Best Books of 2009

Overcoming Under Earning by Barbara Stanny - a must read for any woman in business
Man in the Mirror by Wayne Bennett - fantastic insight into the psychological functioning of young athletes from the coaching master himself
The Volumetrics Eating Plan by Dr Barbara Rolls - one of the USA's top diet books
The Princessa by Harriet Rubin - a fascinating look at the way women go into battle compared to men
Are you the one for me? by Barbara De Angelis - one of the best relationship books you can read
Affluenza by Oliver James - if you are looking for meaning this book explains why we are making it hard for ourselves to find it
Life's Too F**king Short by Janet Street Porter - a light, funny read thta takes the piss out of many a female behaviour
The Art of Forgiveness, Loving kindness and Peace by jack Kornfield - a must read for any one who finds it difficult to forgive and move on or to recover from grief
The Money Club - if you have thought about starting a share club, this one will inspire you to go for it
Woulda, shoulda, coulda by Dr Arthur Freeman - if you find your head in the past much more than the present you need to read this one
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - a brilliant true story, beautifully written which demonstrates the power of resilience no matter what your family background - a great pool read over the break
Surviving adolescents by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg - I don't even have teenagers and i loved this one
The Don't Go Hungry Diet by Dr Amanda Sainsbury Sallis - for any chronic dieter, this books explains why dieting almost makes it impossible to lose weight
Mindless eating by Dr Brian Wansick - a fascinating read about how our food environment shapes exactly what and how much we eat
Reinventing your life by Dr Jeffrey Young - if your past profoundly affects the way you behave and interact in relationships, this book may explain why, with a particular emphasis on parenting and past experience

What Have You Learnt This Year?

The majority (not all) of new music seems a bit to same-same, and been done before.
You need to get everything right for a healthier life:- sleep, mind (stress or lack of), diet and exercise. Excel in one area but drop the ball in another results in minimal gains.
Tip your hairdresser (for guys), as they are paid paltry $, and you will get more attention and better service next time around.
Do I need it or want it?
Never too old to start surfing
Czech beer is very good
ABC and SBS are so much better than the 3 commercial stations.
tabata (interval) training using compound (cross-fit type) exercises provides extreme fat loss and strength
Sydney traffic is getting progressively worse each year

Anthony

To always trust your gut instinct
Never complain about food in a pub
Expectations of good service in Sydney are wasted
The Y generation come from a completely different planet
Sometimes you need carbs at night to get the metabolism going
Adding walnuts to your diet to lower cholesterol really does work
A couple of parking tickets each year is really not that bad when you live in the city
There is a big difference between men and boys

SB

No matter how much you plan, research something, deliberate, reason
about something - things sometimes just do not go to plan!

I find it hard to tolerate boredom. Not sure what the answer is to that
one - it's definitely not - eat more!

Sydney is a great city - you just need to know where to go!

Fried chilli cuttlefish is delicious!

Never drink on an empty stomach.

There is nothing wrong with not being warm and nice all the time.

Cindy

1. It isn't the number of friends, but the quality of the friendships
2. You need to let yourself be taken care of once in a while
3. Nothing beats a lovely day out with friends, drinking, eating and laughing
4. You can have a life of meaning and a life of happiness, it doesn't have to be a choice between the two
5. People can tell you nice things, but when nice things are told to you by the people that matter, those words mean more than anything in the world.

JB

You only crave sugar when you are eating it regularly
Mini breaks are the difference between getting through the year happily or not
Sometimes you have to be brutel when it comes to friendships

SM

People are offended by some jokes.

Life gets taken too seriously.

It's ok to be an idiot!

I am dying everyday and that's ok. Eye sights getting worse, loosing
brain cells as we speak/write. And you just can't prevent it!

Caron

Leaving the children to go away is something every parent should do
Motherhood is over rated
Two alcohol free days each week is unreasonable

KC

Four wheel drives are too big for the city
Most women do not know how to drive 4WD's
Teenagers can never be trusted, ever
Every person that comes into your life is there to teach you a lesson

SC

Week 11: 12 Week Challenge: Time to fine tune

As the 12 Week Challenge draws to an end, it is time to think about what dietary changes you can maintain and which you need to tweak slightly to keep up the momentum. Remember, eating well during the week tends to lend itself to more relaxed weekends, and daily movement is a must for long term weight control. Consider which area s of your diet are making your feel restricted or when you feel most hungry - these are the areas we need to work on to develop a sustainable eating plan.

