Life and Business Coaching - Impact Life

Leadership tip no 5 - Flexibility - Why? What? How?

2012-01-22T01:36:00.001-08:00

Flexibility is a key facet of inspirational leadership. A flexible leader will be better placed to:

- Deal effectively with change.

- Respond wisely to the different personalities of the people he/she leads.

- Demonstrate empathy, which is crucial in terms of delivering outstanding customer service, as well as outstanding employee experience.

- Empower and develop a range of people with different 'skill-sets'.

FLEXIBILITY DEFINED:

Being flexible does not mean being a 'door-mat' and allowing people to walk over you.

Being flexible does not mean giving in to the many different demands which are made of you, or acting against your beliefs or 'gut instinct'.

Being flexible does mean you are able to stand in other people's shoes and consider the world from their point of view, before deciding whether that insight will alter the decisions and actions you take. It also means that regardless of your personality and strengths, you are able to apply a number of different leadership styles in the work-place.

Daniel Goleman, renowned world thinker on emotional intelligence and leadership, defines 6 key leadership styles:

Coercive
Authoritative
Affiliative
Democratic
Pacesetting
Coaching

He argues that inspirational leaders are able to understand and appropriately utilise 4 of the above 6 styles depending on the situation they face, (he makes the point that in all situations, Coercive and Pacesetting are not helpful leadership styles). But given the demands and pressures of the modern work-place, being able to competently weave between the 4 styles he recommends, requires leaders to develop and improve their own 'emotional flexibility'.

Most people I know would argue they are very flexible, because they know that 'inflexibility' is essentially another word for 'dogmatic', and 'narrow minded'...not exactly attractive traits to have! But in reality, we can all improve our flexibility because being flexible is a skill which you develop over time, requiring commitment to change, the right self-development tools, and overall, the willingness to experiment with different behaviours, actions and choices which may not come naturally to you at first.

For more information on how to become more flexible, or how to experience Impact Life's unique H.I.F.I. leadership model, please feel free to contact Andrew Pain on 07760 444 946 at Impact Life.

Leadership tip no 4 - The vision thing!

2012-01-17T09:31:00.000-08:00

Leaders must:

a) Develop their own visionary ability

b) Foster an environment where the people they lead, are also empowered to demonstrate and implement their vision for the organisation they work for, as well demonstrate and implement their vision for their own personal lives.

As a leader, one of the things which the people you lead will most want from you, is a sense of vision, in essence, an understanding of the wider aims and purposes of the overall organisation, as well as the aims of the smaller micro teams which make up the organisation.

What are we trying to achieve?
How are we going to stand out from our competitors?
What are our long and short-term goals?
What do we need to change in order to be better?
How are we going to make a difference to the world?

They will look to their leaders for answers and guidance on the above questions, and they will also look to their leaders for the space and opportunity to answer these questions themselves, and then take action on the answers which they think of.

Vision is definitely a skill which can be practiced and developed, even for those people who do not regard themselves as visual people...but it takes time, willpower, the right tools, commitment to innovate, and a company-wide understanding of the massive benefits of developing a visionary workforce.

(For the latest Impact Life 'Visionary' tools, please contact Andrew Pain on 07760 444 946)

Tip 3 - Open Talking!

2012-01-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

Leaders must develop an environment, which encourages the people they lead to talk openly and honestly.

What's the point of being a charismatic leader with plenty of vision and an enviable track-record, if you are unprepared to listen to the people around you? What if your leadership style means that the people you lead, are too nervous to tell you what they really think?

In order to ensure that you get the best results from the people you lead, you need to ensure that they are committed to you, and are creative and motivated in how they approach their work. Therefore, you must develop an environment where their ideas are affirmed and their views are accepted, even if their views are contrary to yours or call into question a direction, idea, or value which you are pursuing as their leader.

You must also ensure that amidst the pressures, challenges and strains of leading your business through 2012, you establish structures, which encourage the people you lead, to talk openly and honestly about their ideas.... and their complaints!

