Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Social swaps ….

Dr Nancy P

Social swaps …. 🍕

If you’re trying to lose fat/weight or just improve your nutrition then social meals out can be tricky to navigate. It’s really important to find ways to incorporate social events and all the foods you enjoy but to find ways to do this that still fit within your lifestyle and goals.

Nutrition and fat loss is always a game of trade offs. Rather than being all or nothing about it try to go for a trade off instead. Meals out, such as Pizza in this example, tend to have a high degree of taste appeal, and calorie density, whilst also often being low in fibre. That means it’s easy to eat a lot, and in doing so, a consume a lot of calories. This is amplified further by the environment – when you’re socialising you’re often relaxing and an indulgent atmosphere is fostered – this also means there’s a tendency to overeat.

No pizza is going to be low calorie per se – they’re usually fairly large, they’re bread based, with cheese, veg and often meat on top so you’re always going to be looking at a fair few hundred cals. However many are well over 1000 cals. If you’re trying to lose weight and tracking calories then it’s hard to accommodate that many calories for one meal. So instead of going for a pizza to yourself consider either sharing or having half a pizza and a side salad, or if they do it go for the ‘skinny’ options some chain restaurants offer which include salad with a smaller amount of pizza. You’re still going to be looking at 700 plus cals for many flavours – but that’s still a calorie saving, without massively impacting taste or enjoyment! And as a bonus it won’t leave you feeling over stuffed.

By making small swaps and compromises your social occasions can easily fit into your lifestyle long term. I guarantee you’ll feel just as satisfied and you’ll probably feel a lot less guilty the day after (not that I’m suggesting you should ever subject yourself to guilt for what you eat but the reality is most of us do feel that way). So if you’re trying to lose weight just consider looking for some of these lower calorie options of your favourites!

Enjoy!

🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

‘I’ve had so many naughty snacks’…

Dr Nancy P

‘I’ve had so many naughty snacks’… 😈

With Easter just behind us I’m hearing a lot of people saying how ‘naughty’ they’ve been or how they’ve been having lots of ‘naughty’ snacks. When you’re trying to lose fat it’s natural to try to avoid ‘junk’ food or foods high in sugar and fat. One such ‘naughty’ snack is the Cadbury chocolate orange mousse bunny . It’s chocolate so very often it’s perceived as a bad thing to be eating and is therefore accompanied by feelings of guilt and shame. But eating the cacao and almond ball is viewed as healthy and something to feel virtuous about.

In reality in terms of calories, sugar and fat the ‘healthy’ snack is not really much better than the chocolate! Yes the cacao ball has a little more protein (which can help you feel fuller for longer), and more micronutrients, so it is a slightly more balanced snack, but that doesn’t mean the chocolate is necessarily a bad option. Contrary to what many people may think the chocolate also has less sugar too (again something that is often vilified unnecessarily). The calories are very similar between the two.

Overall calories and overall nutrition across your entire diet are what count – and if you’re trying to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit – and in that scenario either would probably be fine if you have enough calories for an approximately 170 cal snack, especially if you’re eating a balanced diet and getting protein and the other nutrients in your other meals.

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

As an additional aside – the bunny is only 40p and the cacao ball is £1.85! So you’re saving yourself a good few pennies too!

So if you have a few Easter chocolate bunnies still hopping around at home don’t feel guilty about eating them!🤗

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Enjoying a seasonal treat ….

Dr Nancy P

Enjoying a seasonal treat …. 🥚 🍫

I never tell clients cut out any foods/drinks totally from their diet and as a big fan of Easter chocolate I certainly wouldn’t ever be ‘banning’ chocolate eggs, but if you are trying to lose weight/fat then you may just want to be aware of the calories involved.

There’s no reason you can’t have any Easter eggs you want as it ultimately comes down to whether you’re in a calorie deficit. However, with the size of some of the eggs out there now it’s very easy to rack up over a thousand calories or more, without even noticing!