12 Week Challenge: Week 10: Bump up the breakfast

After 10 weeks of dietary changes, and hopefully a couple of kgs of weight loss, you are probably starting to feel hungry. Weight loss studies have shown that individuals lose more weight on a weight loss diet when they have a larger breakfast so this week, why don;t you try and increase the size of your breakfast.

If you are having 1 piece of toast for breakfast, try adding another OR increase your serve of cereal up 1/3 cup or add an extra piece of fruit in. Remember, a well balanced breakfast should keep up full for 3 hours so if you are getting hungry at 930, increase the size of your breakfast so it keeps you full until 10-1030am

12 Week Challenge: Take some time off

With just 4 weeks to go until the end of the 12 Week Challenge, it is time to give your body a break. Research suggests that prolonged periods of dietary restriction can actually make fat loss more difficult as the body fights to keep weight on by secreting appetite driving hormones. So, this week tyr giivng your self a little diet holidsay. A day or two off o a copuple of emals where you indulge and eat what you really feel like. A break will let your continue diet momentum for longer and aslo satisfy any cravings you may be having.

12 Week Challenge: Check your snacks

While snacks have become a regular part of our daily food intake, is could be questioned if, whether given our largely sedentary lifestyles we actually need to snack at all. Snacks can come in handy if they help to manage hunger and prevent over eating at meal times but with a snack needing to be just 400-600kJ, the average coffee teamed with banana bread or muffin can equate to up to 3x that amount of energy. So, this week, try changing your snack routine. Either limit your snacks completely OR swap to low kJ choices. Not only will you eat better at meal times but you can cut your daily energy intake by up to 2000kJ.

Susie's Top 10 Snack Choices
Dairy Farmers Thick & Creamy yoghurt
Punnet of berries
4 Vita Weat 9 grains with 2 slices Light Jarlsberg cheese
2 corn thins + peanut butter
Paddle Pop Ice Cream
Go Natural Nut Delight Bar
Carman's Breakfast Bar
Red Capsicum
10 Wafethins + low fat hummus
Skim Latte OR Jarrah hot chocolate

Your daily health plan - Example

1) Pack lunch the night before work
1) Get off train a stop earlier
2) Make green tea once at work
3) Set computer timer to remind you to have morning tea
4) Get out of office at lunchtime
5) Pick up work lunch stuff on Monday lunchtime
6) At 3pm, pre emp sugar craving and have a Jarrah hot chocolate and Nut Bar
7) Grab a carrot immediately on arrival at home to avoid going to the fridge
8) Arrange to meet friend at gym so not tempted to skip
9) Pack next days lunch while cleaning up after dinner
10) Cook extra dinner so enough is leftover for Tuesday lunch

Week 7: Reassess your goals

If you set some clear goals at the start of the 12 Week "Get ready to bare flesh very soon" challenge, it is a great time to really start to fine tune your goals.

If you have lost weight already, well done BUT, what do you need to change further with respect to your daily diet and exercise choices to take you to the next level.

Do you need to be stricter in the week?
Do you need to alter your training regime?
Do you need to eat more salad and vegetables?
Do you need to be strict about allocating time to planning your food for the week?
Are you eating enough, and perhaps need to eat a little more to increase your metabolic rate?
Do you need to ditch the alcohol for a few weeks completely?

Outcome is significantly more likely when clear goals are set and regularly reviewed - the time is now. C'mon! You only have just over a month to go!

Week 6: Just go smaller

In a world of upsizing and large portions it can be challenging to fathom the idea of ordering something smaller-why would you? But for the sake of weight control, little things really do add up and 100 calories saved here nor there can really equate to kilos of body fat lost over the course of a year. So here are the most common areas you can cut back on calories, each and every day.