Leadership tip number 2

2012-01-05T07:25:00.001-08:00

Firstly, my apologies for the delay since my last blog post. To be frank, a mixture of a busy work schedule, socialising and enjoying Christmas with my family, ensured that my blogs went firmly onto the back-burner for a few weeks!

Anyway, 2012 is now upon us and following on from my last post, my second tip for leaders is this:

The leader sets the example for the team which he/she leads, SO BE CLEAR ON WHAT YOU WANT FROM YOUR TEAM MEMBERS IN TERMS OF THEIR BEHAVIOUR, COMMITMENT AND ACTION, AND THEN ENSURE THAT YOU YOURSELF DEMONSTRATE THESE CHARACTERISTICS AND 'WALK YOUR TALK'!

I have worked with many leaders who are quick to complain that their team members manage their time poorly, or lack vision, but that leader resembles a headless chicken in the office, working long hours, jumping from task to task, whilst neglecting the necessary time to develop a long-term approach and strategy. Is it any wonder then that his/her team members are struggling with their time management and vision?

Whether your team members like you or not, they will still be taking a lead from your behaviour as your are the leader, and the state of your vision, motivation, attitude, integrity, organisation and commitment will influence their behaviours and actions.

If as the leader you are currently experiencing problems in your team, there may be a number of causes, but an aspect of your leadership style/behaviour will probably be one of them!

Leadership

2011-11-29T06:28:00.000-08:00

Throughout 2011, I have worked with numerous organisations both large and small, and listened to varying complaints from business owners and managing directors about their staff members, from lack of time management, to lack of creativity, self-belief and motivation. Such characteristics do have a serious detrimental effect on internal morale and ultimately company profits, but are such characteristics a fault of the staff members? or is it a fault of the leaders? Or is it both?

Whilst each person is clearly responsible for their own behaviour, I passionately believe that it is the business leaders who set the behavioural tone for the organisations they lead, and thus in tackling any aspect of unsatisfactory/undesirable staff performance, the best place for a leader to start...is with him/herself!

Therefore, I'm going to release a number of key leadership tips over the coming weeks, to help leaders and business owners get the best out of their staff and avoid many of the traps which many leaders fall into.

1) A wise leader shines the spotlight on others, rather than him/herself.

If a leader wants his/her staff to think 'outside the box' and be more creative in their approach to business, then it is the leader's responsibility to give their staff the space and encouragement in order to grow. I have spoken to so many leaders who complain that they have to 'spoon-feed' their staff members, and yet they themselves as leaders, actively hog the limelight!
Everything from delivering the speaking slots at company conferences, to dominating internal meetings, to dealing with the most important and regular customers. They do it because they believe as leaders, it is their right to do so and they have convinced themselves and others, that they are the best people to do these 'limelight' related jobs, and therefore, it is in the best interests of the company.

This attitude is somewhat egotistical (something which few leaders would be willing to admit about themselves), but it also discourages staff development, whilst minimising the level of passion and loyalty staff members will feel for the organisation, because people are most passionate about the things the feel they have created or contributed to. This sense of 'dominating the limelight' also leaves a gaping hole in the capabilities of the business, because if the leader in question is suddenly off work with ill-health or moves company, then who will be able to step up to the role in a smooth and effective fashion?

If a leader is prepared to shine the spot-light on his/her colleagues rather than him/herself, that leader will secure their loyalty as well as build trust and rapport, because he/she has actively demonstrated trust in their abilities and potential. Stepping back from the limelight and allowing others to shine is also a very useful step down the long and worthwhile road of developing and growing staff members, something from which the leader and the business will ultimately reap great dividends.

Soft Skills?

2011-07-29T01:21:00.001-07:00

So there are just a few things which irritate me in life...cold calls from automated telephone systems, the sight of the greasy grey meat on a donar kebab wheel, burnt toast, and opening a bag of crisps and realising that the large size of the bag, gives no indication of how few crisps are actually in it, and that actually, you've just bought a bag of air... I should know this by now, but it gets me every time!!

