Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Staying on track when you’re busy … 🙌🏼

If you’re busy with work and family then staying on track can be really tough. It can be even harder over the holidays too. These tips apply to everyone – whether you’ve got children or not but might be particularly helpful during the holidays if your routine is out the window.

# Keep it simple

Make life as simple as possible. Do online food shops, use simple recipes with just a few ingredients, use pre prepared foods/frozen veg/ pre cooked chicken etc, etc. Use an air fryer or slow cooker if you have one.

Double recipes at dinner so you have leftovers at lunch. Have regular, “themed” dinner nights like pasta Monday, fajita Tuesday etc

# Include your family

Include your family in the food & meal planning process in some capacity. Ask what they want to eat for the week, or to pick between “this or that.” Keep a piece of paper on your fridge where they can contribute to meal ideas.Delegate responsibilities to your partner or children , like grocery shopping or food prep. To stay active do things together – walks, cycle rides, playing football in the garden – they’re all workouts.

# Exercise Snacks

It might be hard to find a 30-60 min window to fit in a workout so instead rely on exercise snacks! 5-10 mins here and there is just as good! A few mins skipping, run up and down the stairs, some body weight exercises etc – whatever you can whenever you can.

# Analyse your schedule

Really look at what you’re spending your time on. Check your screen time on your phone – if you’re spending over an hour on social media do you really need to be? Same for watching TV etc. Could you use that time for something else? Meal prep? A small workout? Could you even combine them – have the TV on while you meal prep etc.

# Plan things in

You won’t manage to fit things in if you don’t plan them in. Schedule in your food shop (even if it’s online), food prep, walks, other activity / workouts etc.

# Structure your weekends

The weekends are often difficult because routines are different – even in the holidays. There’s more unpredictability and it’s easier / more temping to “wing things,” especially if the week has been stressful.

So add structure to keep you on track – just a loose schedule – meals/ activities / downtime etc.

# Plan for last minute events

It’s quite likely you’ll get last minute social events or your plans will change so when that happens take 5 mins to plan. It literally takes minutes to look up the menu and check the cals or plan what you might have.

Or if it’s a social gathering / day out plan some snacks – grab some from the cupboard so you’re not starving or relying on higher cal options when out.

# Plan snacks

Planning in snacks ahead of time is a huge help with consistency. Keep a snack drawer at home or the office with things you like and know can fit into your cals, or keep a snack box on the side and fill it up in the morning for the day. Make sure you have snacking fruit and veggies in the fridge too for easy options for everyone.

🤗

Xx

‘I’ve put on weight overnight.. it must be fat ….’ 😱

We’ve all done this – you hop on the scales in the morning and to your horror you’ve put on 1-2 kg seemingly overnight! Like most of us the first reaction is probably to feel demoralised and demotivated, think all your weight loss efforts have been wasted and assume you’ve put however many kg of fat on overnight.

However the scales are not a very accurate measure when it comes to changes in bodyfat levels. Short term, significant, fluctuations in scale weight are normal and natural – especially large ones that seem to happen overnight. These do not mean changes in body composition, so you haven’t suddenly put on X kg of fat. Rather they tend to be related to water levels – intra and extracellular hydration.

Even if you did eat an extra 20000 calories in one day then you STILL couldn’t store that all as fat. Some would be expended in physical activity and metabolic processes, including the cost of digestion itself etc. The extra weight you see on the scales in short term fluctuations is water retention and food volume.

The reasons for it may include – a really big meal the night before, especially one that might be high in fibre, or red meat (which takes longer to digest). It could be due to your workout routine recently which can lead to short term fluid retention in the muscles. General hydration levels and salt levels will also impact it – especially if you had high levels of salt in your diet the day before. Hormones play a massive role – particularly for women and can cause fluctuations of up to 5kg due to water retention. Lack of sleep or high levels of stress will also cause you to retain fluids. Carb heavy meals and alcohol do exactly the same thing too – you retain fluid – short term. Now that is NOT to say you need to avoid any of these things – you should be working out, you should be eating carbs etc but it may help to explain any fluctuations you see.

So if the scale weight is up, then before you let it get you down, just stop and think about all the reasons it is probably fluctuating. Focus on being consistent with your calories over the long term instead, and use things like the way your clothes fit, or longer term trends in weight gauge progress (i.e. if you want to weigh yourself daily then take an average each week and use the trend of that average to gauge if you’re making progress). Remember it’s the average calories consumed over weeks or months that matter – not days!

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

I’ve blown my diet.… 🫣

When you’re trying to lose weight we often conflate ‘healthy’ foods as automatically

helpful for weight loss. With the weather a little warm (at times) at the moment you may be craving an ice lolly or two. You may even have two or three and then find yourself feeling guilty for having succumbed to the craving and berate yourself for being really ‘bad’ and blowing your diet. Or you may think you’re being very virtuous and avoid the ice cream and have what is perceived to be a ‘healthy’ snack of dried fruit (mango).

