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Your metabolism is your body’s powerhouse. It controls everything from your temperature and appetite to your body clock and how much fat you store or burn. Your metabolic pathways influence a network of hormones and enzymes that work together in a process called ‘catabolism’. This is where food and kilojoules are broken down then transformed into fuel, which you burn to produce the energy that allows you to run for the train or come up with new ideas at your work think tank. With this energy your body is also able to perform ‘anabolism’, a process where stored energy is used for processes like the growth of new cells and tissue repair. The speed of your metabolism at rest, known as your basal metabolic rate or BMR, is influenced by…

E very year there’s a new rollcall of diets favoured by hipsters, fitness fanatics, trend-setters and fashionistas. At the moment the Keto diet lowers bodyweight, increases metabolism, improves hormonal balance, enhances energy and supports muscle growth while maintaining low body fat. Essentially, the Keto diet works by limiting carbohydrates and replacing those carb kilojoules with fat. Normally, the body uses glucose as its main energy source but in order to provide energy for the body with limited availability of glucose, the body becomes efficient at burning fat for energy. The body turns to substances known as ketones for energy, and these ketones result from the breakdown of fats in the liver. Melbourne nutritionist Maddie Deakin explains, “Ketosis occurs when the body does not have sufficient access to its primary fuel…

The Vietnamese or Japanese take-away that you think is a healthier choice for tonight’s meal, may be as high in damaging fats as fish and chips if you don’t order from the menu carefully. Our social lives revolve around food and drink — cafes after the cinema, restaurants on a Saturday night and sushi or salad bars on work days. Dining out is a way of staying connected within our community — whether you’re catching up with family or enjoying a chat with your favourite barista-come-friend. In moderation, this is not a problem. Unfortunately, we’ve become so reliant on take-away and restaurants that the home-cooked meal is being enjoyed less and less. Research suggests that Australians now eat 2.7 million meals at large fast food restaurants every day and one…

If reality television ever devised a holistic weight loss series, yoga would be an integral part of the process. Instead of contestants being drilled during huff ‘n puff exercise workouts they would learn to utilise the breath while holding poses such as downward facing dog and dynamic plough. Their learning? That weight maintenance is far more sustainable if you nurture both body and soul. With its long, slow stretches, relaxed, deep breaths, meditation and philosophy, yoga is a perfect weight loss activity. It won’t burn kilojoules anywhere near as intensely as a workout at the gym, but could be one of the best ways to prevent and reduce weight gain. Shifting attitude and kilos “Like a flower bud, human life has the potential to blossom fully. Blossoming of human potential…

Are you destined to become overweight in the future? It’s possible you’re on the path already but unaware of the warning signs. You don’t suddenly wake one morning to find your jeans are three sizes too small. A rise on the scales is rarely meteoric; instead, it’s rather slow and, at first, barely noticeable. In fact, the term “middleage spread” is becoming outdated as many of us face a widening waistline much earlier in life — in our 20s, 30s or even our teens. It’s this increase that sets the stage for weight gain and obesity, which now affects 63 per cent of Australian adults, up from 45 per cent in just 1995. That’s a dramatic increase in just a quarter of a century. According to the Australian Institute of…

Low carbs or low GI? More protein or less? Eating three meals or every three hours? In this age of information overload, there are so many conflicting messages about healthy diets that many of us feel completely confused about which approach to follow. What’s important to remember is that healthy eating regimes are not one-size-fits-all. A food plan that suits your biochemical make-up may have a totally different impact on your partner, work colleague or best friend. So when making dietary decisions, take into account not only your lifestyle, age and food preferences but also what you know intuitively about your body and how it functions best. Instead of slavishly following one plan you may gain more benefit from adopting a range of ideas from different diets then devise an…

Natural sugars in foods like bread and rice noodles can raise your insulin levels as much as the sugar that is in ice cream or spooned into a cup of tea. This important revelation came to scientist Professor David Jenkins in 1981, after he conducted a series of tests on carbohydrates at the University of Toronto and recorded their impact on blood sugar. The result was the Glycaemic Index (GI), which revolutionised our understanding of healthy eating by showing that some healthy complex carbs and starches can cause significant rises in insulin. The higher the GI of your diet the higher your risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, according to several large studies from Harvard School of Public Health in the United States. “Low GI foods, by…