For example – if you’re a Crunchie fan and lucky enough to receive the Giant egg you’d be looking at over 2,750 cals for the entire egg and accompanying bar (the egg alone is over 2,200 cals!). That’s more than most people’s daily calorie goal 😬

In contrast you could enjoy a large Crunchie egg and the bars for around 1176 cals. Now ok, the egg is just a milk choc egg (not full of crunchie bits like the ultimate one) but it’s still delicious and that’s still almost a whole day’s calories for many people.

So if Easter eggs are your thing (they are definitely mine!) then maybe just be aware of the cals in them if you’re trying to stick to your goals.

Enjoy! 🐣

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips, Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Eat your veg

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Eat your veg 🥕

Finding ways to help sustain a calorie deficit to enable initial weight loss and then to maintain that loss is critical for long term success. One fairly easy habit that can help is focusing on having fruit or veg with every meal.

Aiming for a fist sized portion of fruit or veg with every main meal is a great way to help calorie control which is conducive to weight loss.

Why? Well fruit and vegetables are typically very nutrient-dense, relatively low calorie per portion and high in fibre. This means you’ll consume fewer calories overall for the same or larger volume compared to other foods. The extra volume and fibre also means you’ll feel fuller and stay fuller for longer. This helps you to stick to your calorie goals and can therefore help with weight loss/ maintenance. With the exception of a few higher calorie fruits/veg like avocados, bananas, starchy veg like potatoes you can pretty much have a free reign on the amount of fruit and veg you have without worrying too much about tracking. I promise you won’t get fat from eating too many raspberries or carrots!

In addition ensuring you have fruit or veg with every meal also drastically increases the chances that your diet will provide the required vitamins and minerals you need to promote healthy functioning of the body and reduce the risk of poor health. So it’s a win win!

Obviously it won’t work for every single meal but even if it’s only 70-80% of your meals it will still help. It’s also something you can apply to snacking and meals out. Adding berries/grapes/apple to your snack to increase volume is a great way to help you stay on track e.g. instead of 4 digestive biscuits for a snack, go for 2 and a handful of raspberries. Equally when eating out try to add some veg to the meal e.g. instead of eating an entire pizza go for half and a salad, or if you’re out for Chinese go for the garlic broccoli as well as the fried rice/cashew chicken etc.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Things you think will boost your metabolism…..

Dr Nancy P

Things you think will boost your metabolism….. 💊

You often hear people claiming various foods/diets/workouts etc will ‘boost your metabolism’ but sadly there’s actually very little scientific evidence many do.

Despite many claims that intermittent fasting, or 24 hour (and longer) fasts will boost your metabolism the reality is they don’t. Research suggests that fasting has the same or negative effects on metabolism compared to a calorie deficit from other ‘diets’. When you severely limit calories, your body slows down basic functions to conserve energy. Instead of boosting your metabolism, you may experience a reeducation of to 20% your BMR.

Supplements don’t boost your metabolism – some containing stimulants may temporarily increase metabolism (3-4%) but this diminishes with time and use. Avoiding carbs, eating multiple small meals, drinking lemon water/coconut oil or a detox/juice cleanse have little to no impact and no studies support their claims to increase metabolism. I’ve discussed fasted cardio/exercise before as it’s often touted to burn more fat/boost metabolism. It does neither – but from a workout perspective if you haven’t eaten then you may fatigue faster and be unable to work as hard, therefore burning fewer calories.

Things that are scientifically proven to increase your metabolism include regular exercise and building lean muscle. Eating enough protein, which has a thermic effect when digested (though only accounts for 10% of total energy expenditure). Eating a high fibre diet which requires energy to digest and can help regulate blood sugar. Staying hydrated – being dehydrated reduces BMR. Getting enough sleep to avoid a drop in metabolism and managing stress. Increasing NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity

Thermogenesis) which accounts for 15% – 50% of total energy expenditure through everyday activities such as, standing, walking, cleaning, moving around etc.

Most of these have only a minimal impact (as discussed before), so really the most significant impact on metabolism is to avoid being sedentary and to move more throughout the day. So avoid those expensive supplements and fad diets/exercise trends and stick to the basics!

Enjoy 🤗

xxx