12 December 2008 - More evidence to eat your antioxidants instead of popping pills

Watch my Vitamins segment on Morning Show - 12 Dec

A nutrient-rich, energy-sparse diet is vital for successful weight managment. Now, two new large-scale studies repeat a common theme of late that it's foods rather than pills that are your best supply of key vitamins and minerals.

Around 20-25 years ago, interest in antioxidant vitamin supplements was at fever pitch. Since then hundreds of research projects have evaluated whether taking high doses of antioxidants like vitamin C, E, bete-carotene and the mineral selenium can prevent cancer & chronic disease.

The latest evidence from the December 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that after several years of taking the above antioxidants in pills, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of study subjects who developed prostate cancer and other cancers.

In fact, one of the two studies was cut short due to the disappointing results.

It appears after all the excitement about antioxidant pills from two decades ago, the clear message for bulding your best diet ever is "eat your antioxidants".

So, the next time you look at a punnet of blueberries (it's almost blueberry season in Australia), a handful of mixed nuts or a bowl of brightly coloured salad vegetables, you can be more confident that you are giving your body the best balance of synergistic nutritents to live long & prosper.

If your diet could do with a healthy boost, then this new research gives you a good excuse to build a nutrient-rich diet.

Read the BBC News report - 10 December 2008

10 December 2008 - Latest comment & my response to Lemon Detox Diet YouTube video

Comment from 'Lowcarbveggie:' I get the whole starvation mode, muscle loss, metabolism drop idea. My question is though, after you come off the cleanse and start eating sensible healthy meals again, wouldn't your metabolism then start to recover? Particularly if you coupled that with a cardio/strength training? I can't believe that the damage could be permanent...

Response: Nice question... after 24hrs on a low-energy diet you'd expect a 5% drop in metabolic rate which would recover by eating normally again. However, somewhere from a few days on it & certainly at the full 10-day stage, your metabolism will drop more b/c of muscle loss. I'm pushing 40 & losing muscle with age, despite weight training so I wouldn't risk losing it any faster. It's hard enough to keep muscle with age anyway so that's why the choice to eat a nutrient-rich diet all the time is easy.

8 December 2008 - See why you need to schedule a walk or run if you have a sedenaty job... like me!

The graph below shows what I've been doing over the last three weeks, activity-wise that is. This graph is just one of the really cool reports that comes with the Coach version software for Health Management Group's Kenz Accelerometer (morte details on how to get one below).

An accelerometer is like a high-tech version of a step counting pedometer. The main difference is that in addition to simply measuring steps, its also measures how many minutes of physical activity you complete and also at what level of intensity because it records how fast you move around.

So, what can you see in the graph? I've just chosen to show you steps because it's the easiest to see. The bunch of eight dark orange columns (over 10,000 steps/day) on the left show a lot of activity during a week working at Club Med Lindeman Island. I had to take guests on a walk-run or Nordic walk each day, walk the countless steps around the resort and fit in the odd exercise class for fun.

The three dark orange columns on the right hand side show how many days I've reached the 10,000 step target since returnig home. Each of these three dark orange days, I did a run. This reinforces the unfortunate reality for me that having a sedentary job (I'm sitting typing now) means I need to schedule a walk or run in my day to accumulate 10,000 steps.

So, if you or your client has a desk job you'll be pushing it to get 8,000 steps a day. A stuck-to-the-computer day will result in only around 3,000 - 4,000 steps a day, which well below the minimum to effectively manage your weight.

The take-home message here is that if you have a sedentary job you need to fit in at least a 30 minute walk, run of gym session into your day.

For more details about how to purchase Health Management Group's Kenz Accelerometer, click the link and tell them Matt O'Neill from SmartShape gave you the tip. They'll be keen to know where you heard about it.

8 December 2008 - Cut salt to cut fluid retention & size

Today's Sunrise segment was on salt & how to cut it down. So, how does salt relate to weight management?

A portion of people will have a problem with fluid retention which will cause them to feel bloated, puffy & uncomfortable. The bloating can then increase waist circumference & other body measurments which is not a good result when you want to see your waist size coming down.

