80/20 Maintanence Plan

Congratulations on your weight loss!
The final instalment of this blog series is about how to maintain your hard work!
If you live by the simply notion of eating 80% healthy food, 20% junk you can't really go wrong.
Go for unprocessed whole foods. Processed foods are magnets for hidden sugar, salt and hydrolised fat and protein, as well as preservatives and other nasty additives.
Choose a good breakfast that is a challenge for the body to breakdown. Drink lots of water upon rising 1-2 glasses! Give up that early morning coffee or tea as it interferes with nutrient absorption.
Morning tea should be a piece of fruit, handful of nut, yoghurt or a maximum of 4 plain sweet or savoury biscuits/crackers.
Lunch will depend on your situation. It might be a sandwich, a salad, lean meat and veg, soup, dip ( like hommous or tatkizki) with veggie sticks and a few crackers.
Afternoon tea is similar to morning tea but only choose the biscuit option once!
Dinner should be lean meat or fish with salad or veggies. Limit pasta and rice to twice a week. Eat a wide variety and try and include some raw food everyday!
Drink 1-2L water and don't eat 2 hours before bedtime as this is growth and repair time not digestion time. 
Try to incorporate the serotonin effect by eating something sweet, can be a piece of fruit or a scoop of ice cream to get those happy chemicals flowing through you body.
Enjoy special occassions, just be sensible, after all a special occassion isn't that special if it happens daily!
Good Luck.
By the way my weight loss at present is 14.5Kg, 9cm off my hips and 6 cm off my waist. I still intend to loose another 7Kg which will be made alot easier now that I have completely stopped breatfeeding and can go full tilt!
I hope this has been helpful and motivating for you.
I'm always reachable via facebook or my website http://www.asnatureintended.com/
All the Best 
Kylie Floate

Plastic Chemical Migration

Are still using plastic????

Did you know that chemicals leach from plastic packaging and containers into our food and beverages? Well believe it! What's worse is that the government KNOWS about this and even has legislation of 'so called' safe limits. Studies show that products contain mucher higher levels than is legislated, but what is disturbing is that these chemicals are highly carcinogenic (ie they cause cancer). So what is the government doing endorsing the use of plastic packaging? Most people would assue that 'microwave safe' containers would be safe to use....well they are safe -for your microwave - NOT YOUR HEALTH!

Heat is the fasted way to increase plastic chemical migration. So plastic and microwaves is not a good mix. Plastic kettles another bad idea and plastic coffee travel mugs -yikes! I cringe ther worst at BABY BOTTLES being heated in the microwave or standing in boiling water. Taking BPA out of baby bottle is important - it's a shame that Australia was several years behind the rest of the world, but the bottom line is that babies are too precious to be poisoning with plastic bottles.

Get to know your plastics

The worst kind is shrink wrap, commonly used on frozen pizzas. It is hard to avoid on the likes of cheese. Cling wrap (am scared to use brand names) is not a wise choice on school lunches - get back to the paper bag! Foil is also unstable but mainly with acidic things or heat. So you could use foil on a sandwich. I almost died when I saw them using clingwrap to cook food in on Junior Masterchef.

PET (polyethylene) bottles are very unstable, they are made cheaply for disposal. Did you know that bottled water contains on average 3.1% of various forms of benzene? The numbers increase dramatically when an acidic soft drink is packaged in a PET bottle.

Poly carbonate is commonly used for drink bottles and kitchen containers, much more heat stable than PVC but over time it is a toxic leacher. This is the worst kind to store left over food in or freeze drinks in.

PVC plastic is the hard variety that is often used to make plates and cups. Over time they leach the least amount of chemicals but have no resistance to heat - the worst kind to put in the microwave or serve hot food on like at a BBQ.

Melamine dinner should be banned. Not only do they leach melamine which causes kidney dysfunction, but also formaldehyde, commonly known as embalming fluid! And yes the GOVERNMENT also has legal parameters in place! It does say very clearly on the bottom of the plate/bowl that they are not microwave safe, but how many people actually read this and how many children are served a hot dinner on their favourite character plate?

How about the old microwave plastics stets? They are styrene based and are the most stable. There's the reason why when microwaves were first released everyone always used the special plastic containers. How many people still use them??

What you should do NOW!

Throw away your plastic kettle and cooking utensils like spatulas and ladels (I know you've all got a plastic spatula that melted at the end, the plastic didn't evaporate it DID go into your food.

Stop microwaving plastic containers, this includes plastic wrapped meat on a foam tray (and no foam isn't stable either).

Stop storing your left overs in plastic containers, use a ceramic or glass dish.

Stop wrapping lunches in plastic, switch to paper bags.

Buy a stainless steel drink bottle (not plastic lined)

If you have a baby, use stainless steel or glass bottles.

When a product is available in glass, waxed paper or steel, buy it.

