Do you have ‘Portion Distortion’?

Many people eat more than half of their daily calories after 4pm. I liken it to the movie ‘Gremlins.’ During the day, you’re hunger is like a cute little Mogwai, easy to tame and keep under control. But once the sun starts to set, boom – out comes your inner Gremlin and Whoosh, you’ve inhaled over half your daily calories and looking for more.

The hormone Ghrelin, is your inner Gremlin

Our hunger hormone has the name Ghrelin (Coincidence – I think not!). It’s what stimulates your appetite, giving you the rumbly tummy before a meal, and it tends to be very time based. It’s almost like an internal clock that says ‘Well you ate at this time yesterday, so it must be time to eat again!’ It’s also a greedy little bugger, and the more you feed it the more it wants. In fact if you feed it high fat, calorie dense meals, it actually craves more.

If you skip breakfast – be warned!

This is a vicious cycle to fall into, as most people who skip breakfast eat more later in the day. Late afternoon is when your metabolism starts slowing down for the day. When you wake up you’re not hungry because you’re full from the night before, so you skip breakfast and the cycle starts all over again. You’re trapped in your own horror movie renamed ‘Ghrelins!’ A good way to break the cycle is to force yourself to have breakfast, even a light fruit salad and make sure you’ve finished eating for the day by 8pm. This WILL help you break the cycle.

How to break the cycle

To get started, focus on your three main meals and eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. You can only have two snacks during the day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. And try to avoid staying up too late, as when the midnight munchies come around, we can’t resist as our willpower is at its weakest when we’re tired.

Here’s a good dietary schedule to stick to:

• Breakfast – 8am
• Snack – 11am
• Lunch – 1:30pm
• Snack (high protein) – 4:30pm
• Dinner – before 8pm

Use a food diary to keep track of what you eat and make sure you keep high salt and high fat foods to a minimum to help ward off cravings. Get your portions right with salads, soups and healthy snacks.

Soups

Soups are a great option for portion controlled lunches and dinners. One big cooking effort creates multiple servings, making it cost effective and perfect for when you’re busy. Soups are nutritious and delicious and it has actually been proven that they keep you fuller for longer. Most soups are low in calories so having a piece of bread is fine if you’re maintaining your current weight. However, if you’re trying to lose weight, bread is not recommended.

Stick to broth varieties like minestrone soup and lentil soup, and if you’re having pumpkin soup, make sure it hasn’t been loaded with cream.

TIP: Keep satchels of miso soup on hand for a quick and easy snack.

Salads

When putting a salad together, stick to two heavy ingredients. A heavy ingredient is meat, cheese, avocado, nuts or oil. That way, you won’t be weighing your salad down with foods that are high in calories.

Great ingredients for salads:

• Capsicums are high in vitamin C and you can roast them in the oven.
• Legumes to make you feel fuller and increase your protein count.
• Chickpeas, lentils and tuna in tins so you can always have them handy.
• Seaweed and baby spinach for their high iron count.
• Chia Seeds are high in Omega 3 and a great antioxidant.
• Quinoa for high iron, protein and fiber.

Don’t be afraid to combine ingredients like this delicious beetroot and chickpea salad recipe.

TIP: Mix ¼ lemon, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and some cracked pepper into small bowl and drizzle over your salad for extra zing.

Snacks

• Carrot sticks or capsicum dipped in hummus.
• Celery sticks filled with low fat ricotta or cottage cheese, sprinkled with Goji berries or currents.
• 1/3 cup of low-fat yogurt with fruit and nutmeg.
• Roasted chickpeas (Chic Nuts) or fava beans.
• Fresh fruit and nuts.
• Tins of tuna mixed with lemon and cracked pepper, spread on rice cakes or whole wheat crackers.
• Protein shake using 1 scoop of protein powder, ½ cup of milk (almond, soy or rice) frozen raspberries and nutmeg or cinnamon.
• 1/3 cup of low fat yogurt, half a banana, berries and a sprinkling of nutmeg.
• Strawberries or any fruit dipped in Greek style unsweetened yogurt.
• Jarra hot chocolate in water . Mmmm – filling and yummy.

TIP: When buying fresh juice, go by my motto – two root and 1 fruit! I.e. choose 2 roots (such as beetroot or carrot) and 1 fruit (fruit has more fructose).

