In order to calculate your daily caloric need, you need to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which is the total amount of calories your body burns during a day, including all activity. 

The first step is to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories your body needs to in order to function - this excludes any activity. Basically, its the amount of calories you would burn if you were to just sit in one place all day. To calculate this, I suggest using the Harris-Benedict Formula since it takes into account body weight, height, sex, and age, making it more accurate.

Men

BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)

Women 

BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)

Now that you have your BMR, the next step is to calculate your TDEE. TDEE takes into account 2 factors:

Thermic Affect of Activity (TEA) - the amount of calories you burn while exercising/physically active

Thermic Effect of Eating (TEF) - calories used to assist in digestion and absorption (about 5% of your caloric need). Foods high in protein and fiber will cause a greater effect.

Based on your activity levels, you take the number associated with that level and multiply it by your BMR. **(TDEE = activity level x BMR)

Sedentary (no activity) = BMR x 1.2

Lightly active (light exercise 1-3 days/week) = BMR x 1.375

Moderately active (moderate exercise 3-5 days/week) = BMR x 1.55

Very active (hard exercise 6-7 days/week) = BMR x 1.725

Extremely active (hard exercise 2 or more times/day) = BMR x 1.9

The number you get for your TDEE is the amount of calories you need to MAINTAIN your body weight. 

If you want to lose weight, you will have to reduce your calorie intake or increase your activity. There are 3500 calories in 1lb or 0.45kg of fat. The recommendation is to decrease your caloric intake by 500 calories in order to lose 1lb or 0.45kg of fat per week. 

QUESTION: Can you overdose on healthy smoothies (almond milk, berries, cacao, ABC spread, coconut)?!


Hmm I don’t think you can overdose but like everything you should be consuming them in moderation (i.e. not every meal). I don’t see an issue with enjoying a smoothie everyday as either a meal or snack; in fact I highly recommend them! I think smoothies are an easy way of including raw foods and superfoods in the diet. Get creative and add things like maca, goji berry powder, acai berry powder, seasonal fruit and vegetables. I am happy to hear you are enjoying them so much.

QUESTION: How soft/hard should quinoa be when you cook it and is undercooked quinoa gastric challenging?


Quinoa should be cooked until soft, light, fluffy and slightly translucent. Under cooked quinoa can be challenging on the digestive system resulting in pain and discomfort. My tip is to wash quinoa well before use and cook for around 20 minutes or until soft.

Another way of consuming quinoa is via sprouting. Raw foodies suggest sprouting quinoa to help release some of the living enzymes and break down the proteins and carbohydrates to make digestion easier. To sprout quinoa, soak it overnight in water. Drain and rinse it in a fine colander. Leave it to sit in the colander over a bowl for at least six hours, recommends Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis in “Raw Food Real World.”

I personally like to cook my quinoa in a rice cooker 1:2 quinoa to water. I simply rinse, pop it in the cooker, press go and walk away. I come back 20 minutes later to perfect quinoa every time.

                    QUESTION: What are your thoughts on coconut water?

I think a lot of the hype around coconut water is marketing BUT I do agree there are vitamin and minerals provided in this yummy beverage alternative. Why don’t you try cracking open a fresh young coconut yourself and enjoy not only the water but also the delicious flesh contained within the coconut.

Coconut water will not provide the healthy fats of coconut oil. My tip is to enjoy all components of the coconut including the water, flesh, milk and oil. This way you will benefit from all the coconut has to offer.

                        QUESTION: I have just been diagnosed with arthritis everywhere. Can diet improve inflammatory symptoms?

Yes you should be looking to reduce all foods that have an inflammatory effect on the body these include things like sugar, wheat, dairy, red meat and night shade vegetables (potatoes (especially green), tomatoes, capsicum, red and green peppers, silver beet, beets, eggplant, ground cherries, tobacco, chili).

Ensure you are consuming lots of raw fresh vegetables and ant inflammatory foods such as turmeric, ginger, omega 3 rich oily fish and berries.

I also highly recommend you take a high dose fish oil supplement and a practitioner only joint supplement with glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin and bioflavonoids. A high dose turmeric supplement may also be used to reduce acute pain.

                    QUESTION: What are quinoa flakes - they are in your pancake recipe
.

These are just like rolled oats but made from quinoa. They are a great gluten free option providing protein and carbohydrates. They are readily available in the health food section of most supermarkets. Give them a go and let me know what you think?

       QUESTION: Can you eat too many kale chips and what's the deal with air fryers?

“I ate too many kale chips”… said no one ever.

Just joking, yes you can eat too many but I tell you what, if you made them yourself and used a limited amount of good quality oil you could give it a good nudge without feeling too guilty. Its more about the oil that the kale (obviously). I personally love baking mine with a sesame seed seasoning. I think homemade kale chips are a great way of increasing your greens.

Now about the air fryers, Im no expert on them (as I don’t personally own one) but from what I have seen they cook food using circulating, superheated air resulting in crispy foods without the fat. I think they are a good option for those with a poor diet looking to make improvements but for an already healthy person I don’t think you need one, unless you are thinking of mass producing kale chips, now there’s an idea……

I hope this helps

Question: I go to the gym around 4-5 times a week and my trainer has told me that I should really only be eating protein and veggies/salad for lunch and dinner. My question is, what are the best forms of protein and what should I be eating with it. Any suggestions would be great! She has suggested Turkey mince and eggs and I am getting a bit bored!

