Being born into an Italian family I grew up eating anything that came out of my Nonno’s garden.

We made tomato sauce from squishing tomatoes and boiling old beer bottles, my family would buy a whole dead pig from a farm in the middle of Western Australia and cut all the meat off it to make our own sausages, we grew our own herbs and bought local produce as often as we could.

These good habits have been passed down from generation to generation.

No pesticides, herbicides or fungicides were used in the making of me and we all hope this is the case for all of us.

The question we all ask ourselves is “What foods should we avoid?” so our skin stays youthful, our insides run like clock-work and our children are free from harsh chemicals.

Here is a look at a variety of foods through the eyes of people who spend their lives uncovering the secrets we all hope to have knowledge of.

And this is my summary of it broken down for us non-scientists to understand.

1. An Endocrinologist will not eat: Canned tomatoes.

Problem: Tomatoes are stored on shelves for years in tin cans which are lined with resin. Resin contains bisphenol-A which is a synthetic oestrogen that is linked to problems such as heart disease, diabetes and, the shocking one, obesity.

Solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles or just use fresh organic tomatoes for sauces.

2. A farmer will not eat: Corn-fed beef.

Problem: Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their cattle corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. Although this means meat has become cheaper it also means less nutrients for us in the end.

Solution: Buy grass-fed beef, which can be found at butchers and at various grocery stores. It is usually labelled because it demands a premium and although you might pay a little more for it, you and your family will benefit in the end.

3. A toxicologist will not eat: Microwave popcorn.

Problem: Where do we start-it smells delicious and it tastes like buttered angels but we all know it isn’t good without me going into the science of it.

Not only are the chemicals which are used in the lining of the bag linked to infertility in humans, according to recent studies through an American University, they also stick around in the body for years and do nothing good for your cholesterol levels.

Solution: Pop natural kernels the good-ol’ fashion way. For flavouring please do not hesitate to add real butter or a pinch of icing sugar.

4. A produce partner will not eat: Non-organic potatoes.

Problem: Root vegetables absorb all the bad stuff! All of the herbicides, pesticides and fungicides that go into the soil end up in your body.

It isn’t good enough to just wash the vegetable before cooking it because the chemicals are added during the growing season, through harvest and before they are taken to grocery stores.

Solution: I don’t need to say this again but buy organic. It might be a little bit more expensive but for peace of mind I think it is worth the extra couple of dollars.

Louise Jeckells.

Staying clear of anything that ends in ‘icide’.

You’ve quit sugar over the past month, tried to stop drinking as much alcohol as you usually do and your fridge looks like it is straight out of an organic grocery- but your tummy still won’t lose a cm. What’s going on?

Perhaps the very ‘healthy’ pursuits you are adopting are exactly what is causing your weight loss to stall. In order of most common culprits I hear from our Hypoxi clients here is our list of ‘healthy’ habits that stall your fat loss:

• You are eating too much – even though it is clean and healthy: Just because it is organic, full of healthy fat and brimming with antioxidants, doesn’t mean you can go overboard. Yes, that means a small handful of almonds, not a giant fist full. And yes, it means attacking the whole large punnet of strawberries isn’t exactly advantageous.

•  The healthy foods you are eating aren’t agreeing with you: Your body has unique biochemistry, which react to nutrients differently from one person to the next. Foods that typically cause problems are nuts, gluten, dairy and soy. All such foods that are staples in most people’s ‘low fat’, ‘calcium enriched’ diet. Cut them out. I think you will be rather surprised…

• You neglect breakfast: Breakfast establishes your metabolic rate for the day. Choosing a small breakfast will physically leave you crashing by 10am and reaching for the skinny muffin and skim latte. Furthermore, it will mentally leave you thinking that you’ve been saintly by ‘cutting back’. I guarantee you will more likely splurge later on in the day as you are unable to sustain your ‘calorie reduced’ mindset.

• Using ‘Diet’ Foods: For sure sugar free and fat free foods do usually contain fewer calories and so it goes without saying you might think they will serve you well in your fat loss goals. Take a look at the ingredients list first and try to work out what nutrients (if at all) are held within the aforementioned ‘100 calorie cookie’. If something is devoid of fat, it is usually amped up with artificial sugar, which generally leaves you craving more sugar. Finally without the precious fats, your body so desperately needs you will most likely remain unfulfilled and hungry.

Are there any other healthy habits you do to lose weight that are perhaps a little ironic? 

My partner and I just bought two tiny ducks and they are the cutest things I have ever owned.