One of the other things which irritates me in life, is this label of "Soft Skills", which people in training circles use to describe the development of self confidence, resilience, self esteem, leadership and emotional intelligence. Who was it, who thought of such an idiotic way to describe such crucial skills? These are not soft skills, they are the very skills which determine success or not, fulfilment or not, happiness or not, depression or not, good health or not, productivity or not, and so on and so on.

Actually it is the technical skills which are the soft skills, because they are easier to learn, easier to teach and the grasp of technical skills, will have less impact on someone's productivity in the workplace, than the "soft" skills which determine their behaviour and attitude.

Soft Skills?? No... they are Core Skills!

Burnout in the workplace

2011-07-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

Recent studies show, that if your work life is characterised by:

Being 'under-challenged'
Working long hours
Receiving very little appreciation for your effort or skills by your managers

...you are 6 times more likely to suffer the effects of burnout. These effects are described as long-term exhaustion, demotivation and irritability.

Whilst the study reveals no surprises on the one hand, it is amazing just how many people today fall into the above categories, and even more amazing, that many managers/leaders do not consider the effects of 'burnout' as a priority, because in the current climate, the issues of sales/profit/process take precedence over everything else.

The fact is though, that the 'well-being' of the staff is directly linked to successful sales/profit/process and cannot be ignored by companies who are serious about both surviving and thriving in today's challenging environment. Irritability and demotivation decreases both the quantity and the quality of a person's productivity, whether that person is a manual worker in a warehouse, or a key salesperson for the business, and it has a detrimental affect on the quality of that person's relationships, both with colleagues and clients.

Interestingly, the study showed that one of the best protective buffers against burnout for workers in the above category is the quality of their home life and outside interests.

Developing a healthy, motivated and creative staff takes time, commitment and skill, but the rewards of doing so, are absolutely priceless for businesses, both large and small.

To find out how I can help your business, email me at enquiries@impactlife.co.uk or call me on 07760 444 946.

Andrew Pain
www.impactlife.co.uk

requ

What really sells in 2011?

2011-06-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

For anyone watching the Apprentice a few weeks ago, when both teams had to design and produce an outline for a new magazine, I suspect you will agree that the final offerings from both teams were beyond dreadful!

Neither group listened or connected with what their customers wanted. "Hip Replacement", the magazine for the over 60s, the cover of which, reminded me of my mum's knitting patterns from the 70s, was a complete shocker, and the sassy "Covered", the lads mag, which really progressed no further than the dire collection of mens mags such as FHM and Loaded, showed how narrow minded and limited the project manager for that task, Natasha Scribbins, really is.

Her comment that "porn sells", during the task was one that greatly amused me, but it also got me thinking. What is it that really sells in 2011?

Regardless of product, marketing or intended customers, the key is INTEGRITY. Increasingly, in an age of improved communication, and social media, people really do talk... around the world and in massive groups of numbers. If any part of your product, behaviour, marketing doesn't stack up, then people know - people talk - and people judge!

It isn't surprising that increasingly, businesses need to demonstrate their social and environmental conscience and back up their claims and mission statements with action, and it isn't surprising that people really do look closely at what they have been promised and what has been delivered.

What is your marketing message? What do you promise on your website and in your brochures? How do you liaise with your customers? What language do you use with them? How do you approach them? What do you promise them, even when it comes to the smaller matters like when you'll return their call? How do you deal with your colleagues?

Is there any part of your business which doesn't completely stack up when it comes to integrity? If so, you need to address it, deal with it and improve it. No amount of sales talk, discounts, extra marketing or excuses can make up for a lack of integrity.

If you can identify parts of your business that don't stack up - are there any customers who you need to make it up to?

New Years Resolutions

2011-01-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

80% of people who make new years’ resolutions are unsuccessful in achieving them and yet so many of us continue to half heartedly make them every year.

