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I recently saw John Tickell speak in Melbourne.  I’ve heard him speak several times over the years and love his passion for eating and living a healthy lifestyle.  Not to mention the fact he’s also an outstanding presenter who has the audience in stitches of laughter.

He mainly spoke about the enormous problem facing the Western World in dealing with the health crisis resulting from lack of physical activity and poor food choices by the majority of the population.  The problem is getting worse, with 2/3 of Americans overweight or obese and Australians following hard on their heels.  In fact, it was recently reported on the news that obesity has now overtaken smoking as the number one cause of premature death in Australia!

John shared some examples of nations with excellent health statistics, such as the people of Okinawa (an island off the coast of Japan) who are predominantly vegetarian.  Yes, we all have a couple of canine front teeth capable of ripping flesh from bones but the bulk of our teeth are molars designed for chewing vegetation.

When striving for success in life, you generally mirror or copy those who are successful… I find it strange then that so few people seem to follow this approach when it comes to a healthy lifestyle!

Have a look at Healthy Theory – it covers the Blue Zones of our world, which are the healthy nations and their eating behaviours.  Or take a few moments and read over one of the Blue Zones eating and lifestyle recommendations.

For example, Okinawa, Japan is known for its low number of diseases and the longest living human.  Spare a few minutes from your day and check it out here.  If you learn just two or three new things to adapt into your eating habits then it’s time well spent.  In fact, maybe you should consider spending 10-15 minutes every month on nutrition educational reading.

Remember… we only get the one body and one chance.

Ask yourself this question, how serious are you about living your life to the fullest?  Or perhaps the better question is, are you in the driver’s seat or are you more of a victim of your life?

You may think that you eat pretty well but let me shake up your thinking a little bit.  John recognises that in the Western World we eat 50% Meat/Dairy, 30% Processed Food and 20% Vegetables/Fruit/Grains…

But we should be eating more like 5% Meat/Dairy, 10% Fish and 85% Vegetables/Fruit/Grains…

If you want to find out more about John’s research and how you can vastly improve your lifestyle by eating properly, check out his books.

Now that Spring is in the air, most of us start getting worried about fitting into our summer clothes again.  Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix.  However, we do have a few tips that will help you move that stubborn tummy fat:

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  Eat your way to a flatter tummy!

  Eat Dark Chocolate – we all know we need to eat less rubbish and more good foods, but let’s face it, sometimes you just need a treat!  So instead of the usual block of milk chocolate, chips or ice cream, have a little dark chocolate instead… because it’s actually good for you.  Dark chocolate boosts good HDL cholesterol levels, plus it contains natural substances that help control insulin levels and relax blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and it provides important minerals including copper, magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron.  What’s not to love – it tastes good and it’s not on the taboo list!

• Add Apples to your shopping list – fresh fruit is a must and apples come high up on the list as they’re packed full of antioxidants, such as quercetin, catechins, phlorizin and chlorogenic acid—powerful antioxidants.  Chop them up with some blueberries and yogurt and you have a delicious summer dessert minus all the calories.  There are also plenty of great varieties in the supermarket at the moment, so go nuts!
• Speaking of Nuts – instead of snacking on biscuits and chips, have a container of nuts and seeds handy for when the munchies hit.  They’re a great source of many key nutrients, including protein, fibre, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, B vitamins and vitamin E.
• Eat more green vegies - I know, I know, this isn’t news to you!  But if you’re really wanting to trim that stomach down, you need to eat less carbs at night and more vegies, especially broccoli which is high in fibre, aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar and, best of all, curbs overeating.
• Lean meat is your friend – we all need protein but that’s not an excuse to whack the barbie on and load it full of sausages and burgers.  Instead, go for skinless chicken, which is a great source of protein and low in fat.

But most of all, if you really want to get rid of that tummy fat you need to get moving!  That’s right, exercise is the key to really shifting the fat and getting a fabulous flat and toned stomach.

Let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like a good sandwich with lots of delicious fillings.  But if you’re trying to lose a little weight you need to be conscious of what you’re putting on that sandwich.

Here are a few tips to create a healthy, nutritious and still delicious sandwich.  Number one is the best, number five the worst.

Make the right choices in your sandwich and you don't need to stress you're breaking your diet.

Meats (25g slice):

1. Turkey – go for your life!  Each slice has 6 grams of protein and just 126kJ.  Plus it’s full of potassium which can help lower blood pressure.
2. Roast Beef – still lean plus it’s low in sodium, has 7 grams of protein per slice and is also one of the best dietary sources of zinc, which is essential for a healthy immune system.
3. Honey Ham – it only has 2/3 the protein of roast beef, but it’s still pretty low in fat and kilojoules.  But make sure you read the label because it can be quite high in salt.
4. Salami – yes, it’s delicious but when you’re thinking about putting it on your sandwich, bear in mind that those little white bits are pure pork fat!  Definitely don’t make this your first choice.
5. Prosciutto – it has a strong flavour, which means you can use less of it.  Which is a good thing, since it has more than double the kilojoules of turkey and 6 times the saturated fat, plus it’s high in salt.  On a good note, it’s high in protein.

