Well first of all, I want to tell you, YES IT IS WORTH THE EFFORT!

I’m going to tell you right now, this happens to me on a regular basis, but I’ve learnt ways of tackling the dreaded ‘falling off the wagon’ issue over the years and try and look at it in a different way (which I’ll come onto shortly). In this post I’m going to reveal to you my own personal strategies, and then some ideas and thoughts that may work for you.

You may be wondering why I decided to write the post. Now I do mention this a lot, but there’s good reason for that. At the end of 2011 I setup a private VIP group for those who decided to invest my Lunch Box Diet fat loss system. I really didn’t expect to be as useful as it is. Not only has it given me the chance to get to know my clients much better but I regularly watch the comments and find out what day to day struggles they’re having – since the area is private, everyone can be very open and share their struggles without the worry of the world seeing in. It really does give me a great insight and just makes me want to find a solution to the sticking points and challenges. That gives me a huge buzz. Most of all I care about each and every one person who’s using my system. It’s not just a one hit wonder. I’m riding the same wave everyone; day in, day out.

‘I’ve fallen off the wagon’ is  something that has cropped up in the VIP area on more than one occasion. Now you may be thinking, why would I go and tell you that those using The Lunch Box Diet are ‘falling off the wagon’ from time to time? Well frankly, it’s completely normal and if you are the same, don’t worry. I’m here to help!

It’s just a case that a few spikes in the wheel of your life are out of place, we just need to put new ones in and make the wheel roll more smoothly. Some people have more spikes out of place than others and as you develop, you’ll look back and notice what’s changed for the better.

Eventually, you won’t end up falling off the wagon half as much and you’ll have a super smooth journey on the road to your ideal body.

But, ‘falling off the wagon’ is different for everyone. One person’s wagon is very different to somebody else’s. So in noticing this pattern, I asked the main Lunch Box Diet face book fans the question ‘what is your major reason for falling off the wagon?’, and it was surprising to see some of the answers and also the most common areas that most of you are struggling with. I noticed a few common themes which you’ll discover in this article.

What I want to do today is provide a short, fast solution to each of these and I’m hoping that you will notice one category that you fit into. I want you to make the solution I give you the top of your priority – you could find that it will change everything for you.

Then you will find that my diet, or your fitness or your life, just runs that little bit more smoothly! Well, that’s the idea anyway…

But before we go into these short, quick-fire tips (I’m going with the wild west wagon theme here, can you tell?) I want to first make a few observations about the whole ‘falling off the wagon’ topic.

You may actually find it useful to ‘reframe’ this sentence. By even using this phrase internally in your mind and verbally, you’ve told yourself what you don’t want, rather than what you do want. This is the law of attraction at play. Start to train yourself to say to yourself ‘I’m looking forward to getting back to my normal routine tomorrow and I know I’ll feel fantastic when I do’.

It’s just a change in focus, just like from going from ‘I don’t want bills’ to ‘what strategy can I use to pay off this debt’.

Let’s look at a more targeted example based on a fictional character…

Jill is a 39 year old mum with 2 children, she’s married and wants to stay healthy, has had great success on the Lunch Box Diet. Of course she has challenges, but on Friday afternoon this is her thought pattern and reflection on the week…

or the alternative way to look at exactly the same week could be:

Can you see how exactly the same week has been framed differently?

Chances are that when you do ‘fall off the wagon’ it’s actually not so much about what you ate, but actually that you’re disappointed at your lack of willpower and the more times you ‘fall off’ the more you get annoyed at yourself, so the next time you feel worse. Sound familiar?

Okay, so you may have eaten that cream cake that the office worker put in front of you, or you munched through a family size packed of crisps. It’s simply not that big of a deal and you can easily rectify this situation by continuing to eat from your box and have a healthy meal in the evening. Or, if this ‘incident’  (as you have labeled it) was after dinner, you can start your box again the next day.

Typically if you have a bad morning, this can set the rest of the day in a bad motion, but separate up your days and start a fresh from ‘lunchtime’ or ‘dinnertime’ instead of sabotaging the entire day. Remember, if you messed up the routine at breakfast / early morning the rest of the day can still be awesome for you, the same applies at lunch.

Why is it that when children play games, some lose and cry and stop playing and others just keep on playing until they win? Mental strength? Upbringing? Whatever it is for you, you can develop the mental muscle.

It’s the same situation about reaching your goal, you just need to keep on going, making sure you make more positive moves than negatives ones, the problem is that you’re taking one negative move and turning into a massive downward spiral and it doesn’t need to be that way.

This is why tracking your progress is so useful and why now all my dieters get a 90 day tracker to print out where they can mark off a ‘Healthy Breakfast’, ‘Lunch Box’, ‘Healthy Evening Meal’ and ‘Exercise’. It’s proving extremely beneficial since I implemented it.

They can quickly see in what direction they are moving… and the key is not to weigh yourself. Go on how you feel in yourself, this is KEY to keep your motivation up. Go on how your clothes fit and your waist measurement on a monthly basis.

There are one of two categories that you may fall into when it comes to ‘falling off the wagon’, these are:

• Relapsers
• Maintainers

Relapsers don’t tend to have a conscious awareness when it comes to dealing with stressful situations and can automatically reach for ‘comfort foods’ and then only realise after this has happened and then the guilt sets in. In addition, relapsers have trouble finding alternative ways at dealing with stress and difficult situations.