1) Smaller bread slices - Helga's, Lawson's and Noble Rise are larger slices. Go for Burgen or thin Tip Tip slices to reduce your calories by up to 100.
2) 100g tubs of yoghurt
3) Smaller coffee cups -Please note that Starbucks do have a small, tall is not small!
4) Individual squares of ice cream
5) Tiny classes for fruit juice
6) Small bowls of cereal
7) Cheese slices not cut yourself chunks
8) Lindt thin chocolate squares
9) Olive oil measured at dinner
10)Thin creackers such as Vita Weat, not Salada

Week 5: Time to eat more vegetables.

If you think about it, if we all ate a few more serves of vegetables each day, we would be much fuller, and much less likely to snack on garbage. The biggest mistake people tend to make when it comes to vegetables and salad, is that they do not eat enough of these foods at lunchtime, which leaves you feeling peckish at 3 and 4pm. Simply by making sure that your lunch includes a couple of cups of salad and your dinner plate is half filled with vegetables, you will be well on target with a controlled calorie diet and weight loss. Here are my other top tips for bumping up your intake of veges each and every day.

1) Keep cut up celery, carrot and red capsicum cut up in the fridge so you can snack on them while preparing dinner.
2) Always order an extra side of vegetables for dinner.
3) Add a V8 vegetable juice to your morning routine.
4) Make a habit of adding a bowl of greens drizzled with olive oil to your dinner table.
5) Each weekend make a vegetable soup or massive salad to add to meals through the week.
6) Ask for extra salad on sandwiches purchased away from the home.
7) Keep celery and carrots in your work bag to nibble on the train or in the car on the way home.
8) Pre order your fruit and veges each week so you never run out.
9) Remember, you can add frozen peas, beans and carrots to almost any meal.
10) Once each week, have soup or salad for a light dinner.

Week 4: Time to prioritize

So, you know you want to lose weight, and you know that to do this you need to eat less and move more. Well, it is now time to prioritize this goal in your life and schedule in your training sessions and do a little food planning.

Each Monday morning, I want you to get your cup of tea and mark out a grid style chart of when you will train, and what you will be eating. This planning process will then become a routine part of your week and ensure you will plan each day according to what you need to organise food wise, and alter to make sure you make it to training.

Prioritizing is the difference between those who maintain their diet and exercise regimes and those who do not.

Week 3: When are you most hungry?

Well, 2 weeks into out 12 Week Challenge and you should be feeling a couple of kgs lighter!

This week I want to focus on your feelings of hunger. While many of us are scared of feeling hunger, being hungry is actually a sign that your body is breaking down your food properly and your metabolism is working optimally.

Ideally we should feel hungry every 3-4 hours, or maybe 2-3 hours in the morning when your body is burning more fuel. If you are feeling hungry more frequently than that you are either metabolically blessed or not eating enough carbohydrates and proteins to keep you full for long enough.

This week, observe your hunger and start to differentiate head hunger, where you just want something in your mouth to actually hunger when you need to eat a well balanced meal or snack.

To start off on the right track, try having just a soup or salad for dinner one night so you wake up hungry and can start a day on the right track.

In the meantime, I would love to hear how you are all going so drop me a line this week.

Week 2: Planning is the key to dietary success

If there is a common characteristic of those people who eat well on a daily basis and control their weight, it is that they always plan their food intake.

Planners never leave their diets to chance, instead acknowledging its importance in supporting them with their health and fitness goals and prioritising it in their daily lives. For example, you will rarely see a dietitian caught without food; a nut bar or apple can always be found in the bottom of their bag which ensures that the munchies doesn't see them become a victim of cheap snacks on the go. To develop this skill for yourself each week, here are the steps you need to take:

Dietary Planning Steps to Success
1) Set aside time to shop each week.
2) Have enough ingredients for 1-2 backup meals in your cupboard at all times - "Steam fresh" veges, tuna and eggs for an omelette's are good options.
3) Each Sunday, plan your first few meals of the week.
4) Always plan your lunch the night before.
5) Pack what food you can the night before.
6) Always have a snack with you.
7) Have food rules for 4-5 days each week, before letting go a little on weekends.
8) Know the best options you can buy snacks or lunch if you have to near your work place.
9) Plan all your food and take it with you when flying and travelling for work.
10) On Mondays at lunchtime, go to a supermarket and buy your fruit and vegetables for work and home so you have them ready for the week ahead.

