‘I’m being good and choosing the avocado ….’ 🥑

Subway have released a range of new loaded jacket potatoes. They are great option for lunch on the go and they’re going to keep you full and satisfied. There are a few different options and most people would assume that the one with guacamole is a more virtuous choice than the tuna mayonnaise one as it’s vegetarian and includes avocado (a ‘super’ food).

There is often an assumption that vegetarian or vegan options are healthier and therefore automatically lower calorie. Avocado has also had very good PR and is assumed to be a healthy choice.

In reality the tuna mayonnaise and cheese option is actually fewer calories – 558 compared to 605 cals. It also has more protein and less fat.

In reality both are great options – but if you were trying to eat in a calorie deficit and had assumed without checking you might find the avocado option takes you over your calories. There are also plenty of other options too which come in lower.

So don’t automatically assume that vegetarian options or ‘super’ foods are always the better option. Sometimes they’re the same or worse than other choices. If you enjoy them then definitely have them, but if you’re only having them because you think they’re ‘good’ then think again.

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!

🤗xx

‘What you think you had…..’ 😬

We all know that to lose weight/fat you need to be eating and drinking at a calorie deficit. Often the problem though is our awareness and perception of what we are actually consuming. Portion control is a massive part of this – specifically underestimating serving sizes and what you’ve consumed.

Studies repeatedly show that almost everyone, even those who are trained dieticians and nutritionists (and therefore should be ‘experts’ on portion sizes etc) significantly underestimate what they’ve consumed. This is even more so when recording in hindsight. We forget things, we underestimate what we’ve had, we don’t even know we’re doing it.

For example, having some

cashews for a snack. You may think you’ve has a portion (30g) of cashews – that would be approx 176 cals. That’s not bad and can be easily factored into your daily cals. In reality though you probably had a

handful that was closer to 60g which comes in at 352 cals! That’s not as easy to fit in, and you probably barely noticed the extra cashews.

So if you’re struggling to lose weight and can’t work out why, try being totally honest with yourself and see if you may actually be underestimating things. The best way to do this is you get out the kitchen scales, weigh the portion and track the calories – before you eat them! You definitely do not need to cut things out completely – that’s totally counter productive and unsustainable long term. So instead work on becoming more aware of the actual quantities you’re eating / drinking and fit them into your diet accordingly. Knowledge is power!

Enjoy 🤗 xx

Quick, easy meal… 🥪

In an ideal world I’m sure we’d all have the time to prep a perfectly calorie controlled and balanced meals every day. However in reality we often need to rely on convenience foods or grabbing a lunch or dinner on the go. Whilst it may not be ideal, 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.

Grabbing a pot noodle may seem like an easy, quick meal and it can’t be that bad calorie wise can it? It’s gotta be better than a sandwich and a packet of crisps? Wrong. A large pot noodle is a lot more calories than you may expect – 523 cals! Whereas a chicken salad sandwich and a packet of wotsits is only 478 calories. A small saving, but if you had assumed the pot noodle was a lot lower in calories you may have gone on to eat more than that and therefore upped your calories further. Also the sandwich and crisps option is also likely to keep you fuller as it has more fibre and protein and a greater number of micronutrients.

I’m not saying pot noodles are bad – if you like them then have them! Just be aware of the calories in them. If you are grabbing a quick meal on the go just take a moment to check the cals before you decide what you’re having. Remember, knowledge is power!

Enjoy!

🤗

Xx

‘I don’t eat much but I can’t lose weight…’ 🤔

A piece of toast for brekkie, bit of fruit for a snack with coffee, healthy snack bar and a sandwich for lunch with a ‘healthy’ drink, and a ‘healthy’ dinner of fish and salad….. that’s not really much for a day?…right…… 🤔

Often we think we’re not eating much and can’t understand why we don’t lose weight. It’s not until you actually add it all up that you realise you’re probably eating a lot more than you realise. The coffees, the couple of biscuits you forget about, the dried fruit snack (it’s fruit – it’s fine right?), a ‘healthy’ dinner of fish and salad … it must be ok?

It is ok and there is nothing wrong with any of that, but when you actually add it all up you’re looking at over 2,700 calories… for a ‘good’ day! Now for most people trying to lose weight or fat that is going to be far too many calories to be in a deficit which would let you lose fat.

So if you feel you aren’t eating much but you’re not losing weight/fat then maybe it’s time to just write down everything you’re eating on those days and see how much you really are consuming 🤗.

Remember – calories count!

Xx

TV Snacks… 📺

It’s Sunday evening , you’re about to settle down in front of a movie with some snacks. So you grab a packet of crisps, a bag of chocolate, and a drink. You know it’s not exactly low calorie but it doesn’t seem that bad… plus you won’t eat all the chocolate (except once that bag is open who are you kidding – they’re gone right?). This may sound like a lot but actually it’s pretty easy to stack up this sort of snacking without realising it and the calories really add up.

A packet of crisps (128 cals), sharing bag of minstrels (1079 cals) and a Pepsi (139 cals). That’s a whopping 1346 cals of snacks!

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some snacks with a movie but maybe try a few swaps to reduce the cals without reducing the enjoyment . You could have a bag of wotsits (57 cals), a smaller grab bag of minstrels (621 cals) and a Pepsi Max… for only 679 cals. Which not only is still quite a lot of cals for a snack but is a lot of food full stop – you’d probably find you were satisfied with all that anyway and not miss the larger bags!

Enjoy!

🤗

Xx