Considering that 70% of relapsers actions are unconscious, it makes sense that we use tactics to tab into the subconscious mind which is exactly why Weight Loss Mind Power For Life is so powerful, using self hypnosis and NLP to reprogram the mind. This will however only work if you have a strong desire to change. In fact the trick about ‘reframing’ I just gave you was a NLP trick and many more can be found in the ‘Motivation Mindset’ audio.

Maintainers are those who use alternative ways to deal with their issues and problems and seek self help, use exercise, taking out problems with friends, meditation and so forth. They may still fall off the wagon, but not quite as often and when they do, they know they are doing it.

I wasn’t always the person who used to exercise to deal with stress, but I certainly have always been the type to seek an expert more qualified than me for a solution.

I can see the same situation of relapsers and maintainers in relationships. You get one person in a relationship who thinks that it would be a great idea to see a relationship counsellor and the other has no interest. Now I’m no relationship guru, only from what I’ve learned from experts (there you go!), but it’s obvious that there will always be a conflict where when one person is a relapser and another is a maintainer.

So ultimately the solution is about behaviour change. Once you chance your behaviour you’ll start to see some amazing results, and yes that will take some work and ‘personal development’, but like I’ve said before, it’s better to spend time learning on how to create a better you than read the latest celebrity gossip or watch dreaded Jeremy Kyle. Invest in yourself sensibly wyith your time, energy and money. Get your life sorted and then spend out on the treats. Many people cover up the problems with the treats as satisfaction and never tackle the problem. This is why I’m dead against anti-depressants etc. It’s just covering up an underlying issue that can be delt with with self-help, NLP, counselling, CBT, any number of methods. But not a pill with possible long term side effects.

Okay, so now let’s look at the main reasons many of you are ‘falling off the wagon’ and how to deal with it in the future.

Top ‘Falling Off The Wagon’ Complaints:

1. Heading For Sweets / Chocolate When Upset / Depressed

SOLUTION: This is very common one. Maybe you have experied a tough time emotionally and then without thinking, you’ve tucked into a jumbo bar of Galaxy or whatever is your ‘signature comfort food’. As I mentioned earlier, you may not be aware of this until afterwards, it just kinda happens. What you can do from now on is ensure that those types of foods aren’t around you. So if you’re at home, get the foods out of the house, if it’s at work, chances are these foods are either in your drawers, so remove them too. There’s no need to have that kind of food near you. But now we’re dealing with it, so get rid!

If you have to venture to the vending machine to get your ‘signature food’ then put something in your purse or wallet that will trigger you to remember that this is happening because of the emotional situation and redirect yourself to another solution such as time with a friend, exercise, a relaxing bath, a walk. But let’s now change this HABIT that you have because remember this, that short term high is giving you long term pain and maybe, just maybe the reason you’re getting upset could be related to your lack of confidence – and that will dissapear when you have the body that you feel good about.

If after trying this it continues without success I want you to get hold of my Emotional Eating Eliminator Hypnosis session as well as the Kill Your Sugar Parasite hypnosis sessions or check out the full 7 day pack and see if the other audios would be of use. This will help to tap into your subconscious so you’ll avoid these natural patterns.

You may also want to check out my post about called Help! I’m Struggling With My Diet & Exercise Due to External Emotional Issues.

2. Lack of Planning & Organisation

SIOLUTION:

Remember this: “It’s not about how much time you have, it’s about how you manage it”

Another massive one and this will happen for both relapsers and maintainers, but actually it’s very easy to combat. Something which has changed my life quite a bit since I implemented it has been organising my days differently. I have my own business coach and I’ll be honest, he’s the one that got me doing this and credit to him. So here’s what I used to do. Get up when I wanted (I am fortunate to be able to do that), work intensively for hours with no structured time out, burning out, fit an exercise session in, come back and work, yes I’d eat from the box still, but i’d work late until sometimes 1am or 2am in the morning and then couldn’t get to sleep. My planning and organisation of my life was completely out of whack and as a result, my energy was actually quite low, despite training every day. I’d binge drink on the weekends to change my ‘state’ from the stress of the week. Manging your energy is essential for optimum performance, period. If your energy isn’t up, you’ll overeat, you won’t want to exercise, you’ll get tired and stressed.

He told me to read a book called The Power Of Full Engagement (New York Times Bestseller) which is an ESSENTIAL read if lack of planning and organisation is you. I mean it, don’t just ignore this. Get it, order it now, read it as soon as it arrives. It’s actually more about why energy is essential for optimimum performance and it backs up my little and often way of nutrition, but will really change the way you think about how you plan your fitness and rest to get the most out of your life. GAME CHANGER!

Now, given, chances are my days are probably more flexible than yours, but the same principles are in place whatever time you have available (all will make sense when you read the book). I now (on most days where I don’t have meetings etc), get up at 8am, have breakfast (within 20 mins of waking) am at the gym by 9pm (structured session, which I record on paper) and am back by 10.30. I make my box then and have it ready for my first work session of 90 minutes which begins at 11am. I work for 90 minutes and and then rest for 30 minutes in between, up until 6pm at which time I stop and prepare for my second gym session. I’m back at 7.30 at which time I have dinner. My last work session is between 9pm-10pm at which time I have an hour of relaxation time (bath, tv, book) which puts me to sleep and i’m normally asleep by 11-15 or thereabouts. I’m up again at 8am and the day repeats.