Today it is almost impossible to completely avoid plastic packaging, so be realistic, do what you can.

Ever wondered why some products are always in glass? When was the last time you bought coffee or a cooking sauce in plastic? It isn't because they are concerned about your health, it is because the manufacturer doesn't want the plastic chemicals the affect the taste.

The Factors that affect plastic chemical migration

Heat

Time

Acidity - don't buy juices or sauces in plastic

Fat Soluble - don't buy products high in fat plastic packaged such as cooking oil

Please share this info with as many people as possible - awareness is the key. If people stop buying plastic packaged foods, the manufacturers will change their ways!

Transition to your new healthy lifestyle

So now the detox is over - what next??

Congrats on completing a gruelling 4 weeks, it's not easy. Remember the results really won't been seen for another 4 weeks, so don't be tempted to the the weigh and measure yet! The next 4 weeks is really a combination of the 2 diets, not that hard and you won't be hungary, but you will continue to lose weight.

It's really simple...

No bread, No pasta, No rice and keep the starchy vegetables (potatoes, pumkin and corn) to a minimum.

I will be having my banana smoothie for breakfast, but I might have the berry one for variety.

Fruit for morning tea

Soup or salad for lunch

Handful of nuts, yoghurt or fruit for afternoon tea

Lean meat/fish and veg/salad for dinner

scoop of lowfat/low sugar icecream (Paul's Neopolitian is my pick), diet jelly or stewed fruit for dessert.

Over the 4 weeks I will help you to address the underlying causes for the initial weight gain, so it is never manifested again. Remember weight is just a symptom of something else in your life. If you want to keep the weight off you must deal with this issue!!

While I haven't weighed myself in about 6 weeks, I know that the pair of size 12 jeans I bought 4 weeks ago are loosening up and I think I'll be a size 10 at the end of the 4 weeks and be ready for maintanence. If you're not ready in this time and want to loose more I will advise you on how to proceed.

Well done on getting this far.

One last thing you might like to consider, is changing your exercise regime. The more you surprise the body the faster you'll get results. I'm going to start doing my Tracy Anderson's (Madonna's personal trainer) dance aerobics DVD and continue my tummy exercises. Making my work out 45 mins cardio, 15 mins tummys. Choose what suits you, just make it different and try to increase the intensity as you should be feeling fitter that you were.

Have a great week - I'm off to Singapore for a week and am going to eat all the sashimi and dragonfruit I can get my hands on!

Kylie xx

Everything you need to know about artificial rippening, hybridisation and food additives.

Our World Has Changed
Our lives have become a whirlwind adventure and there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to take it all in. This has created a demand for convenience, pre-packaged food. We now have the most diverse food supply in recorded history. Supermarkets are huge and are filled low-nutrition, high energy, additive laden products. The truth is you could set fire to the bulk of what the supermarket chains sell. And that includes the fruit and vegetables. Fresh produce (and I use that term loosely) is first grown with an abundance of pesticide chemicals. They are then picked when they are not even in the realms of ripeness and then placed in cold storage for up to 3 years. Finally they are artificially ripened using toxic chemicals and if your lucky the produce will continue to get sprayed with these chemicals as they rot on the supermarket shelf.
Our lives have become a whirlwind adventure and there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to take it all in. This has created a demand for convenience, pre-packaged food. We now have the most diverse food supply in recorded history. Supermarkets are huge and are filled low-nutrition, high energy, additive laden products. The truth is you could set fire to the bulk of what the supermarket chains sell. And that includes the fruit and vegetables. Fresh produce (and I use that term loosely) is first grown with an abundance of pesticide chemicals. They are then picked when they are not even in the realms of ripeness and then placed in cold storage for up to 3 years. Finally they are artificially ripened using toxic chemicals and if your lucky the produce will continue to get sprayed with these chemicals as they rot on the supermarket shelf.
We may have an over abundant food supply, but it is in no way superior. We may have more exciting lives to lead, but we have alarming rates of depression, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD), autism, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), cancer, suicide, dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and the list goes on – all are linked to a poor diet.
But is it a poor diet by choice, for some it is, but others truly believe they are doing the right thing by their body and it is very unsettling to find that you’ve been duped.
What is more unsettling is the lack of regulation and disclosure in our food supply. Additives are approved under very dubious conditions and when independent studies prove the undesirable effects of these chemicals, the food giants launch their own funded studies – you can just imagine their findings.
How do we turn back the clock and return to a more natural way of life and reclaim our health? The answer is, we replace our flowerbeds with a veggie patch and start making meals from scratch, just like our grandparents and the generations before them.
“Well I don’t have time for all that” I can hear you say. Think of the time you spend dealing with unruly children, or what it would take to recover from a serious illness, like cancer, we all know someone who has been there and its not pretty. As for the gardening, kids love to get their hands dirty and research shows that they are more likely to eat fresh produce or try something new if they have been involved with its care and production. Gardening has also been shown to be a great stress reliever.
To those who say that they couldn’t possibly give up their favourite treats, there is no need to. The body is a fabulously resilient machine that can cope with few treats a week. The problem is that the large majority of the western world treats everyday like its Christmas. It isn’t really our fault; it is a consequence of a generation living through the great depression and then World War II. The baby-boomer generation got spoilt with all of the food and treats that their parents missed out on – who can blame them? However, all parties must end sometime. It isn’t doing our bodies any favours by constantly indulging in treat food. A treat is a treat, not an everyday occurrence. Human beings are supposedly the most intelligent creatures on the planet, yet we are the only one’s that deny our body of proper sustenance. If you examine a food label, it appears to be a cocktail of chemicals and numbers that the average person has no understanding of. The scary fact is that food companies don’t actually have to disclose all the ingredients of a product. If an ingredient is less than 5% of the whole product it doesn’t have to be declared. As we are discovering, the 5% is adding up and it is getting increasingly difficult to find completely additive free food. Currently 4 multinational companies own 40% of the world’s food supply. These food giants have become very savvy at marketing and food labelling. A label can very boldly state that there are no preservatives added, when they are in fact laden with food additives. This is achieved by either adding a whole ingredient such as vegetable oil or vinegar that contains the preservative, or by using a synthetic antioxidant or sorbate that technically isn’t classified as a preservative, even though it has the same function.