Your 12 Week Challenge - Week

Week 1: 12 Week Challenge

Are your nutrients balanced?
Ensuring you have the right balance of carbohydrates, protein and good fat in your diet for each of your meals and mid meals is the most important thing you can do to support your fat loss goals.

Common mistakes are:
· Eating too much carbohydrate and not enough protein for breakfast
· Not eating enough salad and vegetables at lunch and dinner
· Not eating a protein rich snack such as a Go Natural Nut Bar OR cheese and crackers late in the afternoon
· Drinking too much coffee and tea throughout the morning

This week, to make sure your nutrients are balanced:
1) Choose eggs or baked beans with grain toast for breakfast or a small cup of wholegrain cereal with low fat milk + 1 teaspoon LSA mix.
2) Make sure you have a balanced snack of yoghurt and fruit, cheese and crackers, a skim Latte or a nut bar for morning and afternoon tea.
3) Add a vegetable soup or salad to your lunch sandwich or leftovers.
4) Snack on a carrot or apple on the way home.
5) Stick to plain meat and vegetables for dinner Monday – Thursday.

Your weight loss to do list – July 14th

1) Take your measurements and document them

2) Keep a record for 2 days of all the food you have eaten

3) Make sure you are:
· Eating carbohydrates and proteins together
· Not eating too much good fat
· Eating enough vegetables
· Avoiding alcohol during the week
· Drinking green tea after each meal
· Drink 2L of water each day

Good luck!

People are funny

One of the perks of working with people is being able to observe their behaviour in the name of research. Here, a trip to the gym, coffee shop, football or shopping centre all represent an amazing opportunity to see potential clients in all their glory; emotions, instinct and human nature completely raw and on display. Here are my most recent observations.....

Take a simple run in the morning - why is it that women NEVER stop to let another female runner cross the road while men ALWAYS do?

Why do people go to the gym instead of getting off the train a stop earlier?

Why do people in Melbourne stop to let you cross the road while people in Sydney would run you over rather than stop?

Why do our cars get larger as petrol costs more?

Why do the high tax paying residents of the East put up with paying Waverley council more and more hard earned car parking $

Why is everyone in such a rush to get no where really that important?

Why do people continue to get fatter depsite their being more gyms, health information and diets than ever before?

Why are Australians so obsessed with overpaid sportsmen who behave badly while medical researchers struggle to pay their mortgages?

Why do we spend more time watching others live their lives on TV rather than be living our own?

Why do we spend more and more money on stuff with credit we can't repay?

Why do blokes declare such loyalty to their mates and women such loyalty to their blokes?

Getting yourself ready for weight loss

Much of life is spent getting ready; getting ready for work, ready for marriage, ready for children, ready for pregnancy and yet few people get ready for weight loss.

The actual nutrition theory behind weight loss is very simple - you need to eat less then you have been and you need to move more than you are but so many of us fail time and time again to get this balance right.

If this sounds like you, perhaps it is time to get your mind ready for weight loss because this is actually where most the battle is won.

Things to consider if you seriously want to lose weight once and for all are:

1) Is it the right time for your to commit 100% to weight loss?
2) Are you prepared to commit for 3,6 or even 12 months of work work and limited treats?
3) Is the plan you are starting so restrictive that you will be bored after a week?
4) What needs to be different about your thinking this time around to make sure this weight loss plan works?
5) What health professionals do you need to enlist to help support your weight loss journey?
6) What are the small daily habits you can start to change now to help support weight loss without even offocially starting a weight loss program?
7) If you have wanted to lose weight for some time, why is this time going to be different?
8) What needs to change in your life to support weight loss?
9) Are your weight loss goals realistic?
10) Who are the saboteurs in your life and how are you going to manage them?

Another male Loser

After weeks of mesmerising weight loss reality TV, we finally have the 2008 Biggest Loser and surprise, surprise it is another male. What will it take for the producers of The Biggest Loser both here and in the States to understand that you cannot compare women and men in the weight loss stakes.

Physiologically, hormonally, emotionally and psychologically men and women are fundamentally different. The menstrual cycle alone can see a female gain up to 2 kgs of extra fluid over the course of a month. And you can easily dehydrate the body to a 2-5kgs weight loss difference. Points that may not seem that interesting until you consider that the win on this years Biggest Loser was based on just a 1% difference in % weight loss between contestants.