Here’s a screen shot of my actual daily calendar on my iphone / ipad which is synced. Everything is in place and timers even go off at my rest times. This may seem extreme, but it REALLY works. Again, you may be thinking, this won’t work for me, but read the book I mentioned, and you will discover how it can work for you, even if you’re so busy you can’t even imagine how you would find 5 minutes. Sometimes it just takes a bit of restructuring. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE! I guarantee this WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE but only if you do it.

Plan out your fitness and nutrition for optimum success

So if for example you’re not making your lunch boxes in the evenings for the next day, you’d put a reminder in your phone to do that. If it’s because there’s not healthy food in the house, then make sure you change your shopping days around. Change your priorities and start doing what is going to make you happy in the long run!

3. Having Such A Long Way To Reach My Goal

SIMON’S SOLUTION: I can totally understand this. You start off well, and then maybe something happens and you’re thinking to yourself, my target is so far away, ‘I just can’t do this!’.

Here’s where you have to shift your thinking to the pain and discomfort that you will have in five year’s time if you carry on the way you’re going, and then 10 years time. What about 20 years time. Will you even be around then if you keep destroying your body? It’s harsh, but very true. And you are destroying your body if you’re not exercising and feeding it crap. Your body needs nutrients, not the toxins that are put into the system even things like makeup, let alone a microwave meal, but that’s a whole other story. Lack of exercise will slow you down, reduce your energy, motivation, mental focus and boost your stress. You’ll find it hard to lose fat in this state.

Chances are you may not have yet experienced a ‘fat loss’ result yet. So you’re still waiting for that big figure to hit the scales, you may not have yet exercised properly, and so you don’t even have the first ‘baby step’ under your belt. It’s important to break down your big goal into sizeable chunks. First I want you to listen to the blog interview I did with Biggest Loser 2011 Winner Will Graham, he talks about this with me in the hour long chat.

Then come back and do this, draw a line down a piece of paper with you at the bottom and you at the top (your goal). Now mark out about 10 lines in between and these are your new milestones. Your first job is to reach your first milestone, when you get to this, you will get such a massive sense of satisfaction (this could be a fat loss target, a jean size target, a distance target, you can even have a few on the go!), it will almost be like reaching your end goal. You’ll get a rush of adrenaline in your body and you’ll want to reach milestone two, in fact you’ll work so much harder for it once the first is reached. Now put this piece of paper wherever you will see it daily, as a reminder. BOOM! Also pin to it a picture of how you look now and how you want to look like (find a pic).

You will find the ‘Motivation Mindset‘ audio as a useful initial booster and top up which is part of the Weight Loss Mind Power For Life pack.

4. Lack of Cash

SIMON’S SOLUTION: I’m sorry to have to say this, but this one is an excuse. I have dieters in my VIP area talking about how their monthly shops have reduced by £30 or so, and from personal experience I know that eating healthier isn’t more expensive. A lot of the time (not in all situations), it’s becuase healthly eating isn’t the priority of the person / family.

In fact, there are so many deals to be had in supermarkets these days for all of the Lunch Box Diet food groups, A, B, C and D that if you’re using the LBD, you really can save money (even MSN Finance reported it in this article). Yes, you may have to look for the cheaper cuts of meat, use the more cost effective supermarkets, make some of your meals up with tuna, lentils, close to use by date etc, but more often than not, the grubby, crap food that we’re filling our baskets with isn’t cheaper, it’s more expensive, it’s actually based on what the family WANTS not NEEDS nutrition wise. If for example you’re always buying certain brands for the kids because they always want them then that’s going to put up your weekly costs.

In addition, I just want to mention that rather than putting your focus on saving money, it’s far more productive to shift focus to making MORE money. Now many of you are going to scream at the screen and tell me that we’re in tough times, and that’s true to a certain extent, but the only different between the ones making double your salary is what they know. We can all develop ourselves into a higher paying career or even start our own businesses. The formula? Find your passion = teach other people about your passion, make more money. If you can read a book, you can earn more money. Go out and start investing your time in finding ways to get yourself out of debt. That way you’ll be able to reduce your stress. Become time efficient, use the spare time to invest in securing your financial happiness and thinks will start to fit into place.

Here’s an example. I have a friend who’s a carpenter and he’s not happy about his job. He loves it, but he’s not paid enough, he’s finding it hard to get work at the moment and I gave him some inspiration. I sat him down and asked him what he wanted to do. He said he’d like to work on TV shows and maybe film sets.

So after about half an hour of getting his motivation and belief in himself up, the next day he took his spare time and called around film and TV studios and a little secret I gave him was if they say no or sorry, you say these words ‘okay thank you very much, but since i’m passionate about doing this, could you suggest where I would go next?’ 9 out of 10 times you’ll get a useful next step. Rinse and repeat until you get to your goal. You will encounter hurdles all the way, but an Olympic athlete would never win a hurdle race if he stopped at the first one, turned around at walked away, would they? They’ve got to lift they’re legs, you’ve got to lift a phone, or a finger, a book, or something!

He’s now spending his spare time looking for new ways to make his career more satisfying and it’s this little shift that can take people out of debt and money problems. Facebook is a great place. Start asking friends questions, for openings in new companies. If you’re not happy in your work, write down a big list of things you want to do and get out there and get what you want. You can do it! Again, this is stuff I’ve picked up from my mentors over the years.

