4 Tips to Budge the Post Christmas Bulge

Its nice to wind down and relax at Christmas and end of year celebrations but many people get frustrated and discouraged when they jump up a few kilos. Here are a few tips to help counter Santa's abdominal influence:

1. Remember Weight is a Balancing Act - todays weight in itself is not as important as the trend over time - see the full article here for more. This highlights the importance of tracking over time.

2. Drink More Water - Your body can mistake thirst for hunger. Thirst is best quenched by water alone. All other drinks have calories which will add to your waistline rather than reduce it. 8 standard glasses spaced out over the day is the average recommendation.

3. Gently Reduce Meal Portion Size - Our bodies don't actually require large volumes of fuel (food) to function. In fact the western diet is on average 20% larger than it needs to be for our daily function. A gentle reduction in meal size will result in the same for your waist over time. 

4. Get Active - Its holiday time, get out with friends, kids or just yourself and walk, swim, ski, snowboard or play a game - depending on what hemisphere you are in! It is a great time to join a low cost gym, many gyms have deals at the start of the year to attract members and don't just join - GO!

______________________________________________________

For a step in the right direction make a booking with consults available face to face at The Impact Centre Wellness Clinic at Erina or by Phone or Skype online.

Call Impact Health Coaching on +61 2 4367 6767 today.

Meet Charles - The 93 Year Old Bodybuilder

If you think its too late then think again! 93 year old retired Dentist Charles Eugster turns the clock back on ageing with a straightforward determination that outshines some a quarter of his age. The most amazing part is that he started at 87. Gotta love a man with a neck wrap!

Watch his BBC interview here:

Appearing more like a 70 year old, Dr. Charles proves that the body is mouldable at any age and if you treat your vehicle right it will keep serving you well in the gym and on the beach!! Go Charles :)

For a step in the Eugster direction make a booking here with consults available face to face at The Impact Centre Wellness Clinic at Erina or by Phone or Skype online.

Call Impact Health Coaching on +61 2 4367 6767 today.

Foods That Promote Beautiful Skin

Many women and even some metro men often stop me in the street and comment on how youthful my skin looks and I just... WAKE UP! OK so that never really happens. So what can we do to improve the health of our most obvious feature.


Our skin is the largest and most clearly seen organ in the body which also reflects our health status of what is happening within. 


Applying external skin products can help improve how our skin looks and feels but we can also treat our skin to the best beauty therapy from the inside with great nutrition and some key lifestyle tips. 


It won't be instant but will be sustainable for months and years and even better, all of your internal unseen organs will benefit & love you more. 


Lets start with what to eat and do less of and get into the good stuff at the end. 

Eat & Do Less:

• Meat, especially sausages - no need to become a vego, just cut down a comfortable amount
• Omega 6 fatty acids - Margarine & Sunflower oil
• Poor nutritional foods in general
• Smoking
• Direct Sunlight - mild amounts of sunlight are essential but hours in the hottest part of the day without coverage will definitely damage your dermal skin layers over time

Eat & Drink More:

• Carrots 
• Tomatoes
• Dark Berries - blue, black, mul
• Elderberry Juice (who's ever heard of that?)
• Sourberries (huh?) - for Vitamin C
• yoghurt (natural)
• Greens - Spinach, broccolli, rucola, cucumbers
• Green Tea
• Fibre - Wholegrains 
• Nuts and seeds
• Omega 3's - Walnut oil & Grapeseed Oil
• High protein foods - fish, eggs
• Juices, fresh citrus and combinations
• Water - up to 2 litres a day

Notice the emphasis on fresh vegetables & fruit? Pick your best 3 foods from the list and let's start glowing!

PEAZ, 

John

and also LIKE us on facebook :D

5 Steps To Live Longer & Healthier by Dr Ross Walker

If you are someone who wants to live longer and healthier these 5 steps keep coming up trumps:


1. Have Regular Health Checkups - Visit your GP every 3 months or less. Have them check your coronary (heart) health, calcium levels for bone density, Check for cancers - skin, breast & prostate and any other risk factors that pertain to you.

2. Do 3-5 hours per week of Quality Exercise - Whats your game? Walk, jog, play, skip, climb and factor it in at least 3 times a week.

