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Introduction:
Maintaining our wellbeing and finding balance in our lives is a constant pursuit. For those who enjoy a glass of wine on the weekends, the idea of having a weekend without wine may seem daunting but can be a rewarding experience. In this blog post, we will explore the concept of a Wellbeing Weekend Without Wine and delve into the technique of the three Ds: Delay, Distract, and Decide. By using these techniques, we can make conscious choices and prioritize our overall wellbeing.

Section 1: The Three Ds Technique for Wellbeing

Subheader: Delay, Distract, Decide: A Powerful Technique

The three Ds technique—delay, distract, and decide—is a valuable tool when it comes to managing cravings or urges for wine. The first step is to delay the decision for 25 minutes. By setting a timer, we allow ourselves time to reassess our desire for a glass of wine. This delay helps break the impulsive and automatic response to reach for the bottle.

During the 25-minute delay, we need to distract ourselves. Engage in activities that occupy our minds and divert our attention away from the craving. However, it’s important to note that engaging in self-care activities such as taking a relaxing bath may not be appropriate during this stage. Opt for tasks that you have been meaning to complete, like decluttering or going for a walk. These activities will help redirect your focus and shift your mindset.

After the 25-minute delay, the final step is to decide. Take the time to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of both drinking and not drinking. Consider how this decision aligns with your life goals and overall wellbeing. Think about how you want to feel the next day and what you want to accomplish. This moment of reflection allows for a more conscious and mindful approach to drinking.

Section 2: Making Conscious Choices

Subheader: Weighing the Advantages and Disadvantages

When considering whether to have a glass of wine, it’s important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Reflect on the reasons you may want to stop drinking or reduce your alcohol intake. Consider how wine fits into your broader life goals and values. Will it hinder your ability to feel energized and productive the following day?

Instant gratification versus delayed gratification becomes a crucial factor in decision-making. While that extra glass of wine may provide immediate pleasure, it’s essential to consider the potential consequences such as feeling groggy or unproductive the next day. By making a conscious choice based on your wellbeing, you are prioritizing your long-term goals over temporary satisfaction.

Section 3: Embracing a Weekend Without Wine

Subheader: Mindful Choices for Wellbeing

Ultimately, the goal of a Wellbeing Weekend Without Wine is to have a period of time where we consciously choose not to consume alcohol. Adopting a more considered approach to drinking ensures that we are fully present during our weekend activities and enables us to make mindful choices that align with our overall wellbeing.

It is important to note that a Wellbeing Weekend Without Wine is aimed at gray area drinkers, those who may not have a dependency on alcohol but wish to reassess their relationship with it. If you feel that you may have a dependency, it is crucial to consult with your doctor before making any changes to your alcohol intake.

Conclusion:
Finding balance and prioritizing our wellbeing requires us to make conscious choices. Engaging in a Wellbeing Weekend Without Wine allows us to reassess our relationship with alcohol and make more mindful decisions about our consumption. By utilizing the three Ds technique—delay, distract, and decide—we can overcome cravings and focus on overall wellbeing. Remember, the choice to have a glass of wine should be a considered one, aligning with our long-term goals and aspirations. Embrace this weekend without wine and discover the joy and clarity that can come from making conscious choices for your wellbeing.

Nutrition labels help to tell you what is in the food you’re buying, but they can be quite tricky to navigate. When you’re trying to be mindful of what you’re consuming, the confusion nutrition labels bring can make it that much more difficult.

So today, I want to share some tips to help you properly read the nutrition labels and so you can feel confident in knowing you are buying the right products to help you and yours eat well and perhaps stay on track with weight loss goals.

1. Pay attention to the serving size.

One of the easiest ways to convince consumers into thinking a product is low-calorie, low-sugar, or low-fat is to make the serving size smaller than what anyone would typically consume. When you quickly glance at the nutrition label on your favourite snack, you might see only 5g of sugar, but you don’t notice that this is only for a small handful.

If you know that you typically finish a whole bag in one sitting, a serving size of one handful isn’t realistic. Look at the serving size carefully, and then you can accurately calculate how many servings you’ll probably consume in one sitting.

2. Understand the percent daily values.

Now that you have compared the serving size to how much you’ll actually eat, it can be helpful to understand how much of each nutrient is in your food. The daily value percentage tells you how much of the recommended daily intake for each nutrient this product contains. Be especially careful of the daily value percentage of saturated fats and sugars.