This is a question I get asked all the time “Why aren’t I losing weight? I’ve been exercising regularly, doing all the right things but nothing is happening!”  I’d say that this is the number one reason why people fall off the exercise wagon- lack of results. So why is it that some people seem to be doing all the right things but still don’t lose weight? I’ve outlined the five main culprits in order of importance. Point number one is, in my experience, the most common reason why people don’t lose weight and keep it off.*

1. You’re not losing weight because you’re eating too much:

Many people begin an exercise program and the increase in activity can make them hungry. However eating more will just counter balance the calories burned, leading to no weight loss at all. Similarly, I have observed a mindset of “Well I just trained so now I can have that hot dog and beer.” If you are trying to lose weight, sorry that just won’t work!

The Biggest Loser TV show is a fine example. Some weeks contestants lost virtually nothing or even put weight on. These people were exercising up to four hours per day, but if their diet wasn’t right no weight loss would occur. Many might argue that muscle gain must be the reason, but we are talking about extremely overweight people who already had strong muscles (due to their size) and who were predominately doing cardiovascular, not strength activities.

My advice: Diet is the key to weight loss. Commit to one full week of counting the calories of everything you eat (calorie King is a good website). Sounds like a chore but it works and educates you. Observe how much you are eating before you start your training regime, and be sure not to increase this amount. If you get hungry, drink more water or herbal tea.

The best thing you can do is determine their basal or resting metabolism (Click here to determine yours), and then use a heart rate monitor with the calorie option to see how many calories they burnt during their workout (this is how The Biggest Loser determine their daily caloric amount). A really rough guide of daily caloric allowance is 1200-1500 calories per day for women and 2000 – 2400 calories for men.  Combine that with regular exercise and weight loss simply has to occur.

I would also like to point out that not eating enough can impact weight loss. However in my experience people who are overweight and not eating enough are often in a short term cycle, finding their optimum caloric intake. What led to them becoming overweight in the first place was not a result of not eating enough.

2. You’re not losing weight because you’re not training hard or long enough:

I love it when people tell me they went to the gym four times this week; they did 2 yoga classes, a swim, and a sauna. So why aren’t they losing weight? This is where the sergeant comes out and cracks his whip! Think back to your last week’s training. On a scale of 1-10 how hard would you rate the sessions? Another way of putting it, if the sessions were less than 45 mins, were you completely maxed out at the end, or could you have kept going?

The main principal of exercise is overload. The body needs to be overloaded in some form, to stimulate change. In fact, the body hates change. Your entire sympathetic nervous system is devoted to keeping you at homeostasis, where everything from your body temperature to metabolism stays the same. So if you want to see some change, guess what, you’ve got to overload.

My advice: Overloading your body is extremely specific for each individual. If you have been very sedentary of late, then a walk for 20mins might be a form of overload. But in less than 2 weeks, you’ve got to think of a new way to overload. The two main ways are increasing the intensity, or increasing the time (or both!). If you are a walker, try jogging for intermittent times, increasing the jogging time each workout from maybe 30sec to start until your can jog 10min straight.  If you can’t jog, find some hills, stairs, or double your distance. Notice how quickly the body responds.

Someone came to me who runs 50km per week, but has been putting on weight. I bet lots of my readers would be a shadow their former self if they ran that distance each week, but this person has been running the same distance and speed for years, and their body is used to it. She needs to find a new way of overloading.

I believe that 3 workouts per week should be at 8 out of 10 in intensity. These are often shorter sessions (20-40min) but tough ones. If the thought of pushing yourself to max puts you off, that’s fine too. Then you need to increase the length of your session. It’s your choice, shorter and harder, or longer and steady. Both will overload, which is what we need.

3. You’re not losing weight because you haven’t been consistent

Weight loss takes time. Often it can take years to really shift lifestyle patterns to make a permanent difference. The body works in mysterious ways and if you are glued to the scales, it will just send you crazy. You might lose weight one week, but gain weight the next week. Life is enough of a rollercoaster as it is.

My advice: Weight loss is a shift in one’s personal attitude, a lifestyle change. So pick some other goals within this shift to take the attention off weight loss. Events such as fun runs, Walk-a-thons, social sports, in-house gym competitions, and social groups will be much more inspiring and most importantly fun! After a few months you’ll hop on the scales and be pleasantly surprised. These activities keep you much more consistent and motivated than losing a few pounds each week.