3. Environmental Factors - such as too much sun, check the air quality you are breathing and water quality you are drinking, minimise exposure to electronics, microwaves in the environment and toxins.

4. Ask your GP about having a Genetic Health check - This is the way of the future and the future is now! You can have your entire genetic make-up mapped for risk factors and plan your life to minimise the risk factors and maximise your strengths.

5. Spiritual/Emotional/Mind Health - Studies show that those who regularly pray, meditate, ponder and take time out live happier, more fulfilled and longer lives. Also its shown to be important to set aside regular time for fun and enjoyment.

Dr. Ross Walker is an eminent practicing cardiologist with a passion for people and health. Considered one of the world’s best keynote speakers and life coaches, he is the author of seven books (all of which have been best sellers). Dr. Walker is also a regular presenter on the Nine Network’s TODAY Show, A CURRENT AFFAIR, and has most recently appeared as the medical expert on EXCESS BAGGAGE. He also presents on radio stations 2UE, 6PR, 4BC and 3AW. 

Long Live YOU!

PEAZ,

John

How to Turn Your Convertible into a Bus & Back Again

Today, in fact right now your body is in perfect balance. Your response - "How can that be? I need to lose weight and tone up, BIG TIME".

The finely tuned machine that you live and function in every day is a perfect expression of your current nutrition and the daily activity that you do.

In some ways our body is like a car - we fill up with high octane fuel at the station and drive around burning it off until we push the fuel gauge lower and we stop and fill some more. But what if your fuel tank was elastic? And instead of running it down to empty we fill and over fill our tank until it gets stretched to a semi-permanent state. Now the needle registers empty but there's still 10-20% of fuel to go. Imagine if our vehicle increased in size to accommodate the increase in fuel - if we weren't careful our convertible could grow into a wide berth bus!

Our stomach is an elastic fuel tank and literally resets the empty gauge sending our needle (or noodle) an inaccurate message. Our body perfectly adjusts in size and shape according to the fuel that we pump in and the amount of kilometres that we travel.

The great news is with a good plan, a little determination and some careful monitoring we can transform whatever we drive into a smooth well oiled purring machine that you are proud to drive. Its even possible to turn the odometer back!

There are heavy prime movers and mini-buses, there are slick low riders and flat back utes, there are family wagons and 2 door runabouts, vans, CRV's, trucks and semi's, MPV's, muscle cars and sports cars.

Which vehicle are you driving and what are you transforming it into?

PEAZ! 

John

and also LIKE us on facebook :D

A Simple Multi-Coloured Salad Idea

We had a fantastic multicoloured salad for lunch today and I just wanted to encourage you to do the same for one or more of your meals over the next few days. If you don't know where to start then go to the fruit n vege market and pick up some fresh:

• Rocket lettuce
• Red onion
• Avocado
• Fetta cheese
• Seedless olives
• Semi dried tomatoes 
• Salad seed mix
• Dressing - plain yoghurt, tahini and a dash of lemon and honey. 

Also had 2 eggs for a protein fix and it was so filling! We had white, yellow, red, purple and green - all natural with no numbers :)

What fresh colour combo will you come up with? 

PEAZ! 

John

and also LIKE us on facebook :D

Why Exercising Can Quickly Go Pear Shaped

It is common for people wanting to control weight and in particular reduce their body fat to join a gym, play more sport or ramp up an exercise plan. This is generally a good decision, but why do people often find that the harder they work they either see no change in their weight and percentage body fat or worse their weight increases? Then being discouraged by poor or negative results they ditch their regular exercise only to see that their weight continues to go pear shaped - literally. The reasons and common steps are:

1. Exercising is great but will naturally create more demand for fuel and cause a greater desire for more food due to increased hunger and feeling the need to eat larger portions at mealtimes.
2. Without good nutrition we will usually pump in more of the same foods with high sugars, carbs and fat content with far greater calorie content than the calories we burn during the exercise.
3. The good thing is our cardiovascular fitness and strength can improve steadily but on the negative side we see a maintenance or worsening of our weight situation and our fat stores can increase.
4. Then we stop exercise through discouragement but are now accustomed to having larger meal sizes and don't cut down which leads to a rapid burst of weight and fat gain until our body reaches relative equilibrium.
5. The end result being heavier with more body fat than when we began :(

So should we not exercise? NO! - exercise and activity is an essential ingredient to achieving our heath goals and especially for weight management but exercise alone contributes only about 30-40% of weight control where good nutrition contributes the larger 60-70% portion. So what can we do?

