It’s that time of year, when resolutions are being made for a brand new year!

Here is the process that I take people through to prepare them for quitting smoking. 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU HAVE TO WANT TO QUIT!
Thinking you "should quit " is not the same thing as wanting to quit.  You need to change your thoughts and beliefs around smoking, what it gives you, and what it takes away. You want to build up the desire to quit, the motivation to quit and clear everything that is in the way of that. Changing habits that you are attached to is exactly as hard as you think it will be. So, think it will be easy!

TIP: Decide it will be easy. 
Don’t allow yourself to build it up in your mind that it is going to be really big and hard. 
Doing this just gives it more power over you. Instead, decide it will be easy. This is a big mind shift, I get it.  We tend to create stories in our heads about how hard it will be to give something up. 

TIP: Create a new story, one in which it will be easy for you to quit. 
If you can’t accept it will be easy, because you "know" it will be hard, be open to the possibility that it could be easy. Exactly how hard your mind fights the notion that it could be easy is revealing as to how much you have conditioned yourself to believe that it will be hard. The good news is that you can convince yourself of a new story, with just as much strength as the story in which you have convinced yourself that you can’t quit.  

Step #1- Get very clear on your reasons to quit; why you WANT to quit.
What are your reasons for wanting to quit?

• health is more important than smoking
• want to have better skin
• avoid cancer
• save money
• What else?

Lock on to whatever has meaning to you. 

Step #2- Write down all the places you currently do not smoke:

• in the house
• in the car
• at work
• around the kids
• around family

Think about how easily you have trained yourself to not smoke in those places; how naturally you abstain in those scenarios.  If you are someone that thinks about smoking all the time, and it’s always hard to have to wait to smoke, I encourage you to get some help with coaching to help unwind that craving. Hypnosis can be incredibly helpful. However most people have several places they have adapted as Non smoking places. Understand how much power you already have over smoking by looking at your list.

Step #3- Get clear on why you love smoking.
List everything you love about smoking, what it gives you, why it’s important to you.
Get REALLY clear on the reasons you smoke. This is so important. If you don't understand what it gives you, how it fills a need, then quitting is just a battle of wills. You need to dig deep here to be most effective. Be honest with yourself. You will want to change the meaning you put on smoking, how it fulfills you. You can’t do that if you don’t look at the reasons why first.


Step #4- Write down how great your life will be without smoking; the benefits you will have.
Spend some time on this step too. You want to really build this up in your mind as the desirable outcome; how great you will feel, how proud of yourself you will be. Most people I know that smoke have guilt and shame attached to smoking. Imagine life without that. Imagine how great you could feel about yourself. What other benefits do you foresee? Paint an excellent picture for yourself of all the things you could do as a non-smoker and all the benefits that would entail, especially how you will feel about yourself. 


Step #5- Build up the belief that you can do this.
Another vital step is building up the belief that you can quit. Pay attention to all the thoughts that come up as to why the belief might not feel true. What are those thoughts that tell you can’t achieve it or that you are not ready? These thoughts are important. Pay attention to all of them.
What’s coming up for you?  You need to address your doubts and build on the perception that you can do this.
Learning to control the narrative in your mind is imperative to making change. You can do it. Once you understand that the narrative is simply a story you have been telling yourself, you can change it.

When you have gone through the steps above and have a healthy desire to quit then…

Step # 6- Set a date to quit.
Pay attention to all the things going on in your mind-

• If you still have lingering doubts, write them down. Are they valid? Or are they just part of the old story telling you that you can’t do this?

 

• Is there any part of you that is not 100% sure you can follow through with the plan? What are your thoughts around this? Reinforce the belief "I CAN DO THIS".

 

• Coaching can be incredibly helpful in the quitting process and hypnosis can greatly support you quitting, once you have done this work.

Check out my New Years Resolution special if you would like help quitting anything this New Years!

Best of luck on your quitting journey!

Eating healthily for your brain - made simple.

PLAN AHEAD- If you have healthy food ready to go, it's much easier to stick to the plan. I work out all my meals for the week so I don't have to think about it when I am busy and tired. It is very empowering to be ahead of the food game and know you are all set for the week. On Sundays I make a soup for my lunches for the week. This planning/prepping process only takes a few hours on the weekend and is so worth it. By far, this is the most important thing you can do.

