Dear Thursday,
Why can't you be Friday?
Kind Regards..
Jem
and if the weather wasn't so hot in Sydney, I think I'd also need THIS
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Monday, 10 February 2014
Stuck in holiday indulgence mode?
So it's February.....after making several new years resolutions about sticking to a healthy eating plan, you find yourself reaching for glass of wine number two and going to town on a cheese platter....and it's only Tuesday night!!
Let me share with you my usual yearly pattern!! So usually by December, I'm in the swing of healthy eating and regular exercise...then comes the party season..Christmas parties, alcohol, horderves, dinner catch ups....Christmas day....lots of eating, post Christmas...lots of eating/drinking all the chocolates and wine I received... lots of finishing off those extra snacks I bought for entertaining but didn't use.....etc etc etc.... by the time I put down my glass of Pinot Gris, all of a sudden it's August before I'm back on track with healthy eating. Amazing how easy it is to start a habit! Amazing how hard it is to change it!!
What are some quick tips to get back on track with healthy eating post party season!?
Eat mindfully!!
What is Mindfullness!? Russ Harris, in his bestselling book, The Happiness Trap, defines Mindfulness as "Consciously bringing awareness to your here-and-now experience, with openness, interest and receptiveness."
By eating mindfully, we're present and engaged in the process of eating. In order to do this, I suggest taking the time to eat away from the television or the computer. Often we eat mindlessly, out of boredom or frustration, and before we know it, we've eaten a whole bag of Maltesers by the second ad break. Does this process bring you satisfaction? Probably not! Does it cause you guilt? It probably does!
Try eating at the dinner table, or taking time away from your desk for 10 minutes to eat your lunch. I guarantee you'll gain more satisfaction.
Eat slowly, and try and engage your senses in the process. Practice mindful eating with the following delicious exercise:
1) Put a small piece of chocolate in your mouth.
2) Notice the taste, the aroma, the feel of the chocolate as it melts in your mouth - try and bring your whole awareness into focusing on the experience of eating the chocolate!!
Reflect on your values!
Do you value looking after your health? Do you value nourishing your body through a healthy diet? Do you value staying slim through a sensible diet and exercise? Think about your values around health, diet and eating. Connecting with these values may help you to make better food choices!
Set yourself attainable goals
After eight weeks of skipping the gym, and eating junk, do you think it's realistic to set yourself a goal of eating a carb free, no sugar, no fat diet, with going to the gym 5 days per week?
If you do maintain this goal for a few days, you may find you slip up worse than ever!
Small wins will empower you to take on greater challenges!! Why not try setting small goals, like replacing desert with peppermint tea, or going for a short walk after work each day. You'll feel all the better when you succeed!!!
Keep a food diary
Mindful eaters are aware of how many calories they are consuming each day. Keep a log of what you're eating and review it at the end of each week. As well as recording what you eat, why not add some notes about the situation and your mood/feelings at the time. Do you notice certain patterns? Are your moods or environmental changes related to over or under eating?
Let me share with you my usual yearly pattern!! So usually by December, I'm in the swing of healthy eating and regular exercise...then comes the party season..Christmas parties, alcohol, horderves, dinner catch ups....Christmas day....lots of eating, post Christmas...lots of eating/drinking all the chocolates and wine I received... lots of finishing off those extra snacks I bought for entertaining but didn't use.....etc etc etc.... by the time I put down my glass of Pinot Gris, all of a sudden it's August before I'm back on track with healthy eating. Amazing how easy it is to start a habit! Amazing how hard it is to change it!!
What are some quick tips to get back on track with healthy eating post party season!?
Eat mindfully!!
What is Mindfullness!? Russ Harris, in his bestselling book, The Happiness Trap, defines Mindfulness as "Consciously bringing awareness to your here-and-now experience, with openness, interest and receptiveness."
By eating mindfully, we're present and engaged in the process of eating. In order to do this, I suggest taking the time to eat away from the television or the computer. Often we eat mindlessly, out of boredom or frustration, and before we know it, we've eaten a whole bag of Maltesers by the second ad break. Does this process bring you satisfaction? Probably not! Does it cause you guilt? It probably does!
Try eating at the dinner table, or taking time away from your desk for 10 minutes to eat your lunch. I guarantee you'll gain more satisfaction.
Eat slowly, and try and engage your senses in the process. Practice mindful eating with the following delicious exercise:
1) Put a small piece of chocolate in your mouth.
2) Notice the taste, the aroma, the feel of the chocolate as it melts in your mouth - try and bring your whole awareness into focusing on the experience of eating the chocolate!!
Reflect on your values!
Do you value looking after your health? Do you value nourishing your body through a healthy diet? Do you value staying slim through a sensible diet and exercise? Think about your values around health, diet and eating. Connecting with these values may help you to make better food choices!
Set yourself attainable goals
After eight weeks of skipping the gym, and eating junk, do you think it's realistic to set yourself a goal of eating a carb free, no sugar, no fat diet, with going to the gym 5 days per week?
If you do maintain this goal for a few days, you may find you slip up worse than ever!
Small wins will empower you to take on greater challenges!! Why not try setting small goals, like replacing desert with peppermint tea, or going for a short walk after work each day. You'll feel all the better when you succeed!!!