This is why it's not a good idea to weigh yourself or take measurements the morning after you've had a high-salt dinner of your favourite take-away.

Susie Burrell, who I presented our Weight Loss Coaching course with yesterday, suggested checking for recent salt intake in any client who appears to have gained size or feels bloated. A big dose of salty foods may provide the explanation for fluid retention & less than desirable measurements.

For best results it would seem wise to avoid salty foods the night before your weigh-in or measure-up.

Watch my segment on Sunrise

8 December 2008 - Don't forget your banana... cabbie's got the message

One of my eating mantras is "Don't forget your banana". This saying highlights the importance of taking a healthy snack with you when you leave home for work, school or wherever your day takes you.

The cabbie who drove me into Sunrise this morning has got this message. And he's the first cabbie who's had a banana ready to quench hunger on the go.

So, please don't forget to take your banana, apple, orange, pear or whatever piece of fruit when you leave home for your busy day. And please spread the message... "Don't forget your banana!"

By the way, the cabbie told me that his wife places a banana in his car every morning. Now that's looking after each other.

5 December 2008 - Go low-tech to lose weight & get off your Segway

Today, I shopped at the green grocer at the Norton Street shopping centre in Leichhardt, Sydney. I witnessed a male security guard riding a Segway (like the one on the right) instead of walking around the centre.

Come on man... this is a small shopping centre so why do you need a Segway to get you around? A quick visual (which I do with all my clients) revealed that the gentleman would be at health risk due to his weight, so there's good reason to hop off & walk.

When I'm not presenting courses, my job is basically sedentary so I would appreciate some more activity in my occupation. But this guy is taking activity out of his day and reducing the calories he burns. It doesn't make sense to me.

How can you reduce labour saving, technology in your life and get some more activity?

1 December 2008 - Summer of Salad is here... wooo hooooo!

I've been counting down to this day for months. It's the first day of summer & therefore it's the beginning of the Summer of Salad.

To celebrate, I've got a bunch of fantastic nutrient-rich, energy-sparse salads and yummy, healthy salad dressings for you to try.

SALADS

Great Greek Salad
Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green capsicum, red onion, feta cheese, black olives. With Lemon Vinaigrette dressing below.

Mango Salad
Butter lettuce, sliced mango, sliced avocado, walnuts. With Dijon cream dressing below.

Italian Rocket Salad
Rocket, baby spinach, shaved pear, shaved parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar. With Balsamic oil dressing below. This salad also rocks with caramelised balsamic vinegar, which you may need to visit a deli to find.

Asian Pea Salad
Blanched snow peas or sugar snapped peas, coriander, mint. With Asian chilli dressing below.

Warm Lentil Salad
Cooked or canned brown lentils, canned baby beetroots, goats cheese or feta cheese, mint.

DRESSINGS

Lemon vinaigrette dressing
Lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, fresh oregano, garlic cloves, brown sugar, ground pepper, salt.v

Dijon cream dressing
Dijon mayonnaise, reduced-fat cream.

Balsamic oil dressing
Balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil.

Asian chilli dressing
Sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar.

Wasabi mayonnaise dressing
Wasabi paste, low-fat mayonnaise.

Lemon mustard dressing
Lemon juice, whole grain mustard.

Italian dressing
Extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, fresh oregano or parsley, salt.

Honey mustard dressing
Regular mayonnaise, mustard, honey, white wine vinegar, salt.

This summer, dress every salad sexy and celebrate the taste sensations that are the Summer of Salad.

Read the lyrics to the Summer of Salad song, written in 2005.

1 December 2008 - The shopping basket challenge

I'm always recommending that you fill your supermarket trolley with fresh produce first, which leaves little space for too many processed and package foods.

Now I have a new challenge for you.

Visit a green grocer or deli to fill your trolley with produce, lean deli meats, sundried tomatoes and other nutrient-rich natural foods. Then, rather than shopping with a trolley at the supermarket, try using just a small basket to get what you need. See if you manage it.

Sure, you may need more than a basket if you have a big family or need to buy toilet paper or other non-food supplies. But shifting your food shopping habits from lots of processed foods to only a little processed foods and little need for a shopping trolley at the supermarket is a good target to aim for.

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