Marc Wellness International Blog

 Well, school’s back after a long summer break in Oz. And here are some healthy tips to start the new school year!

Tip 1: Healthy Lunchbox from the start
We all know how difficult it is for kids to eat fruit & vegetables, but think about this for a moment. We give kids their breakfast before school in which they may eat cereal, toast and some fruit, then they are at school all day, they get afternoon snack and dinner with us. So, what are the kids eating all day long whilst they are at school? And is the food they’re eating nutritious enough to ensure they are getting their daily intake of fruit and veges?  
So it is really important for the lunchbox to be filled with foods which are enjoyable for the kids to eat as well as nutritious with fruits and vegetables otherwise come dinner time there is a lot of catching up to do with ensuring they get their daily intake of nutritious foods. Lunchbox ideas can include: cut up pieces of fruit, popcorn, cucumber/celery/carrot sticks with cheese dip, rice crackers, vita brits with vegemite and cheese, sandwiches or wraps with fillings such as chicken, tuna, ham and salad. Set a goal with the kids to start the new year with a healthy lunchbox and continue the way throughout the term.

 Tip 2: Water Bottle is a must
 Especially in Australia at the moment it is really hot in the first term of school with summer. So ensure your kids have their own water bottle in which they can refill daily. For the younger kids ask them to choose a water bottle with their favourite characters on it, so they will like the look of it. Ensure to fill the water bottle daily with water so the kids keep hydrated throughout the day at school. If you struggle to get your kids to drink water then put a splash of lemon or apple juice in the water for flavour.  

Tip 3: Set Active Goals 
Set some active goals with the kids. Find out what the kids want to do this term and set some goals with them. They may like to join the school or local sporting team or go swimming more at the pool or beach. Ask the kids to write the goals down, for younger kids they can draw pictures on the paper that relate to their goals. Then place the paper on the fridge or on the wall in their bedroom where they can see it and remember their goal. 

 Tip 4: Role Models 
Be a great role model for your kids and get active with them. Find time in the afternoon or on weekends to go swimming with the kids or to the park. Kids especially younger kids love it when mum or dad can join in and play games with them. For the older kids find out who their active role models are, if it is a soccer player or AFL player and encourage them to get active as per their role model. 

Enjoy the start of Term 1 back to school. If you have any tips you want to share with other parents about what you do to motivate your kids to get active or healthy in the new school year then post them below. 

Have a great day! 
Joey

 I came across this picture and thought to myself, humm… now that’s a tiny portion size! But it got me thinking about portion distortion and how the option of super-sizing meal servings today are making a difference! Over the past few decades we are now eating anywhere from two to five times more per serving than in the past. If we just changed the portion sizes of the food we eat at meals, it can make a dramatic difference.

If you feel as though you may have overindulged in the holiday season and your clothes feel like they have shrunk!? Yet you don’t want to reduce the afternoon munches or occassional glass of wine… then why not try smaller serving sizes with all your meals. A better way to look at a serving size is to use your hand.

- A serving of protein (chicken, seafood, and meat) should be approximately the size of the palm of your hand, length and thickness. 

- Green vegetables or a mixed salad could be the size of two fists – Are you eating enough of these? 

- Carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice or pasta should be served no bigger than the size of your tightly griped fist.

If your new years resolution was to start an exercise program and you have already made the excuse to yourself  “I’ll start in February” try one of the 4 tips below:

1. Grab a friend and get moving, whether it be a work mate at lunch, or an afternoon walk with friends! 

2. Hire a Personal Trainer to give you a kick start!

3. Ask your boss to get Corporate Fitness trainers to design a team building, health, fitness and wellness program for your whole company.

4. Report to a friend or your partner how many times you plan to exercise in the week and get them to check up on you.

For more information on how to lose weight or looking for a personal trainer check out this website: http://www.corporatewellness.com.au  

Ok, so we are now a few weeks into the new year and we want to know how is your New Year Resolution going?

Around the time of New Years Eve most of us will talk about a new year resolution wheather it be to get fit, spend more time with the family, stop smoking or join the gym, just to mention a few but my question is how many of us actually wrote your resolution down on paper?