The best way for consumers to make a difference to our food supply, it to choose bands that are additive free. It won’t take long before the multi-nationals realise that their market share is dropping, thereby encouraging more additive-free products to become available and reducing costs by increasing the competition.
There are also many petitions and open letters to send to food companies and Food Standards Australia (our regulating body), to demand the removal of these additives. This has worked in other countries, particularly the UK. Some damning research came out by South Hampton University that clearly showed the link between particular food additives and behaviour. Europe has never used many additives in their food supply and are highly regarded for their superior health, despite their increased alcohol and tobacco use. It’s not the Mediterranean diet; it’s the low additive food supply. Many food additives that are used extensively in Australia are banned in many parts the world due to the demonstrated adverse effects – why is Australia so far behind the rest of the world?  

Detox Guidelines

Congrats on making it through the high protein diet! I didn't find I was at all hungry, but I was definately snappy! Now it's time to detox. I always find the detox section the most challenging, probably due to the lack of coffee permitted and the headaches that result. It is an important step though, as we haven't been exactly kind to our bodies for the last two weeks, and who knows what other toxins have accumulated over the past months or years - particularly if you don't consume enough water.

So here are the guidelines...

No red meat, fish is fine (eat it everyday if you want, make sure it's fresh and not canned or crumbed) and a little chicken (say twice a week).

No Dairy, yoghurt is fine (make sure it's free from any additives labelled between 200-220), as is dairy substitutes such as rice, oat or soy milk.

No Tea or Coffee, while the caffeine is of some concern, it's actually the phytates that we are trying to eliminate, which interfere with nutrient absorption.

Limit Potato intake, the good news is you can have some root vegetables, but don't over indulge, try not to exceed 1-2 potatoes per day (even if they are in a soup).

No bread or flour based foods - we want whole foods that are a challenge for the body the breakdown and are loaded with nutrients (no empty calories).

No refined cereals - stick to the whole grains, like oats or muesli.

No pasta or white rice - some brown or wild rice is ok. You might like to try some grains like quinoa or couscous.

Limit egg intake - no more than 1 per day.

Do utilise nuts, particularly natural ones (not roasted) and buy sulphite free. Remember nuts are very energy dense so only 1-2 handfuls per day.

Do eat lots of fruit and vegetables of a wide variety - try to buy non-artificially ripened, pesticide free produce.

Eat legumes and pulses, they contain the amino acid methionine which very good for digestion.

Drink lots of water, aim for 2 Litres per day - small frequent sips is far kinder to the kidneys than guzzling half a litre at a time.

Breakfast suggestions

I'm probably going to make a berry smoothie (1 cup of frozen berries and half a glass of apple juice).

Porridge made with a dairy alternative is a great start to the day. Or a muesli.

If you're going the smoothie option, be creative, there are lots of possibilities.

Morning Tea suggestions

1 cup of yoghurt.

Fruit or cut up veggies

Handful of nuts.

Lunch suggestions

I will be making a pot of soup and eating that or making a big salad with a light vinegarette.

You could have fish/chicken and steamed veggies or salad.

If your forced to buy takeaway as I am when I have to go to the city Nando's chicken salad is a good option, or a subway salad bowl.

Afternoon Tea

Same as morning tea

Dinner

Fish/chicken and veggies/salad (you can have fish every night if you want, but limit chicken to twice a week)

Veggie and lentil patties are always a hit in my house, just roll them in quinoa or couscous instead of breadcrumbs.