From the time we are born, we have an emotional relationship with food. As a baby, you were driven by a need for sustenance, which was based on your most innate survival instincts. When you cried, your parents often soothed you with the breast or bottle. At the same time they cooed and cuddled and stroked your cheek so the unconscious connection was formed that as well as satisfying hunger, food nurtured you at a much deeper level. Throughout childhood the use of food to placate and calm continued. Remember when you fell off your bike, skinned your knee or were teased by the kid next door? While still tearfully babbling explanations, your mum or dad would appear with the biscuits and milk and within nanoseconds your eyes were dry…

In ancient Greece during times of fasting or famine, people kept seeds of fennel handy to chew as an appetite suppressant. For those who were wealthy and weighty due to overindulgence in food, fennel tea may also have been used as a treatment for obesity (its Greek name comes from the word ‘maraino’ which means ‘to become thin’). The Greeks understood well that plant extracts can support the body in maintaining a healthy weight and appetite — a wisdom largely lost in our modern world. There is no single herb or even combination of herbs that will magically melt excess kilos. Instead herbal teas, supplements, tonics or tinctures may help to address issues like 3 pm sugar binges or 6 am exercise blahs that compromise our ability to lose weight…

I recently had a craving to hear some 80s music during a dinner party so I fished out my old Cure and Stevie Wonder LPs and cranked them up on the turntable. With each record it seemed barely the blink of an eye before one side was finished and I had to get up from my comfortable seat to go flip the vinyl over. Of course 20 to 30 years ago, pre iTunes, we all did this without thinking but that night I found it mildly annoying and it struck me just how lazy these new forms of music have made us become. That’s the trouble with the many laboursaving devices and gadgets that we now rely on. There’s no denying they provide time short-cuts, instant gratification and convenience, but…

The faster you drop weight the less discerning your body is about what it burns for energy. This means that when dieting you may be losing a startling 40 per cent muscle and only 60 per cent fat. If you’ve ever tried to whittle down your weight you no doubt referred to your efforts using socially polite terms like ‘dieting’ or ‘weight loss program’. Yet when it comes to losing weight, it’s fat loss that we’re specifically referring to — or should be. Unfortunately, many diets and weight loss methods result predominantly in muscle and fluid loss and do little to budge that stubborn fat, damaging both your metabolism and self-esteem. Yet we are a nation obsessed with dieting. We see food as a necessary enemy, associating it with weight…

You need to be savvy to make sense of what you read on the nutrition label of foods. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing tactics and beware of products making nutritional claims such as ‘fat free’ or ‘no added sugar’; this doesn’t necessarily mean a product is healthy. You need to make sure that the claims are backed up by the information in the nutrition panel. Here are some of the common things to look out for to make you feel more confident in what you’re putting in your basket next time you shop. 1 Portion control Do you struggle with portion control issues? First things first, read the serving size before you dive in. This should give you a guide of how much you should be consuming and help…

Breakfast Although we all know this is the most important meal it is the one we pay least attention to. By making sure your breakfast includes protein, carbohydrate and fruit, you will provide your body with a good boost in nutrients and sustained energy throughout the day. Carrot & hazelnut muesli Description: A homemade muesli, finished off with grated carrot and apple. While the addition of carrot may seem unusual, its slight sweetness goes brilliantly with breakfast. Plus you’re getting an extra vegetable serve at the start of the day. Serving: Serves 4 Storage: The basic muesli (oats, LSA, sultanas and hazelnuts) can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months. Alternatives: To vary this muesli, try different nut, seed and dried fruit combinations.…

Cross-training to include different types of exercise will ensure that your body achieves both anaerobic and aerobic fitness and sustainable weight loss. Remember as a kid running so fast you felt you were riding the wind? At your destination you were sweaty and puffed but you felt alive and energised and it was wonderful. With age, this full-tilt sprinting may be something you have avoided because you’re too tired or shy away from exercise that makes you feel breathless. The word ‘anaerobic’ that describes what you do when you sprint, literally means ‘without oxygen’. This doesn’t mean that your body uses no breath to sustain your activity but that the energy is mostly drawn from glycogen (natural sugar) stores in your muscles. By contrast, the term ‘aerobic’ translates as ‘in…

Haven’t been sleeping well for months? Then you might notice your jeans feel a little tighter. As science uncovers more about the links between appetite, hormones, rest and stress it is becoming clear that a spike on the scales can be caused by multiple life factors. Even if you’re a meditating, macrobiotic, morning jogger, other less obvious lifestyle habits could still be causing you to add on the kilos. The following hidden weight traps may be completely slipping under your radar and leading to unexpected weight gain in unexpected ways: 1. A spare tyre from stress “Tension is what you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” Chinese proverb. Too wired to sleep? Living on the run? All that stress can give you a jelly belly and not…