Now you might not think that this has anything to with getting the body you want but it has everything to with it, if financial constraints are holding you back. Again, the difference between the winners and losers here is how much you want it.

I just wanted to cover these four areas in today’s post and get your feedback in the comments below which could prompt a ‘Part 2′ of this… What are your reasons for falling off the wagon? Do you agree with what I’ve said above, or do you disagree? Did this post help? Please do comment and show me you’re alive!

I was in the VIP area today and a dieter had this very problem and it can become very frustrating, maybe it’s happening to you?

For many the issue simply isn’t conscious and it’s a massive first step to even recognise that the problem is there. Once you have done this, you can put in the steps to find a solution, because the same thing may happen again…

This may be a cycle for you…

1. Pick a diet / exercise plan

2. Stay motivated

3. Emotional issue raises once again

4. Blame diet / exercise

5. Pick new diet / exercise

6. Repeat cycle

This can be another reason for yo-yo dieting. Actually, we need to step back, think about why we have stopped eating well and exercising as we planned and find and deal with the problem.. So for example, this could be about ‘worry’.

You are worried about a past issue, something you think is going to happen. Let’s put it under the bracket of ‘Worrying’.

Until we focus on this issue and either soften or eliminate the problem to a level where you can successfully put your energy stores into focusing on healthy eating and exercise (your energy will have been pulled from this to your ‘worry’) then you’re going to find it very hard to reach your goal and especially as the stress hormone will prevent your body from losing fat. Even more reason to drill down on the problem.

It’s just like when someone has repeat relationship problems and instead of seeking professional advice, continues in a cycle of needy, problem filled relationships, often caused by just one bad relationship years ago.

So we’ve established that in this instance, the ‘sticking point’ to the fat loss goal has been ‘worry’ - in this instance.

Now it’s time to take the first BASIC level step which is to go and ask good old friend Google for the solution.

So, head to google and type in something along the lines of ‘How to stop worrying’, starting off with ‘how to’ is a good place to start but then you could add variations if you don’t get anything useful such as just the main keyword ‘worry’ or ‘worrying’.

Now this means that you’ve done one thing that most people just don’t do, you’ve taken action and a first step to solving the problem…

So after some research and clicking on a few links, I find this useful article…

http://helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_self_help.htm

It gives A LOT of useful information on how to stop worrying, whether it’s a long or short term worry.

My next step would be to go to youtube.com and use the same search parameters to find a video… This may put you on to an expert… The best way to know who to go with is if you get instant value from the video you are watching and you get a ‘gut’ feeling that the expert would be right for you. You could then approach them for help, or buy their system or program to help you.

Another step is to head to for example amazon and use the same basic keyword ‘worry’ or ‘worrying’ to find a book on the topic, reading through the reviews to see what the feedback is like from others who have used the book.

I found:

How To Stop Worrying & Start Winning

You may also want to search around the main keyword. So for example, worrying would also fall under the ‘anxiety’ keyword too.

Panic Away is a very well known program with good testimonials for those who have overcome panic attacks. This is what you want to be looking out for. People who have used the program and got the same results as you want.

If sugar cravings, motivation to exercise, staying focused, emotional eating and sleep are something that are concerns then check out Weight Loss Mind Power For Life for the Harley Street developed system and you can get your first sleep session FREE. Sleep results in energy loss, which stops you from eating proerly and as a result having the desire to exericse. Just this free download alone could help you tremendously. Click here.

I’m sure that the testimonials of The Lunch Box Diet played a part in whether you decided to start the plan (or are looking to start) or not. So remember, either a recommendation or testimonials from users are a must.

Now you’ve already:

Searched for an article

Searched for a video

Searched for a book

Searched for an expert

You’re already 4 steps ahead than you were 10 minutes before.

Now it’s time for you to use your free time (or reschedule your days to find time), to work hard to eliminating the problem.

I have sticking points all the time, in my personal life and business. Each time I focus on the problem and get it out of the way, it enables me to move onto the next milestone to my goal. YOU CAN DO THE SAME!

I don’t want you to be held back by these little ‘sticking points’ that when tackled correctly can be sorted out within a reasonable time period. You can get back on track to eating healthy and exercising quickly.

Let me know in the comments below whether you found this useful. Will you be now using this strategy for your sticking points? I hope so, this is the EXACT system I use to help me and it will help you too!

To your happy future, free from worries and whatever is holding you back today!

Simon x

I was in a supermarket the other day with a friend and I had those dreaded cravings. I went in with the full intention of eating healthy, and then I was walking down the isles with the foods I love and my emotional state completely changed… I was hungry because I was shopping. But I manged to still leave the supermarket without the bad stuff? How?

Well, I just stood there and waited for the feelings to pass and battled the thoughts in my mind, reminding myself about my goal, thinking about the body I wanted and all of the benefits associated about why I wanted to be healthy in the first place.

I was talking to my friend Mark afterwards it and then he said something to me ‘Cravings Training’. Yes, you can perform’Cravings Training’ as well. I would encourage you when you’re in a supermarket next and hungry to do exactly the same thing. Stand there, feel the feeling you’re getting, the rush, the excitement (go to the isle that you know will get that rush going the most) and then fight it, with everything you have and win the battle. Leave with a massive smile on your face being the winner. Rinse and repeat…. until you have it under control fully in the future…
If you find it doesn’t work for you and you’d like some more mind tricks then head to www.weightlossmindpowerforlife.com and watch the video and put in your details to get some free stuff!