3. Read & understand the ingredient list.

Ingredient lists can’t lie, but they can be deceiving.

If a product is advertised as “no sugar,” check the ingredients to see if there are any sugar alternatives. Although these ingredients aren’t simple white sugar, they are still high in sugar content— and you’ll want to be vigilant when knowing what you’re looking for in these ingredient lists.

Ingredients are also listed in order from containing the highest amount to the lowest. If a product advertises that it includes something healthy like vegetables, check the ingredients to see if it’s near the top or bottom of the list. If it’s near the bottom, it’s probably an insignificant amount, but this allows companies to advertise healthy foods as if they are the main ingredients.

4. Take note of the health claims.

If a company advertises any health claims on their food packaging, take a second look. Many of these marketing words, such as “healthy” and “natural,” don’t mean anything concrete.

These words are placed on packaging to help you feel confident that you’re buying something healthy, but knowing how to read your nutrition label is the only accurate way to know for sure.

It takes some practice, so when shopping for food take a few extra minutes to study some labels throughout the shop and practice.

Before long, you’ll be a nutrition label reading professional.

I hope this is helpful and if you would like to talk more please do message me at info@deirdrecoynecoaching.com

The wonderful artist Bruce Springsteen sang in The River that he got a union card and a wedding coat for his birthday. For mine the wedding dress was very far away from my thoughts. Instead, for my 19th birthday, I got a Slimming Club card and a fats calculator.

My weight, on the other hand, was always pretty much in my thoughts even at that age.

At 19 I had started earning my own money and moved to the bright lights of London. My first couple of the early months salary of the princely some of £50 had been spent on living the dream which included lots of fast food and fast drinking.

So in the Summer of 1986 I decided to join a slimming club to sort out my weight. So, I got a slimming club card and a counting fats calculator for my 19th birthday.

Oh the innocence of youth, my first weigh in weight was 11 stone 10lbs and I felt huge.

This was confirmed by the slimming club leader who looked at me and said ‘goodness I wouldn’t have said you weighed that much’. She promptly noted my goal weight of 9 stone 2lbs. I would of course start off with ten percent so not to worry.

But worry I did and so began my yo-yo dieting cycle and thirty years of weekly membership to slimming clubs.

You name them, I tried them. Also, if the weekly club wasn’t enough I did my own diets. Something like 20 different ones from low fat to milk shakes.

I did lose weight.

I did put in back on again and more – This is roughly how it went.

A stone per decade

In my twenties I did lose weight and got into ‘the tens’ down to about 10 stone 7lb but still not reaching the heady heights of the elusive goal weight and lifetime gold membership. Destined therefore to keep dieting and counting (and paying).

In my thirties a lot happened.

I was getting married and needed to up my dieting game to fit into a wedding coat (dress in my case Bruce). So I counted, I measured, I tracked and I thought pretty much every day about whether I was eating good or bad food.

Again I lost weight and settled into married bliss, once the big day was over I could relax and pretty soon had moved into ‘the elevens’.

In my forties I yo-yo dieted my way between ‘the twelves and thirteens’.

In November 2016 as my 50^th big birthday approached I have noted the day in my diary when I weighed in at 14 stone. With my 5ft 5inch height I was now obese.

Would I be 15 stone by my 60^th? Actually would I be alive or suffering from a disease. That was bad but so was feeling tired and achy.

So, I decided to stop dieting and start losing weight, I did and do follow meal plans and try nutritional programmes.

I am now 53, I am a qualified eating freely practitioner, I eat healthy food (and chocolate).

So for my 54^th birthday I want to stay away from dieting and maybe a new pair of skinny jeans as my current pairs are too big for my ‘elevens’ stone weight.

If this is something you can relate to please do get in touch, I’ve been there, I can help, email me in confidence

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – or CBT – what it is and what do I mean by ‘doing what it says on the tin’?

Maybe something you have heard about, maybe someone you know said they found it helped with anxiety.

But what is it, how long does it take, will you need to spend many hours talking about your relationship with your Mother? If I don’t have depression is it only for that?

Well, I like to explain to both clients and people who are thinking about seeing a therapist that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy does what it says on the tin.

But what does that mean?

Let’s breakdown Cognitive and then Behavioural and then finish with a little about what Therapy is.

1. Cognitive

What are your cognitions or thoughts, what do you think about yourself, others and even the world?

The average person has somewhere in the region of 40,000 thoughts per day, now many of those come and go without any impact on our feelings.

