Are you doing all the ‘right’ things and still struggling to lose weight? Do you blame yourself for ‘falling off the wagon’ or think you don’t have enough willpower to transform your body in the way that you want?
The problem isn’t always a lack of effort or willpower – it’s that you are working within a flawed framework that does not respect the wisdom of your body, nature and intrinsic energy flow. We are not only our biochemistry – we are our energy as well.
When you fail to achieve your goals, you blame yourself and give up – not only on your objectives but also on yourself. But I’m here to tell you that if you’re struggling to achieve your body goals, it’s not necessarily your fault.
I’ve worked as a medically-trained energy healer for more than 30 years and written several international bestsellers. Over that time I’ve seen many people bullying their bodies with processed foods and trolling their own minds with toxic thoughts. People are getting completely out of sync with what they really want and need. The result? We pile on the pounds and are miserable because of it, and then make ourselves even more miserable trying to lose them.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s my ten-step guide to changing your life – and your body – for good…
1. Change does not need a season – start now
Research shows that gradual, personalised habit formation outside the ‘New Year’ rush is more sustainable than dramatic changes made on January 1.
Establishing habits after the symbolic reset of New Year can help sidestep the pitfalls of crash-dieting and impulsive resolutions, making lifestyle changes more manageable and less stressful – small, incremental changes that become routine after the New Year hype.
Think of it as priming your body for long-lasting change rather than just dieting to get into your summer holiday wardrobe.
Alla Svirinskaya has worked as a medically-trained energy healer for more than 30 years and written several international bestsellers
The problem, she says, isn’t always a lack of effort or willpower – it’s that you are working within a flawed framework. We are not only our biochemistry – we are our energy as well
2. The first bite is with your eyes
Arrange herbs and vegetables in a vase as if they were flowers. Most traditional ‘weight-loss’ approaches unconsciously link the process to scarcity – less food, fewer choices, deprivation, or punishment. But real, lasting change comes from abundance, nourishment, and alignment rather than restriction.
At my brunch club for women, I cultivate the energy of abundance with lush, vibrant vegetable and herb table arrangements – tall leaves of beetroot, vegetable leaf foliage and herbs such as coriander and dill.
When we look at abundance, we are less likely to trigger a stress or starvation response that slows metabolism and digestion. Abundance cues positive hormones and sends the right signals to our brains.
Visualisation of abundant food enhances feelings of safety and ease and assists in digesting food rather than conserving it. As a healer, I know that the energy of scarcity soon switches to the energy of deprivation and subsequently relapse.
3. Chop broccoli an hour before you cook it
I always say ‘We are not what we eat but what we absorb’. We can spend a fortune on buying the most expensive ingredients and produce, but if we do not know how to cook them or how to make their nutrients optimal to our bodies, we will still suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and our body will be in a ‘holding’ mode rather than burning and releasing energy.
Take broccoli, which everyone thinks is ‘good for you’. And it is. It gives us sulforaphane, which helps balance glucose levels and improves our metabolic status. But sulforaphane isn’t found naturally in broccoli: it comes from its two compounds, glucoraphanin and myrosinase, which are converted to sulforaphane when the plant is chewed or chopped. So, chop your broccoli 30-60 minutes before cooking to allow this reaction to form lots of sulforaphane.
Don’t overcook it: microwave or boil your broccoli for too long, and you destroy the converting enzyme. Adding a few mustard seeds to heat-exposed broccoli can significantly increase sulforaphane levels. Broccoli sprouts have up to 25 times more sulforaphane than mature broccoli – eat them raw, chew well or add to your smoothie.
4. Supercharge nutrients – power pairings
You might know that if you take an iron supplement, you should take it with vitamin C to enhance absorption but did you know that you can also supercharge foods in this way?
Curcumin, found in turmeric, is hailed as a great anti-inflammatory ingredient but the piperine in black pepper has been shown to increase the bioavailability of curcumin by 2,000 per cent. So whenever I add turmeric to a dish, I also add black pepper.
Similarly, fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) require dietary fat for absorption. So, add a little bit of coconut oil when preparing carrot juice (vitamin A) or eat green leafy vegetables (vitamin K) with avocado.
Cultivate the energy of abundance with lush, vibrant table arrangements. Visualisation of abundant food enhances feelings of safety and assists in digesting food
Chop your broccoli 30-60 minutes before cooking to allow it to form lots of sulforaphane which helps balance glucose levels and improves our metabolic status
5. Tame sugar spikes – add nuts and seeds to desserts
Adding fats and fibre to anything sweet slows down the digestion of carbs and the absorption of sugar, preventing sharp spikes and reducing the risk of cravings later.
I always suggest eating avocado with tropical fruits such as mango and pineapple, which are high in natural sugar.
