12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 4

Grease Lightning! No Deep Fried Foods

Deep Fried foods would have to be the biggest enemy to anyone wanting to eat a healthy balanced diet.

Eating these foods on a regular basis can lead to serious   cardiovascular diseases such as Hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol and clogged arteries which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.   Not only can fried foods cause heart disease but can also lead to Type II diabetes as well.

The reason why fried foods lead to these serious cardiovascular diseases is that they are commonly fried in oils such as vegetables oils that are high in trans fats which increase the LDL Cholesterol in  our blood stream (bad cholesterol) and reduces the HDL (good cholesterol).

The good news is that there are alternatives to eating deep-frying food:

Oven baking.. This can be done by using a small amount of cooking oil. Roll the food in a thin layer of cooking oil and coat it with whatever seasoning you would like. Then, simply stick the food in the oven

Cooking foods using other cooking methods such as poaching, steaming, stir-frying and steaming.

Order grilled fish and seafood when out at restaurants instead of deep fried.

Make careful menu selections – Pay attention to the description on the menu. Dishes labeled deep fried, pan fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped, alfredo, au gratin or cream sauce are usually high in calories, unhealthy fats or sodium. Order items with more vegetables and choose leaner meats.

Metabolism is the key

Fact 1: You continue to burn calories for 12 to 48 hours after you've finished working out depending on the intensity

Fact 2: Exercising in the morning raises your metabolism for the whole day

Fact 3: According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

Green tea helps you burn 35 to 43% more calories a day

Healthy Eating Tip: Instead of eating three medium to large-sized meals per day, you should be eating five smaller meals

Motivational Tip: Learn to recognise hunger. We eat automatically most of the time, governed by the clock or our environment so if you find yourself looking for food 20 minutes after eating a meal – STOP and ask “Am I hungry”

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 3

Zero Alcohol. Drink More Water

This week the challenge is to drink zero alcohol...that's right zero (zip, none, not a drop) and replace it by drinking more water. 

So why are we saying no to the Alcohol this week?

Well were you aware that a glass of wine, beer or spirits adds more kilojoules and undoes more diets than any other beverage! Sure it’s great to sip at the end of a hectic day but one glass leads to another and, before you know it, there’s three glasses! Not to mention the nibbles with the wine: Cheese and biscuits, olive, dips, corn chips, nuts, pretzels and other salty snacks. 

The other danger with alcohol is that the combination of alcohol with fat is a deadly one, as alcohol seems to suppress the oxidation (“burning off”) of body fat, encouraging fat accumulation. So Alcohol combined with the high fat snacks and hang over foods are not going to help us with weight loss.

Ultimately alcohol stimulates the appetite and undermines your resolve. 
Whereas at the other end of the spectrum we have water, which is without doubt, our most important nutrient. In fact, seventy-five percent of you water. 

Your body can do without a lot of things for a long time but it can’t survive without H2O for long. More often than not, hydration is the most misunderstood and mis-managed component of our overall health-management plan. Despite the fact that keeping our body well hydrated is a relatively easy process, many of us fail to do so, thereby putting our health at significant risk.

So, if you need some convincing, here are 12 reasons why we should drink more water: 

1. Dehydrated people often have stinky breath. Therefore, nobody wants to kiss them!
2. Drinking cold water increases our metabolic rate. Which helps with fat-loss.
3. Being well-hydrated helps curb our appetite and cravings. Which helps us avoid over-eating.
4. Because our blood is mostly water, being dehydrated increases the viscosity (thickness) of our blood. Which means our cardiovascular system has to work much harder. Which means we’re more likely to have a stroke or heart attack.  
5. Because we have less blood volume (when we’re dehydrated), our heart needs to beat faster in order to deliver adequate oxygen around the body and our blood pressure will be elevated.
6. From an exercising point of view, our dehydrated body will fatigue quicker. Our muscles will be weaker (they’re 75% water too).
7. We will also be less coordinated. Which means decreased exercise and sports performance.
8. Dehydration also leads to constipation. Which, ironically, makes us feel like crap (because our body is storing, not eliminating, all those toxins).
9. It also causes headaches, lethargy and muscle cramps. Those middle-of-the-night calf cramps suck.
10. It causes vagueness and an inability to concentrate (because our brain is 90% water). This mental vagueness can affect a myriad of things: communication, driving skills, work productivity, judgment and mood.
11. Dehydration also leads to dry skin and potentially, a range of skin conditions (our skin is our largest organ and requires plenty of H2O). Dehydrated skin looks old before its time. We don't want that! 
12. Because we’re mostly water, a chronically dehydrated body will be more susceptible to serious disease. Dehydrated organs are unhealthy organs.

More water anyone?

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Fact 1: You need approx 2 litres of water daily

Fact 2: Softdrinks, Tea & Coffee and fruit drinks can take water out of your body. Both caffeine and high sugar contents create an environment whereby water is leeched from your body.

Fact 3: Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase!

Healthy Eating Tip: Use your Step into Life Water bottle as a measure of how much water you drink in a day. Aim to drink 2 1⁄2 bottles of water a day.

Motivational Tip: Monitor your thoughts. Self-talk can change your experience on a daily basis. How many negative thoughts do you have? Try placing a paperclip into your pocket everytime you have a negative thought – how many do you have at the end of the day.


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Please post a comment below if you found this article beneficial.

