Marc Wellness International Blog

This morning we headed to Channel 9 studios to join Karl Stefanovic on The Today Show, where we shared our thoughts about Childhood obesity and how families can live a healthy life. Click on the image above to watch our interview.

Yours in health and wellness, 

Richard & Joey Marc

The Wellness Duo

Yesterday morning we woke early before the sun had risen to head to the radio studios of popular Sydney radio station Mix 106.5fm, where the hosts Sonia Kruger and Todd McKenny interviewed us about family health and  “Please Mum, Don’t Supersize Me!”.

Being Valentines Day in Australia - February 14th, we thought we would take Sonia, Todd and the Mix 106.5 crew something to help brighten and start their Valentine’s Day! Being early morning we thought some breakfast snacks would be good! And obviously being Valentines Day many people like to give the traditional chocolates or flowers, but not us! We couldn’t possibly give them chocolates at 6 o’clock in the morning… 

So, with chocolates way out of the question, we opted for a healthy basket of fresh fruit -with mangoes, pineapple, paw paw, nectarines, peaches, apricots, bananas and more. Plus we thought that fruit was a better breakfast than chocolates! We hope that all the Valentines received something special from their loved ones.

Happy Valentines Day to all in USA today! We hope you have a fantastic day

THE South Australian Government will outlaw junk food advertisements during children’s television programs if the industry does not agree to a voluntary ban.

South Australia’s Health Minister John Hill states “With SA figures showing one in five of our state’s four-year-olds are either overweight or obese, and similar figures across Australia, these big companies need to take action and be part of the campaign to stop the escalating obesity crisis”. With these alarming figures of childhood obesity occuring, Mr Hill is taking one step which could make a difference to the contributing factors that are influencing the rise on childhood obesity for his state South Australia.

Of an afternoon when kids race home and watch TV it is what’s in the ad breaks that make a difference. Children who usually watch Television straight after school, are watching when their tummies are rumbling for an afternoon snack and in the mornings it is just as bad. Children can be watching TV whilst eating breakfast and what is on the screen? Ads for fast food and high sugar products!

The article stated that “Another survey, conducted in NSW, revealed 10 junk food advertisements were shown each hour during children’s television times.” Imagine that 10 junk food ads per hour, and when children watch an ad, time and time again naturally what do kids want? No time is better then right now, for the government and industries to step up and make a change. Make a change to help the kids of the next generations to lead a healthier lifestyle. Because not only do these ads influence children’s choice on what to eat, it increases the pester power towards mum and dad who are trying hard to make a difference.

The article continued “78 per cent of people believed there was too much advertising for unhealthy food during children’s TV programs.”  With 78% knowing there is too much advertising for unhealthy food shouldn’t this be enough to help get these ads banned. The concern is obviously there!

Whilst the government in South Australia is making a statement to implement change what about the rest of the nation? It is great that one state is stepping up but it’s time for all of us to make a change. But don’t wait for the change to be approved - you can make a change in your family’s life right now! Simply by increasing your children’s play time outside each day and decreasing their indoor couch television time. Start implementing changes such as:

- No TV before school or no TV before 7pm

- Go for a walk or play in the backyard as a family together each night after dinner. Or set a time each day which is family active time, to play and have fun outdoors!

These TV free activities and more can be read in our latest book “Please Mum, Don’t Supersize Me!” 

Read the entire article - Ban junk food ads on kids tv ‘or else’

 Recently we have been working with some Aussie families educating them about the importance of being active and living a healthy lifestyle together as a family every day.

We believe it is of importance that parents educate their children in their home environment they live, about healthy eating and exercise. It is the environment that you live and who you live with, that will make all the difference to the lifestyle habits you develop as a child. If you educate your children that an afternoon snack is a piece of fruit and have fruit readily accessible around the house such as on the kitchen bench in a bowl, they will grow up with this positive health message as a child and naturally pass this habit to their children.

