How is everyone doing? Its a funny old time of year, we are all a bit bloaty and hungover and desperately trying to stick to a new year’s resolution we made two days ago. Its a mugs game really, Mr Chalk capitulated on the chocolate, just couldn’t do it and I don’t blame him. I, on the other hand, have decided to go with ‘Ginuary’ this year. So the idea is that I don’t drink any other alcohol than gin during January. Been able to stick to that, no problem.

I really do believe that it shouldn’t be just simply the beginning of a new year which allows us to make changes, so I am a little bit of a rebel when it comes to resolutions. I prefer to look at January as a time to clear away, declutter, find a little bit of peaceful time, but above all think about how you can be a bit kinder and easier on yourself. For many (not wishing to gender stereotype but it does tend to be us girls) Christmas is a chaotic time when we are thinking of everyone else. We somehow have to make it perfect for everyone, the perfect presents, decorations, food, parties. So we tend to lose ourselves somehow in the maelstrom of that time of year.

For me, with my boys all back at work, this time is now luxuriously peaceful and I can focus on writing projects, playing my lovely new piano, as well as relishing meeting lots of lovely new clients in my hypnotherapy practice.

We should not be cajoled into weight loss regimes or gym sessions, but find our own way to feel better and healthier if thats what we want to do. Yesterday I listened to ‘You and Yours’ on Radio 4, and they were having a phone in programme about weight loss. They had asked people to call in to tell their own unique experiences of what worked/didn’t work for them with regard to losing weight.

What was interesting was that each person had found their own way in the end (or not) and in fact the experts on the programme agreed that weight loss is not a ‘one size fits all’ issue. Whats more, it is hellishly difficult as there is something called homeostasis which means that our bodies are geared towards staying at a particular weight so if we lose weight, our systems don’t like it and will try to get us back to the original weight. It was also mentioned that exercise is not a good way to lose weight, but by all means do it if it makes you feel good. At the end of the day you do need to take in less calories than you burn, oh and by the way, if you do get small, your body will need even less food. One caller spoke about her success with hypnotherapy, as it made her think about portion size whenever she ate – the hypnotherapist had apparently got her to visualise her stomach as a certain size and how overfilling it would make her ill. This had stayed with her, and then she decided to patent a product, a bowl which had a picture of a stomach in the base of it, not in graphic detail as that would really put you off I’m sure! It was just to guide you with regard to the size of portions you should have.

The point is that we are all unique and we need to be aware of what can and can’t work for us in terms of feeling better in January, whether thats – in my case – ‘Ginuary’ – or meditating, cross-stitch, curling up with a good book, or even perhaps the stomach bowl.

Cheers,
Wendy x