Humm… now you may be thinking well, no I didn’t write it down but I know what I want to achieve. The first step to making your new year resolution a reality is to know what you want but to get closer to it becoming reality, it is vital to write down what you want for 2009 on paper and display it in a place where you can read it daily.

Reading your goals or what you want on a daily basis helps you to focus and be reminded of your goals for success.

 Ok, so what are you waiting for, go grab a pen or open a word document on your computer and do it now (if you haven’t written it already!)

Here are 5 points to help get you started with writing your new year resolution!

1. Write down what you want: eg. lose 5 kg before my sister wedding

2. Set a date!!! When do I want to achieve my goal? By 20th April 2009

3. How am I going to achieve it: Eat a healthy well balanced diet and exercise regularly

4. Who is my support unit? My best friend, she will help motivate me and we can exercise together

5. Display it & read it daily! Display your resolution in a place where you can read it on a daily basis, like the mirror in your bathroom or on the fridge door

Don’t think that because we are already a couple of weeks into 2009 and you have not really focused on your New Year Resolution that it is too late. It is never too late to make a change, to achieve what you desire!

Have a wonderful day!

Richard & Joey Marc

Berry Fruit Icy! 

Ingredients: 

8 Strawberries

6 Raspberries

4 Blackberries

2 tablespoons berry sorbet

1/2 cup crushed ice

1/2 cup water

Mix it together:

Wash all fruit ingredients and cut strawberries in half.

Place all the berry fruits, sorbet, ice and water in the blender

Mix all ingredients till smooth then pour into a cup and enjoy!

*Option: add 1 cup of skim/soy milk to turn into a smoothie

The ‘To do’ list
  Start fresh today! Complete this check list this week and you will be on your way to a healthier, happier you. 
ü      Stairs not the elevator .Use the stairs. A great leg, butt and amazing calf workout.
 ü      H2O bottle on your desk. Set a daily goal to consume at least 2 x 500ml bottle of water before the day is out. Use a bottle not glasses as you will lose track on the number you have drank 
ü      Stretch break- Toilet and coffee break use this time to stretch your body, take a walk around the office or do some arm and leg stretches. 
ü      Get some sunshine. With short days and long work days getting sunshine may seem like luxury. That’s why people are happy and bright in summer. Get some well needed natural vitamins today 
ü      Devote two lunch times to exercise. The opportunity is here and the feelings that you get is amazing. It will speed up your workload in the afternoon. “If you don’t make time for exercise now, make time for sickness later” 
ü      Park your car the furthest away from the door. It might not seem like 40 more steps but at the end of the year you would have walked an extra 10,000 steps! The extra here and their makes a difference.

ü      Stop making excuses  Don’t prolong or make excuses to avoid starting a health program or exercise.

 ü     
Find an exercise buddy at work. Team up with a work colleague, your partner or a friend, that you can train with. This is great for motivational to get the both of you attending the exercise sessions, drinking the water and doing the incidental exercise that makes the difference.

ü      Write down your goals. Don’t just wish to achieve something. Write it down on paper. Studies have shown if you review your goals daily you will have a much higher chance to achieve them. Once you have set a goal, set a time limit to achieve it.

Honestly and truely do we really need a burger that contains 70grams of FAT? Of course NOT…

It is disgusting that in society today we are more aware then ever about the problem of obesity but fast food chains continue to place food products out there that are only contributing to the problem further!

A brand new Quad Burger from Hungry Jacks, which comes with four beef patties, four slices of cheese, two rashers of bacon, barbecue sauce, and two buns and has no lettuce or vegetables has gone on sale in Australia this week.

The burger has more than 70g of fat and over 4520Kj (1000 calories) – half the daily recommended calorie intake for a woman and nearly one-third for a man.

Not only is it going to effect the calorie intake and health for adults, imagine what this burger will do for the body systems of kids who eat it?

And lets be realistic not only is the Fat content a concern in the burger, we also need to think about how long it is going to take for the body to digest the 4 beef patties & 2 rashers of bacon it has in one meal sitting - from one burger!It is definately not a friendly meal for the digestive system that’s for sure!

Given the extent of the worldwide obesity problem I just can not believe that fast food chains are aloud to continue come out with new and improved burgers that contain endless amounts of empty calories which do absolutely nothing for any persons health and wellbeing.

What do you think? Share your opinions with us below.