1. Develop and implement a healthy nutrition plan low in processed foods, fats and sugar and high in protein and fibre before you launch into a new exercise regime.
2. Learn the real demands your body needs in your normal day to day activity and meet those demands with good nutritious and nourishing food that is particularly high in protein such as eggs, lean chicken, turkey, fish, lentils and nuts - especially almonds!
3. Get into the habit of drinking more water - work up to 8 glasses a day. Your body metabolism will improve and you will feel fuller and desire less food.
4. Begin your exercise plan and adjust your calorie intake up to meet it especially by increasing your mid morning and mid afternoon meals being careful to not to increase the sizes of your regular breakfast, lunch and dinner.
5. A combination of great nutrition and varied moderate impact exercise which is well monitored will help you to meet your health goals.

By the way what are your health goals?

Make a list and if you need help - ask your impact health coach for help!

PEAZ!
John

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed - The Importance of Accountability and Support in Optimal Health

Most of us need a helping hand along the way when it comes to goal setting and achieving great health results. If weight management, cardiovascular fitness, disease prevention and management were easy there would be no need for a highly complex health and medical industry. The following is a short list of essential friends we recommend to help achieve and maintain optimal health for you.

• A local GP you can trust and that you visit regularly for checkups is essential for positive long term health outcomes
• An ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL - be it physio, chiro, osteo - try them out and go with whatever works best for you. They have more to offer than help with your stiff back.
• your local DENTIST - there are so many systemic health problems that are related to poor dental health.
• And of course A HEALTH COACH! - will help to put the pieces of the health puzzle together for you and delver a personalised nutrition, exercise and illness prevention management plan that fits you and your lifestyle

HAVE YOU BUILT YOUR HEALTH FREIND NETWORK?

 If not start building for your future NOW to live your best and healthiest life :)

Peace,

John

Cholesterol Facts #1: LDL and HDL Cholesterol

1. Our bodies synthesise (make) enough of both types of cholesterol for our needs and there is no actual need to consume any cholesterol in our diet
2. Small amounts of both LDL (known commonly as bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol are essential for our bodies for cell health
3. Typically high levels of LDL are found in our blood when we are overweight and/or have an unhealthy diet
4. Both types of cholesterol are found only in food products containing animal fats but the following is a list of foods particularly high in LDL (bad) cholesterol:

• animal meat (especially with high levels of fat)
• processed meats such as salami and sausages
• foods cooked in animal fat - most fast foods, hot chips, etc
• cheese and eggs
• shellfish & prawns
• cake, baked desserts and bread
• butter, cream, milk

Most of the above foods can be eaten in moderation - except for fast foods, cake and desserts and cream which are best kept to a minimum as occasional treats.

And the food with the highest amount of cholesterol content? Lambs Brains!!

The Benefits of a 20 Minute Walk 3 times a week

A 20 minute good paced walk is great for our muscle health, good for our cardiovascular fitness, excellent for well being and can burn around 135 calories. Only 3 of these per week will make a positive change in our health :)

Weight Management is about the Trend

Weight management is less about the daily swings and more about the overall trend. that makes it important to weigh yourself daily at the same time under the same conditions but not to stress about the actual number. Over time we need to guide our bodyweight to go down, up or stay the same - according to our personal goals.

If you find this helpful please Share :)

Why You Should Eat Almonds Regularly Between Meals

3 Reasons why I recommend my clients to eat Almonds as a regular part of their nutrition plan:

1. Almonds between meals keeps your metabolism chugging and feeling full.
2. Almonds are a great source of protein and have a small amount of good fats with ZERO cholesterol.
3. Almonds are full of other nutrients such as magnesium, potassium and antioxidants and are great for your skin

This post is not sponsored by an almond factory :)

LET'S EAT!!