In reality in terms of calories the ‘healthy’ snack in this example is actually worse ! Yes the mango does have more micronutrients, but that doesn’t mean the ice cream lollies are a bad option. Of course the ice cream lollies are high in sugar but sugar isn’t inherently bad either (and the mango is even higher) and they have the same

amount of protein. In reality you’re unlikely to eat 3 ice lollies in one go anyway so you’d in fact be consuming even fewer calories!

Overall calories are what count if you’re trying to lose weight. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight so in that scenario the ice lollies are the better option. Especially if you’re eating a balanced diet and getting the other micronutrients in your other meals.

Emotional well being is also important and depriving yourself of foods you enjoy and instead choosing the dried fruit under the misguided impression that it’s a healthier option or because it’s marketed as ‘a healthy snack’ isn’t good for long term sustainability or a healthy approach to food.

Personally I’d choose both on different days – and I’d include them in my calories. The dried fruit is brilliant and does make a great snack option (as long as you’re aware of the calories) but on warm days an ice cream lolly or two is definitely required! 🍦 🤗

Xx

How To Stay On Track At Summer BBQ’s 🍗

It’s BBQ season! With lots of summer parties and BBQ’s it can be hard to stay on track with your goals. Here are some tips to help!

# Eat before you go

If it’s more of a drinks and nibbles type event then eat before you go so you’re not starving and likely to stuff down whatever nibbles come your way. Equally if it’s a late afternoon BBQ don’t let yourself get too hungry before you go – have an early lunch or brunch so you are satiated and less likely to overeat later.

# One piece of meat

There is no other meal really where you’d load up on chicken, burger, a sausage… maybe a lamb kebab … so why do we do it at BBQ’s? Treat it as a normal meal – one , maybe two pieces of meat max!

# Watch the salads

Salads are great but if they’re loaded with dressing, sauces, avocado, potatoes, cheese etc then they’re also quite high calorie. That’s not a prob – but don’t kid yourself that they’re low cal!

# Stay hydrated

Drinking water in between each alcoholic beverage can help keep you hydrated and save you some booze calories. Not getting too drunk will also help you make more sensible food choices too.

# Don’t stand by the food table.

You are more likely to over eat if you’re hanging around the food table. Take your conversation and move it away so you’re not tempted to mindlessly snack.

# Bank calories

As with any social event you can save some calories ahead of time. Don’t go too low in the preceding days but saving 100-200 cals for a few days will give you more to spend at the party.

# Shift the focus

Instead of focusing on the food and drink focus on the company instead. You’ll remember the fun times with friends more than the burger you eat…

# Have fun and don’t stress

If you do wake up the next day and you’re a little heavier don’t stress yourself out over it. Get right back on track. It’s most likely just water and a lot of glycogen. Stressing about it it’s just going to make things worse. Enjoy yourself.

🤗Xx

Grocery shopping tips… 🛒

It may sound simple but getting the grocery shopping right is a good way to set yourself up for success if you’re trying to lose weight.

Here are a few tips:

# Make a list

Very basic, but so so important! How many times have you walked aimlessly through the supermarket, ended up buying things on impulse and forgetting things you needed.

# Keep it consistent

You don’t need to buy different things each week. There’s nothing wrong with consistency week to week. In fact having a fairly consistent diet (as long as it’s a balanced one) is a great way to help reduce decision fatigue and stick to your plan.

# Use a trolley for main shops only

If you’re doing a larger shopping trip then use a trolley. For other shops either use a basket or nothing – to avoid loading up on things you don’t need.

# Check calories

If you’re trying to maintain a calorie deficit then it’s worth checking calories as you shop, rather than getting home and discovering you’ve bought things you can’t accommodate easily within your calorie budget.

# Shop the rainbow

This tip relates to the variety of fruit and veggies. Different colours relate to different nutrient profiles, so try your best to incorporate as much color when you’re in the produce section

# Chill out

If you are a busy person then ready meals, frozen veggies and fruit are a great thing to stock up on. There’s nothing wrong with convenience foods – especially nowadays – there are loads of great ones and frozen fruits and veg are often higher in nutrients than some fresh ones anyway.

# Be realistic

How many times have you done a ‘new diet’ grocery shop where you buy no ‘treats’ or indulgences? This results in unnecessary dietary restraint, often daily stops at convenience stores and then overeating when you do get the treats you wanted. Add some treats to you trolley!

# Spend 30-60 mins

Try to limit shopping trips to 30-60 mins if you can – so you’re not rushing but equally so it’s not taking forever. The longer you spend the more likely you are to add unnecessary extras into the cart.

# Avoid the hype

Try to look past marketing and sales pitches. Just because something has ‘healthy’ or ‘skinny’ or ‘high protein’ emblazoned across it doesn’t mean it’s automatically lower calorie or actually healthy. Look at the labels. Equally avoid being swayed by sales deals that might make you buy products you don’t actually want!

🤗Xx