4. You’re not losing weight because you’re not drinking enough water

I don’t need to tell you this, right! It’s so obvious I know, but time and time again I see people mistake hunger for thirst. I see workouts wasted due to dehydration. I see dark circles under eyes, clogged up systems and lethargy. It’s just a habit that needs to be created. It’s one of the easiest, yet most effective ways to lose weight.

My advice: Get out your calculator and punch this in: 30ml for every kilo you weigh (1 ounce for every 2.2lbs you weigh). Add 1 litre (33 ounces) for every hour you exercise. This is a ‘not negotiable.’ And ditch the sugary drinks!

5. You’re not losing weight but your body shape has changed

Do you know I have quite drastically changed the shape of my body three times in my life but my weight has always remained within around 3kg (6.6lbs). Muscle is heavier than fat, so if you gain a lot of muscle that can hide the fat loss on the scales, but this really only applies to leaner people. If you are carrying an extra 6kg (13lb) or more this wont be an issue for you.

My Advice: Use other measurements not just the scales. Clothes and photographs are easy. Also using a tape to measure key areas is really motivating. The important parts are your stomach (belly button line), hips (widest part when you stand front or side on in mirror), and the upper thigh (measure a distance from your knee cap to the point on your upper thigh, so that you remeasure in the same spot). Take notes for accuracy. For example “Measured over pants, Foot on chair, 30cm from knee cap.”

Exercise will change your body shape for the better (in 99% of the cases, bodybuilders are the exception!), so even if the scales don’t drop too much, so long as you look and feel better, who cares!

6. You’re not losing weight because of shifts in hormone levels

Ask any post baby or menopausal woman, and she will attest to the influences hormones have on her body and cravings. The main culprits are the hormones that increase appetite (cortisol, Estrogen, leptin just to name a few) and hormones that reduce one’s metabolism (Thyroxine produced in the thyroid). There is no doubt that a sudden shift in hormone production can have huge effects on weight loss. Sleep also has huge effects on hormone production, so make sure you are getting enough sleep!

My Advice: If you have recently put a lot of weight on for no apparent reason, or your appetite has significantly surged, it is worth speaking to your doctor and having some tests to ensure your hormone function is normal. Thyroid issues are on the rise and can be harmful if not treated properly. Hormonal issues can be overcome and are by no means a deal breaker in weight loss. Living a healthy life, getting enough sleep, eating complex carbs such as fruit and vegetables are all important in regulating hormones. Our hormones shift throughout our life and it is important that we make lifestyle adjustments as we get older.

Have you struggled losing weight? Do any of the above issues affect you? Maybe you found another reason why you didn’t lose weight. I’d love to hear it. Just remember lasting weight loss takes time. Be patient and remember it’s not just about the scales.

* Please note that this article is directed to overweight people trying to lose weight, and does not apply to lean people trying to get even leaner.

Hands up if you like tax! I didn’t think so. Hands up if you like nanny state reforms? Me neither. So it’s no surprise that people are up in arms about the possibility of a fat tax. But let’s get one thing straight, we are fast facing a ‘globesity’ epidemic. If we don’t start a culture shift soon, our kids and their kids will be the ones who will live shorter, less healthy lives.

The question remains though, is a ‘fat tax’ the right way to go about reducing our ever expanding waist lines?

Denmark lead the way in the world’s first fat tax

Recently, Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce a tax on foods that contain more than 2.3% fat. To put that into shopping speak, that’s butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed foods.

The aim is to reduce people’s intake of fatty foods, but it’s not to curb obesity. Fewer than 10% of the Danish population are obese, which is quite a bit lower than the 15% European average. The outgoing conservative government in Denmark planned the fat tax as part of a goal to increase the life expectancy of the Danes. Danish research shows that excessive consumption of saturated fats causes about 4% of the nation’s premature deaths with the current average life expectancy of 79 years expected to drop by three years over the next 10 years.

How will the new fat tax affect the cost of food in Denmark?

The new tax will add 16 kroner (around $AUD3.00) per kilo of saturated fats in a product, increasing the price of a burger by around $AUD0.15 and raising the price of a small package of butter by around $AUD0.40. As a result, the Danes began stockpiling tax affected products, filling their freezers in the lead up to this new tax.

