What we think makes up calorie expenditure .. 🏃🏼‍♀️

When people think about energy expenditure (calories burnt) most people focus on exercise as being the most significant factor. Exercise obviously contributes to our calorie expenditure but for the majority of people, it is not a large percentage of total expenditure.

In reality exercise actually forms a small percentage of our total calorie burn. The majority of your calorie expenditure is from your basal or resting metabolic rate (BMR)- calories burned at rest for the body’s basic functions. A small portion comes from the thermic effect of food (TEF) – calories burned through the process of eating and digestion (this is 10% max). Exercise forms the smallest contribution – it’s dependant on how many workouts you do but usually less than 15%. The most significant contribution, aside from resting metabolic rate, comes from non-exercise activity thermogenesis – calories burned through movement that isn’t formal exercise. This includes fidgeting, standing, walking, house work, gardening etc) and accounts for 15 – 50% depending on how sedentary you are.

These percentages vary between individuals of course. For somebody who is mostly sedentary, then calorie expenditure from exercise and NEAT are much lower. Someone very active or with an active job will burn a large amount from NEAT.

For most people whilst your calorie expenditure might vary a bit day to day depending on whether you workout it’s not going to make a significant difference overall and is far less than a lot of people think.

What does this mean?

Well for a start it means it’s not the end of the world for your weight loss journey if you miss a workout. It’s also a reminder that exercise isn’t a great way to try to lose fat as it would take a huge amount of exercise to produce a significant calorie deficit (which is why what you eat is more important).

It’s also a good reminder that you don’t need to eat a lot less on days you don’t workout or a lot more on days that you do. You just need to have a sustainable calorie deficit on average. Separate the two – focus on food for weight loss, and exercise for health and well being.

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Swaps to save calories…. 🥤🍟 🍫

When I’m working with clients for sustainable fat and weight loss one of the big things I try to encourage is making some ‘easy’ swaps that they can incorporate into their diet. to save calories. It’s not about replacing something you love with something you hate (that will never work and will make you feel like you’re deprived) but there are some swaps you can make which you may not even really notice. Or they may be compromises which you’re willing to make.

This is a selection of some of the common ones and although individually some of the calorie savings may seem small it’s amazing how they all add up. Some involve similar tasting but lower calorie products, others are a portion size thing too. Obviously there are loads more – but I have tried to present a few of the main ones that my clients have used and enjoyed. Let me know about your own swaps too!

Here’s the list:

• Oven chips (100g) 157cals vs 100g potatoes and oil spray (ten sprays) 83 cals
• Lean beef mince (250g) 313 cals vs meat free mince (250g) 225 cals
• 15ml olive oil 125 cals vs fry light olive oil spray 1 cal per spray (so even using 25 sprays is still a massive saving)
• Bacon rashers (3) 180 cals vs Turkey Rashers (3) 72 cals
• Cheddar cheese (20g) 85 cals vs babybel light (20g) 42 cals
• Kettle Chips Small bag 205 cals vs pop chips 94 cals
• Ben and Jerrys tub 1125 cals vs halo top tub 320 cals
• Mars bar 228 cals vs curly wurly 118 cals
• Grab bag Haribo 649 cals vs 3 mini bags 162 cals
• Medium whole milk latte 237 cals vs skinny Americano 25 cals
• Gin and tonic (single) 93 cals vs Gin and slimline tonic 64 cals
• San pellegrino Lemonade drink 71 cals vs 7up zero lemonade drink 0 cals
• Pint of London Pride Ale 199 cals vs Michelob Ultra 95 cals

Remember as part of a balanced diet it’s not a problem including some lower calorie options, especially if they mean you actually stick to it! If you want any help with making swaps just shout!

🤗
Xx

If you’re trying to lose fat and watching your calories it’s often tempting to skip meals to ‘save calories’.

You may also be rushing around and think you don’t have time to eat a meal. Lunch is a classic one and I often hear from clients that they ‘tend not to eat lunch’ for various reasons, and just ‘grab a snack’ on the go thinking they’re actually saving calories.