Keep a food diary
Mindful eaters are aware of how many calories they are consuming each day. Keep a log of what you're eating and review it at the end of each week. As well as recording what you eat, why not add some notes about the situation and your mood/feelings at the time. Do you notice certain patterns? Are your moods or environmental changes related to over or under eating?
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Reading literary fiction helps increase social skills
Looking to increase your social skills? Put down that copy of Twilight/50 Shades of Grey/whatever random Dan Brown novel immediately, and pick up some Salinger, Joyce, Austin or Carver!! It may help you to better understand and identify the emotions of others and improve your interpersonal relationships!
A study by Kidd and Castano (2013) measured the effects of reading literary fiction on increasing social skills, or "theory of mind skills."Theory of Mind skills include the ability to identify and understand the emotional states of others. Such skills help us to build interpersonal relationships.
The authors state "The capacity to identify and understand others’ subjective states is one of the most stunning products of human evolution. It allows successful navigation of complex social relationships and helps to support the empathic responses that maintain them. Deficits in this set of abilities, commonly referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM), are associated with psychopathologies marked by interpersonal difficulties. Even when the ability is intact, disengagement of ToM has been linked to the breakdown of positive interpersonal and intergroup relationships"
The authors conducted five experiments which compared reading a few pages of literary fiction, against non-fiction or popular fiction. The results showed that the readers of literary fiction passages vs the other groups, displayed the immediate ability to discern people's emotions from pictures of their faces.
More reason than ever to burn your Twilight novels!!
What are some of your favourite literary fiction novels?
Here are a few of mine!!
A study by Kidd and Castano (2013) measured the effects of reading literary fiction on increasing social skills, or "theory of mind skills."Theory of Mind skills include the ability to identify and understand the emotional states of others. Such skills help us to build interpersonal relationships.
Shift Dress - Stellino Designs
Lipstick - Mac, Snob
Glasses - Burberry
The authors state "The capacity to identify and understand others’ subjective states is one of the most stunning products of human evolution. It allows successful navigation of complex social relationships and helps to support the empathic responses that maintain them. Deficits in this set of abilities, commonly referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM), are associated with psychopathologies marked by interpersonal difficulties. Even when the ability is intact, disengagement of ToM has been linked to the breakdown of positive interpersonal and intergroup relationships"
The authors conducted five experiments which compared reading a few pages of literary fiction, against non-fiction or popular fiction. The results showed that the readers of literary fiction passages vs the other groups, displayed the immediate ability to discern people's emotions from pictures of their faces.
More reason than ever to burn your Twilight novels!!
What are some of your favourite literary fiction novels?
Here are a few of mine!!
Friday, 7 February 2014
Weekly Roundup
Another week done and dusted!! Here are some of my favourite links from around the web this week.
The health hazards of sitting and how to reverse them
Add some extra style to your business cards
The psychological benefits of a later school start time on adolescents
So many vitamins, so little time!! A vitamin and supplement cheat sheet
This glazed chocolate tart looks delicious, another excuse to bake!
A great gift idea for your host the next time you attend a dinner party
For the love of money
Resisting the urge to buy another pair of ankle boots, in black!!
How happy are you? Try the Authentic Happiness Questionnaire!!
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Self Employed are More Satisfied With Their Work Than the Employed!!
A study by Benz and Frey (2004) showed that self employed people are substantially more satisfied with their work than people who are employed. The study further shows that regardless of differences in income and amount of hours worked, the self employed were still more satisfied with their employment.
WHY are self employed people happier with their jobs!?
The authors of the study were able to directly attribute the self employed's job satisfaction to the independence and autonomy their work permits them.
"Being your own boss" and breaking free from a typical hierarchical work structure could bring you the work satisfaction you're looking for!!
With this in mind - does your current role allow you autonomy?
What factors in your current role bring you the most satisfaction?
WHY are self employed people happier with their jobs!?
The authors of the study were able to directly attribute the self employed's job satisfaction to the independence and autonomy their work permits them.
"Being your own boss" and breaking free from a typical hierarchical work structure could bring you the work satisfaction you're looking for!!
With this in mind - does your current role allow you autonomy?
What factors in your current role bring you the most satisfaction?
Monday, 3 February 2014
Pop Therapy - January Recap!!
Thanks for tuning in for the first two months of Pop Therapy!! I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog so far!! Stay tuned for another massive month in February.
Just to recap...here are a few of my fav posts from January.
1. Baking Therapy
2. The Psychological Benefits of Playing Music
3. Living in Green Spaces Improves Mental Health
4. Baking Therapy Part 2 - Impromptu Tea Party
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Baking Therapy Part 2 - Impromptu Tea Party!!
There is nothing more delightful on a Sunday afternoon then an impromptu tea party!! This afternoon I decided to bake some scones, following this recipe.
They turned out to be delicious, especially with a very large serve of jam and cream.
Baking is far more fun when you have someone to share it with. Today I invited a friend over for a good cup of tea, some gossip and scones!!
In a study by Diener and Seligman (2002), groups of happy people and unhappy people were compared. The group of happy people were showed to have good social relations, including socialising regularly and having strong social relationships.
Want to be more happy? Start with a good catch up with a friend!!
Can Daleks be happy too!?
Dress - Witchery
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