Reducing your FAT intake

Things to consider and think about!

- Reduce the size of the serve of meat in meals, and choose lean cuts, removing any remaining fat or skin.

- Choose low-fat and reduced fat dairy products. Yoghurts, milk, fruit dairy snacks and custards all come in great tasting low fat versions. Cheese can be found in reduced-fat and relatively low-fat forms, but you will still need to watch the amount you eat.

- Use low-fat methods when preparing your meals. Cook with minimal amounts of added fat or oil – either dry-fry or stir-fry in a small amount of oil or use spray on oil, grill, and roast on a rack, steam or microwave.

- Don’t smother your food in oil, butter greasy sauces or dressings – spice up your food with sauces and relishes that are light and tasty instead. Try low oil dressings or herbs, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice on salads. Replace butter with margarine on sandwiches with a spread of mustard, salsa, avocado or light mayonnaise.

- Be aware of the hidden fat inside many baked or prepared food items, especially treats such as chocolate, rich desserts, cakes and biscuits. Enjoy these in small amounts, and go for quality rather than quantity.

- Learn to ready labels to identify the total fat content of food.

Are you getting enough exercise?

The National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that you get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week and for extra health benefits you partake in some vigorous activity as well.

30 minutes is your baseline hopefully you are working towards bumping this up to 50-60 minutes . But sometimes things pop up that are unavoidable such as: a child needs to be taken to the doctor, you get a deadline brought forward at work, or one of your friends want to catch up for a coffee and chat.

These are ‘time pinchers’ that can pinch away your precious training time. To counteract these you can make up for it the next day by going a little longer or doing a morning and afternoon session. Try not to stress if you do lose a session here or there and most importantly ensure that you never go more than two consecutive days without some form of exercise.

APPLES - a nutrition powerhouse

Apples are one of the only foods identified to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers- two of the biggest causes of death in Australia, according to research from The apple report. The report found that apples have the highest antioxidant content of all Australia's popular fruits, including one and a half times more antioxidants than a 75 gram serve of blueberries, three times more than an orange, and almost eight times the antioxidants of a banana.