Where it all began

Health minister Jakob Axel Nielsen introduced the idea of a fat tax back in 2009, stating that, “Higher fees on sugar, fat and tobacco is an important step on the way toward a higher average life expectancy In Denmark” because “saturated fats can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer.” In March this year the tax was approved by large majority of the parliament.

Will Australia bring in a fat tax?

Chief executive Kate Carnell from the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) says a similar tax would not address our obesity levels. Australia has had a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on processed foods since 2000, yet obesity levels have continued to rise. Taxing dairy products has also been ruled out as the AFGC is encouraging people to have more calcium in their diets rather than less.

In a bid to curb obesity in Australia, the AFGC is calling on involvement from industries, governments and communities to help solve the crisis. One in four Australians are overweight or obese, which is why leading industry bodies, manufacturers and governments are all putting plans in place to help overcome the issue.

Here’s what’s currently being done:

• Leading manufacturers have reduced the saturated fat content of cooked and smoked sausages and luncheon meats (excluding salami) to less than 6.5 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams.
• The Victorian government recently spent $40 million on educating the public about nutrition and the importance of exercise.
• CHOICE announced it will start naming and shaming foods making misleading health claims.
• Australia has reportedly joined with the United States and Canada to call for the United Nations to change their rules around regulating the production and marketing of unhealthy foods.
• The Cancer Council is calling for cartoons used in junk food advertising to be banned.
• The Australian Medical Association wants to ban the advertising of junk food to children.
• Hungry Jack’s recently announced that vegetable options will now accompany its burgers.

Is a Fat Tax the Answer?

No I don’t think it necessarily is going to affect our obesity levels by simply taxing high fat foods. I can only imagine that the increased costs to manufacturers would simply be passed onto consumers. I do, however think that on a cultural level, there needs to be a multi-faceted approach to treating obesity, and this could be one such angle.

In the last 50 years we have managed to halve the number of Australians smoking by taking a multifaceted approach. According to Biggest Loser Trainer Michelle Bridges, we need to be tackling our obesity epidemic in a similar way as we did the Tobacco industry. Maybe introducing a fat tax alone won’t help, but could it be the beginning of this cultural shift?

Do you think that introducing a fat tax would impact our obesity levels?

Read SMH News Review opinion here.

Here are some of my top tips to make sure your kitchen is setting you up for success, not sabotage:

1. Out of sight out of mind

If you want to have treats on hand it’s important to keep them out of site. A great way to do this is to store them in a non-transparent airtight container, and if they come in a packet, make sure you can’t access them easily by securing them with a bull clip. This creates what we call a ‘barrier to entry’ and stops you from sneaky snacking.

2. Place healthy food on display

The only thing that should be on your bench is a fruit bowl. Research shows that when foods such as chocolate are visible, they may trigger the urge to indulge. That’s why snacks like biscuits, chocolates and muesli should be stored in your cupboard to reduce temptation. Instead, make healthy snacks more accessible and keep pre-cut veggies or fruit in the fridge.

3. Pre-portion out your meals

If you find it hard to resist seconds, portion out your meals in advance. The next time you serve dinner, store your leftovers right away by placing them in plastic containers and popping them in the fridge or freezer.

4. Serve dinner on a smaller plate

Brian Wansink revealed that serving sizes increased by over 20% when meals were served on larger plates. So next time you’re dishing out a meal, choose the smaller plate and reduce the temptation to overeat.

5. Drink from a skinny glass

it might sound hard to believe, but studies show that people poured and consumed a whopping 19% more of their beverage when they drank it from a short, wide glass. Stick to a taller, more slim-lined glass and keep the calories down.

6. Avoid the jumbo packs

You don’t need an expert to tell you that once you open a bag of chips, there’s a good chance you’re going to finish them all. Which is why it’s not surprising that studies show women served with a 170g bag of chips consumed 200kj more than those contained in the average 85g bag. So resist the jumbo-sized bags and go for smaller, portion-controlled sizes.

7. Never eat directly from a packet

The sheer time it takes to serve food can be long enough to switch the conscious mind on and the unconscious mind off. We often get “hand to mouth disease” not realising that it’s OUR hand attached to OUR body shoveling the food in. So take the time to serve your food properly and you might help curb mindless snacking.

