Healthy Living

We often hear about the importance of breakfast, but let's not forget about how important lunch is too. According to HIF health expert, Susie Burrell "On any weight loss plan, it is a general perception that the less we eat the better. This can somewhat explain the reason why dieters choose a light breakfast and try and hold off from eating lunch for as long as possible. This is the worst thing you can do if you are trying to lose weight. The earlier you have your lunch, even in place of a late morning snack, the better it will be for your metabolic rate. If you are hungry at 11 or 11.30am, eat your lunch then rather than holding off and then binging on sweet foods at 3 or 4pm because your blood glucose has dropped significantly which can leave you ravenous and prone to overeating. In this article, Susie discusses why lunch holds the key to nutritional balance and offers her advice on the best foods to eat at lunchtime. 

Diet trends – they’re everywhere, but are they food fads or sensible eating? According to HIF health expert Susie Burrell, "As we learn more and more about nutrition, and with the number of ‘experts’ out there publishing diet books increasing, it inevitably leads to the propagation of new diet beliefs and trends (whether or not there is evidence to support them)." In this article, Susie discusses the latest food trends including, “Swapping back to full cream milk”, “Sushi is a healthy choice” and “We should all be eating Paleo” and offers her advice on the nutritional science behind these trends. 

We all know that winter months usually mean thick socks, heater hugging and cosy nights in front of the TV. Regrettably though, Susie Burrell says, “These actions usually result in many of us going off track when it comes to our diet and lifestyle resolutions. Too much chocolate, training sessions skipped in favour of more doona time and plenty of comfort food often means one thing – weight gain. With this in mind (and considering Spring is only a few  weeks away) we thought we’d share this latest post from our Healthy Lifestyle Blog. In this article, Susie offers her advice on the food swaps we can make to ensure we can enjoy our favourite comfort foods, without the extra kilos to match. 

Do you struggle to say no to sweet treats at family occasions and other celebratory meals? Don’t worry, we do too. Which is why we asked our resident health guru, Susie Burrell for her advice on how to stay healthy during those “special dinners”. Here's what she told us...

Are you constantly juggling work, kids, long commutes and family pressures? Don't worry, you're not alone. According to Susie, "The constant time pressures and stressors in our lives mean that we're not an overly healthy bunch. Up to 60% of us are battling weight issues; more than 1 million of us have diabetes, and as we get older, most of us are getting heavier and less healthy." In this post, Susie talks about her 30 day Shape Me Plan and its aim to promote and maintain an easy and enjoyable weight loss program.

Do you want to change your eating habits? According to Susie, "It may come as a surprise but simply opting for consistency with your diet, and making some powerful but subtle dietary changes to your daily food regime can have a much more powerful impact on your health and weight than you could imagine." So before you begin a complete diet overhaul, check out Susie's top tips on some simple lifestyle adjustments that will yield significant long-term results. 

When did you last take time out for yourself? Whether it be relaxing at home, sleeping as long as you wanted to, enjoying some family time or simply switching off from all electronic equipment, the chances are you can't even remember, especially on a weekend. In fact, Susie says, "The demands of modern life mean that we now exist in a state of constant frenzy and are more likely to feel stressed, overwhelmed and far from flourishing come Monday morning." After seeing her clients experience feelings of exhaustion for many years, Susie recommends a "Sacred Sunday’ - a day, even just once a month in which we allocate ourselves nothing to do – a mini break to re-centre and find ourselves. In this article, Susie suggests some fun activities and explains the importance of enjoying the smaller things in life.

How much cheese is too much cheese? According to HIF health expert Susie Burrell, "Unfortunately, there is no escaping the fact that even though it tastes so good, nor whether it is feta, cheddar, Parmesan, ricotta or Brie - it is cheese, it is high in fat. However, nutritionally cheese has a number of positive qualities. While it does mean that you may need to limit your Bries and full strength cheddar's to special occasions, it does also mean that you can enjoy the lower fat ricotta and cottage cheeses more regularly and you do not need to ever revert to the bland low-fat varieties of cheese, which really do not taste much like real cheese at all." In this post, Susie answers a reader’s question by explaining how we can still enjoy cheese without having to worry about our waistlines. 

“Fasting diets”- we've all heard of them. In fact we've probably all tried one, but the question is do they work and more importantly are they safe? According to Susie, "Interest in the benefits of fasting continues to grow as evidence builds to show the significant health and weight benefits associated with actively restricting our kilojoule intake on a regular basis. While this may sound great in theory, the truth is that eating far, far less than we usually do is easier said than done." In this article, Susie discusses the importance of considering our energy demands before adopting this method and explains why a more sustainable approach may be all we need to give our bodies a metabolic kick start.