Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Skinny popcorn 🍿….

Popcorn can be a great snack – it’s high volume and often lower calorie than say crisps or sweets/chocolate. But yet again manufacturers try to tap into the power of the weight loss industry to promote their products to market their products. The natural assumption is that the skinny popcorn be a lower calorie option and perhaps a ‘healthier’ choice.

In reality the ‘gourmet’ brand in this example is actually lower in calories. The skinny popcorn comes in at 481 cals per 100g.

The ‘gourmet’ brand is only 430 cals per 100g! It’s also worth noting that the skinny popcorn gives a smaller serving size of 20g whereas the other brand gives a serving size of 30g so if you were to do a quick comparison you may not spot that.

So as always don’t automatically assume these weight loss branded foods are always the better option.

Read the labels and look at the calories and then make your choice. If you’re trying to lose weight then go for the lowest calorie option, that you actually want to eat!

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‘Good’ food… ‘bad’ food… 🍬

How often do you eat something and label it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and by extension consider that you’ve been ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Grab a bag of jelly tots as a snack and you telL yourself you’ve been ‘bad’ and you’re a ‘bad’ person. In contrast if you snacked on a pot of edamame beans you’d be feeling very virtuous and like a ‘good’ person.

It’s really time we stop labelling foods and good or bad. And it’s definitely time we stop attributing some form of morality to snacks etc. What you eat or don’t eat has absolutely no bearing on your worth as a person. You’re not a bad person for snacking on some sweets. You’re also not a good person for choosing edamame beans.

Yes edamame beans have more fibre and protein and micronutrients, whilst the jelly tots have fewer nutritional benefits. The jelly tots will provide you with some quick release energy, the edamame will keep you fuller for longer. If you were trying to hit a certain number of calories then the jelly tots may even be a better choice as they’re fewer calories but neither is inherently good or bad. They both have a place in a balanced diet. The only reason to describe either as good or bad is in terms of how you think they actually taste! And personally I think they both taste good!

Enjoy!

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Xx

Lunch on the go… 🥪

In an ideal world I’m sure we’d all have the time to prep a perfectly calorie controlled and balanced lunch every day. However in reality we often need to rely on convenience foods or grabbing a lunch on the go. Contrary to belief this doesn’t always have to be ‘bad’ and it’s entirely possible to still have a balanced and calorie controlled lunch. It does however take a few extra seconds in store checking the calories.

If you’re grabbing a meal deal for example and getting a sandwich, drink and snack then just take a moment to check the calories on that sandwich. In this example you could go for chicken club sandwich, a fruit, yoghurt and granola pot and a Fanta. That will cost you nearly 900 cals. That’s a very hefty lunch! However you could also grab a chicken salad sandwich, a yoghurt, fruit pot and a Fanta zero and only spend 568 cals. That’s still a good sized lunch but it’s also greater volume and fibre (from the fruit mainly) and will probably leave you feeling fuller for longer. The saving of nearly 300 cals is the daily deficit you need to lose fat… so it’s a win win!

So if you are grabbing lunch just take a moment to check the cals before you decide what you’re having. Remember, knowledge is power!

Enjoy!

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Xx

A brown roll is healthier…Or is it? 🍞

Most people feel like they’re being healthier if they’re having a brown roll rather than white. However is it actually that much better?

White grain products have just had the outer layer of the grain removed – in most cases this doesn’t remove that much in terms of nutrition. In terms of calories both products tend to be the similar, although sometimes the white version is actually lower in cals so if you’re tracking your intake then it can be a way to cut some cals. In this example you can see that the brown roll is marginally more calories for a standard 60g roll.

But what about fibre I hear you cry? Well as you can see, the fibre content is actually not that different. The brown roll does have more fibre but only 0.8g more. If you’re already having a balanced diet, which includes fruit, veg and other grains, then you’re better off simply choosing the one you prefer the taste of and not worrying too much about the fibre. If you’re trying to reduce calories then pay attention to the calories in the roll you choose as they do vary!

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