Chicken and veggie  stir fry with some rice, quinoa or couscous.

Theres always soup....

Sweets

Fruit - try something decadent like a mango, strawberries, pineapple or dragonfruit.

Dried fruit - I love those pawpaw spears. Remember dried fruit is very energy dense so just a small handful.

Remember not to eat 2 hours before your bedtime!

Have a glass of water first thing in the morning.

Good Luck. Feel free to email me is you have any questions.

If you haven't entered our competiton yet, it closes on 31/10/10 all you need to do is email me your best 'fat' photo - that's it! There are 10 Onya prize packs to be won.

Have a great week

Kylie xx

Little Known Nutrition Facts

Here is some nutrition trivia to help you fight the high protein diet blues....

1.It takes 20 minutes for the brain to get the message that you have eaten. Try to make your meal last that long, instead of wolfing it down and sniffing around for seconds. Have a glass of water instead and wait out the 20 minutes, if you really are still hungry, brush your teeth.

2.Drink water after every meal. Your body doen't actually have time to breakdown everything. But if your body has to provide the fluids for digestion it is very keen to reabsorb those fluids and retain toxins inorder to avoid dehydration. It's a bit like having a car and never changing the oil.

3.1 Litre of water consumed equates to 1Kg on the scales. Try it we did it at uni it really works! This doesn't mean stop drinking water! But factor this in when you weigh yourself - do it first thing in the morning before anything is consumed.

4.Your body is actually a reflection of the conditions about 4 weeks prior. Hydration is the only factor that can influence this. This is why I don't want you weighing yourself during the rapid weightloss, as one can easily get discouraged. 1 month after the completion of the diet is when we should see the most significant results.

5.As babies we have 50,000 more tastebuds than as an adult. Taste is the first of the senses to deplete. This is why we should always retry foods that we previously disliked, as tastebuds really do change. If you have small children, don't decide at the age of 2 that they don't like something - people carry it for their whole lives. Make a fuss that they are 'big' enough to like something now, trust me, as a Kindy/Preprimary teacher, I KNOW this angle works!

6.Fresh fruit and vegetables should be consumed within 20 minutes of cutting. Fruits and vergetables continue to respire (slowly 'breathing out') after they have been picked - in some cases for months. Once they have been cut open, cellular death occurs and with in 20 minutes it will 'die'. There are wonderful phytochemicals that can be utilised during this period, as well as the 'lifeforce' of the plant that really does contribute to health and vitality.

7.Telfon coating on baking trays, that has a habit of flaking off, actuallu won't hurt you. Teflon is inert which means that it passes straight through the body, untouched.

8. There is the same amount of energy in olive oil as there is in lard. While the effects on the body are very different,. they have the same Kilojoule content. A few celebrity chefs would have you drizzle olive oil over your meal, it is a very quick way to over-consume Kilojoules.

I'll give you some more trivia when we're half way through the detox which is coming up next week. I'll post all you need over the weekend.

I know it's tough, the high protein diet, while it doen't leave you feeling hungry, it does give you alot of irrational rage. Just be aware of it and be kind to those who love you.

We have a competition on facebook, where if you click 'like' you go in the draw to win great Onya prizes, including stainless steel drink bottles, weighbags, petbags and groovy shopping bags.

Don't forget you can always email me with any questions at asnatureintended@bigpond.com or post me on facebook.

Hang in there xx

2 Week High Protein Diet

It's finally time to get medievil!!!

The next 4 weeks are going to be tough, but I promise will be worth it! I can not stress enough how important it is to gradually reduce the kilojoule intake and increase physical activity as we have been doing over the past few weeks. Weight loss will be much less successful for those who have not done the preparation and launch straight into high protein. Most people lose about 10Kg over the 4 week period (that includes the coming 2 week detox). How much you lose will depend on your start weight, metabolism and consistency.

The big no no's are alcohol, bread, pasta, rice and starchy vegetables (potatoes, pumpkin, corn).

Make sure you have nothing important on, like exams or important meetings. High protein diets, while are very effective, have a negative impact on concentration, mood and mental computation.

To give you some understanding about why this is. The body has preferred energy pathways depending on conditions. When you are going about your normal daily activities that don't cause you to be out of breath (eg oxygen is available) the body with use fat to synthesis glucose.

When you are running or doing a vigorous activity the body will synthesise glycogen from carbohydrates. The body can only store about an hour's worth of gylcogen and will spare these stores at all costs - they are actually intended for the 'fight or flight response'.

Protein will only be broken down for energy purposes in desparate times - when there is no other alternative. It takes alot of effort for the body to do this and the by-product that is produced is keytone bodies. They cause a poisioned acidic state that place a lot of pressure on the kidneys and leaves the brain starved for nourishment. The brain will only use carbohydrates for energy.

