Health and Well-Being Coaching

Are you happy with your weight, health and well-being?

I think you will agree that when it comes to change these are ones which a lot of people can relate to and are some of the hardest things to manage cognitively.

A coaching session with a client this week prompted me to write this blog and hopefully help you as well.

I think examining your current reality in the following 5 key areas can help you gain a massive insight into improving your health and well-being.

1. How uncomfortable are you with your current health and well-being?
   Psychological and change research tells us that the more uncomfortable we are with our current reality the more likely we are to change it and take action.
   
   
2. Do you have a key driver for improving your health and well-being?
   Research shows that if you have a key driver for losing weight you are more likely to achieve your goal.
   
   One of the most common is in preparation for a significant event such as a wedding or holiday.
3. Do you have rules and beliefs about the world and yourself that impact your health and well-being such as 'I deserve a treat a day', 'I will always be fat' or 'I don't do exercise'? These rules and beliefs are often not talked about and lie deep within your subconscious mind.
   
   Sometimes they can be quite sinister such as 'you will never be able to cope without [insert favourite 'sinning' food]'.
   
   Often rules and beliefs are developed in childhood and are very ingrained by adulthood making them difficult to change.
   
   Have you also noticed that most socialising is centred on eating and drinking? The comfort hungry emotional mind tells us 'why should you miss out?'
   
   Of course we do not have to copy these choices and we do need to be mindful of what we really want.
   
   You know that when it comes to being healthy and well and achieving a healthy weight we need to eat less and do more.
   
   
4. Mindfulness When you are eating really focus on what you are doing free of common distractions such as TV, reading, even talking.
   
   Also get into the habit of asking yourself 'how will I feel when I have eaten this?'
   
   
5. Movement
   Discover moving activities that you find fun and 'just do it'. Aim to incorporate movement into your daily life rather than seeing exercise as a formal separate activity such as going to the gym.
   
   Could you walk/cycle part of your way to work, go for a walk at lunch time or do some sit ups whilst watching the news before supper?

We have nothing without our health and well-being and it's therefore top of the list in terms of what is important in your life.

If you want to improve your health and well-being and other aspects of your life through personal coaching please visit our website at West of England Coaching and Counselling.

Living Your Healthy Life With The 3 Ms

I've been working with people for a while now and experience has led me to the conclusion that focusing on three key areas can do you and your mental, phyiscal and spiritual health a lot of good.

I call these areas the '3 Ms' and - in no particular order of importance - they are as follows:

Mindfulness

Mindfulness means paying attention to whatever is going on at this very moment - sometimes referred to as 'being in the zone' and include things like:

• Smelling the roses on a walk or watching a deer
• Consciously eating your food without doing anything else simultaneously
• Actively listening to someone speaking with an open mind
• Focusing on writing a report with no distractions
• Playing with your child

Why is mindfulness really important to your health? Because you are focusing on the now which is where you are truly alive and not in the the past or the future.

When you think about the past and the future, worries and fears are likely to come into your mind causing some degree of anxiety and negative emotion which are damaging to your health.

Meditation

Meditation is helpful because - like mindfulness - it helps you to focus on the now.

Meditation takes many forms - even day-dreaming counts - and you can join a meditation or yoga class to learn from experienced practitioners.

You can also listen to a relaxation CD or visit a therapist who uses meditation as part of their practice.

Everyone has experienced some form of meditation and so you already know how to do this.

You already know that meditation makes you feel at peace - even gazing out of a train window without thinking of anything else counts.

Movement

Perhaps you are someone who likes exercise or perhaps not. Many people associate the word exercise with going to a gym or something else that 'is not for me'.

I use the word movement to aim to remove this association as it can mean anything which involves moving your body.

In my experience, this term works for even the most 'anti-exercise' individual as long as it meets the 2 following condition:

• It's something you enjoy doing i.e. it is fun (I'm sure you can think of a number of things)
• It can be incorporated into your daily life rather than being an add-on to an already busy day

Examples of this second condition would be taking the stairs rather than the lift at work, lifting dumb bells whilst watching or listening to the news or going for a walk at lunchtime.

For all but the most debilitating health conditions there is usually something we can do to generate the positive feel-good chemicals - including serotonin (the happy coping chemical that counters depression) and noradrenalin (the motivational neurotransmitter) - which movement helps us produce.

I hope you find this post useful and would love to receive your feedback - just leave a comment or contact me at West of England Coaching and Counselling.