Thursday, 6 March 2008
How I Get Rid of Back Pain
How I see back pain off
I have suffered with back pain on and off for about 8 years now, it effects me for months at a time to the point where I have been floored for a week or so at a time.
I am not quite sure what brought the back pain on in the first place, but three years ago I was in a car accident and since then I have been in pain nearly every day... plus spending a lot of my time at a desk does not help much either.
I recently took my own advice and started to load up on Calcium Magnesium (Solgar) tablets (take advice from your GP if you are planning on taking supplements). I took about 3 tablets just after my breakfast, 3 just after my lunch, 2 Cal Mag tablets just after my dinner and 1 tablet at night.
Within 2 days the back pain was starting to go, and within 7 days the back pain is pretty much no longer there at all. I am still getting the odd niggle in my back, especially when my posture has been poor for a wee while.
But all in I wish I had taken supplements earlier, as my diet probably does not have enough green veg in it to enable me to get enough calcium and magnesium in. Your diet is the best way to improve many health ailments but supplement can speed up the process sometimes.
I will now reduce my intake of calcium magnesium for a while to three tablets per day (as advised by the RDA [Recommended Daily Allowance - EU), one tablet per meal, I have also changed to Calcium Magnesium with Boron which are designed to support the body to retain the calcium instead of loosing much of what you are taking in.
I will see how it goes.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Stop Smoking - why not try hypnosis?
Hypnosis for stopping smoking - is it for you?
I stopped smoking about 3 years ago and went back to smoking when I was drinking now and then, but more recently I have got to the point where I smoke as soon as I have a drink in my hand, plus I am going out more often as an excuse to smoke... so I decided that I have to alter this silly behaviour as soon as possible...
I tried the hypnosis CD from Paul McKenna that comes with the book (about £10.99 from a high street book store - but probably cheeper online, maybe amazon.co.uk). I have not read all of the book yet, but decided to do the CD anyway.
I have a belief in hypnosis (not that I have ever went to someone for hypnosis [yet]) as I have read a lot of stuff about hypnosis in my research into NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and TFT (Thought Field Therapy).
I picked the Paul McKenna CD as I have used some other peices of his work for motivation and improving my finacial habits, plus my cousin and her partner had tried it last month and they smoked a lot more than me and it seems to have worked wonders for them (well done you two).
I am planning to try the CD again and finish off the book prior to the weekend (not that I should be out again, but anyway)... just to see of I have lost the craving feeling for fags...
I will keep you posted... (anyone...lol)
Sunday, 17 February 2008
TFT - Thought field therepy
TFT – Though Field Therapy
I have recently taken up TFT as a self development practice along with a cocktail of other exercises to help me progress and develop my skills, knowledge and confidence to make myself into a successful business owner and investor.
Thought field therapy is an exercise that can be used along with NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and hypnosis (or even on its own) to help get over fears, phobias and anxieties in life that are stopping you from achieving what you want and deserve from your personal and professional life.
People have also used the techniques to stop smoking and lose weight by changing their behaviours and emotions relating to cigarettes or food, thus altering their relationship with food.
I found it difficult to find books on TFT (Thought Field Therapy) in mainstream stores, but I did manage to get hold of a TFT book written by Roger Callahan (with Richard Trubo), called Tapping The Healer Within – Using Thought Field Therapy to Instantly Conquer Your Fears, Anxieties and Emotional Distress.
I found that I got best results by also using other hypnosis materials such as Paul McKenna (Motivational Power CD) and my small NLP Pocket Book alongside the TFT materials.
I also found that I managed to reduce phobias from childhood that I had tried to ignore for years such as, a paralysing fear of dogs, panic attack feelings when travelling and something goes wrong (like a near miss from a driver not paying attention or something)...
I have heard that people have also managed to rid themselves of guilt and trauma from major issues such as the death of a loved one or major injury as well as depression.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Weight Loss - Day 1
Weight loss
I feel really motivated to meke a difference to my health, fitness and weight today. So I made the decision to make changes to my lifestyle and improve myself for the better.
As I was really motivated I went to the gym, I was going to tell lies there about how much excercise I actually manged to do, out of imbarisment really... I used to be able to excercise for about three hours at the gym hitting pads and skipping... but not at the moment.
- 15 minutes on the bike (did not go very far)
- 10 minutes stretching and twisting
- 4 lenghts of the swimming pool
and that was it... I know it is a bit pitiful... but its a start.