However, if we're genuinely serious about turning a new years resolution into reality, we need to view it as we would view a long journey in the car. If we set out to go somewhere and want to arrive at our destination, we need to:

• Know where we’re going,
• See where we’re going
• Plan how we’re going to get there.

If we’ve not taken the time to cover the above points before we start our journey, then we're setting off wearing dark glasses, with no map or sat nav and no clue of where we want to get to. In such a scenario, we'll either get nowhere or we’ll get lost, or we’ll crash because we can’t see where we’re going!

If you're serious about achieving your new years resolutions, you need to:

- Get support from someone who you trust. That person needs to be someone who will not only stand alongside you, but will also challenge, motivate and hold you accountable.

- Ensure your resolution is achievable. If it is unrealistic, you will feel disappointed in yourself when you fail to achieve it.

- Ensure your resolution excites you and stretches you. Work out the positives of achieving your resolution and then focus on the positives, and see yourself achieving it, in order to movitate you.

- Break your resolution down into small chunks. This will help you celebrate your small milestones along the way to achieving your resolution as well as helping it seem like a series of small hills which can be climbed, rather than a towering mountain which can't be climbed.

- Get passionate about your life. Try to use the resolution as a catalyst for taking control of your life and changing the other things in your life which need addressing.

Pay people to lose weight? WHAT?!

2010-09-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Independent Citizens Council, run by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has come up with one of the silliest and most ill thought ideas I've heard of in months!

Paying people to lose weight or stop smoking has been tried before as has paying people to stop comitting crime. But without exception, the long term results are very poor because such a plan ignores the key issues which have prompted the behavioural habits in the first place.

The fact that this suggestion has been made in a time of serious national economic strife is extremely insensitive, particularly to those who are struggling to get by but in terms of their waistline, they are in reasonable shape.

On the other hand, perhaps with such an incentive in place, I'll make myself and my family members fat, so we can all be paid to lose it... actually... its a brilliant get rich quick scheme...so perhaps the people at NICE are cleverer than we think! lol

Do calorie warnings on menus help fight obesity?

2010-09-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Health secretary Andrew Lansley is launching a voluntary scheme, encouraging the food industry to warn its customers on the calorie content of the food they are serving. He wants information on calorie content to be displayed on menus, walls, tables and counters of fast food chains and sandwich shops as a means of reducing levels of obesity in the UK. His hope is that people will choose healthier alternatives as they become more aware of the calorie content of what's on offer.

But if he genuinely wants the UK to be a healthier nation, he should also be encouraging the food industry to be open about the levels of salt, sugar and preservatives they include in their products. For example, a Weight Watchers lasagne may be low in calories, but it will be high in other preservatives, additives and salt, none of which are good for our long term health. Furthermore, when Wimpey experimented with calorie counting on 2008 by including calorie counts on the menus in its 160 UK outlets, they noticed that there were no changes in people's buying habits.

Calorie counting in restaurants maybe an interesting addition, but calorie counting is not a decision changer and is blazingly obvious that the reason behind people's decision making is far more complex than Andrew Lansley seems to appreciate.

Once more, this is an example of a governement initiative which ticks a box, allows it to say its taking creative measures to fight obesity, but in reality, it will deliver nothing productive.

Find out what your staff really think.

2010-09-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Many businesses generally prefer to stick their heads in the sand when it comes to staff issues and finding out what they really think. In any case, what if the staff were to use a confidential review with an outside party to be highly cricital of the management? Which manager wants to accept a load of critcism, particularly when dealing with the pressures of running a business in the current economic climate?

But unless you know how your staff feel, unless you know how they experience your business and view your management structure, the decisions you make about the future of your company will be based on guesswork, with the hope that your staff will follow your lead. The implications of getting this wrong are costly for you, including staff absenteeism, poor motivation, seething resentment and turnover of staff.

Some managers delude themselves that if they've known their staff for many years, they naturally have a good grasp of what they think. But the reality is that people tend to tell their managers what they think they want to hear and at best, will tone down any sense of criticism they may have.