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 2

Volume is Crucial! Reduce your Portion Size

Ask anyone who has achieved long-term weight loss and how they did it and they are sure to mention portion control.

How many times have you heard people say or even thought yourself: “I eat really healthy but I can’t lose this weight”. This is when we need to have a good look at our portion sizes throughout the day to see if we are consuming too many extra calories.

Learn how to size up your servings and avoid overeating with these Top 10 ways to control your portion sizes:

Tip 1 - Use a smaller plate for your meals. By using a small plate your plate will still look full but you will have less on the plate.

Tip 2 – Start your meal with a clear soup or green salad to ease your hunger a bit so that you aren’t as likely to over eat.

Tip 3 - Complete a food diary for a week then you can actually see all that you eat.  It is important to be honest with yourself here, include every little bit of food you eat. It may be surprising just how much you would eat over the course of a day.

Tip 4 - Serving sizes in restaurants are usually twice as much food as you need. Divide your meal in half and share, ask for a doggie bag, or order the entrée size. Share a dessert with a friend if you want a sweet fix.

Tip 5 – Keep pots and dishes away from the table where it is easy to go for seconds. Remember it takes about 20 minutes to feel satiated. By sitting back and giving yourself a breather you may realize you weren’t really hungry enough for another helping after all!

Tip 6 - Spend a week measuring your serving sizes (use the table below). You might find that you’re eating two servings of cereal for breakfast and that your evening bowl of frozen yogurt is really 3 servings.

Tip 7 - Look at and educate yourself on serving sizes on nutrition labels. You might think that a breakfast muffin is a great low- calorie choice, but that’s only if you eat half the muffin.

Tip 8 – Master the art of mini meals. Try eating several smaller healthy meals during the day instead of the traditional 3 meals a day. Mini meals are by far the best way to prevent overeating because you’ll get never too hungry and lose control of your portion intake.

Tip 9 – Make dinner the smallest meal of the day. For dinner, load up on nutrient-dense low calorie vegetables like carrots and green beans. The fiber in vegies will help you feel fuller. Don’t forget to add a palm size portion of protein to every meal.

Tip 10 – Everything in our lives is fast – fast cars, fast trains, fast broadband and, of course, fast food. There’s lunch on the run, dinner in under 30 minutes, two-minute noodles and take-away to grab and run. Life – and eating – is rushed and stressful. Eating slowly is also one of the most successful techniques to help lose weight. Remember it takes 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brains that we are full. If you eat fast, you will eat way more than you need. When you eat slowly the eating time increases and you will naturally eat less. 

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - WEEK 1

Eat More Protein

Researchers at Denmark's University of Copenhagen have conducted the world's largest diet study and found that eating a diet higher in protein and limited in refined carbohydrates is the best way to lose weight. The study also found eating a diet with a slightly higher protein content and low-glycemic index (GI) foods ensures people who have lost weight maintain their weight loss.

Healthy, protein-rich foods include legumes, nuts, seeds, fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, low-fat dairy and soy products. They encourage weight loss by stabilizing blood-sugar levels, curbing sugar cravings and creating a feeling of fullness. The GI is a ranking of carbohydrate foods based on the effect they have on blood-glucose levels. Consumption of high-GI foods causes blood-sugar levels to rise quickly, triggering a surge in insulin. This then causes blood-sugar levels to drop, resulting in tiredness, sugar cravings and fat storage.

Low-GI foods, on the other hand, contain carbohydrates that break down slowly and are associated with a gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream. The slower digestion is associated with minimal insulin secretion, which can help limit weight gain and promote a feeling of fullness. Low-GI foods include most fruits and vegetables (except bananas, grapes, melon and corn) and wholegrain foods (breads, whole oats, brown rice, wholegrain pasta). If you're trying to lose weight, avoid high-GI foods such as white bread, rice and pasta and processed cereals.

Here is a quick summary of the Importance of Protein:

ü Fact 1: Protein helps to suppress your appetite, helping you feel fuller for longer.

ü Fact 2: Beans and Legumes have a significant amount of protein but less fat than meat based proteins (black beans, chickpeas, lentils, dried peas, etc)

ü Fact 3: Protein is contained in every part of your body, the skin, muscles, hair, blood, body organs, eyes, even fingernails and bones.

ü Healthy Eating tip: Use the palm of your hand as a guide to the amount of protein to eat. Is the protein on your plate bigger than you palm or smaller (and no stackingJ)

Motivational Tip: Be very clear on how you want to feel after you reach your weight loss goal. Write it down as if it has already happened and read it everyday of the challenge.

12wks to Beat the Bulge!

Welcome to the 12wk Health Blitz Challenge!

6th August 2011 to 28th August 2011

Is your goal to lose fat?

Are you needing some motivation to change your weight?

Now that May Is over Step into Life Hallett members are turning  their attention to the 12wk Health Blitz Challenge that starts 5^th June 2011. We have a total of 30 people participating so far. All these people are determined to lose weight and achieve their health and fitness goals over the Winter period. Why not join us too on our journey? What have you got to lose besides a kgs!

The challenge is to simply complete a different health challenge each week. The more days you complete the challenge in the week…the quicker you will achieve your goals as well as look and feel younger! 

Each week articles will be posted on our blog relating to the week challenge and to keep you motivated. We will have weekly weigh ins and measurements. Also anywhere along the way, Casey, Nicole and myself will be happy to help you one on one to support you every step of the way.

Are you up to the challenge ….?

Let us know!