I wake up and I want to hear them chirp, I bath them, talk to them and sometimes I put food in my mouth and let them eat it, just like a mother would.

Sound gross? That is because even though I do those things I would never admit them out loud to any one…unlike many other mothers I know.

I understand that having children is a huge step in anyone’s life and so on and so forth.

Every where you go, look, read, hear or see there is a mother who can talk about nothing else than her child.  Before I launch into this, I should add I love kids. In fact, I hope I have an indoor-football team worth of them.

But honestly what kind of hormonal brain washing occurs when you give birth?

Has this woman lived in solitude without anything amazing happen before popping out a mini-her?

Her Facebook account went from pictures of her going out and having a life to pictures of her feeding her child and status updates of him doing his first poo.  I‘ll give my family and friends strict instructions to remind me of my existence as a person as well as a mother, but will I (oh, the horror) join this cult too?

Maybe I get so annoyed because the parental instinct inside of me does not run wild and quiet frankly, having children would put a damper on the amazing travelling life my partner and I have right now.

But does a woman’s identity have to change once she has a child?

I say no, and my reasons are not because I am unmarried, childless or highly allergic to a screaming child- my reasons are based on observations from friends who have kids, my beautiful mother and the future-mother-in-me.

1. Talking about your child or bringing them up in every conversation is never fun for the other person, especially if they do not have children and even more importantly if they are trying to conceive and are having trouble.
2. Using the everyday tasks of your new pride and joy as the highlight of conversations. There is nothing more intolerable than hearing a story about how ‘babies name here’ had a poo the other day or sneezed or laughed. Sorry to all those mothers out there but it just gets old quickly.
3. And last but not least, remember the harsh fact about saying your partner’s name 10 times more than you would say your own in a day- well triple that for how many times you would say your child’s name and there you have it- the most annoying conversation starter in the world.

From Louise Jeckells.

A woman who gets a whole nine hours sleep a night, uninterrupted, and loves it.

Or- perhaps regardless of the stroke and cancer warnings, you fear the word “artificial” in itself.

But where does a health conscious, weight loss enthusiast turn to when she craves that much needed sugar hit?

In an attempt to conquer the nutritional vice that is fructose (ergo white table sugar) ‘natural’ sweeteners have taken off with a vengeance. Once confined to the realms of New Age Urban Hipsters, these supposedly not natural sugars are a marketer’s wet dream, riding on the tail coats of those fit enthusiasts who want their world to be sickly sweet but without the sugar. Natural sweeteners are the perfect answer to this conundrum. Right?

And herein lays problem number one.

What is natural? In contrast to Organic Foods, there isn’t a certified Australian standard for natural vs unnatural food. Effectively, it’s a word that promises a lot, but can ultimately signify nothing.

The power of this promise is heavily based upon how Australian consumers define natural vs healthy.  Given the relative ‘newness’ of these sweeteners – there are no finite understandings of the effects they will have on our body. Furthermore given our zealous relationship with sugar there is no way of knowing what effect large quantities will do to us!

The second issue is the one I slam myself up against a brick wall, with a lot of our clients. Sugar, in all its low G.I and reduced calorie wonder is still sugar, regardless of its form.

That being said, for those with sever fructose allergies (they do exist) or diabetes, a little natural sweetness can do wonders for the soul.

And with this in mind, the girls here at Hypoxi took the Sugar Free challenge this week in order to decipher the good from the bad in the race for a life sans sugar.

Agave syrup

The deal:  Agave Syrup now decks the aisles of all health food stores and is a similar taste experience to maple syrup. The syrup is actually extracted from the plant, agave which is in the same family as the cactus. In order to extract its sweet syrup, it needs to be processed, and funnily enough, once it has gone through this process it is pretty much identical to the much dreaded high fructose corn syrup. This is not so good – actually I would go as far to suggest it’s rather bad.

In its defence, agave does have a low g.i and is sweeter than white sugar, therefore you require less of it (ideally- although portion control when it comes to sugar is difficult).  But what care I for stabilised blood sugar levels, when sugar and agave have the same number of calories, similar fructose content and no nutritional value?

Brown rice syrup

The deal: Brown rice syrup emerges when cooked brown rice is mixed with barley malt enzymes. (This doesn’t explain much now does it?) . The final product is 45% maltose and has absolutely no fructose in it, which means it hits your blood sugar at a much slower rate and won’t give you that energy crash that most sugars do. Additionally, the syrup retains trace elements of key minerals, so it isn’t a complete nutritional waste like most sugars are.  Taste wise, I say it imparts a nice butterscotch taste. but with the main sugar in brown rice syrup being maltose, it is not as sweet as normal sugar. On the whole I like this as a transgression food for someone who is addicted to the sweet life but needs to make a sensible shift.

