» Listings for 2015

1. This Morning's daily happiness challenge, just turn the television off

   Posted on 5:28pm Monday 12th Jan 2015

   All this Week the ITV magazine show This Morning presented by Phil Schofield and Christine Bleakley is having a happiness challenge and they are urging people to watch every day to help lift their happiness levels.
   

   They have even recuited their favorite celebrity therapists the Speakmans to join in with the task. I'll be honest and say that I was sent a message that the show was on so I have had a look on the ITV player and infact I did quite like the idea of the task that we saw in the episode today.

   However, let's be brutally honest here... surely watching daytime television every day is the least likely way to find a route to happiness. The dire state of shows such as the appalling bully of people who he is intellectually superior to: Jeremy Kyle and the like, are frankly only going to lead you down a path to misery.

   Turn off your television if you are finding January hard to bear. If you are not working then you can find much better things to do than watch hours and hours of mindless TV wallpaper during the day. Go outside and have a walk, a run or a bike ride. Find a neighbour who feels lonely and go visit them for a chat and a cup of tea. You could volunteer for a local charity and help out. You could read a book, or even visit the library and read one there if you have no new books to read at home. Paint a picture or even do some colouring in!

   There are endless things to do with your life to help make you feel better about yourself than watching daytime television. Just take a moment to yourself and think about whether it really is a good use of your time.

   ... then get your coat on and go get some fresh air!

   Then when you get home have a sit down and listen to my free relaxation MP3...just give yourself some you time !

2. Paul Mckenna Gastric Band App is Gimmick says Obesity expert

   Posted on 11:39am Monday 5th Jan 2015

   Paul Mckenna launched his Hypnotic Gastric Band App for download at the end of 2014 and the sales of the app have been impressive. Now though an obesity expert has spoken out about how he believes the app is a gimmick and a waste of time.

   Reporting in The Times newspaper on the comments of a member of the National Obesity Forum Tam Fry they explain their opinion on gastric band apps and why they do not think they are a good idea....

   

   FROM The Times:

   An app promising to have the same impact as £5,000 weight loss surgery has been dismissed by experts as a “gimmick”.

   The Hypnotic Gastric Band has been developed by Paul McKenna, the British hypnotist, and costs £4.99.

   Gastric band surgery creates a small pouch from the upper part of the stomach, meaning the patient eats less because they feel full more quickly.

   The app uses a “hypnotic trance that helps your unconscious mind and your body to believe your stomach is smaller”, McKenna writes in the app’s description.

   Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said apps promising weight loss were “a bit of a waste of money”.

   He said: “The simplest way of losing weight is the one preached for years and years and that is just to take control of yourself, eat only that which you need, and exercise. It is as simple as that.”

   He added that people were vulnerable to weight loss plans after making New Year’s resolutions, but that in general weight loss apps were “just a gimmick”.

    

   It's interesting to see this point of view because of course it is easy for someone to say that. The support that people need is available in many formats and some will work for some people and others wont. Part of the problem with a Gastric Band Approach to weight loss as I see it, is that it does not deal with the real issues. Bad habits, emotional eating and our sedentary lifestyle all need to be taken into account rather than just imagining that you have a smaller stomach.
   

    

   That's why I only offer a full programme that goes through all these different things, including teaching clients how to turn down cravings such as those for chocolate or wine. You can read all about the five steps to losing weight which mean that you never have to go on another diet ever again here :  http://www.markpowlett.co.uk/slimmeryou.html