What shall I have for dinner? I must put a wash out while the weather is nice.

The core of therapy work and the theory of cognitive behavioural therapy is that how we think directly affects how we act and then how we feel.

An example of this maybe seeing a close friend lets call her Jane, come out of a shop across the road, she looks directly at you but looks away. Your thoughts maybe – What have I said or done to her? Maybe she is cross about what I said last time we met?

2. Behavioural

Let’s continue with Jane and this example.

The behavioural part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is based on the theory that what we do, how we act also influences how we feel.

So, in this example let’s suppose you decide that if Jane is going to be like that then its best if you stay clear.

You go home, maybe cry a little at the injustice or even get angry.

Who does she think she is, am I not entitled to my opinion?

3. Therapy

What if there was another way to think and another way to behave? Might it make you feel better in this example. What if Jane didn’t see you, maybe she had other things on her mind?

If you had thought that – Jane looked upset I hope she is okay.

If you then acted differently and phoned her to check later that afternoon – Maybe she had had bad news and was so grateful that you called.

This is the work that a therapist will help you to piece together in a therapy session.

From the outset my goal is to help clients become their own therapist by helping them to come up with more helpful cognitions and more helpful actions.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is very much based in the present, we may need to understand how your beliefs and actions came about but the majority of our work will be in the here and now.

The timeframe for sessions will be anything from 6 weekly sessions to 20 if needed and depending on what the severity is.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Used to Treat?

Whilst CBT is an evidenced based treatment for different types of anxiety and depression, good research and outcomes are currently taking place for weight management, menopausal support, self-esteem and other issues.

To find out if cognitive behavioural therapy can help you please do book a complimentary telephone session.

So, it’s Friday evening; it has been a long week and – oh my goodness – are you ready for that glass of wine? You bet!

But, has Wine O’Clock become a treat or something you rely on?

If you are considering making changes to what you drink, or how much you dring, perhaps changing what you may currently believe about Wine O’Clock will help

1. I Need My Friday Night Reward After a Hard Week to De-Stress

It won’t help, honest, if I could fast forward you to a full weekend without Wine O’Clock you would see how true relaxation feels.

There is a gift in this not just for Friday night but Saturday morning, having had an alcohol-free Friday night you will awake refreshed, relaxed and ready to enjoy your weekend to the full.

Let’s look at the alternative, one glass leads to two (let’s face it, it’s never one glass), maybe three and sure might as well finish the bottle. Saturday morning arrives, perhaps missed the gym glass I had promised I would go as my weight loss campaign had started the previous Monday, perhaps the children burst in at if we are lucky 9 o’clock full of energy for the day, the dry mouth and disturbed sleep leaving us wishing for a day in bed missing valuable time with them.

2. It Helps Me Sleep

Speaking of sleep there is a myth that wine will help you to nod off, it might but is it nodding off or crashing out.

Wine stops you from having the deep, restorative sleep you need in order to feel truly rested. That is why you often wake in the middle of the night exhausted but unable to sleep.

Some people struggle with their sleep when they first stop drinking, I know. But please be patient – the solution isn’t to go back to drinking!

Alcohol really screws up your sleep cycle and your body is just taking a bit longer to adjust. Hang on in there – in the long term, an alcohol-free lifestyle is one of the best things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep.

3. A Glass of Red Wine is Good for You

Sorry, no it seems not.

A landmark report by Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies published in January 2016 destroys the long-held belief that red wine can cut the risk of cancer, heart disease and memory loss when drunk in moderation.

Instead, the first alcohol guideline shake-up since 1995 says that even a glass of red wine a day could increase the risk of breast cancer by 13 per cent.

The new guidelines say that the negatives of drinking outweigh any positives and that similar results that come from drinking can be achieved simply by eating less and exercise more.

If you need to talk to someone about managing your Wine O’Clock, let’s talk.

Diets? I have tried them all. So, welcome to the first in my series called ‘Deirdre’s Diets’. This is all about Intermittent Fasting.

In a recent blog I mentioned that I have tried many diets, so this week I thought I would write a list. Have you done any of these? Do you have any you can add to the list?

Let’s Start with Intermittent Fasting

Fasting very simply means ‘not eating’, but it’s a lot different to ‘starving’.

Fasting is a choice – voluntarily choosing not to eat for health and sometimes spiritual reasons.

It’s an entirely natural process – your body does this every night while you sleep – and when you extend the period of fasting, the benefits are even greater.