The body is very resilient and that is why we can do it for a couple of weeks, but celebrities that swear by the Atkins and Zone Diets are suffering themselves and doing a dis-service to the public by endorsing them. Fertility is something that is effected by this lifestyle and it always makes me shake my head when certain celebrities complain that they can't get pregnant.

2 week high protein guide

Breakfast choices: eggs, bacon, meat, seafood, smoothie. I will be having a smoothie containing 3/4 cup cold skim milk, 1 cold banana, 1 teaspoon of hot chocolate powder and blended for about 30 seconds. You can you any fruit.

If you go for the bacon and eggs, be sure to have a piece of fruit about 1/2 hour later. The reason for the delay its to create the serotonin effect. Basically, serotonin is the happy chemical in your brain, bit like prozac. It can only be synthesised when there is no competition from a protein source. I'm trying not too get techincal, just eat the fruit half an hour after the eggs n bacon to set up good brain chemistry for the morning.

Morning Tea choices: yoghurt, fruit, handful of nuts or a small choc milk. I will be having fruit or yoghurt.
Lunch choices: meat and salad, tuna, eggs, cheese, seafood. Some people go and get a big hunk of ham. I will be roasting a lump of meat that I can eat over a few days with a little salad.
Afternoon tea: same as morning tea
Dinner choiced: meat and veg/salad. This should be the easiest as it won't impact the rest of the family.
Sweets:jelly, stewed fruit, 1 scoop of icecream 
For morning/afternoon tea a sweets the portions should be small eg 1/2 cup yoghurt. The other meals have as much as you like, most people have a limit to how much meat or eggs they can stomach. You will actually look foward to the meat free component of the detox diet!

Important - don't weigh or measure yourself during this time.
Consume a litre of water. You can have tea/coffee. No fruit juice.
In regard to exercise, it is a good idea to mix things up and keep surprising the body. If you can only manage walking, try an find a different route with more inclines. However, if you are able bodied, its time to start adding some tummy crunches, squats, lunges or other weight bearing exercises. The combination of cardio and weight bearing is the most effective. I'm going to drag out my denise austin short cuts dvds. They are 10 minute workouts that focus of different areas. With my kids its hard to commit to a 40 min dvd. You have to do what works for you - I hear Zumba's great. If your at a gym that has Les Mills Body Attack classes - I swear by them and they are so much fun.

Good Luck! Remember you can email me anytime at asnatureintended@bigpond.com with any questions.
The competition for the Onya prize pack closes 31st October so if you haven't sent in your before photo - do it now!

Kylie xx
    

All about breakfast

The last week before the rapid weightloss!!

The last item on the agenda before we embark on a 2 week high protein diet is BREAKFAST.

As previously mentioned, the body desires hydration upon waking, so we want to give it water, not coffee/tea. Herbal tea is ok as long as it isn't artificially flavoured as many are.

After a glass or two of water, your body requests complex carbs. Your brain can only function on carbs and it is ready to wake up. However, breakfast needs to provide a balance of quick brain food and sustained energy.

A combination of cereal and fruit will do this. The fruit can be broken down readily and perk up the brain, while the cereal breaksdown slowly providing energy to mid morning. The best combination is porridge and sliced fruit. There are many reported health benefits of eating oats, particularly the cholesterol lowering effect.

What if you don't like porridge??? Choose a cereal that isn't highly processed. If the cereal isn't a challenge for the body to breakdown, the body will be flooded with insulin and excess kilojoules will be stored. So the cheerio and compressed biscuit varieties are not a good option.

Museli is a good option, just be wary of sulphites in the dried fruit/nuts. And be aware that dried fruit and nuts are very energy dense. 1/2 a cup of museli or 1 cup of cereal/porridge with lowfat milk is the recommendation. I always recommend A2 milk, you can read all about that on my website http://www.asnatureintended.net.au/

The rule of thumb for sugar content of a cereal is max 15g per 100g and 5g per 100g of fat. This is considered a modest intake, as to be classified a low fat or low sugar there can only contain 3g per 100g of fat or sugar.

When your next at the shops, see how many cereals you can find that actually fulfils this criteria - there won't be many! Most breakfast cereals are actually more like dessert!

If you must eat toast, make sure it's a beautiful loaf with lots of seeds and grains - go easy on the toppings and avoid vegemite and peanut butter.

Next week is the high protein diet and I will be posting everthing you need for that in the next couple of days.

and by the way, I've dropped a dress size and finally thrown away those ugly maternity jeans and brought a pair of size 12 jeans!

I hope your progressing well, this week we'll do another measure - weight, waist, hips.

This would be a PERFECT TIME to take a photo of yourself and email to me! There are great prizes to be won and all you need to do is SEND A PHOTO to asnatureintended@bigpond.com  

Understanding your metabolism

This week is about changing your snack intake - what is reasonable to consume for morning and afternoon tea? Well it's going to depend on your energy requirements, but the most important aspect is to control the intake of saturated fat. For all people the range is between 7-10g - which is not alot. Saturated fat is the fat that contains LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) which clogs the arteries.

