Marc Wellness International Blog

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

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

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?
 

Last week Sydney was the city of Spirit as World Youth Day hit with thousands of youthful pilgrams from all around the world gathering in our beautiful country to celebrate and learn about their faith. Organised by the Catholic Church with a special visit from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. World Youth Day was a major success! As Cardinal George Pell, Catholic Archbishop Of Sydney said “We’ve experienced a tsunami of joy and faith.”

Sydney was buzzing and we were blessed enough to go and get involved in the celebrations. Some of the highlights were at Barangaroo where we were meters away from Pope Benedict XVI at his arrival as well as the moving Saturday night Vigil and Sunday Mass with 400 000 people attending, held at Randwick Racecourse.

Check out our pictures below!

 
The Pope Arrival At Baranagroo
Richard chatting to the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, at The Pope Arrival
Our Candles at the Saturday Night Vigil Pope Benedict XVI driving past us in his ‘popemobile’ at the Sunday Mass

Why is it that we as human beings always love a bargain? You can’t tell me that there isn’t one person in society who doesn’t love to get value for money. But when it comes to SUPERSIZING, are we getting value for money in the long run? 
Why is society continually making it difficult for us to live a healthy lifestyle? You go to the movies and the small popcorn doesn’t even exist anymore suddenly the old medium size popcorn has replaced the small.     Tell me where did the small popcorn size go?  

 And what about when you purchase petrol? You go to pay for the petrol, walk to the counter and are offered with deals like two chocolate bars for the price of one with your petrol purchase. But it doesn’t stop there, you are in the car driving home and you spot the signs on the side of the road for fast food restaurants and you know that if you step foot inside you are definitely going to get asked the big question “Would you like to Supersize or Upsize for just a $1 more?” and you think “Argh what the heck!” it’s a deal right? You are only going to pay $1 more and are going to receive so much more value! But in the long run if we continue to eat and eat, more and more and fall into the Supersizing trap then is it really going to work out cheaper for us?
      Or will our health suffer and the doctor’s bills increase?  

Is it convenience, is it that there are just endless amounts of fast food chains and junk foods presented to us absolutely everywhere we go, that it makes it almost difficult to eat healthy these days?  Whatever the temptation, my question is “Is society Supersizing Us?” or simply “Is it us?”… Are we to blame for making the incorrect food choices and purchasing the food in the first place and eating it? But then there are marketing campaigns everywhere we go, convincing us to purchase their products, so are we being trained by what we see? Or more importantly are we being educated the wrong messages?  Interesting isn’t it, when you sit back and take a moment to think, do I truly  make my own decision to go through the drive thru for fast food myself or is it that I saw the sign on the side of the highway and thought “Argh I can do with a snack, it’s easier then cooking?”     

Don’t be tempted to fall into the trap of eating unhealthy foods or opting for the latest deal of Supersizing for $1 more. It is in the small decisions we make in our daily life which can shape our future. At http://www.marcwellness.com you can receive a free thought of the week to help you keep motivated along the track to living a healthy lifestyle. It is important to keep motivated towards living a healthy life on a daily basis because if you make the choices to eat or snack on junk food daily this will effect your health in a negative way however if you make the choices to eat a well balanced diet combined with frequent physical activity this will make a difference in leading a healthy lifestyle.  

We all want to live a life of fulfillment, fun and enjoyment but to do this you need a healthy body and a healthy mind.  

Yes, I know we have been a little slack with blogging the last week but check out what we have been doing! We have spent the last week in the gorgeous sunny Whitsundays!

Everyone needs a break every now and then… So, in a last minute decision we jet setted off to grab some sunshine during the aussie winter up north. We flew out of Sydney and headed to Cairns then jumped on a tiny 12 seater plane to Dunk Island. Our relaxation destination for the week and that is exactly what it was, full of stunning sunsets every single day, beautiful white sandy beaches and loads of sunshine… The days were warm even warm enough to sunbake and it is winter!! I was so excited about that

In the busy every day lifestyle we live, we are all working extremely hard with our jobs and everyday committments however it is important for us also to take time out to relax, reflect and experience. Reflect on what are we working towards and is there balance within our life. Do I have work, family life and most importantly a balance between everything?

Think about this for a moment…. if you were to sit on a sea saw which way would you fall? Towards the side where work is weighing you down or is there a balance on the sea saw with work, life and play? It is easy to get swept away in the fast paced lifestyle we live, so how do we slow down and enjoy each moment. Firstly by taking time out to really sit back and reflect on what your lifestyle is like. What kind of life am I living, do I have balance and do I LOVE it?

A great way to reflect is to write. Grab a book and write down your thoughts about your lifestyle, what do you love, what do you like or dislike, what are any challenges you face, what are your grateful for and most importantly what you would like to change in order to achieve pure happiness and enjoyment.

Don’t let the daily rat race get to you, take a break whether it be to go for a drive for the day to your favourite hideaway or jump on a plane and visit the destination of your choice but most importantly have fun and relax with your friends or your loved ones.

Check out some pictures of our trip below.

We went on a mountain bike ride around the island…

Sunset swimming in the ocean…

Explored some different islands and beaches with our dinghy…

And my favourite, the most stunning sunset I have seen in a long time. Photo taken straight from the beach…

Have a wonderful day!

Joey

From the left: Tony Findlay, Joey & Richard Marc with the directors of Food Matters Larentine ten Bosch & James Colquhoun 

Earlier in the month we posted some infomation about the latest documentary to be released shortly called Food Matters. Last night we went to the Global launch and what a movie!It is full of loads of valuable information about why food really matters in your lifestyle.

We all know that we need to eat well and keep active to live a healthy lifestyle, but why is it that we are all falling sick or that there are a bunch of lifestyle diseases still affecting us all worldwide? Despite the billions of dollars of funding and research into new ‘cures’ we continue to suffer from a raft of chronic illnesses and everyday maladies.

Find out why this is and how the food you eat effects your body. The film has some incredible statistics, studies and the real facts on the ‘Sickness Industry’ and gives people some scientifically verifiable solutions for curing disease naturally.

Find out what works, what doesn’t and what’s killing you. Some of the information in the film really opened our eyes to what is really going on with our lifestyles and why we are all sick and unwell! Including the information about Cancer and are these methods of treatment used by doctors really helping the patients?…

Do you want to watch this film right now? Because you can watch it instantly! Just click on the banner below and find out how you can download and watch this film now. 

  This weeks question has been sent in from Rose, Castle Hill . 
 The food servings when eating out are often quite large and I want to know some tips about how to prevent eating larger food servings, especially when you are eating out. 
 

Hi Rose, thank you for submitting your question, here are some tips on how to avoid large food servings: 

 - Always look for the healthier option. Especially when eating out at a food court or restaurant. Look for the healthier meal and order the small or entrée size.
 - When ordering out, if the checkout person asks “Would you like to upsize/supersize for just $1 more?” say “NO”! Never choose the supersized option - even if it is more value of food for just $1 more!
 - Check the serving size of the plate. The size of the plate equals the size of the portion. People will eat what is on their plate even if they are not hungry. If it is a large serving, consider sharing it with a friend or family member.
 - Prepare and dish up the correct portion size of meals in the home. So there is no temptation to eat seconds. 
- What do I do if there is left overs from dinner? Put the left overs into a container for a meal the next day or freeze it for another time. Avoid scraping left overs on to the dinner plates as this creates extra food portions for dinner. 
 

Looking after your health, 

 Richard & Joey Marc

The Wellness Duo
 

PS. If you want more information about Portion Distortion check out our latest book “Please Mum, Don’t Supersize Me”