I also went for a haircut (hopefully that will lose me half a pound or so)...
I don't think I eat any rubbish... I know I did not do much walking (the weather was pretty poor).
To see the main goal and links to all of the other days blogs click here
Weight Loss Goal - Target 11St 7Lbs by 18th February
It has been pointed out to me recently that I am starting to get a 'beer' belly... Oh Dear..
So on Monday morning I made the decision that I was going to do something about it...
I went to the local gym to try and get an accurate weight measurement, but the scales said that I was only 12 Stone (dead on) and I thought I was heavier than that.
I watched the Jamie Oliver programme the night before with the dead body of a heart attack patient being dissected live on air, it was a bit of a shocker to see that on TV as I have never seen anything like that on TV... The main thing that caused that doods problems was the beer belly shape that pushed the guys lungs and heart onto a tiny space that meant that it was working twice as hard.
I feel pretty unfit compared to my fitness levels a few years back, this is caused by less exercise and more beer (or cider). Both of these issues I plan to sort.
My plans are to do the following:
- Cut alcohol use for 4 weeks.
- Go to the gym at least 2 times per week for 4 weeks.
- Cut out snacky and fatty foods for 4 weeks.
- Walk more and take the car less for 4 weeks.
- Go swimming once per week for 4 weeks.
I have started this on Monday 23rd January 2007, but even just typing it out seems like hard work... I need to try and find the motivation to meet my goals.
The key motivator are:
- I don't like the way my belly looks and I want to get a six pack back.
- There are blood pressure and heart problems in my family.
- I don't want to die younger and miss my wee girl growing up and any other kids I have in future years.
- I want to have more energy.
- I want to feel more alive.
- I want to have less back pain and knee pain too.
I plan to write out a day by day blog about it to say how I am getting on... but only if I can grab the time to do it...
Day 1Day 2
Day 3
Monday, 7 January 2008
Money Matters - make more money in 2008 and improve your finances
There are loads of things in the press (paper based stuff) talking about the year ahead... the two main focuses were financial and dieting or weight loss. The topic for this post is financial goals for 2008 and beyond.
If you want to look at financial goals it may benefit you to take a look at where you are at just now. How much debts are you in just now and where are you paying the most interest? What do you waste money on the most? My key money loosing tip is eat out too often and pay ten times the price I would pay if we cooked more at home… This is the first thing that I want to reduce (not eliminate, just reduce).
Ideas on how to build up wealth vary from person to person, but I imagine that the best people’s advice to take are people who have started at a similar point in life as you and grown to be at whatever stage you would like to go to financially.
When I say take ‘advice’ from people I don’t just mean talking to people who are financially sound or ‘loaded’, as many people out there do not have access to people who have the financial wit about them that they could learn from.
One of the funny things in life so far is that most of my financial advice has come from people who are in a financial mess themselves, even when I was heading into bankruptcy I made the mistake of talking to a financial advisor who did not have a clue about the options that I may have had (Oh well, live and learn).
Some of the books that I have learned from are:
- Rich Dad Poor Dad series, by Robert Kiyosaki.
- Felix Denis, How To Get Rich.
- The Instant Millionaire, By Mark Fisher.
- What Not To Spend, by Alvin Hall.
- The Millionaire Mind, Thomas Stanley.
- Why We Want You To Be Rich, By Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki.
- 30 minutes to make Yourself Richer, By Niki Chesworth.
More business biography books that I found useful:
- Anyone Can Do It, Duncan Bannatyne.
- Business The Richard Branson Way, By Des Dearlove.
- Richard Branson, The Autobiography, By… you guessed it, Richard Branson.
- Screw It Lets Do It, By Richard Branson.
- Charan Gill, Tikka Look at Me Know, By Charan Gill.
Looking at some of the titles that I have read over the past few years I have invested a lot of time and effort into my financial education, after having been what I would consider to be ‘financially illiterate’ I now feel confident that I have a greater understanding of the basics of financial management, savings and investments. There is still much more for me to learn about different areas of investment and it will take even more time to build up my investment portfolio (from nothing) up to something worth talking about.
I think the main financial message is as simple as losing weight, diets only work short term and you have to look at changing your lifestyle choices and the way that you look at money (or fatty grub).
Another great book that I have read recently is ‘I Can Make You Rich’ by Paul McKenna and forwarded by Sir Richard Branson. Reviews can be read within the blogs but as far as financial savvy goes Paul McKenna seems to wrap it all up in one package within his book. I am actively using ‘I Can Make You Rich’ as it includes exercises and a hypnosis CD that helps you feel more able to achieve your financial goals.
