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Keepin’ it real in the heady world of detox!
Let’s not make this more difficult than it needs to be.
Chances are you’re not too bad looking after yourself, and yet you find yourself five kilos heavier at the end of winter, with dull skin and a general sluggish feeling. You may even have the remnants of a bad cold that’s been hanging around for way too long after months of going in and out of the icy winds and artificial heating.
Who has time to punish themselves by taking away everything they love in the name of ‘detox’?
Put simply, ‘detox’ is a term used simply to describe an ‘out with the old and in with the new’ lifestyle. So why not start with a sensible, yet sustainable strategy to do just that?
Join us for three weeks worth of tips to help get your body back on track for summer. Any of these tips can be incorporated into your daily life, so we hope you embrace them –it’s about real tips for real living.
It’s all in the name of personal spring clean –but without the dusters!
MONDAY
1. Do a Pilates class
Why? A great way to stretch muscles that haven’t been worked in a while! It’s a great way to ease your way into more physical activity.
2. Eat two more pieces of fruit than you would usually eat (4-5 pieces)
Why? Recommendations suggest at least two pieces of fruit per day – you’ll be fruitilicious!
TUESDAY
1. Walk 30-45 minutes & stretch
Why? The National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend we undertake at least 30-minutes of moderate intensity exercise each day. (This shouldn’t be just for a Tuesday! But one step at a time!)
2. Aim to get 20-25 grams of fibre in your diet this week
Why? Some research shows people that eat large amounts of fibre are healthier, leaner and have a reduced risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Easy.
WEDNESDAY
1. Find some stairs and walk up and down them five times.
Why? This is a gentle way to elevate your heart rate, and help to improve your fitness
2. Drink peppermint tea at your morning tea break
Why? A nice crisp taste that is always synonymous with feeling healthy, peppermint tea can be a wonderful substitute for caffeine-rich coffee, or a biscuit.
THURSDAY
1. Walk 30-45 minutes & stretch
Why? The National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend we undertake at least 30-minutes of moderate intensity exercise each day. (There’s that exercise idea again! Get out and for even half your lunch hour you can get some real benefit!)
2. Include a can of tinned salmon to your lunch
Why? Fish contain long chain omega-3 fats which have been shown to help the brain function. Give Flake a shake or Cod the nod!
FRIDAY
1. Take the stairs at work today – and if there are no stairs make sure you at least take a 15 minute stroll in your lunch break.
Why? When it comes to being active every step counts. By taking an extra 500 steps a day can burn an extra 600kJ a week.
2. Drink two full drink bottles of water
Why? Dehydration can lead to headaches and migraines, trust us, although your stomach may be sloshing about a little, it’s a great way to cleanse the body!
SATURDAY
1. Aim for a weekend walk of 100 minutes with a friend
Why? This is the same as walking 12500 steps and burning about 2100kJ (or nearly 60 grams of fat)
2. Add some ginger to your cooking
Why? Ginger provides a refreshing healthy taste and some studies have indicated that ginger may help to reduce inflammation.
SUNDAY
1. Go for a fun walk with your partner, your mates, or the kids in the family!
Why? Make physical activity fun, you’ll be more inclined to do it. Who are we to argue?
2. Eat a punnet of strawberries
Why? Often saved for special occasions, why do that? A guiltless indulgence!
MONDAY
1. Take the stairs rather than the elevator in your building
Every little bit helps!
2. Aim to make today a total vegetarian day
Why? In Australia only 11 percent of people eat the recommended two pieces of fruit and five serves of vegetables.
TUESDAY
1. Do an activity that you have never tried before with a friend
Why? Effective weight loss or healthy weight maintenance comes about by shocking the body. Getting it to do something it hasn’t done before. Bungy jumping anyone?
2. Use a little more garlic in your cooking
Why? Garlic has been shown to cleanse your blood vessels by reducing harmful cholesterol build up on the walls of the arteries.
WEDNESDAY
1. Get Out! We mean it!
Why? Get out of the house, the office, the car or the bus and walk anywhere you can; to get to work, to get lunch, to get the paper or the milk, it’s the tiny steps that will create the giant leap.
2. Try a different herbal tea (you might just like it!)
Why? If you manage to hit on a great flavour that tastes great and makes you feel good, it’s a fantastic alternative to coffee, or beverages with a high sugar content.
