Changing your body composition.

April 20, 2022

How to stop blaming our genetics and start seeing changes!




There are 5 different variables we can change to start seeing some changes.


1.     Quit the processed foods

What we put into our body is the most critical variable we can change that will guarantee changes, and it’s not about eating less. What you eat each day makes up portions of your cells, hair, skin, nails, muscle, fat and so much more. The nutrients you consume aren’t just getting transported through your digestive system and bloodstream; they are also a vital part of everyday tissue generation that makes us who we are. When we look at a food it represents so much more than calories it is nutrients that makes up your cells, so chose wisely.

 

Studies have shown that those who eat processed foods eat an average of 500 calories more per day than those who eat unprocessed food. In one study this excess calorie consumption eventuated in a kilo weight gain over a 2-week period. Not only do processed foods contain high amounts of added sugars, fats and sodium (salt), they also often contain artificial ingredients, and they don’t always list everything they add. For example, companies don’t have to list what combination of chemicals they include when they mention the food has “artificial flavour”.

 

With excess calories and unknown chemicals, we can ask ourselves the question; do we really want unknown chemicals making up the cells of our body?

 

 

2.     Food sensitivity

Ever felt bloated or fatigued after a meal? This could be due to food sensitivity.  Being intolerant to a specific food may mean that your body is identifying it as a foreign body that needs to be eliminated. The body then attacks it and spends its energy doing that rather than spending energy on protein synthesis. This may cause some inflammation, swelling and headaches.


Over 20% of the population have a food intolerance and many don’t even know about it. If you start to notice this feeling it may be beneficial to try an elimination diet. This diet is simple, it involves removing the food you’re suspicions of for 14 days and reintroduce it. If you notice you feel better, then you know to make a change and remove that food from your diet or continue to have it and suffer the consequences. If you feel no difference, then you’re able to cross that food off the list and try another food.

 

 

3.     Sleep

Research has shown that getting inadequate sleep may lead to retention of body fat and increased risk of weight gain. How? Evidence shows that the lack of sleep leads to reduced production of leptin (sanity hormone) and increases levels of ghrelin (appetite hormone). This combination may compromise the effectiveness of a well-balanced nutrition and training program.

 

4.     Fibre for the win

Fibre filled food is a natural probiotic, which provides your gut with good bacteria, which is desirable for fat loss and overall health. The average western diet contains 15g of fibre which is half the minimum recommended. Aim to get at least 30g of fibre per day to maximise your weight control and provide your gut with the bacteria in loves.

 

 

5.     Train what you love

By partaking in an activity that you enjoy, you’re more likely to stay consistent and avoid skipping those days when you really can’t be bothered. Whether it is weights, cardio, group training or a walk along the beach, doing a type of exercise you enjoy is good for the body and the mind.

 

 

References

Cadegiani, F. and Kater, C., 2018. Body composition, metabolism, sleep, psychological and eating patterns of overtraining syndrome: Results of the EROS study (EROS-PROFILE). Journal of Sports Sciences, [online] 36(16), pp.1902-1910. Available at: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2018.1424498> [Accessed 2 February 2022].

McRorie, J., 2015. Evidence-Based Approach to Fiber Supplements and Clinically Meaningful Health Benefits, Part 1. Nutrition Today, [online] 50(2), pp.82-89. Available at: <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/digestive-physiological-outcomes-related-to-polydextrose-and-soluble-maize-fibre-consumption-by-healthy-adult-men/4F8D79E001C3976AF303724B14648D0F> [Accessed 3 February 2022].

Nardocci, M., Leclerc, B., Louzada, M., Monteiro, C., Batal, M. and Moubarac, J., 2018. Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, [online] 110(1), pp.4-14. Available at: <https://link.springer.com/article/10.17269/s41997-018-0130-x#citeas> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Westerterp-Plantenga, M., 2020. Challenging energy balance - during sensitivity to food reward and modulatory factors implying a risk for overweight - during body weight management including dietary restraint and medium-high protein diets. Physiology & Behavior, [online] 221, p.112879. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938420301967> [Accessed 2 February 2022].

 

 

 

 

Prehabilitation in Workers Compensation: Enhancing Function, Reducing Downtime

September 1, 2025
As the global population ages and the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions continues to rise, the demand for orthopaedic surgeries has surged dramatically. With this increase comes a growing emphasis on not just the surgical intervention itself, but also on the preoperative phase as a critical window of opportunity to enhance patient outcomes. One of the most promising strategies emerging in this space is prehabilitation—a proactive, personalized approach to preparing patients physically and mentally for surgery. Prehabilitation can be broadly defined as a personalized exercise program designed to improve physical function and optimize recovery outcomes for any upcoming surgical intervention. In the context of workers compensation, prehabilitation offers additional value. By maintaining or even improving a patient’s physical function prior to surgery, individuals are often able to remain engaged in modified or light-duty work roles. This not only supports their psychological well-being and financial stability but also contributes to faster and more sustainable return-to-work outcomes post-surgery. A recent meta-analysis by Punnoose et al. 2023, found that a targeted prehabilitation program increased muscle strength, improved joint function and led to a higher health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores. These findings were consistent with patients undergoing Total Knee Replacements (TKR), Total Hip Replacements (THR) and lumbar spine surgery. Some clinical applications are listed below: Targeted approach of 4-6 weeks, with 2 sessions per week. This aligns with physiological evidence suggesting that a minimum of 4–6 weeks of strength training is needed for neuromuscular adaptations. Mixture of supervised and unsupervised intervention Multimodal programs (e.g. combining exercise with education or psychological support) may enhance outcomes By improving outcomes and reducing recovery timeframes, prehabilitation stands out as a cost-effective, proactive approach to treatment.  James Chandler Workers Compensation Specialist ‑ Team Leader South (AEP, ESSAM) Exercise Rehabilitation Services – WA