Well Spring is just around the corner in Australia and the weather is definately slowly warming up which means not long till we can get outside and enjoy the sunshine and the beaches. The winter months are often famous for hibernating to keep warm and eat enjoyable hot foods. This is also a time of year famous for the slow addition of extra pounds that sneak onto our bodies.   This year don’t leave it too late to start getting in shape for summer. Make exercise and activity part of your daily lifestyle. Better still set a goal and work towards looking great for the summer months!  

Last month I set a goal of increasing my fitness levels and thought a great motivation tool would be to enter in a fun run! So with this in mind I hoped online to search for a fun run to enter into and came across the Sydney Running Festival which is held on September 21.

With only 4 weeks till the event I am running the beachsides of Coogee, Bronte and Bondi beach to get myself fit for the run. Plus, something else I am running for a charity, the McGrath Foundation, which was co-founded by Jane McGrath and her cricketing husband Glenn after Jane’s diagnosis and initial recovery from breast cancer.  So this is a great motivation tool, as I have the support of family and friends who have sponsored me for the run and to also be involved with raising some money for a great foundation as well!

 If you are interested in taking up the challenge of entering the Sydney Running Festival there are 4 different events:
 
The Sunday Telegraph Family Fun Run (4km)
The Sunday Telegraph Body + Soul Bridge Run (9km)
Blackmores Half Marathon (21.0975km)
Blackmores Sydney Marathon (42.195km)

For more information about the Sydney Running Festival or raise money for a charity click here to visit the website.

Happy Running! 

 
Joey Marc

The Australian today has written an article “Obesity costs nation $58bn” with information from a new report, released at a government forum in Tasmania, which shows the full cost of obesity to be $58 billion, far exceeding the $21 billion bill estimated in 2006.  
Whilst we as a nation have of late been told we are now the “fattest nation” in the world, now we are being told how much it is costing us! My question is when will we be told initiatives on how to prevent obesity from occurring?  

It is Richard and my passion of helping as many individuals as possible to live a healthier life and we know the implications obesity has on individuals and with this in mind we knew we had to do something about it. And believe the best way to help with this epidemic is to start educating families about the correct eating habits and lifestyle habits in the environment they live and lead starting in the home. With the true emphasis on leading a healthy lifestyle starting with the lifestyle habits we develop from dad and mum.  

We know parents are in an uphill battle with environmental and social factors in our society today influencing the kids to become more inactive such as playstations, internet, fast paced society and stranger danger. All of these contributing factors are affecting our kids today to become more sedentary and inactive but we can not just say these factors are to blame… If the government and society really wants to make a difference to the fast growing rate of obesity, it is time to step up and take action.
 Let’s make a difference in our lifestyle today. But without change there is no change. 

And individuals need to make the decision to live a healthier lifestyle. However for some the decision may be a difficult one as they are not too sure of where to start making the changes in their lifestyle. Some may be afraid to go on a diet as they know that it is only a short stint and after the diet they are back to their old habits.  You see… to live a healthy life it is all about making lifestyle choices in your everyday life. It is not about a short diet then jumping back into the old eating habits, it is about making changes and changing unhealthy lifestyle habits in the everyday life for a healthier future. And this is the reason why we wanted to take action and help families, parents and kids to lead a healthier longer life! We wanted to provide families with a simplified guide to a healthy family that they could implement and use. We spent years researching and developing our book called “Please Mum, Don’t Supersize Me!” which was released in all good book stores throughout Australia earlier this year. It is an awareness atlas and an essential guide for a healthy child. Don’t believe me, see what others have said about it!
 “It’s the most successful diet of all… no pills or potions”A Current Affair – March 2008  

 “It’s a timely and worthwhile publication” Alan Jones, 2GB Radio

“A valuable resource and essential reading for families”  Alan Thompson, head coach, Australian Swim Team 

 “It is a perfect fit for families who want to lead more healthy lifestyles” Christopher Guerriero founder & CEO of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center  

We have all heard many statistic after statistic that is released but it is time for action. And we are here to take action and make a difference to assist with this growing epidemic. And as a follow up to our book “Please Mum, Don’t Supersize Me!”, we are currently in the final stages of finishing the development of a new program called “The Secrets of a Healthy Family” where we share with you what we believe are the 7 Secrets of a Healthy Family whilst also interviewing 7 health and wellness experts from around the world with their views. Because we are about helping individuals to live a long, healthy, happy life! 