I train at 5:30-6:30/7pm Monday to Friday and Sat morning 8:15-9:15. I do a cardio class once a week, a pump class, a Pilates class and my own program which involves 30-minutes of cardio and 40-minutes of weights training. Breakfast is either my own home-made Bircher muesli with blueberries and LSA or a boiled egg with a piece of healthy toast.

During the day, I am trying to eat 5 or 6 times... small meals. Sorry for the life story!

Ok there is a bit to cover but I want to keep it simple and give you easy tips to focus on…

My top protein recommendations are: organic eggs, organic chicken, fish, good quality protein powder, turkey, grass feed beef and lamb and lean pork. It comes down to the quantity and quality of the protein. I don’t advise on eating only 1 or 2 sources, variety is key to good health.

I agree the diet should be based on quality protein, vegetables and salad BUT you must eat your carbs post training to replenish glycogen stores, especially considering you do a fair amount of cardio. I suggest adding ½ cup sweet potato to your evening meals on the days you are training in the afternoon.

How many meals and snacks to eat throughout the day is up to the individual and their goals.  I personally don’t think everybody needs to eat 5 to 6 times a day. Eat when you are hungry and limit snacking is my tip. Getting your post training meal right, balanced with carbs, protein and fats is more important than eating 6 times a day.

Question: Can I live on smoothies? i.e. Never chew again?

I absolutely love including protein smoothies with berries and greens in my daily diet however just like everything moderation is key, besides we are given teeth for a reason :-)

Here are a few reasons why we need to chew…

Digestion begins in the mouth with salivary enzymes, chewing activates these digestive enzymes.

Mixing saliva and enzymes in the mouth with food makes it more recognizable to our digestive tract.

Chewing slowly allows the brain time to realize you are full therefore preventing you from overeating.

Paying attention to chewing food properly brings attention to the process of eating. Being mindful of what you are putting in your mouth is an important part of nourishment and self control.

I hope this helps

Staying well hydrated is one of the most important things you can do for your health. The question is should you choose bottled or tap water?

Bottled water has received a bad wrap due to plastic bottles leaching undesirable environmental estrogens into the contained water. 

Plastic water bottles are designed for a one use only. Plastic leaching increases the more you reuse a plastic bottle, especially if the bottle is stored in the sun i.e. in a hot car.

Tap water may seem like the obvious choice but don’t fool yourself that tap water doesn’t contain harmful chemicals. Heavy metals, pollutants (volatile organic compounds), pesticides, residues from the medications we take, environmental estrogens and chlorine can all be measured in our tap water. Yes Australian water is disinfected with chlorine to protect us against bacteria however this process and all the other chemicals found in tap water makes it far from pure.

My recommendation is to drink filtered water wherever possible. Aim to use and refill glass bottles and take your water with you. It may take a little more effort but is absolutely worth it.

Q: I have noticed apparently 100% natural sugar substitute products on the market like Steevia. These seem ok as are lower calorie than cane sugar and not as artificial as the old fake sugar like equal. I have not heard much about these and would be interested in your views on the health benefits as compared to cane sugar. - Mel

A: Ok Mel this is a tricky one, there are so many types of sugar substitutes with pros and cons, I’m going to keep it basic and give you my personal opinion. Yes the amount of sugar the average person consumes is too high but I don’t necessarily believe we need to replace sugar with a sugar free substitute; we just need to reduce total sugar intake. Unless you’re having 5 cups of tea with 2 sugars every day, I don’t think table sugar is the problem. I think the real problem is with processed foods that contain sugar, take a look at the following list:

 Just Right cereal has 4 teaspoons of sugar per 1 cup

Uncle Toby’s Oat Crisp and Honey cereal has around 2.5 teaspoons of sugar per cup

Diet Yogurt has 7 teaspoons of sugar per 200g/ small tub

Go Natural snack bar (actually found in the health food section) has 3 teaspoons of sugar per bar

Weigh Watchers 99% fat free bar has 3 teaspoons of sugar per bar

500ml Lipton Ice tea contains 8.5 teaspoons of sugar

575ml of Nutrient Water contains 7 teaspoon of sugar

50g bar of milk chocolate contains 7 teaspoons of sugar

See what I mean! It’s the sugars in everyday food products that will hike up your total daily sugar levels NOT the occasional teaspoon of sugar in your cup of tea. If you really want to replace table sugar for health benefits then use raw honey, yes it still contains sugar and calories but it also contains lots of vitamins and minerals and it actually considered a super food. Honey is sweeter than sugar so you tend to need less of it to satisfy a sweet craving.

Now with regards to stevia, basically it is the common name for extracts from the plant Stevia rebaudiana. Stevia has no calories or carbohydrates and therefore does not raise blood sugar levels, this makes it an ideal sweetener for diabetics. The Stevia Resource Center reports that stevia is at least 10 times sweeter than sugar, which will significantly alter the amount you need to add to recipes and hot beverages. This may sound well and good but remember that even stevia products go through a refining process. My take on nutrition is you cant go wrong if you eat foods closest to nature, that’s why when I get a sweet craving I use raw honey, in small doses naturally.

For a detailed break down on all sugar substitutes go to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073