For a real view of what's going on in your company, Impact Life carry out confidential reviews with each staff member, before feeding back the general concensus and themes in a practical, sensitive and constructive way to management, so that managers can make the right decisions to move their businesses forward, as well as addressing many of the issues which lurk beneath the surface, before they start choking the company from the bottom upwards.

Free Consultation for anyone considering the Gastric Band

2010-09-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

Tim Daily weighed 24st before he underwent a gastric band operation at Charing Cross Hospital, an operation which cost him 12K. He is now fed through a tube into his stomach, he is in agony whenever he eats and describes life as a living hell. He cannot work more than three hours a week and his wife has become his full time carer. If the hospital reverses his op, he has a one in four chance of dying. He is trying to sue the hospital although their defence will be that he was warned of the risks before the operation.

So what's the point of me relaying this story to you? Well first of all, its a pretty shocking story which is why its made it into the press today. Secondly, it serves as a reminder that as well as being expensive, the gastric band is not a miracle cure for obesity. The operation carries significant risks and whilst Tim has actually lost stacks of weight, its not successful for everyone.

My encouragement to anyone thinking about the gastric band operation is that they make contact with me at www.impactlife.co.uk, or call me on 07760 444 946 for a free consultation to discuss the alternatives.

Emotional Intelligence in the Work Place

2010-09-13T01:11:00.000-07:00

Gordon Brown is reported to have an extremely high I.Q. but according to Tony Blair, Gordon Brown also has zero emotional intelligence. Whether Tony Blair is right or wrong, Emotional Intelligence is a phrase which has become increasingly used but which is not properly understood or taught.

A business whose staff members have strong emotional intelligence will be dynamic, profitable and respected by their clients. Internally, the staff members will work as a harmonious and supportive unit which pulls together and which also allows space for each person to be creative and demonstrate their own unique skills.

A business whose staff members lack emotional intelligence will be hindered by internal conflict and competition, as well as absenteeism, poor motivation and a general lack of resourcefulness.

The good news is that Emotional Intelligence can be taught, improved and developed. Impact Life as now developed an Emotional Intelligence programme specifically tailored for the work place and which can be delivered in groups or individually.
If you would like a free consultation or would value finding out more about how coaching can impact your work place, please log onto www.impactlife.co.uk or call Andrew Pain on 07760 444 946.

Do Gastric Bands really work?

2010-08-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

So do Gastric bands really work?

Well of course they work for some people, particulary for those who are committed to changing their lifestyle both before and after the operation. And yes, unsurprisingly, for those who choose not to adjust their life style and continue with the Mcdonalds after the operation, gastric bands are a waste of time and a waste of the tax payer's money!

But even for those people for whom the surgery works, its glaringly obvious that the modern life style is to blame for the obesity epidemic, and not a finger of doom in the sky which singles out ever increasing numbers of people to be obese!

The obesity epidemic is so very recent and 60 years ago it wasn't the problem it is today. But 60 years ago, we ate more natural food, had smaller portions, played outside, and didn't spend endless hours watching the TV and playing on the Xbox!

I have every sympathy for people who are morbidly obese, particularly when they've tried every diet on the market and in so doing, have unknowingly lowered their metabolic rate, as well as had their hopes dashed by the broken promises of the diet products they've been using.

I also recognise that for obese people, the road back to being slim is frustratingly slow if crash diets and weight loss surgery are off the agenda.

However, there has to be a better way than stapling our stomachs and data is still vague as to the long term results of the gastric band.... I guess that will only become clear in the next few years as the ever increasing numbers of people opt for the band and we can see how they've all fared.

I do believe that the problems have been caused by modern lifestyle and working closely with people over a long period of time, to help them live more healthily and address all aspects of their emotional and physical lifestyle is a more holistic, moral and cheaper option for the nation in the long run.

Obesity Levels in British Children - Educate the parents!

2010-08-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

According to reports, more than one in three British Children between the ages of 5 and 13 are overweight or obese and that figure is set to soar in the next 10-15 years.