Well it’s time to put all of that behind you. It’s time to make 2012 the best year and one that really is a fresh change for you. Maybe you want to change your job or dump other things in your life that have been holding you back. And although some of that may come, it’s first a good idea to make sure that you pick the right diet and nutrition plan so you don’t find yourself yo-yo dieting within a month and back to the same old you.

In my opinion there are few key factors that make up what we could determine as the best diet of 2012, or any year of that matter.

1 – Sustainable
Here’s the most important off all. If the diet you’re planning on using isn’t sustainable then chances are you will revert back to the old you at some point. So, watch out for fad diet plans that just don’t ‘feel right’. If your gut is telling you something, listen to it. So, a diet with baby food, one where you can only eat carrots, or some soup – can you sustain that for life? No. 2012 should be the tear when you make this a LIFESTYLE CHANGE for you, once and for all. I’ve been told many times that The Lunch Box Diet has become a ‘way of life’ which is just another word for sustainable which is fantastic. In fact, the email I get over and over again are these words ‘it doesn’t feel like a diet’. Awesome!

2 – Fun
Okay, so onto number two and if the diet you pick in 2012 isn’t at all fun, then what are the chances of that diet becoming sustainable? The same goes for exercising! My dieters who are always interacting on the facebook page of The Lunch Box Diet know that it’s fun because they see me doing it and also report to me how different it is from other diet plans out there. Plus, because there are so many different ingredients to choose from and the lunch boxes are so tasty, going shopping in the supermarket becomes a fun mission, when you’re always thinking ‘what can I have in my box tomorrow’. You can find, exciting new ingredients / combinations to try out. Then comes the box creation part, and that’s where you actually get to taste a fantastic box and lose weight at the same time.

3. Never Hungry
The death of a diet comes very quickly when you’re restricted on calories so much that you’re always wondering when the next meal will come. Imagine it, you’re sitting there at work on your horrible diet that says you can only eat so much. Not only does this get you frustrated, but it also affects your work and stress levels. Oh no, a healthy diet will allow you to never become hungry and that happens by allowing you to eat THE RIGHT FOODS more often than the WRONG FOODs not very often. So, yes on The Lunch Box Diet you will be eating vegetables and lean proteins and mouth watering dressings, but because of this you can eat more of it.

4. Gives You More Than Weight Loss
Imagine if you started a diet in 2012 and yes you started to see some weight loss results, but then after a short amount of time, you started to really notice other benefits. Almost like a secret bonus in your pay packet. Well any ‘lifestyle plan’ should really bring a host of other benefits such as health (strangely, some diets aren’t healthy at all), energy, improved skin and hair condition and much more.
You see, when you’re losing weight, you need all of these because ultimately when you reach your ideal weight (which you will, don’t worry), you want to feel more confident. Confidence comes when you’re energized, looking and feeling good. So, when you finally pick the best diet for you in 2012, make sure it’s not about getting weight off you so quickly that it makes you unhealthy, slows you down and makes your skin and hair look bad, because we both know that you won’t be happy at all then! Fortunately Lunch Box Dieters are ones that have all of the above and more.

5. Easy
The best diet for you is also one that is easy to follow. You’ve been there. You find a diet you think sounds good, but then after just a week or a couple of weeks you find yourself back to square one. Why? Well, chances are you found it too hard to follow. Silly meals, ingredients you couldn’t find in the shops, it didn’t give you the points in tip section 4. When a diet is easy, you’re much more likely to stay at it for a longer time, and as a result you’ll start seeing results. When that happens you become more motivated to carry on. The Lunch Box Diet was called ‘the easiest diet’ by best selling woman’s magazine Woman’s World in America when they featured it on their cover and their readers lost 19lbs in 2 weeks, and then kept it off. Amazing – and that’s something that you can get too. So, yes, make sure you pick a diet that is easy!

6. Keeps You Motivated
Okay, so I kept this for the last tip because this one actually comes as a result of all of the above tips working together in synergy. If a diet is sustainable, fun, you’re never hungry on it, gives you more than weight loss, and is easy then you will be motivated more than you have ever been before on a diet plan, and that’s exactly how you will finally lose the weight and stay motivated.

2012 is going to be the best year for you, but only if you ensure that the diet plan for you has all of the above, if it doesn’t than you may find yourself reverting back to old ways and I don’t want that for you as much as you don’t want it. But remember, you’ll only get on that positive mental path if you take massive action and get going now, not tomorrow. That’s what holds most people back from their goal. I’ll start tomorrow or next week is the biggest sign that the person will not end up reaching their goal. The first step to success is by taking action right now, in the moment.

Bite for bite making the right choices can really help you to exhibit proper nutrition – Lunch Box Dieters know that by eating the contents of their box they’re fat less to ramp up the calories but from time to time we all want a snack and instead of reaching for choclate bars, packets of crisps and whole packets of biscuits, it’s good to save the waist line! We all have favorite snacks and chances are that they aren’t healthy options. If you want to kick start your dieting efforts, then it’s time to find healthy alternatives. These seven treats can save you calories in each bite and work towards proper nutrition. Try these as healthy alternatives to snacks that you have been enjoying for years.

