Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. Hope you enjoyed the time spent with family and friends, have recovered from your Christmas and New Year's celebrations and are ready to get back into a healthy routine of eating well and exercising consistently.

Starting A Healthy Diet

If you're trying to lose weight or maintain your current weight, the formula is roughly 70% what you eat and 30% how much exercise you do. You will not reach your goals even if you train 7 days a week when your diet consists of KFC, McDonalds, cans of Coke and glasses of wine.

When it comes to eating healthy, you shouldn't try to overhaul your diet all at once. It's better to make small changes, like the ones listed below, because you're more likely to stick with them.

	Eat breakfast - A nutritious breakfast provides you with energy for the day and helps prevent you from binging later in the day. Easy-to-prepare breakfasts include cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with jam or yogurt with fruit.
	Try lower-calorie, lower-fat versions of your favourite foods - Use lower-calorie ingredients or prepare it differently. For example, using skim milk, less butter and light cream cheese instead of whole milk, butter and full-fat cheese. Look for recipes that are low-calorie versions of your favourite dishes. Just remember to not increase your portion sizes of the lower-calorie, low-fat foods.
	Watch your portion sizes - If you put more food in front of you, you'll eat it because it's there. Standard portion sizes may actually be smaller than you think. For example, a portion of meat is about the size of a deck of cards and one serving size of pasta or rice is about the size of a tennis ball. You could also try using smaller plates.
	Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables - Try brown rice instead of white rice and whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta. Aim for at least 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegies each day.
	Keep healthy snacks on hand - It's important to make healthy snacks (such as fruits, veggies, nuts) available, especially when you're at work.
	Start with lean cuts of meat and poultry - For poultry, the leanest choice is white meat from skinless breast of chicken or turkey. When shopping for beef, look for round, chuck, sirloin or tenderloin. Lean pork choices include tenderloin and loin chops.

10,000 Steps

Do you want to increase your physical activity to improve your health? 10,000 Steps is a free program that encourages you to use a step-counting pedometer to track your daily physical activity levels. You can join for yourself or as part of a workplace challenge. The website has an on-line log designed to assist you in recording and monitoring your physical activity.

10,000 steps is the recommended daily step goal for a healthy adult. The following is a guideline on how many steps are enough:

For more information (including setting goals and physical activity recommendations for your kids), click here visit the 10,000 Steps website.

Interval Training

Interval training is one of the best ways to get fitter, and at the same time burn three times more fat in half the time than if you just train at a steady pace. It involves a series of short bursts of intense effort, followed by a recovery or lower intensity period.

Training at a higher level of intensity (in small, tolerable doses) helps your body adapt to a higher level of fitness and stamina. Intense exercise triggers a bigger boost in your metabolic rate, so you will continue to burn calories at a higher rate after you have finished training.

Interval training can help you break through a weight loss plateau and prevent boredom.

If you want to incorporate interval training into your exercise routine:

	Aim to train 2 to 3 times a week - Try to space out your interval training over the week so you have lighter training days in between.
	Use time or landmarks - If you are outside walking or running, use telegraph poles as a guide to your work and active rest periods. Swimmers could do a fast lap followed by a slow lap.
	Set yourself goals - As your fitness improves, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your intervals, and/or reduce the duration of your rest period.

What Is A Workout?

by George H. Allen, Professional Football Coach

A workout is 25% perspiration and 75% determination.
Stated another way, it is one part exertion and three parts self discipline.
Doing it is easy. Once you get started.

A workout makes you better today than you were yesterday.
It strengthens the body, relaxes the mind, toughens the spirit.
When you work out regularly, your problems diminish and your confidence grows.

A workout is a personal triumph over laziness and procrastination.
It is a badge of a winner, the mark of an organised, goal-oriented person who has taken charge of his or her destiny.

A workout is a wise use of time and an investment in excellence.
It is a way of preparing for life's challenges, and proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

A workout is a key that helps unlock the door of opportunity and success.
Hidden within each of us is an extraordinary force.
Physical and mental fitness are triggers that can release it.

A workout is a form of rebirth.
When you finish a good workout, you don't simply feel better, you feel better about yourself

Nothing contained in this newsletter is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional's advice.