Here’s to a healthy kitchen and a healthy body!

Once upon a time the dairy aisle was simple, but stand in front of the shelves at the supermarket now and you’ll find an abundance of options. With so many varieties on the market, choosing the product that’s right for you can be confusing and not to mention time consuming. Here’s what you should know before your next venture to the dairy section.

What’s in your milk?

Before you reach for a carton of milk it’s important to know if you’re allergic or intolerant to lactose. Most of us don’t have an intolerance, but if you’re worried, you can check by having a simple hydrogen breath test or blood test by your doctor.

When buying milk, the main thing to look at is the difference in fat content between full cream, low fat and skim. All the other labels usually have more of an effect on your wallet than your health.

• Regular Milk

Contains less than or equal to 4% fat content, and is pasteurised and homogenised. It is also known as full cream or whole milk, and is rich and creamy in texture.

• Reduced Fat

Contains less than or equal to 2% fat and often has extra protein and calcium added.

• Low Fat

Has less than or equal to 1.5% fat and almost the same nutritional benefits as regular milk, with a boosted calcium content.

• Skim Milk

Has less than or equal to 0.15% fat and sometimes milk solids are added to optimise the taste.

• Modified Milk

This type of milk may be protein enriched, high in calcium, iron fortified or low in lactose to cater for a range of dietary requirements.

• Ultra Filtration (UF) Milk

This milk is also enriched with protein and calcium.

• Lactose-reduced Milk

Lactose is the sugar found naturally in milk. Lactose-reduced milk has an enzyme added to it that breaks down the lactose making it more digestible for those who are lactose intolerant.

• Buttermilk or Cultured Milk

This has a tangy flavour and is ideal for baking. A special starter culture is added to the pasteurised milk to develop the flavour and acidity.

Other types of milk are long-life milk, concentrated milk and powdered milk.

Milk with added calcium and vitamins

A study conducted by consumer group Choice showed that the added nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, (A2 proteins), or omega-3 fatty acids are unlikely to make any difference to your health, just your wallet. You’d need to drink an extra 2-litres of milk with added omega-3’s to get the same benefit of a 50g portion of salmon.

How much milk do we need?

• Under 12 months old:

Cows milk is not recommended (although adding to food is fine, just not on its own). Breast milk is the best option, then formula.

• 1-3 year old infants:

Whole milk is recommended as opposed to low fat milk, but low fat is fine for larger infants from 2 years old.

• 2 years onwards:

Reduced fat or low fat milk is fine. Be careful not to replace normal diet as can create other deficiencies, e.g. low in iron.

• Pregnant women:

If you have a normal BMI then it is fine to go with full fat, as you need an extra 500cal per day. Overweight women should stick with low fat milk.

The recommended daily calcium intake for children 1-3 years old is 500mg per day, which is just under 2 cups. The recommended daily intake for adults is 1000-1300mg per day, which is the equivalent of 3.5 cups daily.

The low down on cream

Have a good look at cream and see the difference between low fat and regular fat.

• Regular cream 100ml = 337calories, 35g fat.

• Low fat cream 100ml = 221 calories, 20g fat (116 less cal, 15g less fat).

What’s on your cheese plate?

There’s nothing better than a nice, soft gooey Brie. But we all know too much cheese will go straight to our hips. So what are the best and worst cheeses?

Low fat makes a difference if you’re looking to manage your weight, but cottage cheese wins by a landslide – it’s lower in fat and calories. And that goes for low fat ricotta too. A good rule to remember is that generally the more pungent cheeses are best as you will use less, e.g. Parmesan.

Here’s your cheese in order, from lowest to highest in fat:

• Low fat cottage cheese (90cal/2g fat)

• Feta and soft goats cheese (255cal/20g fat)

• Camembert (300cal/23g fat)

• Brie (320cal/25.5g fat)

• Cheddar (415cal/33.5g fat)

Choosing yoghurt

When it comes to yoghurt, there are a lot of different low and fat-free flavours available. But are manufacturers adding unhealthy ingredients to compensate for the lack of fat? And if so, does that make full fat a better option?

