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If you are the kind of person who feels obligation, especially at this time of year, this blog post is for you. (Especially those of you who are planning to restrict food at those upcoming Christmas events).

If you want to get in control of your eating at these events I have some practical ideas to get you started.

One of the reasons we can’t lose weight during the festive season is because we associate the silly season with the pleasure of eating. We connect Christmas with Christmas pudding and mince pies, and ham and roast turkey. The food, the wine, the family, and gifts seem inextricably connected to Christmas. BUT they are not.

It’s that time of year. We are organising Christmas – gifts, events, food, holidays and activities for the entire family.

Many people start to feel overwhelmed at this time of year. Many people are feeling a rising amount of stress, obligation, anxiety or tension.

In a rush to lose weight? Panicked and wish it happened yesterday? So many mums tell me they wish they could lose weight so they’d feel confident and successful (enough).

We often make our kids a priority and forget to take care of ourselves. I did it. I didn’t eat healthy food, exercise or take time to do things that created joy. We don’t allow ourselves to take the time we truly need.

If you want to lose weight and you want to lose it for those Christmas events. Your time is NOW! (62 days until Christmas).

If you are overweight, and you want to lose weight, there is a simple solution. It’s simple but not easy and I want to explain why it’s so hard AND give you the solution. In order to lose weight you need to eat less, consume less food and intake less fuel.

Women tell me one diet hack is to make sure that the foods that they struggle with most, are not in the house. They don’t buy ice-cream. They don’t leave chocolate in the cupboard. They make sure that they are out of temptations way.

Every day this month I am doing a FB Live. I am sharing loads of incredible weight loss tips and ideas in a daily 5 minute video on my Nicky Hammond Life Coaching Facebook Page.

What do you think living “The Good Life” is? Is it something you are seeking? Maybe “The Good Life” is this elusive life that you are desperately to create so you can feel abundant.

I’m wondering if you think the following: Losing weight = Dieting = Deprivation = No choice. It doesn’t have to be this way! I just tell my clients to throw the dieting mentality out the window.

I teach people how to lose weight. I am very conscious about the food I eat – all the time. BUT that doesn’t mean I don’t eat pizza. In fact, I ate pizza last night and it was amazing.

This sounds really obvious but time and time again I have to REMIND myself too. In order to create a different result in your life, you must be willing to DO something different.

Have you heard of the marshmallow test? Pop a kid in a room by themselves. Give them one marshmallow. Tell them that they can eat it. But also tell them that if they haven’t eaten the marshmallow when you return they will be given two marshmallows to eat.

I am excited. I’ve been creating something incredibly special to me and its finally finished! I created a free resource to help mums say “no” to food and alcohol. The resource is called “Hack Your Desire”.

I looked up the definition of the word fat. It’s a noun and an adjective. Noun. Fat is a natural substance occurring in the body of animals. It’s also used to describe a group of natural esters of glycerol and fatty acids in chemistry.

So many mums who are struggling with their weight tell me they can’t say no. They have a weakness for pasta/ potato crisps/ chardonnay/ pizza/ cookies/ cheese… For me it was chocolate. It feels like you can’t say no.

You might think it only counts once it’s a habit, once your have mastered something or once you can actually see results. This kind of thinking is holding you back.

Did your family forget Mother’s Day? I’m sorry that’s tough. If you enjoy this yearly celebration and recognition you might be feeling shit right now. Angry, resentful, hurt and upset.

If you think there is a right way to diet then some of these things will probably sound familiar. No not ready yet. I’ve got to prepare myself. Empty the fridge. Go shopping. Fill it with healthy food. Prepare myself mentally.

Do you want to win a 6 week coaching program to start the journey to finally get your pre baby body back for good? If you are a mum who desperately wants to lose weight permanently.

Do you think that your desire is innate? I’m talking about desire for food, desire to exercise, desire to work, desire check your mobile phone or even desire for your husband.

Dear courageous mum of a young child/children, Have you had several glorious and gruelling years as a SAHM with your precious children? Have the bleary eyed days and nights where sleep was a forgotten memory of yesteryear?

If you think will power is the only way to stop overeating then you need to keep reading. Will power is the control exerted to do something or restrain impulses.

It might feel hopeless right now. You might feel stuck. Stuck at your current weight. Wishing that you didn’t worry about your health. Wishing you could finally get back your pre baby body so you could feel, healthier, sexier and more confident.

I’m going to teach you yet another reason why you turn to food. Why am I teaching you this? Because knowledge is power! We live in a world where we are surrounded by extreme pleasure.

Have you tried to lose weight before? Maybe you’ve tried many times. Did you know that one of the main reasons you are overweight is because of over hunger? Overhunger is caused by hormone imbalance, cravings and withdrawal.

I was sitting at work, opening my drawer to find my stash of chocolate. “Just one more won’t hurt. I’ve worked so hard. I deserve it.” Sound familiar?

Oh ho ho. If you don’t partake in any of these activities and sometimes feel out of control, you are a far more evolved human being than I am. I call all of these activities “buffering”.

Do you wish you had a different body? Do you think that if your body was a certain way – slimmer waistline, smaller thighs, tighter butt – then you would feel confident?

