Counting calories isn't as cut and dry as it sounds

The common misconception for anyone trying to lose body fat is that exercise is the key and will do it all for them. They join a gym which is a great step but commonly this only serves in giving a false sense of security as far as calorie or energy expenditure goes. A lot of the time visiting the gym even 5 hours a week by itself will not be enough activity for most people who are otherwise sedentary. In this day and age a minimum of 7 hours a week physical activity should be undertaken in a week for good health and to help the fat loss process.

There are usually four main problems associated with the way we think of achieving fat loss in my experience.

1. They count calories but don’t realise that anything that is heavily processed and unnatural is not an equal to a fresh and natural calorie packed full of nutrients. They aren’t getting the food value their bodies require. This is especially relevant today with low fat, diet and heavily sugared or artificially sweetened foods.
2. They commonly skimp on breakfast to save calories. This is the easiest way to stop fat loss in its tracks. Metabolism doesn’t function optimally and again quality nutrient dense foods are sacrificed for less valuable foods nutrients wise.
3. The portion sizes of their food can usually cut by ¼ to ½ . Even eating bad food options with a reduced size serving will still increase their capacity for fat loss. Unfortunately anything that gets binged on is usually heavily processed and sweetened so reducing the size down to half can save a lot of excess calories being consumed.
4. Move more in any way you can. Physical activity is needed for energy expenditure.

In summary quality should always take precedence over quality or lack of it in a weight loss campaign. The more nutrient value a food has the better effect that food will have on fat loss.

Warning: You need to start building up your immunity.

If you were fortunate enough to hear our 'Back up a Little' interview with Dr Steve Wilson you would know how badly out of shape our health is getting. As a race we are becoming more reliant on medication and neglecting to address our own lack of natural barriers to disease and sickness. If you are serious about removing restrictions from your life then you need to start building up your own defence barriers to illness. Get your immunity muscles bulging so to speak.

To highlight to me how well we are going, we had to take Tyrone (our son) to the Doctor recently to get him checked as he had a cold and his ears were starting to hurt. turns out he had an ear infection and was prescribed an ear drop form of antibiotic. We tried every chemist in the vicinity but no stock of the drug for 2 weeks. Another prescription fared no better except one outlet had one batch left. running out of drugs isn't uncommon these days but you don't hear of nature letting you down in this way do you. The Laws of Nature don't run out - they keep on keeping on.

That's my rant here we need to keep getting back to nature to stay healthy. Don't fight it join it because it can't be beaten. Fire won't beat a forest it just makes it come back stronger. Buildings can't stand in the way of water for too long before they get reduced to ruin. Our bodies can't sustain constant poisoning with unnatural substances for long before warning signs start appearing. As an Australian the first inhabitants of our land lived with nature and introducing unnatural substances into their lives didn't do their cause and health too well did it? So why not start getting back to nature? I have given 4 great starting points if you want to start your own natural journey.

1. Remove added sugars from your diet. Sugar, artificial sweeteners can be taken out of the diet in so many ways. Cool drinks, fruit juices (commercial), most commercial cereals, cakes, pastries and so on. replacing any drinks you may purchase with natural substitutes will be a great help. Water, freshly squeezed juices and herb teas are great liquid replacements
2. Consume fruit and vegetables at every meal. Make this a ritual and you will be getting such a great natural boost of nutrients at every meal.
3. Lose the low fat mentality. Our bodies need fat for survival and energy and replacing good fats and oils with low fat alternatives deprives your body of a vital ingredient for health and well being.
4. Think quality not quantity. By sticking to the 3 tips above this will be easier but just remember we aren't moving as much as we used to so we don't need as much energy. As an example for most of us an entree size meal is big enough and sometimes even too big. Put in the nutrient dense foods and take out the heavily processed unnatural options.

These simple steps will do wonders for your immunity and stop you relying on a staggering health system due to our inability to take responsibility for our own health.