Ultimately, governement initiatives, school programmes and tackling the food industry are important factors in helping to tackle the crisis, but the real power for turning back the tide of childhood obesity lies with inspiring and motivating parents to do something about it.

This is a crucial starting point for addressing childhood obesity which much of the media coverage misses out. It is only through educating parents and helping them to see the true value of healthy living both in terms of physical and mental well being, that they can set the tone within the family unit of what is eaten, what activities are done and how each family member views him/herself and their worth.

It's not rocket science. Children copy all aspects of their parents behaviour from how they relate to how they feel about themselves, to how they speak, how they eat and what they choose to do in their spare time.

What is needed is a widespread UK wide programme which has the dual purpose of both educating parents whilst also working with them to boost their confidence as parents.

Weight Watchers more effective than the NHS?

2010-07-12T01:55:00.000-07:00

The findings of the Weight Watchers / Medical Research Council study as featured on the BBC website, are not surprising and there are 4 interesting points to draw out of it.

1) Weight watchers part funded the study and thus its not surprising that the conclusions encourage people with weight issues to consider their services.

2) Independent studies on the other hand are very skeptical about the long term effectiveness of any of the weight loss products/schemes currently available on the market. Therefore, when you consider who part funded the study, is this morning's headline on the BBC website surprising or groundbreaking?

3) Dr Jebb from the Medical Research Council is quick to point out that many commercial schemes might also be effective for weight loss. The key point is that the NHS is not performing well in this area, and that it may be more effective for GPs to refer patients to outside bodies with expertise in the field of weight loss and obesity.

4) Most importantly, that the key factors for people losing weight in this study seem to be group initiatives which provide accountability and support.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 10

2010-05-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

Have fun and experiment with changing your personal habits!

Apparently, British people are amongst the most brand loyal nations in the world. That's great news for corporations, but for the individual, it means we tend to buy the same old foods, the same old drinks, the same old washing and cleaning products, the same old newspapers and so the list goes on. We also tend to do the same old things either out of habit, or often out of duty.

Scientists have poured years of research into examining people's habits and how they can be broken. The accepted reasoning today is that all our habits are interlinked into one large habit web. As a result, breaking personal habits which contribute to you being overweight, is easier if you're also changing other habits which might be totally unrelated to your exercise and food.

The argument is that by reading a different newspaper, driving a different way home, taking up a new form of dance class, rather than going to the usual one you are now a bit bored with, all helps to weaken the overall habit web. A weaker habit web is good news if you want to lose weight and make alterations to your lifestyle.

If we look at it more positively. The advice is.. get out and enjoy your life. Do new things, buy different things, go to new places, learn new things and explore all that life has to offer. It will help you as your move forward, lose weight and sustain a healthier lifestyle.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 9

2010-05-19T03:39:00.000-07:00

Get Support

I have worked with individuals who have wanted their efforts to lose weight, to remain a complete secret, even from close family members and friends. Logistically this is a problem, particularly when changing eating and exercise habits. Furthermore, it is the support from people closest to you which will help you through the tougher periods of weight loss and also encourage you to keep moving forward.

The Guardian published a front page article on the 28th December 2009 about the futility of New Years’ resolutions. Apparently making such resolutions “is pointless because we break them, become dispirited in the process and finally more despondent than we were before”.

In their survey, one of the most common resolutions was losing weight. Of the people they surveyed who gave up on their resolutions, (78% of total number), they relied heavily on self-help books, visualisation and good old fashioned willpower!

Those who kept their resolutions on the other hand (22% of total number), broke their goal down into manageable steps, kept records of their journey and achievements and recruited assistance from other people to hold them accountable as they progressed towards their goals.

Whilst good self help books and visualisation can be enormously powerful, they both need to be backed up with a firm strategy and plenty of support. If anything, the article in the Guardian not only supports the idea of employing a coach to maximize your chance of achieving your goals, it also emphasizes the importance of having a support network to rely on.