The things that have stood in my way in the past have been, repeating old habits, being scared of change, fear of risk and not believing in myself (self doubts and self sabotage). I have begun to unwrap issues that lie within me and deal with internal programming that has been holding me back.
One exercise I have seen in loads of personal development and financial material is to look at the 5 or 6 people (I suspect it would be the adults) that you spend most of your time with, work out there income per year, add them all up and divide by the number of people (5 or 6) that you chose and that is roughly where you are presently comfortable in your earnings (give or take 20 per cent).
The last exercise is just one of many to help you think about money and how it works in the world, people who have wealth tend to be the same types of people who if they lost the lot today would be able to get moving and earn it all back again (with some hard work).
If you are just looking at short term financial stuff and are not interested in becoming rich then you may want to look at some of the basic:
- Look at where you spend money just now (note every penny you spend for a month, and when I say every penny I mean every penny).
- Reduce the amount of money you spend on things you do not need.
- Pay yourself first – aim to pay many into savings each month before you pay anything else… (this does not mean that you go and ignore the bills, just look at small percentages that you could pay into savings first).
- Aim to save between 3 months and six months salary, this is my first goal and may take some time to get there, but I am sure it would offer a great amount of security if I were to suddenly lose my job or take unwell for any length of time.
- Pay of bad interest debts first – store cards are generally the worst. Some car finance is killing people’s pockets each month and others its that overdraft going into the red.
- Look at saving money into local Credit Unions if you have a poor credit history, this may help you in future months get small loans at a competitive rate.
- Avoid consolidating all of your debts unless you have really looked at all of the options.
- If you are in bad debts then get in touch with your local Citizens Advice for more information, support and advice. This can be a good way to find out more about your rights.
- Look at tax free savings such as cash ISA’s and other ISA’s that enable you to have over £7000 in tax free savings*. Other tax free savings options are available to you through schemes such as EIS, these are environment investments such as wind turbines for example.
- Set financial goals with a short, medium and long term time frame.
*the information provided was correct and up to date to our knowledge at the time of publishing to the internet.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Lose Weight - You should consult your GP before aiming to lose weight.
Many of us try to lose weight when we have had to face up to some kind of fact... like you cant get into your jeans properly, you have went up a size over night (not really overnight, but it feels like it), the doctor tells you you have to lose weight or you just catch yourself out of the corner of your eye in a mirror or a shop window and notice a new lump or bump popping out somewhere.
Well how do you change it? how exactly do people get success when trying to lose weight (safely)?
A key starting point is to decide what you want - do you want to lose 10lbs, do you want to fit into that dress from last year, do you want to look good on the beach this year on your trip to Blackpool?
Some of the hard facts are that true lasting weight loss may take some effort on your part, some attitude changes and less grub going past your lips... (unless you look at some of the PR stuff for some products then they will probably tell you otherwise.
I used to sell Herbalife products to people looking to lose weight, most of them looking to lose weight fast and pretty willing to pay quite a lot of money for the stuff. I liked some of the product that they sold as many people that I was working with had such a poor diet that they would benefit from the supplemented vitamins and minerals in the 'shakes' and tablets.
The key to lasting weight loss for many lies in the last paragraph... 'poor diets', as well as many people not being clear about the content of the food that passes there mouth. The ingredients of foods that have been processed are hard to work out and the labelling has been designed for... well I am not quite sure!
Many processed foods and staple foods (the main stuff we pile down our throats), are loaded with sugars, fats and trans fats. All of these things add up, then you take the lack of exercise and hours in front of the TV or the laptop (or PC) and it makes for an impossible combination for your body to fight.
It is relatively simple though, the amount of energy that goes into the body needs to be the same as the amount of energy the body uses up... If you eat processed food (which nearly everyone I know does, including me) then you have to look at using up some of that extra energy somewhere... we have to get up and go.
I plan to exercise at least 30 minutes per day and reduce the amount of alcohol I consume as well as look at the foods that I eat... I tend to be one of those people who fills the plate until I should have used a pig troff to eat my dinner (lunch or breakfast)... this has to change.
Lose weight and have a bit of fun
Your idea of fun will probably be different from the next person, but it may be a good idea to look at changes that you can make that you could enjoy (maybe not at first though). One of the changes that I plan to make is to reduce my car use, and walk or use a bike more often, this will help me increase the amount of exercise that I do each day as well as get me out and about more without the added stress o driving (even though I love driving).
