lovely after dinner when your palate is crying out for something sweet!

Keep it simple but significant...

Tip 2 tomorrow...

Happy Monday 😀

RANDOM FOODIE TIP..

When you cook potatoes and cool them approx 20% of their calories become indigestible fibre which means that they are not digested by you (therefore 20% less calories for you) but not only that, that indigestible fibre is exactly what the good bacteria in your gut thrive on so it's a win win all round.

Even when you reheat the spuds this is still the case.. So lightly fried or roasted spuds with some himalayan rock salt (the pink stuff!) and black pepper or a light sprinkling of paprika or any other spices becomes a yummy gut healthy side dish or snack..