So rule of thumb is 4 plain biscuits (eg milk arrowroots) in any one day or one evil biscuit. This treat can be saved up so once a week you can enjoy a lovely cake or whatever turns you on. The point is, that you can't indulge everyday.

So what is on offer? fruit, cut up veggies with a low fat dip, low joule jellies, skim milk smoothies, handful of nuts/seeds, fruit tub (benzoate free). Weight watchers have some great recipes or books like skinny bitch in the kitch - but be careful with portions.

There's alot of who ha about nuts and allergies, the truth is that more people are allergic to the sulphites that they are preserved with than the actual nut. Get tested properly before you rule out this valuable food source.

Lots of pre-package foods are preserved with sodium/potassium benzoate. Commonly found in yoghurts, fruit tubs, cordials, soft drinks etc. The benzoate have been found to cause hyperactivity and aggression in children and impaired concentration and irritability in adults. Other countries have banned (or are in the process) this substance, it is widely used in Australia, Asia and America.

The biggest lifestyle change you can make is creating the distiction between a treat and an everyday food. Once you understand that the baby-boomers were over-indulged by their parents who had lived through decades of deprivation, due to two world wars and the great depression. We all want to give out kids what we missed in our own childhoods, but this is a party that has gone on for too long - enough is enough. The result of this indulgence is obesity, heart failure and type 2 diabetes (which is now showing up as early as 20!)

That being said, there is no reason why a person who doesn't indulge everyday can't enjoy a birthday party or a nice meal out - it's when we try to do this on a daily basis that trouble occurs. I love food as much as anyone and am certainly NOT suggesting a life of deprivation!

What factors affect metabolism?

The reason why we don't want to go on some crazy starvation diet is we can actually end up sabotaging our efforts. This is because the body will decrease its basal metabolic rate by about 15%. We are slowly introducing the body to negative nitrogen balance, without shocking it into starvation mode. If you don't eat adequately for appoximately 5 hours, starvation mode will kick in. It is very difficult to persuade the body to come out of this state - afterall it doesn't want you to die!
Illness will increase metabolism by about 15%, so there is actually some truth in the old wives tale "feed a cold, starve a fever" A fever is hindered by dehydration and food will only further dehydrate the body. Did you know that if you were stranded in the desert and you food but no water - eating the food will actually kill you faster. The body can last at least a week without food, but without water you will die within 3 days!
Women with PMS (usually the few days before a period) will often crave treats, this is because the body actually requires about 800Kj extra a day. It is actually better for to indulge (and the people around you will be grateful too!)
If you haven't heard we are running a competion - Send us your 'before' photo by 31st October 2010 and you could win one of 10 Onya prize packs (including a 750ml stainless steel drink bottle, bottle jacket and a groovy onya original bag).
Send us your 'after' photo by 1st March 2011 and you could win $500!!!
Simply email us your photo and contact details to asnatureintended@bigpond.com to be in the draw.
Good Luck
Ps don't forget to find us on facebook!

Time to crank it up a notch, plus ever wondered why you eat the way you do?

I trust that your exercising is going well, don't lose heart if you are struggling with it - it takes about a month to get used to it and longer to love it. I'm finding my runs around the property are going well. I can incorporate the kids so I feel alot less anxious than when I exercise indoors and I have no pesky kids to trip over.
My waist to hip ratio was 0.76 which is not at risk of disease. However the Wii fit has me as obese - huh? The Wii uses a BMI which is not a good indicator of health risk.
If your waist measurement is larger than your hips (not uncommon with men), I would not hesitate going to the doctors. You may already have type 2 diabetes, hypertension or heart disease.
So what next.......
This week I am changing my lunch meal. As it is freezing cold still in Australia, I have made a big pot of veggie soup. This can easily be taken to work or enjoyed at home. Use seasonal veggies, prefereably spray free and not artificially ripened.
Aternatively, make a big salad with lots of stuff in it and a low oil dressing. Another idea is stir-fried veggies, if your not at home, do it the night before. You can eat as much as you want - so fill up!
A word on commercial soups - be wary of those that say No MSG or No ADDED preservatives. The key word is ADDED, which is code for 'we used preserved ingredients such as oil or vinegar, but didn't actually add the preservatives ourselves'. The following is either identical to MSG or upto 15 times the strength of MSG: 621,620,635, yeast extract or hydrolysed vegetable or animal protein. Flavour enhancers cause inflammation and water retention, not to mention nastier effects in more sensitive individuals.
Ok so how did you get to be overweight? If your like me and had a baby or 4, you know what the answer is. If not, weight is mereley a symptom of another factor. See which category you fit in to. Until you address the underlying cause of the weight gain, this will continute to be a problem.

