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Has your Christmas food hangover created an overhang? Rachel Jeffery
Have you had a break from your sports over the festive season? Is it time to start thinking about your training and exercise plan for 2016? Are those few extras kilos that have crept on over Christmas, going to make you sluggish and not at your peak performance? Every year, thousands upon thousands of people have good intentions to make this the year to lose weight or get their eating habits back on a healthier path. Like everyone else, sporting people have the same intentions and goals. But how many people really succeed? Will you be at your best come competition time? Normally we all start off quite well, but it is hard to keep the momentum going and even harder to know the best foods to eat, with so much conflicting information in the media.
On a whole, it is reported Australians are becoming fatter and our eating habits are leaning more towards fast-and-fatty takeaway foods. In National records kept it is estimated that twothirds of Australian adults and one-quarter of our children are now overweight and obese. Weight gain occurs when you eat and drink too much while limiting physical activity. As we get older a few kilos creep on every year until you find you have gained so much weight that you are outside the healthy weight range. So how can you accomplish your resolution this year to eat healthier and lose weight? The answer is tomorrow never comes, so you need to start today, right now, not tomorrow, not next week or next month, but right now! Like all changes such as moving house, organising
Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Practising Nutritionist, Rachel Jeffery says that it’s hard to keep the momentum going on new year diets. Photo Tree Faerie
holidays and preparing celebrations you need to PLAN. Sit down and make a list of all the things you could do to improve your life; for example, eat more fruit, drink more water and increase your exercise.
Now list all the things you should change, such as cutting down on takeaway meals, and reducing sweets and alcohol. Number each of these changes. These are now your goals, to be successful at this year.
SYDNEY [AAP]
Most mentioned Aussie sports people in the media: 2015 Sports person Nick Kyrgios Michael Clarke Bernard Tomic Steven Smith Adam Goodes Johnathan Thurston Jason Day Jarryd Hayne Lleyton Hewitt Mick Fanning
birth of their daughter Kelsey Lee in November. The second tennis player in the top three, Bernard Tomic, ended the year ranked 18 by the ATP, the highest ranking of his career. Tomic called for an investigation into Tennis Australia’s own conduct after a fall-out with Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter and claimed the organisation has been disrespecting him. Later in the year, Tomic told a press conference he agreed that he and Nick Kyrgios need to ‘control our personalities’. Steve Smith took the Australian captaincy in both Test and One Day cricket during the year, achieving success against England in a One Day series and New Zealand and the West Indies in Tests with a significantly changed side following the retirements of Clarke, Watson, Rogers, Haddin and later Johnson. His own form was
46 December 30, 2015 The Byron Shire Echo
Press 9,896 10,339 5,259 8,894 5,550 8,509 4,192 4,269 3,963 2,521
Radio 57,317 40,623 45,346 7,160 30,015 10,052 26,407 21,230 20,247 14,600
Television 59,089 60,354 37,372 26,381 34,428 18,591 29,873 30,886 19,515 25,418
strong through most of 2015, becoming Australia’s highestranked batsman. Sydney Swans player and former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes made headlines as he spoke out against racism in sport and was named one of David Jones’s ambassadors, taking a break from AFL as the booing contr sy peaked and returning for a few matches before announcing his retirement. Rugby League star Johnathan Thurston enjoyed a return to success with the Maroons in the State of Origin, and finished off the year by scoring the golden point that secured a come-from-behind maiden premiership for the North Queensland Cowboys. Golfer Jason Day briefly reached number one in the world rankings in September, following a string of tournament victories including his record-breaking US
Internet ernet 108,856 8,8566 113,729 3,729 57,849 7,849 97,834 7,834 61,050 93,599 46,112 46,959 43,593 27,731
may lead to 2–3 kg loss initially, but these diets are hard to maintain and often the weight re-appears when you come ‘off ’ the diet. Many of these diets are unhealthy, cutting out essential food group and nutrients, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Going on and off these diets can lead to weight gain year after year. These diets or ‘plans’ do not teach you how to enjoy real foods and create your own healthy eating plan. The best idea to lose weight is to make small, sustainable life changes which lead to long-term weight loss. If you need some help trying to lose or have a healthier lifestyle, you may like to get some professional support. Rachel Jeffery is an Accredited Practising Dietitian* (APD) and Accredited Practising Nutritionist. For info about healthy eating: www.racheljeffery.com.