1. Baked Kale Crisps: If you can’t stay away from potato chips, then this make for a great salty option. You simply wash and dry kale and then bake it in the oven, topping it with a sprinkle of sea salt. Anybody who has ever experienced these know that they are just as addictive as their potato counterpart!
2. Baked Apples: If you love something sweet and flavorful then you can’t go wrong with this treat! Rather than having an apple pie that is loaded with fat, this is easy to make and satisfies your craving. Peel an apple, place in a dish, sprinkle with cinnamon and microwave for a couple of minutes. Voila! You have a sweet treat that is low in calories and puts a smile on your face!
3. Fresh Salsa with Baked Tortilla Strips: Who doesn’t love chips and salsa? This healthy alternative saves you a ton of calories and is just as enjoyable. You can make your own fresh salsa with fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, coriander, and onions. Then either purchase baked tortilla chips or make your own by oven baking fresh tortillas. Cut into strips and it saves on calories too! Dip away and enjoy this tasty treat!
4. Fresh Vegetables with Fat Free Ranch Dressing: We all love veggies and dip but it’s the dip part that can just kill us. If you must dip your fresh carrots, celery, peppers, and broccoli do so but use fat free ranch to do so. This saves you a bundle of calories and still feels like a substantial snack.
5. Cottage Cheese Dip with Whole Grain Crackers: Again for those that like to dip you can save a ton of calories by opting for healthier alternatives. Take cottage cheese, mix with a spoonful of fat free mayo and fat free sour cream, throw in some fresh dill and blend. This makes an excellent dip and when you partner it with whole grain crackers you are getting a nice addition to your snack too!
6. Hummus with Whole Wheat Pita: A good combination snack gives us calories with purpose. When you take whole wheat pita rather than white pita that saves you calories and gives you fiber. You will always find good nutritional value in hummus and it’s way better than eating something fatty like cheese.

Get creative and have fun with your lower calorie snacks. They will often satisfy your cravings and yet are much healthier options. Think of the things that you love to eat and then search for ways to make a healthier and lower calorie version. This can become addicting so prepare for healthier ways of eating almost everything that you enjoy in no time at all!

You’re going to be seeing a lot of new changes over the next few months as I try and make it an even more powerful community. You should find it easier to interact and share your views – and I think it’s much better on the eye too!

The spooky picture you see is of myself and my housemate’s daughter after carving some pumkins. I think the door will be active this evening… What are you getting up to? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

If you haven’t already downloaded the free Lunch Box Diet Pumptastic ebook then you can grab your copy here… it contains some great pumpkin recipes for you to make up if you haven’t already made plans.

The Halloween Fatactular offer is ending very very soon, so don’t miss out on it if you haven’t grabbed it already! Click here.

So How Can You Stop Them?

It is human to have cravings. It’s how you handle them that makes you more dedicated. It’s how you manage the substance that you crave which allows you to refocus on your proper dieting techniques. There are however some helpful ways to fight away your biggest cravings. No matter what the object of your desire, you can squash the craving in just four weeks of time. Try these helpful tips and cravings will be gone:

1. Find a healthy alternative for your craving source: No matter what it is that you crave, you can find a healthier version of it. This will give into your craving but do so in a monitored and rather healthy way. You don’t have to feel bad and yet you still satisfy the source of the craving. If you crave chocolate then opt for some cocoa powder sprinkled into a cup of low fat yogurt. If you crave salty chips then make yourself some healthy baked sweet potato wedges. There is always a way to embrace a healthier version of the foods that crave. This will ensure that you don’t feel bad or blow your diet in one vulnerable moment. Figure out what will work for you as an alternative and then enjoy it!
2. Strengthen your willpower with visualization: If you have trouble with willpower or telling yourself no then you must turn to visualization. This can come in many different forms as it may be a picture of a dress that you want to be able to wear. It can be an older picture of you before you lost weight. It can be something cut out of a magazine for a style that you want to wear or a way that you want to look. Find your most motivational source of inspiration and then use this to help guide you away from the craving whenever it comes up. Obviously carry this picture or visualization form with you everywhere you go so you are always prepare.
3. Keep yourself occupied when the source of the craving comes up: If you find that you are constantly craving ice cream after dinner, then go brush your teeth immediately after you finish eating. If you find that late in the afternoon it’s hard for you to stay away from the vending machine, then pop in a piece of gum. If you are struggling to stay away from the baked goods at the corner bakery, then find an alternative way to work. Where there’s a will there’s a way and so you must keep yourself occupied when you know that cravings are the strongest.
4. Give yourself a little taste but write every single thing that you eat down: There is nothing wrong with indulging your craving every once in awhile. You don’t want to engage in deprivation but the problem comes when people don’t know when to stop. If you MUST have that piece of chocolate then opt for a piece of dark chocolate that offers some health benefits. Go for one serving size which is only 1 ounce of dark chocolate and savor it. Along with this indulgence comes the necessity to be accountable—write down everything that you eat! This will ensure that you don’t go overboard and that you make concessions to allow for that indulgence.

Cravings can be hard to cope with when it comes to proper nutrition. If you adapt to these habits and learn to work around the cravings you will have control over your eating. Therefore you control the cravings and not the opposite—cravings controlling your eating behavior will equal diet sabotage! Get to the source of your cravings, figure out when they are most likely to occur, and then figure out how to combat them forever!

Remember that The Lunch Box Diet works well for cravings becuase you’re eating healthy food regulary which balances your bood sugar levels. This means that you don’t get those massive urges to binge like you normally would, in  fact many Lunch Box Dieters say that their cravings almost dissapear once they started the diet, so it could be the solution you’re looking for.