A low fat yoghurt is definitely a better option, but the very best variety is unsweetened Greek style yoghurt. It’s low in fat and you can add sweetness to it using fresh fruit. Always choose yoghurt that contains the live cultures Lactobacillus acidophilus to help restore a healthy balance of bacteria in the body.

Heidi Klum - One month after giving birth

So we know that the only way to make a big difference to our body shape is long term lifestyle adjustments with eating and exercise, but that doesn’t help for next week’s big event does it? I am constantly asked what the tricks are to change one’s body shape fast. Heidi Klum had just one month after her baby was born to get svelte enough to model Victorias Secrets lingerie range or she’d lose a 2.5 million dollar deal – no pressure!

Follow these 5.5 ways to change your body shape fast. I can’t promise you’ll have a stomach like Heidi Klum’s, but it’ll be an improvement on what’s poking out now!

No bread before bed!

Although I am not a fan of low carb diets long term, there is no doubt that reducing your carbohydrate intake slims you down short term and does wonders for flattening a stomach and increasing muscle definition.

There are a few fascinating reasons low carb diets work short term. Firstly, they rid your body of unwanted excess fluid. In order to digest simple carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes), the body requires a lot of fluid to break this down. In addition many people are intolerant to gluten and their bodies react by retaining even more water and giving that bloated look that we all try to avoid.

Secondly, by eliminating one massive component of a person’s diet, ie carbs, often the total calories consumed each day are reduced. This will also help to flatten the stomach (less food in there) and shed excess body weight.

Before you decide to eliminate carbs all together, I suggest taking my metabolic typing quiz. If you are a carb or a mixed type, I would not suggest eliminating carbs altogether. It’s not worth the pain and anguish you will put loved ones through. You might look good, but you’ll be a cranky bugger!

I suggest: having some carbs for breaky, such as porridge or toast, and then avoiding them for the rest of the day. Instead, increase your complex carbohydrates (coloured veggies) through salads, and increase your protein intake whether it be through lean meat or legumes. You can follow any of the low carb diets if it’s easier (Zone, Atkins etc), but I simply tell my clients, if it’s white and fluffy, or packed with sugar don’t eat it!

Cardio Boxing

There is something about cardio boxing that changes body shapes fast. It might be the fast push/pull action of
punching that gives the shoulders and arms more definition. It could also be the pace of the workout that send hearts a beating and muscles a quivering. But one of the best things about boxing is it combines the fat burning and body shaping into one intense workout. There are very few other sports that can do this in such a fun, accessible manner.

Cardio boxing usually involves other exercises such as lunges, push ups, dips, and whatever else the instructor decides to inflict on you. So when you are gasping for air, rather than a nice 60 second rest, why not catch your breath whilst doing dips on a bench – ingenious!

I suggest: either joining a boxing class, or finding a personal trainer for a one-on-one session, and going every other day until your event. If you have a punching bag you can do this on your own as well. Try a two minute round: 60 seconds fast punching, with 60 seconds strength component (for example: push ups, tricep dips, lunges, over head shoulder presses with hand weights), and a sliding scale rest. Make your first rest 20 seconds, your second rest 40 seconds, your third rest 60 seconds, fifth rest back to 40 seconds, and your final rest 20 seconds. That’s a ten minute round. Repeat that twice and you’ll change your body-shape in no time!

Spin, Squats, lunges and calf raises

Out of all the leg exercises out there, these exercises can change the shape of your legs the fastest. Spin class has the added fat burning component which affects your entire body. If you want a peachy butt, then kick into some squats, and be sure to drive through your heels. If you are looking for sexy, slender yet defined legs, nothing beats lunges. Travelling lunges are my favourite, and don’t be afraid to carry some hefty hand weights or bar across your shoulders. Unfortunately calf shape is very genetic, but how hard is it to stand on a step and do 150 calf raises. Try them one legged and don’t stop until they are screaming, and I mean screaming!

I suggest: A leg session every other day. It could be a spin class or a session in the weights room. For lunges, squats, and calf raises, a minimum of 4 sets, 12 reps and a mandatory grimace at the end. You should be close to failure at the end of each set, and if your muscles aren’t aching the next day, ramp it up big time!

Stand up straight

Believe it or not, the fastest way to change the shape of your body is stand up straight. Want a flatter stomach, bigger chest, sexy back, lots of presence. Stand up straight!