THURSDAY
1. Try a yoga class
Why? A great way to relax, focus and let yourself go, especially when the working week may be getting you down.
2. Add some cannellini beans to your meal
Why? Foods full of fibre help to keep us fuller without supplying the calories. Cannellini beans are a great way to increase our dietary fibre. “Beans, Beans good for your heart…!”
FRIDAY
1. Find a set of stairs or a hill and aim to walk and down five times with a minimal break. Really work on getting the heart rate up.
Why? Working the heart at a higher intensity than a walk is important. Such an activity uses different muscles, helps the body to exercise in the absence of sufficient oxygen, (as you are out of breathe) and is wonderful for the heart and brain.
1. Eat a couple of extra pieces of fruit today
Why? Because we said so.
SATURDAY
1. Walk to the shops to get the newspaper this morning
Why? A great start to the weekend, while you’re there, get the milk too!
2. Have a healthy juice that you have never tried before
Why? Juice goes hand in hand with feeling fresh and healthy –nutrients and natural sweetness. A winner.
Sunday
1. Aim for a weekend walk for 90 minutes plus with a friend
Why? A 90-minute walk can be quite invigorating. Moving beyond exercising for just one hour is important for the body to improve.
1. Try a different herbal tea
Why? Camomile? Lemon? Spearmint? One of the biggest barriers to healthy eating is boredom, so mix it up.
MONDAY
1. Take the dog for a walk
Why? Well Fido should be walked by everyone in the household and it’s your turn! No dog? Borrow a friend’s or neighbours’! Everyone will be happy –especially the dog!
2. Eat an assortment of seeds such as pumpkin seeds
Why? We know it’s all seems a little ‘peace, love and mung beans’, but seeds are a great alternative to other grazing snacks like chips, sweets and salted nuts. Seeds are often over looked, but a handful can take the edge off hunger.
TUESDAY
1. Aim to get 27 grams of fibre in your diet this week
Why? Some studies show that high fibre diets can help to reduce colon cancer, one of the largest cancers in the world.
2. Have a healthy juice that you have never tried before
Why? Juice go hand in hand with feeling fresh and healthy, Boost can help you out there!
WEDNESDAY
1. Do a Pilates class
Why? Thousands of celebrity abs can’t be wrong.
2. Plan you meals and determine what nights you will eat fish
Why? Eating fish four times a week can reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 19 per cent.
THURSDAY
1. Instead of after work drinks, get your colleagues to go for an after work walk.
Why? As tempting as a big night out sounds on paper, the reality is a social walk will save you money, still allows you to be social – and avoids a hangover!
2. Eat a piece or fruit that you have never tried before or eat rarely
Why? Having a diet that is rich in variety in is important, besides, you might just like it!
FRIDAY
1. Dance Dance Dance!
Why? Dancing is a great way of getting some really fun exercise. Shimmy on the dance floor (but drink plenty of water in place of alcohol or soft drinks – depending on your age of course!)
2. Eat a salad with different salad vegetables to what you would normal eat
Why? Variety is the key to a healthy diet so move away from the lettuce, tomato and carrots, and try some fresh beetroot, red and yellow capsicums, bean shoots or snow peas.
SATURDAY
1. Aim for a weekend cycle of 120 minutes with a friend
Why? OK, we admit this is a biggie, with equipment required! But after three weeks of incremental change this could be the start of a whole new lifestyle change, so dust off the ‘deadly treadly’ and get spinning!
The afterburn of such a long cycle means the body will keep burning calories for hours after you stop.
2. Eat an assortment of nuts
Why? Nuts contain healthy fats and fibre. Regular consumption has been shown to provide enormous health benefits, which include reducing heart disease.
SUNDAY
1. Check how much calcium you had consumed today! Have you achieved 1100mg?
Why? This is the recommendations suggest we need to up our daily calcium –for example a cup of skim milk contains about 310 mg of calcium. Skinny hot chocolate anyone? Or even a Chocmint Mania! Yum!
2. Find a recipe to cook chickpeas
Why? Chickpeas are rich in fibre, filling and taste wonderful, many of Indian and Moroccan-style flavours work very well with this meaty legume!
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