Let me know in the comments below if cravings are a challenge for you and what’s your ‘Signature craving food?’

We are conditioned early on in our lives for many aspects of our lives. When it comes to eating habits we most likely develop them early on. They are shaped by our parents who have much to do with the guidance and beliefs that we carry with us. We are told to eat all of our vegetables and that’s a good lesson. We also hear that we should clean our plates and stick to our three square meals a day.

This is where things start to take a bad turn because this is conditioning us for bad habits in our future. If you stick with these then you are inevitably eating improperly and likely on your way to weight gain or the inability to properly lose weight. So let’s take a look at how the square three meals a day can be killing us!

Setting Yourself up for Failure and Hunger

Here’s the problem when you focus your efforts on three meals a day you are setting yourself up for overeating. Chances are that these meals would include a quick and likely unhealthy and small breakfast on the way out the door. Then you gulp down a fast lunch at work or on the go, usually void of any nutritional value. Then comes dinner and you feel famished and consume probably more than your necessary calorie intake at just one meal. These meals are not keeping you in good shape and they are contributing to your weight problem.

Though many people find it counterintuitive, the reality is that if you want to lose weight you need to be focused on eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This is how you keep your blood sugar levels regulated and how you ensure that you never feel so hungry that you will overindulge.

When you eat smaller meals on a more frequent basis throughout the day you are far less likely to overeat at any one sitting. You are keeping that full feeling and are refueling every so often so that you never have to feel too hungry. This means that you are far more likely to consume appropriate calories throughout the entire day.

Combinations Work Best

When we say that you should eat more frequently that doesn’t mean that you should eat large meals but rather smaller ones. You should be eating something a little bit larger than a small snack and combinations work best. Any time that you can get in fresh fruits and vegetables that’s a surefire winner! Then combine it with a low fat dairy product such as cottage cheese or yogurt. You can combine with hummus that has fiber and protein. Think of combinations that will integrate in all of your food groups such as grapes, whole grain crackers, and low fat cheese. Get creative and plan ahead as that will help dramatically with your ability to eat smaller meals more often.

When you focus solely on three meals per day they are bound to be bigger and full of far more calories. This introduces too much to your body at once and is almost a certainty that you are going to eat more than you really need. This is the type of habit that we are used to but which often contributes to weight gain.

So change your mindset and focus instead on powerful combinations of smaller meals at more frequent intervals throughout the day. Your body will thank you, your waistline will thank you, and overall you will feel far better in the long run with better eating habits!

Tips to Change Up Your Three Meal a Day Habit:

1. Prepare in advance. If you pack along snacks or mini meals that can fuel you throughout your day you are much more likely to stick to the program. Try packing protein, fruit, washed and chopped vegetables, hummus, yogurt, and even string cheese. You will be far less likely to reachh for unhealthy food when you’re always satisfied on healthy food.
2. Keep a log at the beginning. If you aren’t used to eating this way then write down what you are eating and when. This will get you into a routine and become habit rather than just another way of eating.
3. Come up with new and exciting mini meals. If you keep it interesting then you are more likely to look forward to the foods that you have packed. Try a new fruit each week or think of a more creative way to use hummus. Keep it interesting and you will change your eating habits overnight!

Halloween Special Offer! Ending SOON!

Of course, The Lunch Box Diet has been designed around eating small regular meals, but it makes it easy becuase you’ve always got your food available to you. Click here to take advantage of the Halloween Spooktacular offer to get started.

I mean, she’s just walking around with this intent to become as big as she can be. She gets her kids involved with her shopping and she says she’s happy about the way she is…erm, alarm bells!

There have been a lot of negative attacks with her on the Sun’s web site about it but what people need to understand is that this is not normal behavior and it raises the issue about people who say they’re happy in their skin when they’re overweight (let the debate begin!)…

So I posted the link on the facebook page and people have started commenting on it…

Royston (who always gets involved in my weekly challenges on there, including many others – hi!) said this:

“Gob smacked, most people eat too much due to stress and depression. She loves it, just extraordinary. I have just dipped under 13 st and still carrying a bit extra and I feel it some times . How the hell does she find happiness in being that big? Plus her poor kids. I hop she gets some help now and helps herself”

He’s absolutely right…

Stress and depression are massive areas that make us overeat. In fact, on surveying many people, I found that their stress and depression levels are very high which leads to yo-yo dieting.

A lot of the time the diet plan does work, but it’s all of the other areas of our lives that lead us to not sustain a healthy eating plan, or go to the gym, or comfort eat, the list goes on…

So I aimed to set out to change this… So I got on the phone with a friend of mine who is one of Harley Street’s leading experts when it comes to changing the way we think about ourselves.

Over the last six months we’ve worked hard to put together a 8 audio set that changes the way you think about yourself and it’s called ‘Weight Loss Mind Power For Life…

I’m glad to say that it’s been road tested with amazing results….

It hits each and every area you could imagine, check out the audios….

Day 1. Super Sleep
Sleep is really important and if you’re not getting a great night’s sleep it will affect your weight loss

Day 2. Motivation Mindset
Getting all hyped up and excited about your new journey is really important and there are new mind technology skills in NLP that can help you. In this session Trevor goes deep and in depth. This session alone will get you super-motivatied.

Day 3. Slim Road Ahead
Part of moving forward is getting certain about the path you want to take. Once you get completely focused and that is planed in your subconcious mind, you get powerful and long lasting weight loss results.