My top tips:

• Plan all your meals ahead of time. If nothing else, at least buy all the ingredients. The worst thing you can do is be at the grocery store at dinner time. Fast food is too easy to grab.
• Shop once per week and make sure you have a full stomach when you do so.
• Prepare whatever you can on the weekend so your week is easy.
• Start making your dinner early, way before you are hungry. I have it on my calendar to start cooking by 4 p.m. It really helps.
• Have snacks ready to go such as almonds, apples, carrot sticks, etc.
• Eat your meals early, before you are starving. Stay ahead of your hunger.
• Stop eating at the first sign that you are satisfied.  I just started practicing this and it is amazing how much we are used to eating, simply out of habit. It is amazing how much less you need than you think.

Typical day for me following a brain healthy diet:

Breakfast:
On the weekend I have eggs-  
2 scrambled eggs, 1/4 C quinoa, 1-2 C arugula, 1 C steamed broccoli
During the week I have a healthy protein shake.

Snack, if needed:
1 oz. raw almonds

Lunch:
4 oz. protein and lots of veggies, such as-

• 4 oz. protein- chicken, turkey or ham-(high quality, not processed )
• 3 C lettuce+ veggies, carrots, celery, red peppers-whatever you like
• dressing- balsamic vinegar + maybe 1 TBSP high quality olive oil

or

• 2 C homemade soup (that I made on the weekend!)  My favorite is chicken curry coconut.

Snack when I get home from work:
Apple
Once you cut sugar out of your diet, an apple is like eating candy- a nice treat!


Dinners:
4 oz. protein and lots of veggies, such as-

• stir fry with chicken
• meatballs with zoodles (I make zucchini zoodles- love them!)
• cauliflower roasted with turmeric and chicken breast
• chicken and green beans with sesame oil, tamari, toasted almonds

I love using cronometer.com to check my diet and make sure I am on track.  It's very informative to really count everything you eat. It helps me to understand exactly what I am putting in my body and make changes.  I only use it occasionally,  maybe once a quarter.  I will check it a few days in a row to see how I am doing. It is an amazing tool to get complete understanding of what you are eating, the nutritional content of that food and, of course, calories, if you are trying to lose weight.  It can help you understand where you need to be.

When we nurture our brain we feel so much better. Give yourself 3 months of putting your brain in a healing environment and feel what it's like to have your brain working at its best.

A brain healthy diet can greatly improve your life, not just your physical health.
Your brain is involved in everything you do:

• how you think, feel, act and interact
• your judgement, personality, intelligence
• every decision you make

When your brain works better, your life gets better!

A brain healthy diet focuses on what is healthy for you and your brain while  removing anything that is toxic to it.  It really is that simple and the great news is what is good for your brain is good for your whole body.

In general, follow this rule of thumb:

• eat healthy proteins throughout the day
• give yourself 12 hours per night of no food for your brain to clear out toxins (longer is fine if you are intermittent fasting)

Things that are good for your brain:

• healthy fats & nuts
•  clean protein-
  • wild caught fish
  • organic, grass fed meats, chicken, turkey
• green, leafy vegetables- preferably organic
• low glycemic foods
• high fiber foods

Things that are bad for your brain:

• sugar
• hydrogenated oils, trans fats
• fried foods
• high glycemic foods
• alcohol, beer, wine
• processed foods
• commercially baked goods
• GMO's 
• artificial sweeteners & colorings
• drugs, cigarettes, marijuana
• fruit juice

I eliminate these foods when I am on a brain healthy diet:
(certainly consider eliminating them if you are concerned about allergies)

• gluten
• corn
• soy

Reduce or limit use of:

• caffeine- limit to 2 Cups per day, caffeine can interfere with weight loss,    eliminating caffeine might make the rest of the diet easier
• honey- very limited use

Cronometer.com is a fantastic FREE tool to help you dial in your nutrition.

Always check with your doctor before going on any diet.

  For more on the benefits of a brain healthy diet follow my newsletter and blog!