Surely, given that we are talking about serious cash, and serious attempts at weight loss we can afford to at least body scan the final contestants to make sure that the game is not won on a fluid deficit but rather actual fat mass lost? Why don't we? Most probably because watching a body scanner in action does not make for the most exciting television the way that huge scales (and apparent AJ Rochester) do.

Don't get me wrong. I believe that any program that draws attention to both the problem of obesity in Australia AND to the enormous dedication and hard work fat loss requires is awe inspiring and congratulations to Sam for an amazing transformation. It is just that I still can't help but feel that the female finalists deserve the win just as much as the young tucker does.

The rules of fat loss

Whenever reality TV shows like the “The Biggest Loser” start, a seeming abundance of gyms, personal trainers, diets and weight loss specialists emerge as we all try to lose the 2-3 (or 10-20kgs for some!) that has been “weighing” us down.

While the sensationalist nature of these types of reality TV shows can be sickening at times, one good thing about “The Biggest Loser” is that it shows plainly and simply, there is no secret to fat loss. Pills, potions, special diets, guru healers just do not exist. If you are truly serious about losing body fat, and losing it for good, you need to exercise hard and often and you need to eat very well, the vast majority of the time.

The Biggest Losers lose weight quickly as:
1) The have a lot of fat to lose.
2) They are carrying a lot of fluid which is reduced rapidly on a low carb diet.
3) They train for many hours each day.
4) They eat very few calories for weeks at a time which lets them lose weight quickly.

Once you have finally accepted these nasty truths, here are the top ten tips to sustainable fat loss which you can begin right now:

1) Never skip breakfast. The body burns more fuel in the first half of the day so breakie is vital.
2) Aim for 3 cups of vegetables or salad every single day.
3) Get rid of as much soft drink, cordial and fruit juice from your diet as you can.
4) Aim for just 2 slices of grain based bread each day.
5) Always eat protein rich (lean meat, dairy, nuts) and low glycaemic index carbohydrates together (grain bread, wholegrain crackers, pasta) for optimal satiety.
6) Always choose low fat milk, yoghurt and reduced fat cheese.
7) Do not graze. Stick to your regular meals and mid meals with nothing in between.
8) Stick to meat and vegies for dinner.
9) Add a quick 40 minute walk before breakfast to your 5-6 of your days.
10) Give yourself one day a week off.

And that is the secret to fat loss…

The difference between good and great athletes

I have been blessed in my sports nutrition career in the sense that I have worked with elite level athletes across a number of sports including two of the best league and union teams. For many, this kind of work would appear to be the ultimate in career success but you may be suprised to know that this is far from the case. What you learn after wokring with a range of high level athletes in the best known teams it that there are good athletes and then there are great athletes.

Good athletes are the athletes who are physically blessed and do well because it is in the nest interest of those around them that these athletes succeed.

Great athletes are a completely different ball game. Great athletes not only have the natural ability but also the drive that seeks success above all else. For great athletes, the challenge is not only to achieve success based on the teams, media and public perception but to achieve success that they thelselves have mentally defined. Great athletes have respect for their bodies, their team and their support crew. Great athletes strive for the ultimate sporting success no matter what the pay is like, no matter how demanding the training is. Great athletes are one in a thousand sporting stars. Great athletes are the swimmers, the rowers, the track athlete who receive none of the public support or financial backing the footballers and cricketers receive and yet they possess physical attributes and mental focus that far outweighs that of any footy player.

So this year, an Olympic year, pay attention to these great athletes because they are very special people and I feel honoured to work with some of them.

Decent airport food - please?

I dislike plane travel immensely. As if it is not bad enough having to sit in extremely close proximity of hundreds of people you don’t know there is also the really bad food that starts even before you hop on the jumbo. In Melbourne for work over the weekend, I found myself at Tullamarine airport with an hour to kill and with hunger pains needing attention. As it is unlikely that the standard Qantas feed would be anything worth waiting for I took myself off to the food court in search of something filling and a little healthy. My options were palm oil using Hungry Jacks, who, as you can imagine were ding a roaring trade on a Sunday night, pizza or the standard airport catering with sandwiches that look like they were made last Sunday. Oh, and of course Krispy Cream donuts.

