If you have been putting on weight it means you are eating more than your body can use or burn.
Energy input > Energy output = Weight gain
Regular exercise is your best chance for busting stubborn body fat. Build more lean tissue or muscles with resistance training and you will naturally become more insulin sensitive. That means you can expect better blood sugar control, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol level, better blood circulation and the added bonus of a mood lift (with endorphin production) post workout each time.
Exercise accelerates your metabolism and ensures that you burn more calories even when you are asleep or at the computer for up to 72 hours after. What’s more when you exercise, your desire to binge will also magically disappear. This is testimony to the powerful connection between food behaviour and physical activity. One area inadvertently influences the other. So when one area is out of control, you just have to muster the other area to have a follow on positive effect on the out-of-control area.
For exercise to be self-sustaining, it has to be fun and enjoyable. You may have to try several activities before you find one that you can perform with some degree of competence that helps you generate positive results. Now take a moment out and ask yourself this important question. If all constraints were removed, what inspires you so much that you could make an exercise a lifelong one? Could it be running a marathon, competing at the next ballroom dancing competition, enrolling for the “above-40’s”ice-skating competition, skiing in the Alps or roller blading along the beach in Nusa?
To make an activity a lifelong one, you must first find an activity that appeals to you. Of course when choosing the activity, you have to take your own physical limitations into account. If you cannot balance, have severe knee problems or osteoporosis then roller blading or ice-skating will be out of the question. Don’t even dream about it because if an activity is not viable, you will not develop self-efficacy. Without self-efficacy, you will throw in the towel and guess what – GIVE UP! Is this familiar? Have you been there before?
In summary, find something you love that you could get good at that inspires you and begin with the end in mind. For example, if your goal is to go from Eastern Europe to London mostly on foot, you can start by walking 3 – 5km every second day and gradually increase it to 15km – 20km per day over a 6-month period. And at the end of the 6 months, you are ready to pack your bags and go have the time of your life!
It really is as simple as that. Would you like to share what inspires you?

Australians are among the fattest people in the world. This has caused a host of chronic diseases to develop. A cluster of some of the above-mentioned conditions is commonly called metabolic syndrome. It is often said that obesity is harder to cure than cancer! For over 10 years, it has been known that obesity is directly associated with inflammation.

More and more experts are seeing body weight or fat as potential ‘markers’ of other health problems, like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Low grade form of inflammation commonly called metaflammation seems to result from certain lifestyle behaviours. Some of these behaviours are responsible for making us fat.

Certain food choices and lack of activity are now known to contribute notoriously to ‘metaflammation’. According to studies, merely changing or reducing weight without adopting all aspects of lifestyle changes aimed at reducing inflammation are doomed to fail in the long run. To achieve better overall health outcomes, all aspects of lifestyle that contribute to reducing inflammation should be adopted.
Sleep is a factor that is largely neglected in our modern society. We now know that less than 7 hours sleep a day has been shown to raise inflammatory makers. This is related to psychological stress which has been known to cause pro-inflammatory responses. Chronic stress causes a chronic rise in stress-related hormones like cortisol and the concurrent reduction in the ‘feel-good’ hormones – endorphins. Chronic stress and depression are directly associated with metaflammation. Metaflammation leads to numerous disease states as a result of insulin resistance! In other words, science has shown that you can sleep yourself and relax yourself slim! Wow, how awesome is that? If you did nothing else but get good quality sleep and adopt deep relaxation, you could be a few kilograms lighter than you are now! How is that for good news?

Hence the winning formula for keeping trim involves a complete lifestyle overhaul combining:
1. Good sleep
2. Stress management (so you have little or no stress in your life)
3. Plenty of exercise – take every opportunity to move!
4. Good solid ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet filled with back-to-basics ‘earth foods’
5. No smoking

All of these health-enhancing factors have not changed since the time of Hippocrates. How remarkable is that? These 5 simple factors make up the entire prevention armoury. They say the more things change the more they stay the same, this must be one of those things!

Examples of common processed foods and their corresponding salt content are listed below:

References
1. Asaria P et al. Lancet, 2007; 370:2044-53.
2. World Health Organisation, Reducing Salt Intake in Populations. Geneva: WHO; 2007