Is your mouth writing checks that your body can`t cash?

So, you`d love to shed a few kilos but it seems so much easier said than done, right? Not necessarily!

Weight loss is simply about understanding the basic energy dynamics of the food we eat. I am constantly amazed at how little people understand about kilojoules, what we do and don`t need, what we eat and how to burn it off.

In short, you are the sum total of the kilojoules you have consumed and expended up to now!

1 kilocalorie or calorie = 4.2 kilojoules. Both measure the same thing, which is the energy we get from the food that we eat.

It comes down to a basic law of physics … expend more energy than you consume and you will create a deficit. And believe me, unlike your bank account, creating a deficit in this case is a very good thing. This is the one area in your life where personal growth can lead to shrinkage! If you would like to lose weight, you need to create debt. Kilojoule debt. In order to lose 0.5 kg of fat in a week, you need to create a 1800 kJ deficit every day…

So what’s 1800 kJ?

The average not-so-active adult needs the following on a daily basis: 6500 kJ (women) 8500kJ (men). Considering that one large movie combo or a burger, chips and cold drink combo contains almost 6500 kJ, it becomes clear that consuming a surplus of kilojoules is easier than we might think.

‘Can`t I just burn the surplus off at the gym?’ I hear you ask…

Not really, is the (unfortunate) answer. Most of us expend about 1000 kJ for every 1 hour of moderate exercise. You would probably need to run a half marathon to ‘burn off’ that combo you had last night.

Moral of the story? Prevention and planning is definitely far easier than cure.

Here are some tips to guide you:

- Eat mindfully. Chew each mouthful well. It takes about 15 minutes for your stomach to let your appetite centre know that you’ve had enough to eat.

- Become an energy guru – read labels and be aware of how much energy is in the servings, snacks or beverages that you eat and drink.

- Keep in mind that a snack should provide 500-750 kJ and a meal about 1500-2000 kJ.

Strategic refueling

It`s easy to fall into the pattern of skipping breakfast, siphoning down numerous cups of coffee, and snacking on high sugar, high fat snacks throughout the day. Problem is, you probably end up so famished by the time you get home that you end up over indulging at dinner and spending the rest of the evening as an award-winning couch potato.

The trick is to eat strategically. This means having small meals and healthy snacks every few hours. By eating at regular intervals, you will keep your blood sugar levels steady and balanced. This in turn will increase your energy levels and your capacity to get things done.

What's in a smart snack? Ideally, a snack should meet the following criteria:
• A smart snack should fit into your hand. After all it is a snack and not a meal.
• Each snack should contain about 500 kJ for women; 750 kJ for men.
• The carbohydrate content should be no more than 25 g for women; 35 g for men.
• The fat content should be about 10 g per snack (although for weight loss closer to 5 g is better)
• The fibre content should preferably be at least 2 g fibre per snack.

Smart snack ideas:
• Fresh fruit is best. Single pieces or fruit salad - no more than two tennis balls in size.
• Dried fruit - small handful or dried fruit bars – one dried fruit bar.
• Health bars - to meet the criteria above.
• Lean biltong, boiled egg, protein shake.
• Mini crudités (cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, baby corn, sugar snap peas) with a low fat dip.

So don’t ignore your hunger! Going for long periods without food can compromise energy and performance. It may also decrease your metabolism, cause muscle loss and lead to overeating and weight gain.
In short, be a grazer…not a gorger.

Is fast food making you slow?

It's been a long day. You`ve had back to back meetings. You`re running late and you`re stuck in traffic. You`re starving. At this point, the idea of preparing dinner is about as exciting as heading off for a 10km run. You decide to take the main road home and pick up dinner from one of the many fast food take away outlets that you'll drive past...

Sound familiar?

Fast food has unfortunately become an integral part of our time-strapped lifestyles. It's cheap, convenient, predictable and…surprise, fast!

Yet fast food can be food terrorism in little cardboard boxes. It’s packed with artery-clogging, heart-attack-causing amounts of kilojoules (kJ), fat and sodium.

And it’s not just the quality but the quantity we eat when eating fast food. The fact is that your fat intake for one fast food meal alone - whatever it is - will usually far exceed your fat allowance for an entire day!

In today’s ‘more is better’ consumer culture, we’re constantly encouraged to supersize. Sure, you may be getting value for money. But you’ll be getting value for waistline as well.

Check this out … 1 slice of margarita pizza contains 616 kJ and 1 teaspoon of fat. Upsize that to a triple decker pizza and one slice now contains 1738 kJ and 3 teaspoons of fat. So one slice of the latter is what an entire light meal should provide!

It’s all about moderation…having the occasional fast food type meal is okay. It’s when you're on a first name basis with the local drive through checkout lady that it’s time to get back to those wholesome, home-cooked meals.