You have got to be kidding. Hundreds of people move through our airports each day and this is the best we can do. Where are the fresh sandwiches and salads, the yoghurts and fruits in the book shop or at least a healthy fast food option?

Given the tolls and parking fees we pay at the airport we deserve much better and don't even get me started on the appalling options in the International terminal. There really is no excuse for the airport offering such poor options. The consumer deserves to have the opportunity to eat well when the food supply options are outside their control.

Stop asking me to upsize!

Last week I was asked on three different occasions if I would like to increase the size or number of foods I was purchasing. The first occasion was at the local coffee shop when my tall sized coffee almost come a 500ml Grande, the second, an offer of two large chocolate bars for one at the Shell petrol station when I was getting my fuel with the discount voucher to save a few dollars and the third, a cake with a tea at a chain style café. It is hard enough to and maintain your eating program and weight, let alone do it when cheap, high energy, high fat foods are constantly being offered to you. The statistics on overweight and obesity in Australia are well known, the reality television shows focusing on weight loss are booming in the ratings and yet powerful food and retail chains continue to ask consumers to upsize.

It is time to ask them to stop the upsizing pressure once and for all, are they not making enough money from us already?

Cheese anyone?

Who doesn’t like cheese? Cheese is one of those foods, like eggs, which has been completely banned on many a weight loss diet. We are happy to plug ourselves full of artificial sweetener and low fat snacks made with heaps of sugar but we get rid of the cheese? It doesn't really make any sense.

Like eggs, cheese is a food staple across a number of cultures, consumed by many in vast quantities without any apparent health consequences. The Italians like it aged and dry, the Greeks white and salty and the Scandinavian’s light but creamy. So is cheese really that bad for us?

For some foods, high fat does not necessarily mean a “bad” food. In fact, I find that the so called “low fat” cheeses are far less satisfying (as well as tasting like rubber), which leads people to actually eating more food in total! Cheese is a rich food, and yes high in fat but studies have shown that cheese does not increase blood cholesterol levels, which is quite possibly due to the fact that cheese is also a rich source of calcium, which may be acting to prevent that negative physiological response from dairy fat.

So which cheese should you choose? Generally, light (25% reduced fat) cheddar varieties taste as good as the full fat versions, with a little less fat but if you love nothing more than some Double Brie or Camembert, enjoy ~30g with some light wafer thin crackers a couple of times each week. My pick for day to day varieties is either Bega Vintage So Light (2 slices each day) OR Jarlsberg Light (Up to 4 slices each day) which act as a filling, protein rich addition to sandwiches, wraps and crackers.

The best cookbooks

A trip to any good bookshop in search of the latest cookbook will take you into the world of master chefs; Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Bill Granger, Donna Hay just to name a few; their colourful, visually appealing portrayals of modern day cooking must haves for any contemporary home cook. Put your hand up though, if you have one or all of these stunning cookbooks but have only cooked two, maybe three recipes out of them before they resumed their resting place in a kitchen cupboard or high shelf - where many good recipe books go?

Don’t get me wrong, I love these books just as much as the rest of you, and have the utmost appreciation for both fine dining and the success of these food artists but when I leaf through them to find a light meal I can whip up quickly after a long day at work I either do not have ALL the ingredients, or know it is too heavy for the average Tuesday night dinner.

While the modern chef continues to gain celebrity status in the UK, Australia and more recently US, many of them forget one significant factor; the majority of people cannot eat like this every day without gaining weight. The cream, butter, oil and carbohydrate loads of these recipes are way too high for the average mother of three living in the suburbs. This could not be truer in Australia, as we tend to need even lighter food than both the US and UK as most of our cities do not get the climatic shifts which include really cold temperatures each year (think-what did the aborigines eat to stay slim – protein and vegetables!).

And this is the reason that the CSIRO book has sold over a million copies in Australia. The CSIRO Well Being plan featured easy, visually appealing, contemporary recipes that families could eat every day. Once one of our chefs realize this, again we will have a best seller, that sits on the bench top, as opposed to gathering dusts on the high shelves that are hard to reach.