Condiments:

1. Hummus – made from chickpeas, it’s got loads of fibre and richness without the kilojoules.  Great combined with roast lamb and roasted red capsicum.
2. Guacamole – if you’re going to spread your sandwich with fat then it may as well be the healthy kind!  Combine it with turkey and cheese for a delicious sandwich.
3. Pesto – the olive oil and pine nut base has plenty of monounsaturated fat and the basil is loaded with antioxidants.  Fantastic on a grilled chicken sandwich.
4. Dijon Mustard – it’s got no fat and very few kilojoules, but unfortunately one teaspoon contains almost as much sodium as 100 grams of Doritos Original corn chips!
5. Mayonnaise – I know, there’s nothing quite like mayo on a sandwich.  But two teaspoons has 753 kilojoules – almost as much as a Krispy Kreme doughnut!  Try canola oil (egg free) mayo or garlic aioli instead.

Cheese (25g slice):

1. Mozzarella – you might be surprised that this pizza topping comes on top of the list, but it actually has a great balance of protein and fat, with plenty of substance, and is one of the healthiest cheeses.
2. Soft Goat’s Cheese – low in fat, kilojoules and sodium and a good source of protein.  Great all round cheese which goes well with olives and crusty brown bread.
3. Swiss – low in sodium and with a good amount of protein, it goes well with any cold meat.
4. Cream Cheese – it can be a great substitute for butter, but make sure you buy a light variety with a low fat content.
5. Cheddar – while it has about the same amount of kilojoules as Swiss, it has nearly three times as much sodium so keep your slices thin if you must have it.

Information sourced from Men’s Health Magazine.

I can almost guarantee that the majority of times you eat out at a cafe or restaurant, the conversation inevitably turns to diet, food and exercise… maybe because you’re all feeling a little guilty about what you’re indulging in!

(On a side note though, it’s nice to know people are always talking about my product and service – the health and fitness industry).

Most, if not all, of us know that the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry which has a huge influence on how we think and behave around food – whether we get caught up in constant calorie counting or go to the other extreme and choose to turn a deaf ear to the plethora of overwhelming “advice”!

This can present a bit of a problem for those of us in the fitness industry.  Good nutrition and regular exercise go hand in hand towards gaining and maintaining a healthy body.  But the majority of fitness professionals aren’t heavily educated on nutrition.

Having been in the industry for 27 years, I’ve finally found the perfect fix… a system to bridge that gap.  Diet and nutrition is a big area of education and we are delighted to announce our partnership with Nutrition Complete, a comprehensive online nutrition program which really works!

It’s ridiculously easy to use… you enter in your goal (i.e. lose, gain or maintain weight) and measurements, your food preferences (e.g. dairy intolerant, no bananas etc) and the amount of time you have to prepare meals.  Then the program puts together a meal plan for you for the day, week, month… whatever you choose.  It even prints out a shopping list for you, so you know exactly what to buy!

We now make this incredibly powerful program available to all our members at a reduced cost and it’s also available to non-members as well.

If you’re one of our members with regular Personal Training contact sessions, we bonus it in and you pay nothing – a $444 bonus!  Great stuff!

I’m so grateful to have found it, so it can support our trainers and provide an outstanding option for a healthy diet and good nutrition.

If you want to find out more, come and have a chat at Reception or check out the information on our website here.

It’s Friday night, it’s been a long week and you can’t be bothered cooking.  As you drive home from work the mouth watering smells from all the takeaway joints send your taste buds into overdrive.

It would be so easy to pull in and grab a simple, quick dinner solution… but you’re trying to be healthy and you don’t want to undo all the good work you’ve done this week.  But, gee you’re sick of feeling like you’re missing out all the time!

Well, guess what?  You don’t have to miss out all the time… you can stop in at the local fish and chip shop every now and then without completely blowing the diet.  You just need to make the right choices when you get there.

Choosing battered calamari instead of whiting makes for a guilt free dinner!

For example, instead of your usual piece of battered whiting, get the battered calamari.  It’s so much better for you and you’ll still feel like you’re having a treat.

Battered Whiting (1oog):

• 1283 kJ
• 23g protein
• 11g carbohydrates
• 19g fat (9g saturated)
• 465mg sodium
• .5g fibre

Battered Calamari (100g):

• 878 kJ
• 24g protein
• 7g carbohydrates
• 9.5g fat (1.5g saturated)
• 320mg sodium
• .3g fibre

Of course, if you really want to have the whiting, you still can… just ask for it grilled without butter and enjoy!

Do you sometimes find it impossible to eat healthy meals without breaking the bank?  It’s a sad but true fact that healthy food is often more expensive.  So today, we’ve brought you a recipe which will cost you less than $10 and is both healthy and nutritious…

There are lots of different variations you can try with this salad.