How to Fit Exercise into Your Lifestyle

September 1, 2025
As Exercise Physiologists, a large part of our role is to empower an injured worker to integrate exercise into their lifestyle – something that is easier said than done for everyone! A common misconception about exercise, is that, for an effective workout, it must be a gruelling 1-hour session in a gym or a 10km stomach churning run, however this is not the case! Here are some alternatives and strategies to gradually make positive changes to your life: One easy way is to add movement to tasks you already do. Walking or biking instead of driving short distances, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, holding your newborn as you perform a few quick (and safe!) squats or completing short exercises during TV commercials are simple ways to stay active without setting aside extra time. Another is to schedule ‘mini’ workouts like any other appointment. Set aside just 20 to 30 minutes a few times a week—whether in the morning, during lunch, or in the evening. Utilising exercise equipment that we give you during our initial assessment and picking a handful of exercises that you may particularly enjoy, is a great shorter alternative. Treating these moments as important and ‘you’ time can help build a consistent habit. Exercising with others can make it more fun. Invite a friend for a walk, join a fitness class, or play a sport with family. When you combine social time with physical activity, it feels less like a task and more like enjoyment. The same goes for a sport or hobby that you may like, whether it’s swimming, yoga, hiking or dancing! Experimenting with the introduction of one of these strategies can be an easier first step to making a positive lifestyle change. With a little planning and creativity, exercise can become a natural part of your lifestyle, helping you stay healthy and energized without adding stress to your day. Alexander Gerry Workers Compensation Specialist (AEP, ESSAM) Exercise Rehabilitation Services – WA

The Beauty of a program: Couch to 5k

June 19, 2025
If you have doom scrolled through Instagram/Facebook or YouTube recently you may have been bombarded with advertisements for a slew of different exercise programs. These all usually have something to do with what you value and target you with a preamble on how to get it, how did I shrink my waist size, how do I build muscle or how I rehabbed my knee pain. As an exercise physiologist it's my job to write these programs! Now although I don’t always enjoy interruptions to my news feed of cat videos and rugby highlights, I do actually think a lot of these programmes have merit! I love anything with a bit of structure that can help you progress yourself towards what you care about so today I wanted to write about one of my favourite programs of all time and that is the “Couch to 5km Running Programme” Why Running? I love running as an exercise choice, it gets you outdoors, it has increasing social connections via run clubs/park runs and is completely free! However, it’s hard to jump in to, I see a lot of people getting tripped up by some of the barriers that come with it. A lot of the people I see starting running don’t know about the many choices that come with exercise and in the exercise physiology business we call this the FITT principle! - Frequency – How often are you doing your running? - Intensity – How fast or slow are you running? - Time – How long should I run for? - Type – Why run over biking or rowing? A dedicated programme takes care of these for you, and I think the Couch to 5k programme does a fantastic job of introducing you to all these different ideas. Language! The first thing I love about the “Couch to 5k” is its language. The use of simple and direct language leaves a bit of room for interpretation. You can see clear above on your first Tuesday run you will run for 1 minute and walk for 1 minute. In this small interval that speed is utterly and entirely up to you. Go as slow as you like or as fast as you like however I want you to run for the entire minute! Keeping things simple is so important and this guidance is exactly where I would want you to start off as a beginner runner, have some fun and run! Progression! From week to week the running times can be seen to get bigger and bigger! Slowly but surely these intervals only increase by 1 or 2 minutes at a time. Between each session you will be able to notice small increases, but your fitness catches up with that! The whole point of a programme is that it starts small and works up, no single day itself should feel like an insurmountable workout but by the end you’re able to run a whole 5k! Rest! This program builds in rest days and rest periods so well. Each day is spaced out giving some time for you two recovers but not so much so you can get some fitness in! Within the workouts as well these intervals leave you working for the right amount of time each workout. Goals Too often when working out our goals are too big and lofty. Being able to make big changes start with small actions and goals. You can’t change yourself image in one day so I like the time frame of 6 weeks (in some programmes 6-12 weeks) because by the end we have a set definable goal of what we want to achieve, and we can really feel thar progression of fitness! Mathew Walker Exercise Physiologist Exercise Rehabilitation Services ‑ WA
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