Day 4. Eating Habit Quickswitch
Do you find that your eating habits are out of line. You always seem to reach for that signature food that you know is piling on the calories. Would you love to not want to eat that food and have those emotions flowing through your body when you think of it. If that’s you, this session will help massively.

Day 5. Motivation To Exercise
Maybe you know that you should be going to the gym or workout out at home but you can’t seem to motivate yourself. Just thinking of getting everything packed up and getting yourself to the gym stops you from going. Wouldn’t you love to feel a natural need to go and burn calories so that you can fit into those sexy jeans? This session will install new thought patterns for life.

Day 6: Kill Your Sugar Parasite
Are you someone who always reaches for the foods laden with sugar and you’re piling on the calories with sweets, chocolate and more? What if you could kill that dirty sugar parasite inside you that’s holding you back? This session will do that.

Day 7: Emotional Eating Elminiator
Emotional eating has kept many people overweight for years without realising it. Yo-yo dieting is led by stress and depression and once you crack that, you’re well on your way. If you find yourself reaching for naughty foods at tough times, this session will help massively.

Day 8: Stress Transformer Deluxe
Fact… If you’re less stressed you’re much more likely to maintain a healthy eating and exercise plan. Why? Because when you feel generally better about yourself, your body releases different hormones and it’s those hormones that will make you want to go and do things that are good for you, not things that hold you back.

So here’s the thing…

To get you started, myself and Trevor want to give you the first session of Weight Loss Mind Power For Life FREE… now considering Trevor charges £150 per session to see him in Harley Street, I think that ‘s a pretty cool free gift.

Simply watch the video on this page and enter your name and email address to get instant access to Super Sleep. You’ll also qualify for the early bird launch of Weight Loss Mind Power For Life. Click here and enter your details to get access.

If you know someone that could benefit from that free session, please share this post on your facebook or twitter page…

Also, what’s your thoughts on those who say they’re happy about their weight when they’re overweight? I know personally that I wasn’t happy about myself when I was overweight. I was seriously down and depressed and sure I put a front on it, but has this lady taken it to a new level?

1. Green Leafy Vegetables

Leafy green veggies such as lettuce and cabbages are rich in fibre, folic acid, vitamin C, and various other nutrients. As well as being rich in all these nutrients, they are also very low in calories. Vegetables like this should be heavily included in any healthy diet plan. This is group A of your lunch box diet.
2. Whole Grain Cereal

Whole grain cereals are rich in both fibre and complex carbohydrates. Both of these are helpful for maintaining low insulin levels and boosting metabolism. Keeping insulin levels low is crucial for losing weight.

3. Eggs

Eggs are another food that give your metabolism a boost, and they are also a good source of protein. Eating eggs in the morning can get your metabolism in good shape for the rest of the day. Eggs are very good to eat if you exercise a lot. You may want to avoid the egg yolk however if you are worried about cholesterol levels. This is group B of your lunch box diet.

4. Brocolli

Low in calories and high in fibre, broccoli and other green vegetables are excellent for burning fat. Broccoli contains indoles and sulforaphane which reduce oestrogen levels and increase out natural fat burning hormones. Known as ‘Green fibrous fat burner’, green veggies like broccoli should be consumed a lot if you are looking to lose weight. This is group A of your lunch box diet.

5. Beans

Beans have no fat and are high in protein and fibre. They clean your system out and keep the digestive system working efficiently. The soluble fibre in beans traps bile and also lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) without affecting good cholesterol (HDL). Lima beans, white beans and navy beans are all great fat burning foods. This is group B of your lunch box diet.

6. Lean Meats

Leans meats are a good source of amino acids and are very rich in protein. Being as the body has to work and use up a lot of energy to digest proteins, it burns a lot of calories in the process. The amino acids are good for boosting metabolism and building lean muscle tissue. This is group B of your lunch box diet
7. Oranges

Oranges contain vitamin C as well as fibre which are both beneficial to burning fat. The vitamin C in oranges promote production of Carnitine which helps to oxidise fatty acids. Oxidising fatty acids breaks down fats so your body can burn them. Fruit is allowed on the lunch box diet.

8. Low Fat Yoghurt

By providing us with protein, calcium and positive bacteria, low fat yoghurt can give a great natural boost to our metabolism and improve the efficiency of our digestive systems. The high protein levels mean lots of calories are burned while digesting. Include this as your breakfast or as a snack.

9. Green Tea

The health benefits of green tea and green tea supplement have been known for many years. Green tea is low in calories and rich in polyohenois and catechin which help the body to burn calories faster. Catechins help to stabilize glucose levels which is necessary for avoiding weight gain.

10. Brown Rice

Substituting white rice for brown rice can help speed up your weight loss quest. Brown rice in rich in fibre and supplies the body with complex carbohydrates needed for keeping the body full of energy. This is group D of your lunch box diet ‘active carbs’.

If your diet plan includes many of the foods mentioned above, then you’re well on the way to shedding those pounds. Remember though, there is no one super-food that is going to magically make your body fat disappear.

A long term healthy eating plan with a variety of nutrients is necessary if you want to lose weight. Don’t expect results overnight, but if you commit to eating healthy foods like the ones listed above as the core of your diet plan, you’ll see results soon enough.

Why not get started on The Lunch Box Diet today and start burning belly fat with no calorie counting, stress or silly meals…