We’ve all heard that friend announce they’re “shredding for summer”. Maybe they do manage to lose 5kg, just to binge out on Christmas day and put that weight straight back on by the time they hit the beach over New Years. You may even be trying this yourself; using some radical weight loss plan you have seen advertised by ‘that Instagramer’ with thousands of followers.

What if I said it didn’t have to be like this? Turning down dinner parties or Christmas functions so you don’t ‘spoil the diet’, skipping meals so you can attend after work drinks without feeling guilt.

So, what can you do instead?

First, ditch the diet. Instead of counting calories, start developing a healthy relationship with food, viewing it as the fuel your body needs to function, think or play with your kids. When offered a second helping, or another drink, don’t ask yourself if you ‘need it’, but rather whether you ‘want it’. Once you have established this thought process and a rapport with food, you will find you don’t need to skip meals or start a crazy diet that cuts out whole food groups. The best thing is, this mind set applies all year round - not just over the Christmas period.

Second, plan ahead with your meals. If you have a busy week filled with events and activities, plan around them. The nights you are at home, whip up a salad and shred a hot roast chicken from the supermarket, or stir fry some seasonal vegetables and have with a piece of fish. Maybe make extra dinner one night and store some to have re-heated on one of your busy nights. The key point here is if you are prepared with your food for the week, you are less likely to pick up takeaways on your way home.

Third, fuel throughout the day. If you have consumed nourishing food throughout the day, you’re less likely to be ravenously hungry and more likely to have the will power to avoid the chip snacks and massive piece of Christmas cake at your function later in the evening!

It’s all about shifting your perspective from “I need to be good today/tomorrow/this week, so I can have dessert AND bubbles at my Christmas function” to “I’m going to consume a steady flow of nourishing food to fuel my body for fun! Without any strict rules or guilt.”

Finally, how to tackle the dreaded exercise? Many people think of exercise as the opportunity to eat more food afterwards, “I exercise so I can eat”. However, you should view it as the opposite. “I eat so I can exercise”.

With the fast approach of summer comes naturally increasing energy expenditure and opportunities to participate in both structured and incidental physical activity, which is especially great for those who do not like going for a run around the block every morning.

Social sports are a wonderful way to get involved in something new, participate with your family and friends (or even make some new ones), by doing something you enjoy while exercising (I know! Yes, it is possible!). Get outside, enjoy the long hours of sunshine, stock up on some vitamin D and release those endorphins.

Alternatively, if playing touch on a weeknight isn’t your thing, try going for an evening walk, take the family to the park or the beach to kick a ball around, park the car a bit further away from your local shopping mall when doing that last-minute Christmas shopping, or try some Yoga or Pilates from YouTube in the comfort of your own house. Mix it up, one day do a bit of cardio, the next some resistance or weight bearing exercise. Resistance exercise is especially important as we get older and we lose fat free (muscle) mass with aging. Find something you enjoy, and the rest will come naturally.

This Christmas period, I challenge you to stop putting pressure on yourself for having dessert, or not looking a certain way. Instead, enjoy your time with family and friends and have a lovely relaxing break.

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

When you think of protein, what do you think of? Meat, muscles, body building? Well it is much more than that. Not only is protein important for building and maintaining muscle mass, it provides structural support in the form of collagen and elastin, it makes up our enzymes, hormones, our antibodies in our immune system, it affects cell signalling and it moves molecules through our bodies such as how haemoglobin transports oxygen in our blood.

Protein is vitally important for every one of us, and unfortunately our peak muscle mass and strength starts to decline during adulthood. Whilst this is not a major cause for concern if we are consuming protein rich foods, it is especially important for older adults who have higher needs (about 25% more) than that of adults.

As we get older, we lose muscle mass which leads to reduced strength and physical function which leads to a reduction in independence and quality of life. Older adults may also start consuming smaller meals as they become full quicker and loss of taste and smell sensations mean they no longer enjoy foods they may have in the past. Loss of chewing and swallowing ability and health concerns such as high cholesterol may also lead to a reduction in the amount of protein consumed.

So, how do we ensure we are getting the right amount of protein?

Protein consumption should be evenly distributed between breakfast, lunch, and dinner as this will ensure maximum protein synthesis occurs. As protein increases satiety (feeling of fullness), this may potentially lead to weight loss. Animal protein is more like that of humans, however the necessary amino acids that we require are all provided by plant sources.

Good sources of protein are meat, poultry, fish, dairy products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beans, and legumes. An example of how to include protein in all meals may be poached eggs for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch and grilled fish for dinner.

With winter well and truly settled in, it’s hard not to think about catching the dreaded cold (or flu), even multiple times during the season. So, what can we do to reduce our risk of falling victim to these bugs?

Firstly, our immune system does not get enough credit. It is made up of a variety of defence cells, tissues and organs which work together to protect you from infection. In addition, we have enzymes and peptides specifically designed to fight off any unwanted bacteria.

If you happen to get sick or cut yourself for example, the body reacts by initiating chemical responses such as fever, swelling and inflammation to stop the spread and begin the healing process.

So, what can we do to look after and enhance our immune systems?

We've all heard it's important to take probiotics after a course of antibiotics, but why is that the case and how can it affect your health?

Gut bacteria ferments fibre and non-digestible carbohydrates, which clears out the intestines and produces short chain fatty acids. By-products of this process are gases such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane which we expel through our breath, and yes, as flatulence.

Lots of different factors can influence the composition of our gut bacteria such as our diet, our genetics, even how we were delivered as babies or whether we were breast fed or formula fed. Alcohol, poor diet and stress can all upset the bacterial balance which can throw our digestion (and health) out of order!

Research is starting to identify relationships between an imbalance in good and bad bacteria and several diseases such as metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease, irritable bowel, mental health disorders and even central neural disorders.

Having good levels of beneficial bacteria ensures your bowel is healthy and functioning well, can control hunger signals, supports your immune system, and even helps to absorb certain vitamins such as vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting, B12 for cell and brain health, biotin, and carnitine.

So, what can you do to ensure you are consuming the right foods to support a healthy gut. Firstly, the bad bacteria thrive on sugar, so start by reducing the amount of refined sugar in your diet. Include legumes, pulses, wholegrains into your diet for fibre which act as prebiotics that feed the healthy bacteria. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi and yoghurt contain good levels of healthy bacteria which encourages your microflora to flourish.

Probiotics are also an option but when choosing which ones best for you, select ones that have high levels of bacteria per gram (aim for 10million), contain specific strains (will often say clinically proven), check the best before date and look for the claim “live and active cultures”.