Do you have an amazing life, so amazing that people you meet comment on your life, how lucky you are and yet you feel empty or aching inside?

Are you the kind of mum who hides in the cupboard pretending to look for something, but you are really stuffing chocolate into you mouth?

When we don’t want to experience a feeling we distract ourselves. I call it buffering. It results in procrastination. And overeating. And overworking. And over drinking. And over Facebooking.

How many of us mums think this innocent sounding thought? (My hand is high in the air.) “I just want my kids to be happy”. It is fuelled by love. I don’t deny it’s well meaning but it wreaks havoc in our lives.

I used to be a SAHM. When my kids first arrived I couldn’t imagine doing anything different. I didn’t have to rush back to work. I loved becoming a mum, for me it represented a milestone that thrust me into the adult world.

In Australia there is a concept called “Tall Poppy Syndrome”. It basically refers to the culture where Australians cut down people who are seen as being too successful and prominent. We cut tall poppies down to size.

This is a topic I have coached many of my clients on – and myself. Many of us don’t like to ask for help. It feels uncomfortable to ask and accept help from others. Have you ever asked yourself why?

I am a certified Weight Coach. I’ve used the tools I teach to quit chocolate (I’m a recovered chocoholic), flatten my stomach and maintain a weight that I love.

I’m a life coach who was pretty recently REPULSED by self help. There I said it. If you had said to me some glib and mushy quote like “Love is always an option” (which by the way I recently published on Instagram), I would have wanted to Taser you!

Perfectionism is crippling. I should know I’m a recovering perfectionist. It stops you from showing up in the world. And if you are too afraid of taking action you are just failing ahead of time.

Public Speaking takes practice. It’s an art form, you can hone the skills, you can increase your knowledge and abilities but at the end of the day you need to have confidence to deliver with aplomb.

Are your morning filled with frustration and sometimes anger? Do you wish that you could learn how to be more patient and get the kids moving? Oh I’ve been there, many times.

Loneliness is a feeling that is uncomfortable. Here is a definition I found of loneliness I found on the internet: Loneliness is a feeling of sadness or distress about being by yourself or feeling disconnected from the world around you.

Do you wish that you could be more present for your kids? How is that even possible? Here are some ideas for you that I have learned through my coaching.

What is Your Job as a Mum? Have you ever pondered this question? It’s powerful to consciously decide. If you don’t, you are taking action from your default and that’s not optimal.

Do you ever feel like there is a mean mum inside your head. I’ve been there! It’s not fun. We lose our confidence. It’s time to say goodbye to that part of you. Let it go. How?

Our kids are living in a modern world where cyber bullies and online trolls are rife. I hear mums lamenting this Internet age where our children are so susceptible to other people’s opinions.

This morning my son was feeling shitty. He said “I don’t want to go to school today, I just want to eat chocolate cake.” Oh, we know those days, right?

As a mum do you feel a huge sense of obligation? An obligation to look after your child. To feed them nourishing food, cloth them, educate them, entertain them, help them become polite, grateful, moral, caring and kind individuals.

I just listened to an amazing podcast. My teacher Brooke Castillo interviewed a woman by the name of Dr Sasha Heinz. She is a fellow The Life Coach School Certified coach, and also a doctor of psychology.

I love a good To Do List. It feels so good making a list of all the things that need to get done. And then ticking them off feels AMAZING! Are you with me so far? Then how about plugging all those things that need to get done into your diary.

There is so much mum guilt in the world. Worrying doesn’t equal caring. Taking care of you, means that you can be the best version of you, including the best mum you can be.

I googled it and found this description: “Personal mastery is something that we all want to achieve, whether we know it or not. It is about our journey towards continuous improvement and seeing life from a different perspective.

We think the past can cause us pain. That events and people in the past still have influence in our lives. But the past is over. The past only exists in our mind.

Shame is an insidious feeling. It is one of my least favourite emotions. Shame is when you feel unworthy of love and belonging. As a mum it’s the feeling of not being enough.

I’ve been invited to speak on a podcast called “Go All In” and one of the questions I was asked in the pre-interview questionnaire is give an example of where I have gone “all in”.

I work with mums. Stay at home mums. Mums who have been out of the working game for a while who have started to believe that they don’t have the ability to get back in the game. They lack confidence.

Our primitive brain doesn’t like us to take action. It wants to keep us safe. You might be familiar with thoughts like “I’m too old”, “I’m just not good at that”, “I’m too busy”, “what will others think of me?”

If you have done any coaching work with me, then this might be a timely reminder to PRACTICE YOUR INTENTIONAL THOUGHTS! (I’ll stop shouting).

Today I received a beautiful gift. It was a thank you gift in the form of a Lululemon top. Previously I might have felt awkward and embarrassed about receiving a gift.

Today I parked in a parking lot at the gym. As I approached my car, I realised that there was a car parked illegally, potentially blocking my car in. I wasn’t sure I couldn’t get out. I remained calm.

When most of us think about goals, the reason we think we want to achieve that goal is because of how we think we will feel when we get there. The truth is we have the ability to feel that feeling right now.