If you are in training for The Sun-Herald City2Surf, it’s important to combine your exercise regime with healthy eating habits. Here are some easy tips that Shannan Ponten and Michelle Bridges, fitness trainers in Network Ten’s hit show The Biggest Loser, follow to keep themselves in top shape.

• Swapping a daily can of soft drink to diet soft drink will save you enough Calories in one year equivalent to about 8 kilograms of body weight.

• To burn up the calories from a daily can of soft drink you would have to walk 21 kilometres a week or 1092 km per year (roughly the same as walking from Sydney to Melbourne)

• Do you enjoy a coffee?  Then give yourself a break. Switching a daily cappuccino from full fat to skinny saves you 2 kilograms in weight a year (3 kilograms if you usually upsize to a large).

• Your average milkshake has a calorie value that takes 7.5 kilometres to walk off.

• Switch from premium ice cream to low fat to save 70 Calories per 2 scoops. If you have 2 scoops per day that´s 3.6 kilogram in weight saved a year.

• Forgot your lunch? A burger will set you back at least 400 Calories while a chicken salad sandwich brought from home will be less than 300 Calories.  This difference is at least a 28 minute walk.

• A healthy sandwich daily instead of a burger will save you about 7 kilograms of body weight in a year.

• A burger will contain between 3 and 5 teaspoons of fat and 400-500 Calories. I hope you like a clean house because you will need to spend between 1.5 to 2 hours vacuuming to burn off these Calories.

• Would you like fries with that? A medium serve of fries take 1 and half hours to walk off or you could run for 35 minutes. That’s 320 Calories and 4 teaspoons of fat.

• If you replace 1 slice regular cheddar cheese (that´s 30 grams or a 3cm cube) a day with a 25% fat reduced cheese you will save the equivalent Calories of 4 kilograms in body weight a year.

• Would you drink 4 beers easily? Swapping to low alcohol (2%) stubbies (375mL) will save you 180 Calories or a 4 kilometre walk home to burn them off.

• Don't top your wine glass up until it is completely empty. If you save the Calories from 4 glasses of wine a week the over a year you could save your weight going up by a whole dress size. 

• Avoid cocktails — they are deadly for weight gain with some up to 500 Calories. That's a 2 and a half hour walk.

• Try a big bowl of vegetable soup or plate of salad before a party to help you avoid the snacks. A small packet of potato crisps plus some crackers and dip could set you back 500 Calories. That 1 hour and 50 minutes of scrubbing and sweeping floors after the party.

• Trade milk for chocolate without guilt. Swap your regular milk for skim milk and you save enough calories to have Mars Lite funsize chocolate bar every day. (Based on 500mls of milk per day).

• Cut down your meat serve to a piece of meat the size of a deck of cards (150g raw). The will save you 265 calories (1110 kJ). The difference is 1 year (if you have meat 4 times a week) is 7-8 kilograms in body weight over a year. That´s enough weight loss to drop your risk of developing type 2 Diabetes by a half.

• Swap from fatty crumbed steak to extra lean grill or stir fry! You will hardly notice the swap but for a small piece of steak (the size of the palm of your hand) you will save 120 Calories and 2 teaspoons of fat.  The difference is equivalent to spending 20 minutes of shovelling dirt. Big meat eater? Then make that 1 hour.

• Stir fry your vegetables using oil spray only. This has about 100 Calories and virtually no fat, compared to a plate of roasted vegetables and gravy at over 400 Calories and 4 teaspoons of fat. Even if you only have the roast on Sunday you will have eaten 4 tubs of margarine in a year and need find time to walk 300 kilometres to burn up those excess kilojoules.

• Your average store bought muffin has over 400 Calories and 20 grams fat. Trying to lose weight? Then that is half your daily fat intake and a ¼ to ? of your calories gone in a couple of bites.

• Always keep fruit in your bag. If you feel hungry then there is no need to go to grab a cake. One slice carrot cake equals has the same calories as about 5 apples.

• Low fat foods can still be high in sugar, For example, sugary kids breakfast cereals are low fat but a small bowl full (30 grams) has almost 4 teaspoons sugar.

• Learn to drop the biscuits with your cuppa! For every 2 chocolate biscuits you will have to run 4 kilometres if you don't want to gain weight.

• Get a good nights' sleep — research shows those who sleep less than 5 hours a night are 70% more likely to be obese. 

• Sweet tooth? Swap the lollies for sugarless chewing gum. 10 jelly beans have 100  calories. Give them up or go up a dress size each year.

• 10 jelly beans a day equal a weight gain of 100 grams a week. That is about 5 kilograms in body weight over a year.

• 2 tablespoons of cordial concentrate has the same calories as an average apple or orange.

• An average popper of orange juice has the same calories as 2 small oranges.

• Need to relax? Grab a cup of tea. Tea contains a naturally occurring amino acid called L-theanine. This increases the amount of alpha brain wave activity. Alpha waves make you feel calm, but alert. They help you concentrate better by allowing you to block out background distractions.

• One teaspoon of crushed garlic added to your daily cooking will give you enough sulfur-containing compounds, saponins, allicin and S-allylcysteine that may improve your health by helping to support you immune system.

• 2-3 tablespoons of Psyllium husks sprinkled on to your daily breakfast cereal will help boost your daily fibre intake. Psyllium, a type of dietary fibre, discourages the growth of unhealthy bacteria by lowering the pH level in your bowel.

• To reduce your body weight by half a kilogram per week you need to cut 2000 kilojoules (500 Calories) a day from your current food intake or burn up another 500 calories a day in exercise. Note: 1 kilojoule (kJ) = 4.2 Calories

Notes:
Kilojoules are the metric equivalent to a Calorie.
1 Calorie = 4.2 kilojoules (kJ)
When people talk about "calories" they really mean Calorie with a big "C" and it should be spelt with a capital "C" because strictly speaking and using the correct scientific convention then 1 Calorie = 1000 calories.