I encourage my clients to invite someone or some people who are close to them and who they know will challenge them, be honest with them and care enough about them to help them move forwards in their efforts to live a healthier life.
When it comes to weight loss, doing it alone greatly undermines your chances of making long term changes to your lifestyle.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 8

2010-05-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

Drink Plenty of Water - OK... this is hardly hardly rocket science and is surely just basic common sense? But drinking plenty of water through the day is essential to aiding long term weight loss, flushing out toxins from the body and rehydrating the body from the extra exercise/movement you will hopefully now be doing. Being properly hydrated aids concentration, decision making and mood regulation and it has been argued by nutritionalists that many people think they have hunger pangs and need a snack, when actually their body is telling them to drink water.

Unfortunately, drinking water cannot be substituted for endless cups of tea, coffee and bottles of diet coke as given the amount of daily fluid your body needs, this would not be healthy on a long term basis. I am an avid tea drinker and the thought of getting through the day without a PG tips is a painful one for me! But I do regulate my day now and mix up my drinks, so 8 cups of regular tea per day has become 2, and I instead drink a couple of herbal teas and lots of water.... oddly... I've never felt better!!!

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 7

2010-05-05T03:22:00.001-07:00

Food shopping with prior planning is crucial to long term weight loss.

Heading to Tescos on an empty stomach at the end of the working day, and with no thought given to the week ahead will not be a helpful experience! In such a scenario, people tend to overshop as well as buy the wrong things because they are hungry or tired and have no strategy for what they are going to buy and what they are NOT going to buy.

It is important to sit down and plan your meals in advance (again.. preferably when you are not feeling hungry!), so when you go to the supermarket, you can go armed with a list of things you need to buy and then attempt to stick to buying the things on the list. Your chances of sticking to the items you have put on the list will be greater if you have already eaten before arriving at Tescos and are not completely shattered!

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 6

2010-04-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Increase your daily movement -

An experiment was carried out in a historical theme park in Sydney, Australia in the early 1990s. The actors who work in the park, live there for weeks on and off at a time and when they are on site, they live their lives as they would have done 150 years ago.

Wearing various montiors, their amount of daily movement was recorded and compared with city workers in Sydney in professions such as accountancy, legal and medical. The result on how much more the actors moved on a daily basis than the city workers, was calculated at a staggering 18Km worth of walking every day!

As well as finding a regular physical activity which you enjoy and which will stretch you physically, it is also important to increase your amounts of daily movement in any way you can.

This can include washing your car, doing your own gardening, walking instead of driving somewhere, parking further away from your intended destination than you need to, choosing stairs over lifts/escalators, ditching the remote controls for your tv, cd player and garage door, (clearly climbing out of the sofa to turn the tv over, or getting out of your car to open the garage door manually, are such tricky jobs!)

The list is endless, but the key point is to knowingly increase your movement on a daily basis and retrain your mind so that in thinks in terms of maximising the amount of movement you can do in every given situation.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 5

2010-04-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

Portion Control. If you've found an exercise/activity you enjoy, you're now thinking in the long term, you've have ditched the processed food and no longer skip meals, then you've definitely made a good start. But if your portions are too big, you will still struggle to lose weight.

Having arrived back from three weeks in the U.S. last year, I was absolutely staggered by their portion sizes. I was at a baseball match watching the Yankees play the LA Angels and a hot dog arrived with, and I kid you not, a foots' worth of sausage!! The following day, I ordered standard pancakes for breakfast and eight frisbee sized sugary discs of flour arrived, with enough cream to shave every male back and shoulders in the restaurant! In the end, I could only eat three of the pancakes and I still felt sick.

So things are better in the UK, but portion sizes have still increased dramatically, particularly when it comes to the evening meal. Actually, the largest meal you should have, should be breakfast, not dinner. Your food intake should be spread through the day so you are eating 5/6 small meals rather than 3 main meals, with the larger of those five meals being breakfast.