With the rising concerns of Childhood obesity, it is important for families to start working together as a team and practice healthy eating and exercise habits on a daily basis. It is not about dieting, it is about a lifestyle change. Start implementing healthy choices into your life today. Start to be more active, get outside and play games with your kids. Kids will look up to mum and dad as role models and if a parent is role modelling healthy eating and healthy exercise habits in the home their kids will want to live a healthy lifestyle too.

It is what you teach at home today which can effect the lifestyle habits of your children and your children’s children!

To find out more about our passion of helping families to live a healthy life, check out last night’s segment of A Current Affair which was televised on Australian Television - Channel 9. Click here  or on the continue video above to view the segment.

 Looking after your health,

 Richard & Joey Marc

A Current Affair Reporter Kirsteen Lumb, Joey Marc & Richard Marc

An article today in NSW Australia revealed:

“The latest NSW Health data shows that there are seven urban and 12 rural areas in NSW where more than half the people over the age of 16 are fat. Barrier in outback NSW is home to the highest number of overweight or obese people in the state.

Premier Morris Iemma said the state’s obesity crisis was worsening as fewer people exercised.

“These statistics show us that the health issues, which arise from people being overweight or obese, must be faced by the whole community not just [the] Government or the health system,” he said.

Mr Iemma said more than half of all NSW adults and one-quarter of schoolchildren were overweight or obese.

“Obesity levels are at all all-time high and this in turns leads to an increase in a range of chronic diseases such as diabetes,” he said.”

With the release of our book “Please Mum, Don’t Supersize Me!” in all good book stores Australia wide soon, we are all about providing solutions to be able to help this growing concern. Being healthy is about eating a well balanced diet daily and being active everyday in your life.

Here are 3 tips of how you can make a positive health change in your life right now!

1. Be active everyday! Instead of sitting down after dinner and watching TV go outside and get active! Go for a walk around the block or to the local park and throw a ball around, walk the dog, go for a bike ride.  Go outside and be active for 20 - 30minutes!

2. Be conscious to drink water everyday! Did you know there are 10 teaspoons of sugar most cans of soft drink? Go the H2O its better for hydration…

3. Replace any high sugar snacks such as a chocolate bar and lollies with a piece of fresh fruit or fruit salad. 

Click here to read more about the mentioned article above relating to the obesity levels in NSW areas.

So don’t procrastinate this year, turn your resolutions into goals and set some goals today. Don’t dream of someday, have some direction, a plan and a goal to achieve what you want to achieve in life. Don’t wait for Monday to set your goals because Monday could turn into someday and we all know where someday is……. So, take 5 minutes of your time to read my article from the ebook “Making 2008 Great” making-2008-great-ebook.pdf which will give you some simple steps to follow when setting your goals this year.

Have a great weekend,

Yours in health,

Joey Marc

PS. Want free health and wellness tips? Visit our site homepage www.marcwellness.com to find out how.

Great news!!! Recently our book arrived back from the printers - check out the pics! To become a VIP member go to www.PleaseMumDontSupersizeMe.com, where you can sign up and be the first to receive exclusive extractions of the book, updates, discounts and free bonuses before it is released.

Watch our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdSbQ2SupiI

It’s only one day till school holidays begin (although for some school’s it has already begun!). I remember growing up as a kid and counting down the last days of school until summer holidays! I loved Christmas holidays during summer.

With the increase of technology in our fast paced soceity we have today, many kids are more likely to want to hang out at home and play with their xbox, playstation or watch TV. Whilst these activities may be fun, it is also important that kids spend time during the summer holidays having fun outside with their friends being active.

Here are some Fun Holiday Activities kids can play this summer! 

- Sports and Games: backyard cricket, beach volleyball, handball, shooting hoops in a basketball ring, bike riding, swimming at the pool or beach, surfing, snorkelling, bowling, skateboarding, frisbee, tip, ball games.