TIME MANAGEMENT: People are too busy to cook healthy foods. They have no time to read food labels to investigate what they are actually eating. They have a tendency to buy pre-packaged or fast foods.


EMOTIONAL ISSUES: People who eat to self medicate. They crave sugar highs, have low fibre diets that leads to brief satiation. They have a tendency to suffer from mood swings and will consume high carb foods that give a prozac like effect. Eating equals happiness, destress or numbness.


IGNORANCE: Well intentioned people who are easily influenced by advertising. Not have the knowledge of how food is metabolised and that excess kilojoules are stored as fat, not just fat! It requires having a basic understanding of their bodies kilojoule requirements and participating in sufficient physical exercise. Energy in minus Energy out equals your body weight. Find out how much and of which type of food your body requires, stop eating for the sake of it or out of habit. Make simple brand changes that won’t be noticed. Remember that treats are treats, everyday is not Xmas. Find out what is a treat and what is everyday food. Just because we are not living through war rations or the depression, just because we can indulge, doesn’t mean we should. Our parents and grandparents went without – we are over indulged, start being realistic with what is reasonable to consume in a day!

This truly is the key to permanent weight loss.

 

Calculating your estimated energy requirements

I believe that it is useful to understand what your individual energy requirement are, you will need a calculator..
Women aged 15-22   7900Kj (1900 calories)
                    23-50   7500Kj (1800 calories)
                    51-65   7100Kj (1700 calories)

This is based on a height of 162cm for every cm you are above or below this height you need to add or substract 105Kj (25 calories)
If you have a very physical job you can add 2100Kj (i do have a list of all the occupations and the estimated energy expenditures)
If you are breastfeeding you can add 1500Kj
If you are very inactive, subtract 840Kj
Men aged 15-22  10900Kj (2600 calories) 
               23-50  9600Kj (2300 calories)
               51-65  8400Kj (2000 calories)
Follow the same steps as listed in the women for height and activity level.

To give you an idea, your breakfast and lunch should be a max of 2,000Kj, dinner a max of 3,000Kj and snacks should make up the rest. Obviously this is just a rough guide. Ofcourse none of this is helpful if you can't read a food label, or have access to nutrition data for whole foods. I will help you with this as we get further along.

This week is about establishing an exercise routine. Choose a time that works for you. What you choose in terms of an activity is upto you. For me, I'm going to Wii Fit at about 5am before the kids wake up. The Wii fit gives you a date stamp when you've exercised and I find that useful to establish a routine, plus its really fun!. I'm also going to increase my incidental exercise, for example take the stairs, park the car further away and walk instead of drive etc. I'm also going to join my kids with their daily races they have around the chook pen, usually I just watch.

With my 3rd child I would put the littlies in the double stroller, walk my oldest to school and go for a big walk (with a stop at the park for a play). As I got fitter I would do an exercise dvd when I got back as the kids would always fall asleep on the way home.

With my 1st and 2nd babies, I was a gym junkie. The kids would go in the creche and I would do a variety of activities. I was also teaching body balance (a yoga pilates class).

In the beginning, prior to kids, I would get up at 5am and either go running or use the home gym. I used to tape aerobics ozstyle and do that sometimes.

I have the most constraints on my ability to exercise than ever before, but I have determination!

Choose what works for you! Just do something that makes you puff for an hour.

Exercise has more influence over weight loss, where as food intake has more influence over health.

Just remember you will probably hate to exercise at first, but you will get hooked on the endorphins and eventually you'll look forward to it (really!)
Also don't forget to take some before photos and weigh yourself 1st thing in the morning, before you eat and preferably after you've been to the toilet.
Next post will be about next week's food intake and some info about what influences food choices.
Happy exercising!

The Checklist

Ok, so you've decided your ready to lose the weight......Here's a checklist.

As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. The following are necessary commitments to make:

1. Thou will drink at least 1 Litre of water everyday (sorry we use the metric system here) preferably from a non plastic container (if you are not aware, bottle water contains on average 3.1% benzene - highly carcenogenic and reusable drink bottles are not any better. I recommend a stainless steel drink bottle like the one's on our website).

2. Thou will exercise for 1 hour everyday. Research shows that weightloss is more effective when one exercises in the morning prior to breakfast but after hydration. The body is quite dehydrated when we wake and all it is actually interested in intially is water. However the average person consumes a sugary/salty breakfast, washed down with a cup of tea or coffee. In terms of a breakfast the body needs complex carbohydrates as this is the only major nutrient which can fuel the brain. This is why breakfast is so important, as it sets up the brain chemistry and its ability to focus and concentrate. This isn't to say that you can't exercise in the evening, you just need to make time in your life for consistent exercise.