Much of portion control comes down to common sense and awareness. Whether you find it easier to stick with three meals a day or five much smaller meals, my tips to manage portion control are as follows:

a) Ditch the large dinner plates and bowls. Sell them on ebay or pack them away and eat your meals in smaller bowls and on smaller plates. Crockery size has increased considerably in the last 50 years (I know... I'm very sad for knowing that peice of trivia!)

b) You need to be completely and brutally honest with yourself as apparently, statistically, most people under report what they eat by as much as 33%.

c) If you still like the odd treat like chocolate, biscuits, cake, crisps, sweets (I still go weak at the knees when I see a packet of liquorice allsorts), then take out a couple/some of whatever is in the packet and re wrap them/it for work or that long car journey, in order to limit the chance of you downing the entire packet in one go.

d) Invest in a book and scales... NOT a diet book and NOT scales to measure a person, but a book that is geared towards helping you measure out your portions and scales to measure the food. It can be a bit tiresome at first but will quickly make it clear how much you should be eating.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 4

2010-04-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

Ditch the Processed Food! The more natural your diet is, the healthier you will be. It sounds simple enough but anyone looking to lose weight should ditch processed food as an essential long term life choice.

It's not just about avoiding Mcdonalds and throwing out the budget burgers and microwave meals, it should also affect the food choices you make from breakfast through to supper, from choosing responsibly reared meats, to finding organic yogurts and crisps with the least additives, to making your own cooking sauces and dressings rather than buying ready made products. As a general rule, the longer the list of ingredients and unpronouncable words on the packaging, the more important it is that you put the product straight back on the shelf and choose an alternative.

Clearly ditching processed food can create added time pressures whether you are trying to juggle a family and/or hold down a busy work life, but in that case, make larger batches of food when you do cook so you can build your own stockpile of frozen meals which you have prepared yourself.

Also, if you have children, including them in the buying and preparation of food may slow you down in the immediate term, but in the long term they are more likely to learn to cook properly and appreciate quality food and their own good health.

You can calorie count, weigh yourself, measure your waist every day, wear a pedometer and take supplements, but if your diet is littered with ready made products, your weight will continue to fluctuate and frustrate, and your internal health will struggle to improve.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 3

2010-03-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

Take a long term approach to weight loss -

According to the National Weight Control Registry, 95% of people currently trying to lose weight, will be as heavy or heavier in three years time, as they are now. So what does this say of the millions of pounds we spend annually on the diet industry buying books, products, dvds and the like? or the gurus and experts who produce them?

Part of the problem is that too many people are still thinking in terms of crash diets for rapid impact, or committing to making sweeping changes in their eating and exercise habits which they can't possibly sustain.

The safest and most effective way to lose weight is to do so gradually and over a long period of time. Think of the changes you choose to make as a long term decision about your health and lifestyle which you're able to maintain on a long term basis.

With the clients I work with, I have found that the easier they are on themselves at the outset, the more likely they are to actually enjoy the process and take the time to make considered decisions about what they are going to change.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 2

2010-03-24T07:12:00.001-07:00

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 2

Never Skip meals. It's surprising how many people still skip meals. The most common reasoning I hear is either time related or because people still believe that less food naturally = faster weight loss.

Most research shows that by skipping meals, you increase the likelihood of cravings and and you are also more likely to suffer from fatigue and mood swings as your day progresses.

Furthermore, as you deprive your body from the regular food consumption it needs, the body cleverly responds by lowing your metabolic rate, which, we all know makes it more difficult to lose fat in the long term and thus the cycle goes on.

It is important to think clearly and intelligently about a) what you eat, b) when you eat and c) how often you eat.... but NEVER SKIP MEALS.

Top Ten Tips Weight Loss Coaching - 1

2010-03-18T03:56:00.000-07:00

Exercise - choose something you really enjoy doing. Choose something that even if you hit your personal goals in terms of weight loss, you know you would carry on doing it because you enjoy it so much. Too many people automatically think of the gym/jogging as the way to get fit. That's fine if you genuinely enjoy going to the the gym/jogging... if not try something else that you do enjoy. Why not try something you've never done before?