There are many reasons why we “over indulge”, whether it be that it’s winter so we tend to eat heavy meals and snack more, or it’s the weekend, or the festive season. Whatever the reason, whist it is not only a bad habit, there are also a number of visible and not so visible side effects.

The most obvious and very visible side effect in our every day society is weight gain, leading to obesity, but other side effects include:

- lack of overall fitness;
- not being able to run with the kids, walk to the shop, walk up stairs, or ride a bike;
- a feeling of tiredness and sluggish;
- strains on your muscles, joints and heart;
- the feeling of continual hunger, leading to more food and more weight gain and more poor body condition;
- pool condition in your skin, hair and nails;
- your clothes not fitting;

Whilst no one wants to spend all of their spare time at the gym, or eat like a rabbit, there are a number of things that you can do to manage your appetite and overall health:

1. Change your eating plan: most people eat three meals a day, a light breakfast, reasonable sized lunch and generally a largish evening meal. This makes your body work harder trying to break down the food. Instead, why not consider eating five meals a day. That is breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also a mid morning healthy snack, and a mid afternoon healthy snack.

I can hear the gasps now, but you will be surprised at just how big a difference this can make. This will give your body fuel through the day, increase your metabolism and you won’t feel the need to eat such a large meal at the main meal times;

2. Change your diet: ditch the frozen meals, the stack of two minute noodles and the packets of crumpets and replace them with bright coloured fruit and vegetables. Even through winter, stews full of red meat and vegetables, or soups are far more full of protein than frozen, cardboard meals.

Try replacing some of those sweet snacks and lollies in your pantry with more healthy snacks such as muesli bars, nuts and dried fruits.

Where possible, introduce red meat and fish into your diet. Surprisingly, chicken is the most popular of meats appearing on the dinner plate and whilst chicken does have many good characteristics, you need to obtain your vitamins, minerals and proteins from a variety of sources;

3. Start using a shopping list and shop full: shopping on an empty stomach is a major pitfall for making lots of poor decisions. You tend to shop with your stomach, as opposed to your list and you pick up all of the wrong foods, such as chips, chocolate, two minute noodles. It is recommended that you have a quick snack before leaving and put a stop to the little hunger monsters growling in your stomach.

Step two of shopping is to make a list! It is a proven fact that those people who shop from a list, are less likely to impulse buy. Think about your shopping list before you leave. Includes lots of healthy foods and healthy snacks. Think fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, seeds, nuts, muesli bars and yoghurts. Not only will you find that you no longer overstock, but you just may find that you even save money following a list;

4. Read the labels: today’s society is addicted to carbs and salt, which is found in every type of processed foods. The media has got us thinking that we need to look for “low fat” and “low GI” labels on foods, but we also need to consider the amount of carbohydrates and the amount of sodium (salt).

Whilst some carbohydrates are good for you, as they are the body fuel foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds, nuts and legumes, those that have been processed, crushed, smashed, refined and put in packets are really only weight gaining carbs.

Similarly,  we need sodium in our diet to be alive, but very little. Health experts claim 220mg to 500mg per day is sufficient. Dietary sodium is measured in milligrams (mg). One teaspoon of salt contains 2,400mg of sodium. There are 1,000mg in a gram. 2,400mg of sodium equals 2.4g.

With that in mind, you may just be a little shocked to see what types of foods actually have salt in them, next time you’re reading the labels at the supermarket;

5. Start an exercise regime: that doesn’t mean that you need to become a gym junkie. Consider introducing simple exercise, like walking around the block a couple of times a week, go for a bike ride on a weekend, take an exercise class, or even just run around the park with the kids.

Any activity is good for you if it makes your heart speed up just that little bit and you might even find that you enjoy it;

6. Keep a food diary: start a food diary and amke a note of every single meal, snack, or drink that you have every day for a month. This is a great way to idnetiy poor food habits and agreat way to bring aboutr your diet awareness.

Be brutally honest with yourself, as it is only yourself you are lying too. Review the diet diary and create good food habits from the bad ones. For example, if you enjoy a cup of tea and three biscuits after dinner every night, try swapping hte busicuits for a piece of fruit, or even try not eating at all.

7. Plan your social diet: if you are attending a function, or party where there will be food available, eat a healthy snack, such as an apple, or cheese and crackers approximately one hour before you leave. Not only will this quieten the growling hunger monsters that are running around in yoru stomach, but it will also prevent you from over indulging and eating absolutely evernything that they bring past you on a plate.

Once you are at the function, be quiet selective when choosing food. Try to avoid deep fried, or creamy morsels and try to select fresh healthy options.

As you pick from plates, consider whether you really want to eat that piece of food, do you actually even like it, or are you really not even hungry. You may be surprised at just how many of us eat food we don’t enjoy, or don’t want, like small party pies and pasties;

8. Be serious: become serious about your diet and stick to it. Not only will your weight improve, but your nails will become strong and your hair condtion will improve too;

9. Have a free day: give yourself an “own choice” day once a week, where you are allowed to eat absolutely anything you like. Initially you will crave for that nominated day, but as your habits improve, the day will probably come and go and you won’t even notice it.

As your diet improves and yoru body becomes accustomed to good food, you may find that eating deep fried, fatty, creamy foods makes your stomach feel bloated and sick. This is actually a good sign that your body has turned the corner and is now rejecting junk food;

10. Reward yourself: buy yourself a new CD when you have managed to make five consequetive walks around the block. Buy that new top you’ve been looking at when you’ve lost 5kg. Rewards are incentives and acknowledgement of all of your hard work and they’re most enjoyable when you deserve them;

And most of all, have fun! Health and fitness is a life choice and should be enjoyable and fun. To turn it into a chore will only hinder your progress. Good food and fun fitness leads to a healthy, fuller and longer life;

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