Practice and Practicality

Head In the right direction

If you read last month's blog or watched the accompanying video (Psyche and Psychology), you 'll know that I talked a lot about how being mindful of the importance that psychology plays in any great undertaking, whether it is going through a weight loss programme, running a marathon or anything else that requires discipline and perseverance.

But what have I done specifically to ensure that I have my head in the right direction?

Using the right Liva

When I first started this weight loss journey, it never crossed my mind that I would need anything other than the support of those closest to me, a lot of willpower and an absence of temptation.

How wrong I was. It quickly became apparent to me that I needed advice, information, guidance and structure. Fortunately, my GP practice empowered me by giving me the support of the weight loss programme that runs locally between a number of GP practices, run by Liva Healthcare.

I didn't know it at the time, but Liva was about to become my rock, my mainstay, my source of constant guidance, useful advice and inciteful lessons.

Lessons for lunch

The primary instruments of the Liva approach were twofold. First was series of guided lessons which took me through everything I needed to learn. I learned what food was good for me, what was bad and what mix I should have. I learned all about calories, fats and protein and more importantly, I learned in a way that I could put it all into practical use immediately.

But it didn't stop there - the lessons also dealt with the psychological aspects of weight loss and until I watched those lessons, I'm not sure I really understood the importance of getting one's head right. It taught me how to develops strategies to deal with things like going out socially. We all love a nice meal out with friends, but it's a tough deal when you're watching the calories. But having a strategy planned out in advance gives you a very useful tool in your armoury. Likewise, having a strategy to avoid certain 'calorie-challenging' situations became very useful.

But equally useful was the advice and guidance of what to do when I inevitably fell off the wagon. It would be so easy (and so typical) for me to lose myself in a pity party of recrimination and self-loathing on those occasions when my resolve weakened. But I have learned to accept occasional failure and use it as a tool to ensure that I succeed in the future. It's worth watching this month's video for some further insight.

One on One Support

Running alongside that was a regular check-in with my appointed health coach. At the start I had the option of how the engagement would work with my coach and I picked the one that I felt would work best for me. I've seen a lot of these 'lifestyle transformation' programs that are very rigid in their structure, but what I enjoyed about Liva was that I could do it my way. I could take the lessons when it suited me and I could engage with my coach in a way that I got the most benefit from.

My regular check-ins allowed me to ask questions, seek reassurance/ advice and mark milestones. Don't get me wrong - I had to put in the effort and work hard, both in terms of the mental discipline of going through the lessons and exercises, but also in working hard on strengthening my willpower. so the support is there to help, but it also gently chides you back on track should your determination waver.

Psyche and Psychology into Practice and Practicality?

I mentioned above that it became very apparent to me very quickly that if I was going to succeed, then I needed to get my head straight. The Liva app was incredibly helpful for this. But it wasn't just a generic, one-size fits all approach. It dealt in specifics and made me customise my own experience.

From the very start, it emphasised the need to find your 'why' - to detail my specific reasons for losing weight. I'm not goin g to go into all of my reasons for wanting to lose weight here (some of them are very personal and there's only so much of my life that I'm willing to put 'out there' ! But suffice it to say that I hated the way I looked in photographs and I wanted to be healthier.

Once I had that set in my mind, it became a repeated theme throughout the programme so that whenever temptation raised its ugly head, I had a point of focus to use in my fight to see willpower triumph over chocolate.

The point I'm trying (badly) to make is that the Liva app dealt in specifics, not generalisations. It gave practical help, not broad spectrum suggestions that met no-one's needs.

Disappointing September

In terms of losing weight, September was a huge disappointment.

I think I probably took my eye off the ball a bit as we had a lot going on. It was Blood Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM). BCAM is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness and understanding if blood cancers and I always try to help where I can with it. So I had quite a few bits and pieces I was doing with Macmillan Cancer Care (we raised £5,400 thanks to your generosity!) but that may simply be finding excuses after the fact. It may well be that I have hit a plateau and will find it really difficult to continue the strong downwards path but we'll only find out when we see October's data. But - best foot forward. We keep trying our best.

A cheap attempt at a Cliffhanger!

The strategies I learned in how to deal with threats, failures and challenges are ones that I can reuse for other life purposes. So for example, one of the dividends of losing so much weight is that I have found walking to be easier. Because of the effects of the leukaemia and chronic pain syndrome, walking can still be a challenge. My blood is still not oxygenating muscles properly, so stamina is still significantly impaired.

But I did successfully walk 9 holes several times with Karon earlier in the summer and the psychological assets that I developed through the Liva app have allowed me to contemplate walking 18 holes. Did I achieve it?

You'll have to wait until next month to find out!

In the meantime, thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me.