Sometimes there’s also the perception that something like a sandwich is a poor choice for lunch (because of the bread… 😬which is actually fine!) and that ‘healthy’ snacks are better.

In reality it’s extremely easy to clock up a large number of calories with this approach without even realising it. Often you’re rushing around so you grab a snack bar, that doesn’t satisfy you so a bit later you’ll have some fruit, maybe a biscuit with your coffee, then another ‘healthy’ bar later in the afternoon etc.

In actual fact you’d be better off just having a sandwich (even a relatively high cal one) for lunch which is just a quick and easy to grab and eat.

So if this is you, and you’re trying to lose fat and not seeing results, then maybe just stop and have a think about how much you may actually be eating with all the snacks.

Obviously if not eating lunch works for you and doesn’t cause you to overeat with snacks etc then keep doing what your doing! But it doesn’t hurt to just be a bit more mindful right? 🤗

‘That’s so unhealthy – it’s full of sugar’… 🍫🥛

Let’s kill the sugar myth real quick…

There’s a pervasive myth that sugar is bad – particularly sugar in processed foods. However the view is that ‘natural sugar’ is absolutely fine?

A mars bar contains around 30g sugar and a 600ml glass of milk also contains 30g sugar. However people will demonise the chocolate bar on the basis of its sugar content but will say milk is the ‘healthier’ choice, despite the sugar content? Why? Because the sugar in milk is ‘natural’ so it must be better, right?

Not exactly. Sugar is sugar. Whether it’s added to a chocolate bar or naturally found in milk as lactose, your body processes it the same way. What matters more is the context: how much you’re consuming, how filling it is, and whether it fits into your overall diet.

In this example the Mars bar contains around 225 cals and 30g sugar, whilst the milk contains around 300cals and 30g sugar. That’s the same amount of sugar and more calories in the milk. But most people wouldn’t blink at drinking a big glass of milk with breakfast, while feeling guilty over snacking on Mars bar.

Now obviously the milk has other benefits in terms of more protein and other micronutrients but in the context of the argument around sugar it’s no better than a mars bar. It’s not about “natural vs added” sugar, it’s about your whole diet. If you’re having a load of whole foods and protein in other meals then the Mars bar isn’t an issue if you can fit it within your calories. If however you’re eating 4 of them and your meals are also high in calories and low in micronutrients then it probably isn’t a great idea. The milk might be a better ‘snack’ but it still contains a significant number of calories so that needs to be accounted for.

We need to stop demonizing sugar based on its source and start looking at the bigger picture: calories, satiety, and how everything fits into your goals.

Both milk and Mars bars can have a place in a balanced diet, if you manage portions and priorities.

🤗

Xx

Protein snack… 🤔

I’ve talked before about the marketing power of “protein” and how snacks (and other products) are often promoted as “healthy” or better because they contain X amount of protein. The reasoning behind this is the fact that increased protein can help with improved satiety (feelings of fullness) so CAN help to prevent overeating. Also those working out may want to focus on protein to help with muscle building. Unless you’re a bodybuilder or athlete you probably don’t need to go out of your way to take in extra protein as most balanced diets contain far more protein than the average person needs. However you may still wish to focus on higher protein foods and snacks to help keep you feeling full.

So you may well see this protein snickers bar and think it would be a good snack option – it’s something that feels like a treat (a chocolate bar) and it’s high in protein – win win! It’s 192 cals which is actually not bad for a snack at all and contains 10.8g protein – also not bad.

Oh but this is awkward… you could instead have a 150g pot of Skyr stracciatella yoghurt (yoghurt with chocolate pieces in it), a fun size snickers and 50g raspberries, for a similar 188 cals and it will actually provide you with even more protein – 17.3g in fact! And aside from the fact it’s a marginally lower calorie combo, and has more protein, it’s also far greater volume – which also helps to keep you full. It will
take longer to eat, and has a higher amount of fibre too which will aid with the feelings of fullness. You also get the bonus of added micronutrients from the raspberries and yoghurt for overall health. And it will probably help keep you on track as it allows you to have a snickers and extra protein without detailing you from your goals.

Enjoy!
🤗
Xx

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