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!