I suggest: 2 yoga classes or body balance classes per week. Rent a home DVD if you can’t be bothered to leave the house. If you can handle hot yoga (I hate it!) you may shed a few extra kilos too.

Be a style guru

This is a fun point as it requires little energy. Know what looks good on you. Know the little tricks, for example moisturised skin always looks more defined. A tan creates a more toned look. There are many websites and publications devoted to matching styles to body shapes and tricks of the trade. Don’t put all this hard work into your look and blow it by wearing a bold patterned shirt that makes you look like an umbrella! On that note, apparently vertical stripes are out and horizontal ones are in. Don’t believe me, click here!

I suggest: For the girls I like Trinny and Susannah, and Carson Kressleys Tips for your body type . For the boys, take this style quiz to see what styles suit you.

Check your attitude

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many people struggle to change their body shape in their own eyes. Countless hours of effort all in vain because we are our own worse critics and tend to focus on the negatives and not the positives. Next time you catch a glimpse of yourself a la natural, find at least five things you are happy with, and when you step out at your next big event, even if you feel there are fifty things you’re not happy with, focus on the five you like, and just maybe, over time, your body shape will change in the eyes of the most important person – you!

Do you have any other tricks that have got great results, fast? What’s your secret?  Heidi Klum, if you’re reading, how on earth did you do it in a month? Was it worth it? We think so!

You know those times in your life when you’ve partied a bit hard? Maybe you’ve been working long hours and eating crap? You feel exhausted, lethargic yet anxious and frankly not on top of your game. It’s time like these that you need to Detox. There are a plethora of Detoxes to chose from, lasting from one day up to three months. But before you go launching into the first brand you come across be warned, choosing the program can mean the difference between having a Detox that rocks or having Detox Disaster.

The Benefits of a Detox

Besides the usual benefits of increased energy, clear eyes, skin and regulated moods, Detoxing has many other benefits:

• Improves our Immune Function
• Reduce the amount of toxins and pollution into our body to lessen the burden against the detoxification organs
• Promote healthy eating, nutrition and supplementation to help our body effectively clear the toxins
• Scavenge free radicals and eliminate toxins
• Strengthen body’s fight against cancer cells and generate healthy cells in our body
• Cleanse mucous, congestion, fermentation, inflammation in our digestive tract
• Purify our blood
• Reform our lifestyle addictions for sugar, salt, high glycemic carbohydrates, alcohol, junk foods, nicotine, etc

Things to be Aware Of

Consult our Doctor if you are:

• Under 18yo
• Pregnant or breast feeding
• Sick or highly stressed
• Have diabetes

Some Popular Detoxes

Lemon Detox Diet: Lasting from 1 – 7 days this detox is a liquid diet whereby all meals are replaced with a lemon, Madal Bal Syrup, and Cayenne Pepper drink. They have spent a lot of money marketing this product but I question it’s effectiveness.

Martha’s Vinyard Diet Detox: This is a 21 day Detox that also replaces all meals with either fruit or vegetable juices, protein shakes or herbal teas. No solid food is recommended. Colonics, massages and other supplements sold by the company are encouraged.

The Fruit Flush: A three day Detox. However it is encouraged to do it once per week for twelve weeks. The first day Detoxers have a special protein shake every two hours. On the following two days they have 100cal of fruit every two hours in addition to a salad for lunch and protein shake for dinner.

Dr Joshi: Is all about returning your body back to it’s natural Alkaline state. According to Joshi our bodies function better if we are slightly alkaline because it improves digestion and disease resilience. Lasting for 21 days Detoxers are asked to avoid acidic, toxic and refined foods including red meat, dairy, fruit (except bananas), wheat, nuts, sugar and sweets, potatoes, coffee and tea. Instead they are told to eat from a list of acceptable meats, brown rice, fish, produce and grains.

The Detox I like to Follow

I do not advocate liquid diets which rules out three of the above four detoxes. I also feel that the best Detoxes are one’s that you can adapt into your life even when the Detox is over. Therefore I do a  fourteen day Detox using  Detox Recipes written by Nicola Graimes Combined with a Metagenics supplement. I have done this Detox over five times myself and put hundreds of clients on it with great health results as well as weight loss (the best being 11kg/24lb loss in 14 days).

