GoBe - A New Gadget To Help Me Lose Weight

I am so excited, just ordered myself a new toy! Well, it isn't a toy at all actually, it's a very high-tech gadget which I am hoping will help me continue to lose weight and sail past my goals! So how will it do that? Firstly, it is an activity tracker so I am hoping it will motivate me to do more exercise, as I had one in the past and it definitely helped. But most importantly, it counts calories. And I don't mean you tell it what you have eaten and it adds it all up, this clever little wristband doesn't need you to do that, it can actually measure the calories you have eaten using skin sensors! I won't go too deep in to the science of it in this post, but basically it uses sensors like the ones on a body fat monitor to measure changes in the amount of water in your cells, and can use this to work out how many calories you have consumed. With no way of cheating or accidentally forgetting to record that biscuit here and latte there, I am hoping this tracker will give me the awareness and information I need to speed up my weight loss. Fingers firmly crossed! I will keep updating how I am getting on, I hope it arrives soon as I am actually quite excited!

(If you want to read more about it, the website is www.healbe.com.)

 

Relaxation Helps Weight Loss!

 

Yes, really!

There are a number of reasons for this. Basically, the main reason is that too much stress can cause some of the hormones and chemicals in our body to get a bit out of sync. One of these hormones is cortisol, and raised levels can make you feel hungrier as well as making you more likely to store extra fat, especially around your middle.

As well as this, other appetite-controlling chemicals such as ghrelin and leptin are also affected by high stress levels, especially when this causes us to have trouble sleeping. Insomnia has been found in many studies to be linked to difficulty in losing weight and feeling tired from lack of sleep can also lead to a craving for the quick energy boost that high carbohydrate foods can provide.

Feeling stressed also makes us more likely to turn to food for comfort, especially food that we see as nurturing such as chocolate and other high-calorie and carbohydrate-rich foods that temporarily boost our feel-good hormones.

It all sounds pretty grim, but the answer is reasonably simple: reduce stress. This doesn't have to mean signing up for intensive yoga classes or making major lifestyle changes as little changes can soon add up. Maybe a brisk 10 minute walk on your lunch break might help you relax, or a hot bath before bedtime. I have recently discovered colouring books for adults, and I find that very calming as well. And if you need an excuse for some pampering, this could be it! My trip to the spa yesterday definitely helped me feel more relaxed and also improved my sleep. You could even do something similar on a budget at home, maybe giving yourself a facial or a manicure, or simply soaking your feet in warm water and lavender oil while you close your eyes and focus on your weight loss goals.

Please add your ideas for relaxation in the comments section below and help us all benefit!

 

 

Treat Yourself . . . With Zero Calories!

I am a person who does well with "rewards", whether for successful weight loss or for doing something I am pleased with in other areas of my life. So having a gastric bypass is very difficult for me in that respect, as in the past when I have done well with my weight loss, my reward has been a small version of the treat I am craving. I don't experience any dumping at the moment, so in theory I could still do this even now, but rewarding with food is a habit I very much want to get out of.

Yesterday, I found a good substitute. I had a spa treatment, and it was amazing! It made me feel so relaxed and good about myself that it got me thinking that surely something that makes you feel so nurtured and positive could also be an aid to weight loss, discouraging comfort eating and providing a much more enjoyable and longer lasting substitute?

I am going to do some research on the subject - maybe I should book a few more treatments to test out my theory too!

 

 

 

 

Onwards and Downwards!

So . . . 5 stone gone and a few more still to go, hopefully! I have to confess that I found Christmas difficult as I do not suffer with dumping very much and so was able to graze on nice snacks, and I am now finding it a habit which is hard to get out of. I have realised that there are lots of tools and resources out there which can help however, and my new mission is to find them and share them with others so that we can all benefit! Please feel free to comment with ideas of what has helped you on your weight loss and fitness journey, whether you have had weight loss surgery or not. Hopefully between us all we can build up a useful tool-kit!