There are many different ways you can fast, some of them easier and more practical than others. You can choose to fast for hours (between dinner and breakfast the next day), alternate days, two days a week or days on end.

You might have heard about intermittent fasting before. Along with vegan or ketogenic (high fat, very low carbohydrate) diets, it is one of the nutrition topics there’s great deal of buzz about right now.

Are There Any Benefits to Fasting?

The most obvious benefit of fasting is weight loss, but there are many other positive benefits reported by those who fast regularly.

These include:

• More energy
•  Improved concentration and feeling more alert
• Lower insulin and blood sugar levels (including reversing type 2 diabetes)
• Lowered cholesterol Reduction in inflammation
• Better stress management
• Better digestion
• Faster recovery after exercise
• Better immunity
• Lower risk of cancer
• Slower ageing Improved brain function and lower risk of dementia

Does Fasting Work for Everyone?

Fasting may not work for everyone. If you are diabetic or very stressed, it is important to get your blood sugar levels on to an even keel first and fasting is not recommended.

Start with a 12-hour fast on just two non-consecutive days per week to see how you get on.

If you have thyroid issues, speak to your nutrition practitioner before trying fasting.

Also, some people with digestive symptoms may fare better on smaller, more frequent meals. They should seek professional guidance before attempting a fasting programme.

It’s not appropriate for children, pregnant women or breastfeeding women, anyone very underweight (BMI less than 18) or recovering from eating disorders

Fasting Is Not A New Fad

Fasting is nothing new. Human beings have fasted for millennia without detrimental consequences to health. There were times when food was plentiful and there were times when food was scarce. Fasting has been somewhat forgotten until relatively recently, yet it’s probably the oldest and most powerful dietary intervention with huge therapeutic potential.

As I mentioned I have had my own journey of yo-yo dieting and feeling I would never achieve a comfortable weight. Both this experience and my training in nutrition and lifestyle change has led me to finally finding peace and I would love to help you do the same.

If this is something you would like to discuss please do book a complimentary conversation and let’s see how I can help.

A couple of questions I am asked by my clients are “do diets work?” and “how can I stop sabotaging my weight loss?”

First things first. There is no, single diet that works for everyone.

If it was, there would only be one diet, right?

Typically, when we hear the word “diet” we conjure up images of a long list of foods we have to avoid.

That’s because this is how most “diets” work.

Here is the Problem With ‘Diets’

You know them, they are the latest fads to hit the media!

But ANY restrictive diet will have a yo-yo effect.   When you deprive your body of the nutrition it needs, it keeps track.

Once you go off the so-called diet, your body knows what it was lacking and your willpower is just no match.  Again, it’s NOT your fault.

This is why diets don’t work long-term, not to mention the damage that can be done to your health with overly restrictive diets.  If only we knew this years ago!

Most diets and meal plans are not meant to be long term.

What happens When You Try to Follow a Super Restrictive Eating Plan?

When we try to follow a super restrictive eating plan, many things can – and do – go wrong.

You don’t:

✔️ stick to it like you are supposed to (because we are human and we have lives!)
✔️ follow it perfectly (but it becomes too strict for too long)
✔️ you do the plan for a while but don’t really enjoy it so it is not sustainable long term

We tend to want to believe we can sign up for a programme or go on a diet and still eat whatever we want, even though we know that hasn’t worked in the past.

And then when it doesn’t work, we like to vilify the diet or program because we don’t want to ask ourselves the hard questions as to why we are not seeing the results that we want.

So we blame the diet when we don’t lose weight.

And Then We Hop On To The Next Diet

If you are relying on a diet to provide you with the exact nutrition plan for your complex body and emotions and you don’t have any input into that decision-making, then you are relying on something external.

External reliance can actually disconnect you from the wisdom of your own mind and body.

So, stop jumping from diet to diet.

Let’s find what works for your unique body and is sustainable.

Ask yourself… “Could I eat this way next month? Next year?”

It has to be sustainable, otherwise it won’t last.

But most diets and meal plans are typically not sustainable long term.

And let’s be real for a second…

Changing how we eat is hard.

But if we want to make a lasting change, we need to stop blindly following the latest diets and start understanding our own unique bodies, how we feel about food, and which foods are actually beneficial to us.

If you are interested in learning more and would like to discover the right path for you, leave a “yes” in the comments and I will send you more details – also happy to hop on a 30-min call to answer any questions!