 Stevia

The deal: I have talked about stevia before. I am a huge fan. It’s only downfall in my humble opinion, is that it takes a while to master the right ratio for you. Why? Because it is so dam sweet! Stevia is my favourite as it is not really a sugar.

Rather it is an herb that is about 200 times sweeter than your average teaspoon of sugar.

As an herb, it has NO CALORIES and doesn’t affect blood sugar at all. This in itself makes stevia a diabetics dream.  It has been  used extensively in Japan for decades now- having replaced all artificial sweeteners in low calorie beverages with stevia. When baking with the stuff, you need to keep in mind that you are losing the structural quality of one cup of sugar and will most likely need to replace it with some other bulking agent, such as almond meal or coconut flour. Finally, the sweetness of stevia lingers long on your tongue and can be off putting for some. For me? I love that the sensation of sweet stays a few seconds longer than the average spoonful of sugar.

 Coconut Sugar

The deal: Coconut Sugar is essentially palm sugar – the stuff used liberally in Asian cooking. (think those glorious thai salads) . It is made by cutting the buds of coconut trees and gathering the sap. The sap is boiled until it thickens and becomes solid. In terms of nutrients, it is by far the most nutritious of all sugars as it is high in several minerals our body requires and is also very low G.I. My favourite part of coconut sugar is that it is the single most sustainable sugar in the world! Not bad. That being said, in regards to fructose content – it still isn’t fabulous - sorry. It is about 45% fructose so in my eyes, still pretty toxic.

In terms of the worst choice for these alternative sweeteners, I would categorically say Agave is out. Stevia, followed by Rice Malt Syrup are my preferred sugar sources as they are fructose free.

What about you?

How do you sweeten your life without sugar?

Stress has always been depicted as an unhealthy factor in our daily lives with many undesirable sight effects.

The word is very taboo and many women do not mention it because relieving it would be a sign of weakness.

After hard consideration, and a few years of being able to maintain my level of stress, I have decided to stand up for ‘healthy stress’-a term which scientifically exists.

Like so many other things in our lives-a healthy balance to any situation is usually required and it is no different when talking about stress.

Stress is organised into four different categories ranging from healthy stress, which is usually based around situations to chronic stress, which requires medication.

Among the four levels of stress, it is the first level that is considered as “healthy stress”.

This word would confuse so many women.

How can stress be healthy?

On this level, a person is highly motivated and her energy levels are usually focused on a particular activity or job.

To stay mentally active in my job I create a healthy level of stress for myself.

I work myself up to this level and then I become more efficient.

I drink more water, I eat more fruit and I after I finish my activity I usually schedule something fun and interesting to calm myself down-like annoying my boyfriend.

Other examples of situations which occur around healthy stress are times when manageable life changing events occur, like a job promotion or getting married.

Stress is apart of life and although not everyone will go through it we will have partners that do.

It is important to understand the difference between positive, neutral and negative stress levels.

Research and understand it well because healthy stress is something we all have felt from time to time and maybe we should learn to work with it instead of against it.

And if all else fails in getting rid of your ‘unhealthy stress’ I suggest having sex.

Louise Jeckells

A lover of maintained stress

By now, I don’t even need to enquire as to whether or not you have heard of pinterest. Given that 80% of the audience are female and between the ages of 25-54, I’m thinking there’s only a small minority, who haven’t started ‘pinning’. This virtual pinboard is a lot of fun, and it’s a great tool for tracking the latest health and fitness trends we love to share with you. In fact the Food & Drink is one of the fastest growing categories on Pinterest – given the amount of food porn one can find, this comes as no surprise. Foodies and budding amateur chefs are keen bunch of people.  We love to share our food – and photos are just as giving.

If you’re on Pinterest, I suggest your first stop be Hypoxi’s very own Pinterest board. We love to pin inspirational bodies, scrummy recipes that make us sing with low carb goodness, uplifting quotes to get your day revving and cute pictures of baby animals….for no other reason than they make us squeal with delight.

 If you check out Hypoxi’s Pinterest profile, you’ll also see updates on our latest competitions and announcements. Given that we are about to send off a healthy couple to the Maldives, maybe it’s time to get on board?