I heard about Britians plan to organise fat report cards on primary-school children in a bid to fight obesity and I did wonder if us Aussie’s were going to lead the path and follow too. And it seems in an article released today Western Australian health industry experts have cautiously backed the controversial British plan to compile fat report cards.
The article “Report card for fat kids gain support” said:
Under the British scheme, which starts in September, parents will be sent notification of their children’s weight at the ages of five and 10. The information will reportedly be accompanied by advice on healthy eating, exercise and details of local support services. Australian educators say the plan should be considered because research shows parents often fail to recognise if their children are overweight or obese.
Interesting isn’t it that research shows parents often fail to recognise if their children are overweight or obese. Why is that? The way I look at it is, we love our kids that we would do absolutely anything for our kids, so why wouldn’t we be concerned about their health and wellness? With t

he rising concerns of obesity constantly climbing more and more each year. The article continues…
“At least one in four WA primary school children is overweight or obese and the problem is growing. The rates have doubled for WA boys and almost trebled for girls between 1985 and 2003″.

Whilst initiatives such as the report cards and weighing kids on the scales are discussed, I challenge to ask “Is this the solution?”

Is identifying that a child is a certain weight or if they are classified as healthy, underweight, overweight or obese the solution?Well…obviously it will be a start to gauge what healthy range the child is situated in for their age group but I really believe the emphasis needs to be on education in the environment we live. There needs to be education and action on the truth about how active a family is? & how well balanced is the families eating habits and daily diet?

It is all good and well to find out a statistic or a status of a child’s weight range but it is only the beginning there needs to be a follow up plan!
Parents and families today live in a society where temptation surrounds us everywhere. The temptations to eat junk food, to sit in front of the TV, for kids to play DS or WII instead of get outside and play. The environment we live today is different compared to when we were growing up. There is no such thing as riding your bikes in the street or to your friends house and come home before dark, no way - not today! Today there is stranger danger and kids would rather hang out inside and play online or with their technology tools. Well, not all kids but most enjoy these pastimes.

We have got to help our kids to be motivated and to get up and get active. And the secret is to get them motivated to be active from a young age. Teach them different sports and games and enroll them in the local sporting club playing a sport they enjoy. I know when I was young I had no time to hang out at shopping malls or do ‘nothing’ because I was busy playing sport and training. I played hockey and was so busy training and traveling to my sporting matches that there was no time to do ‘nothing’! And not only did it keep me busy, it kept me active, I had fun socialising with a bunch of different friends to my school friends and it taught me ‘discipline’ to play as a team, work with others and support others.  
But in saying this remember it is not all about sport, we need to also acknowledge what we eat! What do we eat as a family? Do we cook home meals that are grilled and are healthy or do we prefer to get take away and eat fast food that is convenient? So there are a few factors to consider here and it is about knowing how to lead a well balanced lifestyle with activity and diet.

So what do you think? Do you think the Report Cards for fat kids is a good idea or not?
 

I made this Carrot, Sultana & Walnut Loaf for my mum’s birthday last weekend. And many of my relatives and friends wanted the recipe. So here it is!

2 grated carrots
4 eggs (2 egg whites, 2 whole eggs)
½ cup coconut
½ cup walnuts
½ cup sultanas
½ cup brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
 3 ½ cups wholemeal self raising flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
200ml apple sauce
3 tablespoons macadamia nut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup soy or low fat milk
 

1. Pre heat oven on 180°C and grease loaf tin or line it with baking paper.
2. Grate the carrots, chop up walnuts in half to make a little smaller
3. Mix eggs (2 egg whites and 2 whole eggs), sugar with a mixer and add apple sauce and macadamia oil.
4. Stir in grated carrots, walnuts, sultanas and vanilla.
5. Add and stir in the flour, coconut, baking powder, cinnamon and mix all ingredients together
6. If the mixture looks a little dry add in some milk. The mixture should look like a thick smooth mixture.
7. Pour loaf mixture into the baking tin and place in oven to cook for around 1hour. It may take a little longer if the centre is not cooked within an hour.

Enjoy!

Joey Marc