3. Thou will give up alcohol, even if it is only for the rapid weightoss and detox periods (totalling 4 weeks). To give to an idea of why alcohol sabotages our efforts. Alcohol yields 29kj (sorry I don't work in calories, but can if I'm forced) per 100g. Carborhydrate only yields 17Kj per 100g, fat yields 37Kj per 100g. This is only pure alcohol content and doesn't take into consideration the added sugar and/or fat content of the drink. So if you consume a couple of glasses of wine, or a couple of beers each day, you will be effectively consuming an additional 2,000Kj, which effectively equates to a meal. Alcohol consuption makes weightloss very difficult!

4. Thou will not eat 2 hours before bedtime. It is important to understand that sleep is designated for growth and repair and when we go to sleep on a full stomach, about 2 hours of what should've been for your body's maintanence, gets donated to digestion. If your over 30 you should really value your sleep, as we only end aging faster when we don't.

5. Thou will do a waist to hip measurement ratio. You will need to take measurement in 2 places. The smallest circumference just above the hips (waist) and the largest circumference around the hips. Divide the largest number (the hips) into the smallest number (the waist). Hopefully you will get a number less than 1. For a woman anything over 0.8 indicates at risk of disease and for a man 0.9. This ratio estimates the amount of fat covering the abdominal area and major organs in terms of a risk factor. I really recommend anyone who gets a result as at risk (particularly over 0.9 for a woman or 1 for a man) goes to their doctor and has a blood test for serum cholesterol and triglycerides. As well as a glucose tolerance test for diabetes. High cholesterol and High blood pressure does not effect the recommendations for food, but will effect the approach to exercise. A Type 2 diabetes result will not effect exercising, but will greatly affect the food recommendations and the ability to participate in the high protein aspect of the diet. Do not hestitate to contact me with any concerns or queries.

It is also a good idea to have a much support from your nearest and dearests. If you have a partner like me who is totally buff and won't be participating, be honest about what your going to need from them during this time. Alternatively, if you have a partner who is a little soggy around the middle, encourage them to join in and support each other.

In regard to kids and teenagers actively losing weight, there is a fine line. All children benefit from exercise and eating healthily. However, I would have to see a medical reason to participate in the rapid weightloss and detox periods. Please discuss this with me or your doctor if you think your child is obese.

Tomorrow's post will be about calculating your body's individual estimated energy requirements and ofcourse getting started for Wednesday.

All the best!

Kylie

It's time to lose weight.....with me for free!

Ok so I'm 33 and my baby is now 10 months old. I'm sick of wearing my maternity jeans and anything with an elastic waist. My baby is still not sleeping throught the night and my day's are insanely hectic. I feel I will always have excuses and I really want to get back into shape. Truly if I can do this, you can too. As I am a nutritionist and a mother of 4, I know a thing or 2 about losing weight safely and effectively. I will be starting on September 1st (next Thursday). Each week I will post my menu, exercise plan and any tips or thoughts. Feel free to ask me how to make the programme better for you. As I am still breastfeeding, I will be starting slow and building up over the next few months. Obviously this is ideal for those who have had a baby recently (or not so recent!), but really anyone could join in.
My approach is about making small intial changes that eventually lead to a permanent lifestyle change. Although there is a 2 week high protein diet and a 2 week detox, the emphasis is on health and adopting a new way of life. During the 4 weeks of 'dieting' the weight loss is rapid, but will only stay off if real changes are made, but ones that you can live with. Ultimately, I believe in the 80/20 plan for maintaining weightloss. ie 80% good food and 20% treat. But the key to this is one's understanding in what actually constitutes a treat - most people understand food labels poorly, are easily seduced by clever advertising and have little knowledge of what are the body's basic requirements.
I will give you this knowledge, I will give you the tools to calculate your EER (estimated energy requirement) and help you to comprehend what that looks like in terms of food. Research shows that most people re-gain the weight with in 2 years. This is because we slip back to our old ways - habits are hard to break. I will give you insights into why certain behaviours lead to weight gain. My trigger is time-management. If I am organised I function well - I eat well and exercise and seem to have more fun - I'm definately happy and I never worry about my weight. Everything becomes second nature and it all just falls into place. When I get to that point I don't feel as though I'm trying to acheive anything, I'm just living. aahh but if I'm living in chaos......
So call your friends and family. The time is now. No more excuses. There is nothing to pay and no-one will try and sell you anything. You will have my full support.
Over the coming week I will post checklists and guides to help you get started and determine if you are ready!
If you have any medical condition, make an appointment with your doctor to confirm you are ok to go.

Take advantage of what Edith Cowan University charged me $17,000 for. As we DEFINATELY can't have anymore kids (woohoo)- I won't be doing this again. So lose weight with me now- it will be fun (well you might hate it at times) and in the end you will be healthier, have more energy and ready to take on anything!
Don't forget to go to the website http://www.asnatureintended.net.au/ there's already loads of fabulous free info!