Pinterest is a gold mine for the latest fads in the pursuit to ‘eat healthy’ and I find it extremely interesting (and sometimes disturbing!) to see what is currently receiving love on foodie pinboards. Here are the top trends of

• Hailed as the new pseudo bacon (puh-lease) Kale is the leafy super food that is slowly making its way into mainstream trolleys.  The beauty of this baby can be seen in its versatility. I have seen this leafy green crisped up to chip perfection, blitzed into a smoothie, massaged with avocado or braised with garlic and butter.  Not bad for a humble veggie.

• Quinoa is the golden grain on pinterest. Most likely as it is a complete source of protein, inexpensive and super easy to cook! Quinoa has been morphed into porridge and dusted with cinnamon, used as the base of a gluten free salad or pureed with veggies to form patties. Hypoxi users be aware, although it is a complete protein it is still high in carbs and definitely not fit for consumption post an Hypoxi session.
  

• Vegan and gluten free sweets are a favourite of pinners, and some of the most popular themes are banana bread, coconuts and peanut butter desserts – even a combination of the two. Just do a search on Pinterest and you’ll find a plethora of boards dedicated to the much celebrated white nut!

• Low Carb pizza alternatives usually using the ubiquitous cauliflower or zucchini to replace the requisite carb laden base. Check out these zuchinni pizza’s…they were re-pinned 368 times!

• Smoothies of the green variety shot artistically in vases and jam jars, usually with a retro straw neatly tucked into it and perfectly rimmed at the top with no overspill.

• Food play – à lathe apple pie baked in an apple. Even better are the hot dog octopus…where or where do these people find the time!?

Perhaps though, we are looking too far for the latest and greatest in food, when really the most basic superfoods are right under our nose. The largest repin I saw had over 2000 pinners and it was simply a roasted cauliflower dish! Eating healthy is as easy as pie? Absolutely.

I know one of the greatest fears of aging (above and beyond the dreaded wrinkles that manage to creep up around our eyes) is the fear of losing your memory. Us woman, pride ourselves on being the organisers, the ones who remember all the right dates and times and ensures all bills and deadlines are met efficiently.

Having recently witnessed the demise of my grandmother’s memory- I am determined- to ensure that my well functioning brain remains intact fifty years from now.

Often- I write about fitness and food yet neglect the all important mind- when it comes to feeling and looking your best. Just like your own ‘trouble spots’ on your body, we too have weaknesses when it comes to particular brain functions.

Which is where Brain Specific Work Outs come into play….

Can’t remember passing thoughts? Embrace the crossword. Have difficulty making the right decision? Work on games that require strategy- like cards.

Being the naturally un-inquisitive, scientifically devoid member of society that I am- I have gone to the trouble to find out which parts of the brain do what (thanks to the scientific mind that is my sister). Here are some work-outs for six different brain areas- dependent on your ‘trouble spots’.

Prefrontal cortex (forethought)
o strategy games, like chess
o meditation helps increase forethought

Temporal lobes (language and memory)
o crossword puzzles and word games (my mum’s forte…wish I could say the same for myself)
o learning a new language

Basal ganglia (monitors anxiety and motivation)
o Meditation (re-occurring theme anyone)
o diaphragmatic breathing – basically breathing from your tummy not your chest. Many of us- don’t properly use our breath which leaves us devoid of full oxygen capacity and inadvertently places our body in a state of stress. Think of it as inducing a semi like state of hyperventilating. As a former flautist, the best way to describe this is to tell you all to breathe without lifting up your shoulders. A good deep breathe comes from the base of your stomach, not your chest cavity.

Deep limbic (emotions)
o Power of positive thought. Write a list about your merits and what you are grateful for, daily
o Ensure your positive experiences are built on actual actions- going places/doing things as opposed to situations where you bought happiness (i.e. that new Chanel wallet)

Parietal lobes (direction sense and spatial orientation)
o Juggling
o Redesigning a small space in your house
o Implementing some garden design into your backyard

Cerebellum (coordination)
o Dancing
o Martial arts
o Handwriting or calligraphy
o Taking an aerobics class

I don’t know about you but this has got me thinking, can you grow younger in mind as the years go by, by keeping curious and learning?

I’d love to hear if anyone has had positive experiences through adopting a new skill or embracing the act of stillness and meditating!

The other day my partner and I had a rapid conversation, also known as an argument, over money.

I’m a journalist and he is a professional football player which means our salaries couldn’t be more different at the moment.

We live together, in a different country and we share everything including my debt.