Salt and Pepper Chicken with Couscous Salad

200ml Chicken Stock

150g Couscous

3/4 punnet Grape Tomatoes, quartered

1/2 Continental Cucumber, cut in half lengthways then angle cut

30g baby spinach leaves

2 large (400g) chicken breasts, skinless and excess fat removed

Salt and Pepper

1. In a medium sized saucepan bring the chicken stock to the boil.
2. Place couscous in a medium sized heatproof bowl and pour the boiling stock on top.  Stir through.  Cover the bowl and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
3. Place the couscous in a large bowl and fluff with a fork to break up the grains.
4. Add the grape tomatoes, cucumber and baby spinach to the couscous and season with salt and pepper.
5. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper.  In a hot non-stick pan, seal the chicken on both sides until slightly browned on the outside.
6. Transfer the chicken to a non-stick baking tray.  Place in a 200/180 degree celsius fan forced oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until cooked.
7. Remove the chicken from the oven and rest for 5 minutes.  Slice into 100g serves, place on top of the couscous and serve.

Serves 4.

Per serve: 1117kj; 7g fat (2g saturated fat); 23g protein; 26.7g carbohydrate; 2019mg sodium.

Happy Birthday!  It’s hard to believe a year has passed and my cheeseburger has turned 1 today, 9th August!

Yes, you read that right.  My cheeseburger has turned 1!  You see my son, Germain Spriet, and I were watching The Bionic Burger a year ago.  It’s a three minute YouTube clip explaining how a lot of fast foods today have so many preservatives in them that if you don’t eat them they’ll still look the same five years later.

Happy Birthday to our 1 Year Old Cheeseburger

Naturally, we had to test it.  We bought a burger and the photo shows what it looks like today, after 1 year.

Which begs the question, what’s it REALLY made of?  What’s been added to it to preserve it?  And more importantly, the bigger question is, what’s it doing to us when we eat this stuff?

Germain hasn’t had a cheeseburger or hamburger from ABC….# since.

It might seem like a strange thing to do, but it’s worked for me.  It’s caused my son and I to question what most people take for granted and eat every day.  In fact, today we’re going to buy from two other fast food brands and add them to the shelf.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Take three minutes and watch this video and maybe question what you’re putting in your body.

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, new research pops up to change the way you should eat, drink and cook.  Let’s take a look at some of the old thinking and what the latest is…

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  Yes it’s true, you now have permission to chew!

  Eating Fat Makes You Fat.  The Mayo Clinic in the US has found people who increased their intake of monounsaturated fats actually lost weight without decreasing their kilojoules.  Plus, olive oil, nuts, olives and avocados reduce stomach fat.

• Chewing Gum Makes You Hungrier, So You Eat More.  Not so.  A study has found people who chew gym for an hour a day are more likely to eat less kilojoules at lunch, feel less hungry during the day and use 5% more kilojoules.
• Room Temperature Water Is Best For Rehydrating.  A new study says to keep it chilled.  According to Dr Jason Lee, cold water could be the most direct way to reduce core body temperature, therefore taking you longer to heat up and slow down.
• After A Tough Workout Take Nurofen To Offset Soreness.  Popping anti-inflammatories actually reduces production of the chemicals needed for muscle growth and repair.
• Steaming Is The Best Way To Cook Vegies.  These days, the microwave does a much better job of retaining the most recovery-boosting antioxidants.  Put your vegies in a bowl with a small amount of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.

This information was sourced from Australian Women’s Health magazine.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, so in aid of that I’ve got a great post today from Dr Hu, who shares his views on a healthy, fit lifestyle…

Q.  Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life.  Is this true?

A.  Your heart only good for so many beats, and that it… don’t waste on exercise.  Everything wear out eventually.  Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster.  Want to live longer?  Take nap.

Q.  Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A.  You must grasp logistical efficiency.  What does cow eat?  Hay and corn.  And what are these?  Vegetables.  So steak is nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system.  Need grain?  Eat chicken.  Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable).  And pork chop can give you 100% of recommended daily allowance of vegetable product.

Our esteemed Dr Hu

Q.  Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A.  No, not at all.  Wine made from fruit.  Brandy is distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way.  Beer also made of grain.  Bottom up!

Q.  How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A.. Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one.  If you have two bodies, your ratio two to one, etc.

Q.  What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A.. Can’t think of single one, sorry.  My philosophy is: No pain…good!

Q.  Are fried foods bad for you?

A.  YOU NOT LISTENING!  Food are fried these days in vegetable oil.  In fact, they permeated by it.  How could getting more vegetable be bad for you?!?

Q.  Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A.  Definitely not!  When you exercise muscle, it get bigger.  You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.

Q.  Is chocolate bad for me?

A.  Are you crazy?!?  HEL-LO-O!!  Cocoa bean!  Another vegetable!  It best feel-good food around!

Q.  Is swimming good for your figure?

A.  If swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me…

Q.  Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?

A.  Hey!  ‘Round’ a shape!

Thank you to Dr Hu for his valuable input.  I’m sure we all have a much better understanding of food and diets now!

And don’t forget, life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive, well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Chardonnay in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “Woo Hoo, what a ride!!”

But here’s my final word on nutrition and health…

1.  The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

2.  The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

3.  The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

4.  The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

5.  The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

CONCLUSION:  Eat and Drink what you like.  Speaking English is apparently what kills you!