What ideas have you got for loosing weight, and what do you think are the things to look out for?
Well how do you change it? how exactly do people get success when trying to lose weight (safely)?
A key starting point is to decide what you want - do you want to lose 10lbs, do you want to fit into that dress from last year, do you want to look good on the beach this year on your trip to Blackpool?
Some of the hard facts are that true lasting weight loss may take some effort on your part, some attitude changes and less grub going past your lips... (unless you look at some of the PR stuff for some products then they will probably tell you otherwise.
I used to sell Herbalife products to people looking to lose weight, most of them looking to lose weight fast and pretty willing to pay quite a lot of money for the stuff. I liked some of the product that they sold as many people that I was working with had such a poor diet that they would benefit from the supplemented vitamins and minerals in the 'shakes' and tablets.
The key to lasting weight loss for many lies in the last paragraph... 'poor diets', as well as many people not being clear about the content of the food that passes there mouth. The ingredients of foods that have been processed are hard to work out and the labelling has been designed for... well I am not quite sure!
Many processed foods and staple foods (the main stuff we pile down our throats), are loaded with sugars, fats and trans fats. All of these things add up, then you take the lack of exercise and hours in front of the TV or the laptop (or PC) and it makes for an impossible combination for your body to fight.
It is relatively simple though, the amount of energy that goes into the body needs to be the same as the amount of energy the body uses up... If you eat processed food (which nearly everyone I know does, including me) then you have to look at using up some of that extra energy somewhere... we have to get up and go.
I plan to exercise at least 30 minutes per day and reduce the amount of alcohol I consume as well as look at the foods that I eat... I tend to be one of those people who fills the plate until I should have used a pig troff to eat my dinner (lunch or breakfast)... this has to change.
Lose weight and have a bit of fun
Your idea of fun will probably be different from the next person, but it may be a good idea to look at changes that you can make that you could enjoy (maybe not at first though). One of the changes that I plan to make is to reduce my car use, and walk or use a bike more often, this will help me increase the amount of exercise that I do each day as well as get me out and about more without the added stress o driving (even though I love driving).
What ideas have you got for loosing weight, and what do you think are the things to look out for?
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Happy New Year - Happy New You
Many millions of people have made a new years resolution... Lose weight, stop smoking, drink less (or more), get fit, have more fun, laugh more, make more money, start a business, get a new job, improve relationships, save money, get a new house... the list could go on for ever... (please comment on your new years resolutions).
I have decided that I would like to try some of the following in 2008...
I want to drink less...
I want to lose about 7 to 10 lbs in weight...
I want to get much fitter...
I want to relax more...
I want to get my business up and running this year to the point that it makes me a full time wage...
I want to get a full job to get myself financially sorted early this year...
I want to have at least 10 weeks off drink (I am not an alcoholic, but I feel that I drink far too much and often and in the long term I feel that I have to make changes)...
I want to have 10,000 pages of content on my blogs by January 2009... (this may be a tall order but I am sure others have managed it...
I want to start investing in renewable energy projects... (I have an application for a share in Fens Green Energy Co-op).
All of these goals for 2008 are achievable in my mind, but many ideas fail because of barriers, many of these barriers self imposed.
If you want a better chance of success you may want to consider the following...
- Why you want to achieve your goal - what will motivate you?
- How you plan to achieve your goal - how do other people achieve that goal?
- When you want to achieve your goal by - give yourself a target date (day, month, year etc) that you feel may be achievable.
One exercise that can help people find motivation is to write down 20 to 100 things that they want to achieve (short, medium and long term goals) in the next year (consider, relationships, careers, health and fitness (wellness), financial, spiritual and anything else you can think of) , three years, five years and ten years... Then circle all of the best 1 year goals that really interest you...
Once you have decided what goals you want to achieve, it is then time to take say three (1 to 4) of the top achievable goals that you like the idea of and write a paragraph, sentence or list of word that tell you and others why you really want this goal, how you will feel when you achieve your goal and when you plan to get it or achieve it.
Tell us what goals you are looking to achieve in 2008 and share any ideas that you have for helping others achieve the same goal... It would be great to see what people have decided to try for 2008 (if anything) and why they want to make the changes...
Best of luck, everyone!
(I just read over this blog to spell check it and realised that I said the word 'Achieve' about a zillion time...lol)
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