At the moment I’m working on building my portfolio and not my bank account and yet my partner has never been in a more comfortable spot in his career which means we’re butting heads on things we see as necessary.

We have allowed ourselves to be different and we have learned to appreciate things about each other which also drives us mad.

But the question I ask my partner is ‘How can I continue to enjoy my relationship without having to sacrifice things I love and enjoy because I feel guilty spending money I haven’t earned?’

A close friend of mine just ended her six-year relationship with her partner and when tying up loose ends she handed most of ‘their’ savings to him.

She said it was because he had supported her through university and most of the money saved was not hers.

I saw this as being noble, and knowing I am nothing like her, it had me worried that most women don’t just walk away from a relationship but they also take nothing with them.

Women should know their relationships better than anyone else but having to disable and pick through it all of the time is tiresome work.

The free flow of a relationship which combines both careers and both passions is not easy but communication throughout it needs to stay constant.

My partner and I have devised a plan.

Each week we sit down and remind ourselves that money is not the driving force behind our jobs nor our relationship.

Reminding ourselves of this just means we are willing to work through the rapid conversations and focus on the good things.

I would never lie to my immature-at-heart partner and he could hardly lie to me without bleeding from the nose so we both know the relationship is built on trust.

The point I am trying to make, which I hope was clear is, whether or not money is an issue in your relationship-knowing you and your partner are different is what weaves you both together.

And if your differences are too far fetched then just yank his credit card and buy some shoes.

Louise

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Here at Hypoxi HQ we are a little bit delirious – having spent the better part of our Summer working days, wading our way through the wonders of beauty – we’ve flexed our creative muscles, lost a few brain cells and decided that Renaissance women knew a thing or two about the dark side of beauty.

One hundred years from now – I wonder if we will be in awe at our desire to insert plastic and botox into our precious skin?

Regardless – this video has had us laughing every step of the way. We hope it is as funny and enlightening for you!

Share the love -see what your friends think – have we made progress or simply regressed?

Even though holiday season is over, many people are still enjoying their wonderful ‘gap year’, ‘extended lent holiday’ or ‘decided last year was even more crap than the rest and will take an extra month to go visit that long lost relative in Spain’.

So for those who are still out and about travelling, this health blog is for you to read and disregard.

I’ll start with my story.

My golden rule for maximum holiday relaxation is to have no rules which includes eating anything that looks delicious, smells delicious and is vividly unhealthy.

Lucky for me I have always been a comfortable size eight, after puberty struck, and have maintained this size whilst living in different countries and exploring the world.

But before you disregard my opinion I will tell you the story about travelling to Indonesia.

All of the good stuff here is coated in flour, deep-fried in oil or covered in sugar.

My tastebuds took a dive into heaven and I have not since been able to recover.

I travelled to Malang, Indonesia nearly two months ago with my wonderful boyfriend Steven.

He is a professional football player therefore correct eating should rule his life.

His tastebuds make poor judgements but he exercises twice a day so therefore he could drink sugar drinks and eat deep fried rice balls all day and, although he would be terribly unhealthy, his waistline would not whisper a word.

I gave up formal exercise years ago and now I stick to a moderate routine of ‘do-as-I-please’.

This routine often involves walking around shopping centres or markets and raising my heartbeat whenever a bargain flashes before my eyes.

In all seriousness while on holiday I have found myself constantly exercising which has helped stay bikini-body-ready when waiting for Leonardo DeCaprio on a beach in Thailand.

Any dietician will tell you it is as simple as making sure you burn off those calories which you have digested that same day.

I have recently started a yoga class where many locals strip down to the bare essentials and sit in silence.

It does not build up a sweat with me but it gives me time to think about what I can do better the next day to appreciate my body.

These are my holiday mantras:

1. Walk, walk and walk some more.

2. Try to resist adding sugar to your coffee – because even though you think you need it – it is more of a habit than anything.

3. Try eating the way locals do and not what you think you should be eating. In Indonesia it’s easy to stick to eating western food and that is a big no-no.

4. Turn your thinking around. Treat yourself when you know you will really enjoy it, don’t just eat until you’re sick for the sake of it. Don’t ever think of treats as cheating. You are indulging yourself, not spoiling yourself.

If you intend on sticking to a strict diet when you are on holiday you might as well stay home and save your pennies because you become boring and ruin it for everyone else when you say “No, I can not share the seafood platter because I have already maxed out my carb load earlier when I ingested that fly.”

From one never-ending-traveller to the next, do not waste your travels on counting calories and instead count the times you will never forget.

Louise