Aus female sports stars hit mark
Media’s most mentioned sporting folk In another year that proved contoversy is king, Nick Kyrgios was the sportsperson most mentioned in 2015 by Australian media. According to Isentia Media Monitoring, a year of run-ins with tennis authorities and allegations of poor behaviour both on and off the court shadowed the young star’s rapid rise in the ATP rankings since he burst onto the scene at last year’s Wimbledon. As well as oncourt sledging and claims of tanking, he was dropped from the Davis Cup team and had a verbal stoush with Dawn Fraser. Meanwhile he finished the year at 30 in the ATP rankings. Other notables are former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke is second on the list, with more than 220,000 mentions across the year. He led Australia to a fifth Cricket World Cup win after defeating first-time finalists New Zealand at the MCG in March, but a disappointing Ashes tour to England followed, with Clarke announcing his retirement from all international cricket before the last Test, following Australia’s losing its fourth series in a row in England. Former coach John Buchanan criticised Clarke’s captaincy style following his retirement, with extensive debate in the media about his legacy. Clarke and his wife Kyly announced the
The best idea is to work on one goal each week. So let’s say you have two improvements (drink more water, include daily exercise) and two changes (cut down on daily chocolate and reduce alcohol) you want to work on. • The first week you should look at increasing the water, • The second week, focus on reducing chocolate. • The third, start increasing the exercise. • By the fourth week, you can start cutting back on the alcohol. Each week continue with your previous goals and add a new one in. Before you know it, you have been making healthy choices for a month. You will start to feel better and the changes have been gradual so you do not feel too deprived. Avoid jumping on the bandwagon to try the latest fad diet – ‘No Carbs’, ‘Juices only’, ‘Diet Shakes and Bars’etc. These gimmicks
TTOTAL OTAL 235,158 225,045 145,826 1140,269 14 0,269 131,043 130,751 106,584 103,344 87,318 70,270
PGA win, the first player to finish at 20-under-par in a major. Former NRL player Jarryd Hayne tried his hand at American football with the San Francisco 49ers with Aussie media cheering him on, only to lose his spot on the team roster for most of the season after a couple of fumbles. Tennis player Lleyton Hewitt’s near-two-decade career is drawing to a close, with Hewitt mentioning plans to retire after the 2016 Australian Open and become captain of the Australian Davis Cup team, while surfer Mick Fanning rounds up the top 10 sports people in Australian media, with 70,000 mentions, after surviving an altercation with a shark in July and also having to deal with the death of his brother in December, and still coming close to his fourth world title.
Michelle Payne topped a long list of sportswomen who grabbed the headlines in 2015. Michelle Payne (Horse Racing). The new queen of the turf defied the doubters, the odds and history to become the first woman in 155 years to win the Melbourne Cup. After having to convince some owners she deserved the ride on 100–1 long shot Prince of Penzance, the 30-year-old said she hoped her trailblazing victory would pave the way for other female jockeys. The Matildas (Soccer). Led by midfielder Elise KellondKnight and forward Lisa De Vanna, the Matildas became the first Australian team – men’s or women’s – to win a knockout stage match at a soccer World Cup, conquering much-fancied Brazil 1–0 through a Kyah Simon goal to reach the quarter-finals. They finally bowed out in a single-goal loss to eventual champions Japan but not before breaking new ground for Australian football. The Diamonds (Netball). Withstood a spirited fightback from New Zealand to avenge a pool-round loss to their great trans-Tasman rivals to claim a third consecutive World Cup and challenge the Southern Stars as Australia’s most dominant national sporting team. Inspirational captain Laura Geitz, fellow defender Julie
Corletto and deadly accurate goal-shooter Caitlin Bassett starred in the nailbiting 58–55 win in Sydney. Southern Stars (Cricket). They’ll have to wait until next year to land another world title, but the all-conquering Southern Stars can celebrate being ranked first in all forms of women’s international cricket following another triumphant 2015 season in which they regained the Ashes from England. The Meg Lanning-captained outfit featuring champion sporting all-rounder Ellyse Perry are odds-on favourites to win a fourth straight T20 World Cup in India in April. Others great efforts by women include Emily Seebohm (Swimming), Bronte Campbell (Swimming), Annette Edmondson (Cycling), Anna Meares (Cycling), Laura Peel (Aerial Skiing), Minjee Lee (Golf), Chloe Mccardel (Long-Distance Swimming), Kim Crow (Rowing), Jessica Fox (Slalom Canoeing), and Sally Fitzgibbons (Surfing). A maiden world title continues to elude Fitzgibbons, but not so courage after the 24-year-old ignored medical advice to win the Fiji Pro with a burst eardrum. The three-time world championship bridesmaid was told to stop surfing but instead mastered the big waves at Cloudbreak to pull off a remarkably gutsy feat.
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