How It Works

Day one: Fast day. One type of fruit or vegetable is to be eaten and only water drunk

Day two – seven: Every morning you take your s detox supplement mixed with water. Follow the diet plan and recipes using the best fruits, vegetables and superfoods. Please be aware that the following foods are not allowed and the only drinks allowed are water and decaffeinated herbal teas:

• No caffeine
• No alcohol
• No meat
• No dairy
• No added sugar
• No wheat (bread pasta etc)
• Nothing processed
• Basically it’s fruits and vegetables for the week and not much else

Day eight – fourteen: Same as above but introduce yoghurt and starchy vegetables such as potato

Lifestyle Factors to Accelerate the Detox

Epsom Salt baths: One of the fastest ways to absorb Magnesium is through the skin, so an Magnesium Sulfate (aka Epsom salts) is a relaxing, effective way to improve your magnesium levels.

Dry Skin Brushing: Fot those of you struggling with cellulite or dull skin, dry skin brushing stimulates blood circulation to the surface of the skin which not only clears out toxins that are stored in subcutaneous tissue,  but it also stimulates your endocrine system which is crucial for detoxing.

Herbal Tea’s: As good as Green Tea is, it contains caffeine so avoid it during this Detox. My favourite Detox teas are Rooibos, Roasted dandelion, chamomile, peppermint and Ginger tea. There are many to choose from so try a few and use them to curb your appetite.

Gentle Exercise: Being a  fitness nut I know how hard it is to hear the dreaded ‘R’ word – Rest. But throughout this Detox it is what I recommend, or at least slowing right down. You will be eating less food than normal and the aim is to keep stress on the body to a minimum so adjust your routine to match how you are feeling. If you are feeling energetic and strong then partaking in a class such as Body Pump, Yoga, Pilates, or Body Balance is fine. If you are feeling weak, then some gentle walks and stretches at home will suffice. Try to do something gentle for 20-30 minutes every day.

Mediation: To distress the mind and feel emotionally centred You may want to meditate. If you don’t know where to begin I suggest downloading some meditation podcasts. My favorite is Meditation Oasis in Itunes. You can watch my video blog about it.

Choosing The Best Time to Detox

In an ideal world, you would take time off work and do your Detox in a relaxed state. That isn’t always possible so make sure you choose a time when you can do the following:

• Get 8 hrs sleep every night
• Make some time for meal preparation and food shopping
• Make some time for gentle exercise and meditation
• Cancel as many social engagements as possible and buy a good book
• Be prepared to feel lethargic in the first few days
• If you can tie your Detox in with some self reflection activities such as Goal Setting, you will feel even more invigorated by the end of your Detox

If you would like to do my Detox please email me ab@ameliaburton.com.au and I will send you more information.

Editors Note: This post is written by our elite performance specialist Andrew Verdon. Andrew has completed a Diploma in Exercise Science, Certificate IV in Fitness, Level 1 Strength Coaching Qualifications with ASCA. He is currently completing a Post Grad Diploma in Applied Science (Elite Sports Training) and will go on to do a Masters in Recovery.

Want a  really simple way to check your body fat levels and the level of health risk this could put you at? Here is a reliable and easy test you can do at home with a tape measure (and a note pad).

With a tape measure held horizontal take it around your waist at the level of your belly button. Keep your tummy muscles relaxed and take the measure. The most accurate way to get the measure is to get someone to hold the tape and sight the measure on the right hand side- not the front. If you doing it by yourself then place your finger on the number on the right of your body and let the tape go and record where your finger was- simple!

What should it be?

This now gives you your starting point and you can see how effective your dietary modifications and exercise sessions are. If they are working you should see some reduction in the number after around 2-3 weeks. I often see a large drop initially then a plateau after 2-3 months but keep on going till it reaches the healthy range. I put much more emphasis on this number than body weight as this a direct measure of the body fat levels and your impact on them.

If you are in the healthy range then check it every 8 weeks to keep and eye  on it- if you see it creeping up then get moving! If it is in the higher ranges then I think you should check it every week- record the score and track your progress. I do this with my clients at every session and it is a very powerful tool to monitor and give them motivation to keep up the good work.

This post is written by our elite performance specialist Andrew Verdon. Andrew has completed a Diploma in Exercise Science, Certificate IV in Fitness, Level 1 Strength Coaching Qualifications with ASCA.