Adding low-carb nuts such as almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts and pecans (don’t use blanched ones, the skin is a valuable source of fibre and antioxidants) to higher-sugar foods such as desserts will have the same effect.
I always add seeds (chia seeds, pumpkin) or nuts (walnuts, almond flakes) to my fruit-based desserts to enhance blood sugar regulation, and I suggest eating peanut butter with fruits that have a high sugar content, such as bananas, grapes and cherries.
ALLA’S CELESTIAL WELLBEING MOCKTAIL
This is a celestial, healing twist on a classic Bellini from my ‘Aura By Alla’ Tisane Collection. The blue algae is rich in anthocyanins, powerful and potent antioxidants that support metabolism, while kombucha is a probiotic and peach contains prebiotics and antioxidants.
The blue algae in this cocktail is rich in anthocyanins, powerful and potent antioxidants
Serves: 2
- Blend two peaches to a silky puree, and mix with 125ml of homemade or artisanal kombucha, and 1 tsp of organic blue spirulina powder until smooth and luminous.
- Pour the mixture into two chilled coupe-style martini glasses.
- Take an extra 125ml of kombucha and split between the two glasses, adding a splash of sparkling water if you prefer more fizz.
- Stir gently.
- Add a jasmine tea ice cube (To make: brew 1 tsp of jasmine tea or dried jasmine flowers in 250ml hot, not boiling, water for 5 minutes. Strain and freeze; drop a few petals into each mould before freezing) to each glass.
- I prescribe a bespoke affirmation as an important ingredient. The affirmation when preparing and before drinking is: ‘I welcome fresh effervescent energy into my body – I sip serenity in every sparkling drop.’
6. Drink warm water, not cold
Drinking warm water (between 37C and 60C (99F and 140F)) can speed up the metabolism and, if you drink it before or during meals, it can improve digestion by stimulating the digestive tract, enhancing gastric motility, and improving bowel regularity, which helps reduce constipation and bloating.
Warm water dilates blood vessels in the gastrointestinal system, improving blood flow that can boost the activity of digestive enzymes and accelerate food breakdown. I like to add fresh mint, rosemary, fennel seeds or lemon grass to a thermos of hot water and sip it throughout the day.
7. Regulate appetite – include bitter plants
The gut has bitter taste receptors, similar to those on your tongue, and when bitter compounds from food reach these receptors in the gut, they stimulate the release of GLP-1, a hormone that regulates blood sugar and appetite and the hormone that drugs such as Mounjaro and Ozempic mimic. This means that bitter-tasting foods can naturally trigger some of the same appetite-regulating effects as GLP-1 drugs, though to a milder degree.
So if you want a drug-free way of controlling your appetite, reducing over-eating, and improving post-meal blood sugar regulation, include bitter foods at the start or just before a meal.
Try rocket, dandelion greens, endive, kale and radicchio and, when thinking about herb teas, ditch peppermint or camomile in favour of dandelion.
8. Banish your ‘inner troll’
In my book Energy Rules, I talk about our ‘inner troll’, that internal dialogue that has a huge impact on our energy and our lives. Words are commands, so our bodies and energy respond to what we tell them.
If you tell yourself ‘I’m so lazy’, ‘I’m so fat’, ‘I’ll never change’, ‘I’m hopeless’, ‘I’m a failure’, ‘I have no self-control’, these words become self-fulfilling prophecies. So be very aware of the messages you send yourself and banish that ‘inner troll’.
9. Ditch those weighing scales
Jumping on the scales can trap you into negative thinking, that idea that you ‘haven’t lost enough yet’. Forget the pounds and ounces and instead track your energy levels, your mood and focus, your sleep quality, your strength or flexibility, and your self-kindness. It’s a virtuous circle: as your vitality increases, your weight will decrease.
10. Treat yourself to the best china
If you do not believe that you deserve the best version of yourself, you will sabotage your transformation. You want to enhance the energy of abundance and self-worth, not encourage the energy of scarcity and self-doubt, and that means embracing the now, rather than waiting for the perfect time to accept the best version of ourselves – because it never comes.
Even on a most basic level, don’t buy beautiful things that you keep only for ‘special occasions’ or only to please others, as it encourages the sense that you’re not worthy of them.
Eat from your best plates, use your ‘special occasion’ cutlery daily, and enjoy your ‘only for guests’ glasses – it will signal to your energy ‘I deserve’. It’s part of that energy of abundance that makes our bodies feel safe, and dining ware aesthetics influence how much we eat, how we perceive taste and how satisfied we feel.
As told to Claire Coleman
Consult a doctor before making any changes to your diet. Find out more about Alla and her brunch club: Wellbeing Conversations A La Carte at allasvirinskaya.com. Alla’s book Energy Rules is out now (Hay House, £14.99).