- Join Together: Get together with another family and enjoy games and a picnic at the park. Bring along some tennis balls and a cricket bat and have a game of cricket or play a game of mini-olympics. Join together and form countries in your teams and choose different sports or events you like from the olympics such as atheletics - shot put (use a tennis ball instead of a real shot put), discus (use a frisbee instead of a real discus), relays (run from one spot to another and tip the next person in line).

- Join a local kids club or sports camp. Kids Club and Sports Camps are great for kids during the school holiday period, as they interact socially with other children and learn a variety of different activities and skills.  When selecting a sports camp ensure to select a sport that your child is interested in, so they will be excited about attending the camp.

SUN CARE REMINDER: It does get hot in the summer, so when your kids are going outside they need to wear a hat and sunscreen. It is also important that they stay hydrated by drinking lots of water. A good idea is to have a water bottle with their favourite cartoon character on it (filled with water) which they can carry around with them especially when they go outdoors to play.

Tis the season to be jolly! With only 5 days till Christmas alot of us are now already in party mode. With office Christmas parties, friends and family gatherings its easy to indulge in fine food and fine wine. Which taste good on the lips but later on feels bad on this hips!

So here are a few tips on how you can indulge this Christmas whilst also keeping healthy!

1. Eat before you party: When heading out to a Christmas Party that you know is going to be filled with yummy (but fatty) finger foods, then eat a healthy protein dinner before you leave such as fish and salad. In eating before you leave to go out ensures you stomach is full with healthy food which means you are less likely to eat as many fatty finger foods once you arrive at the party.

2.. H2O is the way to go. Drink loads of water instead of fizzy drink or coffee. In Australia at the moment it’s summer and it’s hot! Throughout summer you easily loose fluids through perspiration (sweat). So it is important to ensure you drink lots of water to replace the fluids you have lost throughout the day. In drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day it will prevent dehydration, headache, improve your energy and help to keep your skin healthy and glowing!

3. Keep active over Christmas. Many of us like to relax over the Christmas Period and unwind. This is of importance to ensure you get enough rest however it is just as important to make sure you keep active too. With all the extra festives of Christmas comes along extra food and extra calories. Don’t fall into the trap of letting those extra calories slip onto your body. Keep active and burn off the excess food intake that comes along with the Christmas Parties and Celebrations. Have fun keeping active this summer through activities such as beach volleyball, riding bikes, taking your dog for a walk/run, participate in an aerobics, boxing or dance class or swimming at the pool or beach.

So try these 3 simple steps to feel more healthier this Christmas!

Today we were at the local shopping centre and there have been some major renovations that have occured. We were checking out all the new stores, then noticed a new donut store that had opened. The reason why we stopped to take a closer look was because within the shop fitting was a bunch of different signs representing fruits. As we stood there we thought why is there signage about Fruit and fat content in a donut store. Then we looked closer and there stood a sign saying “How does your snack rate?”. Then under the heading was a bunch of snack foods such as chocolates, muffins, crossiant, cookies and a donut (which were all rated in grams per serving). But what caught our attention was that they had listed the snack foods from very high in fat to low in fat. So chocolate and cookies rated the highest fat content in snack foods and then donut was rated as a the lowest fat content in snack food - weighing in at 12grams of fat per donut. Yep that is right 12g per fat per donut! However this rating of donut is only for the plain donut not the chocolate coated or glazed donut. It seemed a shame that a real piece of fruit wasn’t compared on the “How does your snack rate” rating table! Now we know there are alot of snacks such as a piece of fruit which are definately a more healthier option then 12g per fat per donut. And then you need to ask the question how long will this snack actually keep you full before eating another snack and how come they didn’t show how much sugar content was in each donut? You only need to look at the donut to see the glazing on the top to take a guess at how much sugar is there. Check out the picture of Richard holding the donuts to see!
It’s interesting because just down the corridor from this donut shop is a fruit shop. Now we ask what is the healthier snack, a 12g fat plain donut or an apple?
So the tip here is - don’t be tricked by the way food can be presented as low in fat! Always be aware and ask yourself is there a more healthier option?