Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Eating certain foods doesn’t make you a ‘bad’ or a ‘good’ person…

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023 Dr Nancy P

Eating certain foods doesn’t make you a ‘bad’ or a ‘good’ person… 🍩

I lose count of the number of times I hear clients tell me they’re ‘bad’ because they’ve eaten something they feel they shouldn’t have. How often do you eat something and label it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and by extension consider that you’ve been ‘good’ or ‘bad’?

If you succumb to a doughnut at coffee you tell yourself you’ve been ‘bad’ and that you’re a ‘bad’ person. Yet if you have an apple and some almonds (30g in this example) you’d be feeling very virtuous and like you’re a ‘good’ person.

It’s really time we stop labelling foods as good or bad. There are no good or bad foods. There are simply foods which contain a greater or fewer number of nutrients. The foods themselves aren’t bad – the quantities may be though. You are also not a bad person for eating those foods. It’s 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 a doughnut. You’re also not a good person for choosing an apple and almonds.

Yes the apple and almonds will have more fibre, more micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and and more protein. The doughnut undoubtedly has fewer vitamins and minerals, but it will provide you with energy and joy! If you were trying to hit a certain number of calories then the doughnut 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!

🤗

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Not all biscuits are created equal

January 18, 2023 Dr Nancy P

Not all biscuits are created equal 🍪

There are more obviously more nutritious snacks than biscuits of course but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a biscuit with a cuppa when you fancy it. The natural assumption is that they’re ‘bad’ and not compatible with trying to lose weight. This is certainly not the case. The main issues with biscuits are usually that you almost eat them without noticing and therefore it’s really easy to eat more than you realise. Clients often say they can’t stop once they open a packet – I know that feeling! You start with one and before you know it you’ve hoovered up 4! However there’s quite a difference between having 4 party rings and 4 chocolate digestives!

The reality is that not all biscuits are created equal so being aware of the calories in various biscuits allows you to make a more informed choice. 4 party rings is only 112 cals which is easy to factor into your daily calories, whereas 4 chocolate digestives are 332 cals which is a much more significant amount. Being aware of the lower calorie options might just help enable you to enjoy a biscuit whilst still moving towards your weight loss goal.

So here are some of the more popular biscuits on the market (calories are for one biscuit) Oh and yes I know I’ve slipped the Jaffa cakes in there… which are officially cakes (for VAT purposes)… but I mean they’re clearly not are they 😉.. and whatever they are they’re still yummy with a cuppa.

The biscuits pictured are:
Party rings, lotus snack pack biscuits, Rich tea biscuits, Nice biscuits, Malted Milk biscuits, Jaffa cakes, Oreos, Custard Creams, Digestive biscuits, Hobnobs, Jamie Dodgers and Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits.

So remember knowledge is power and biscuits are a perfectly good snack if you want them!

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Consistency over Perfection….

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023 Dr Nancy P

Consistency over Perfection…. 🙌🏼

This time of year in particular there’s often a really gung ho attitude to weight loss. It’s understandable – new year, new you and it’s natural to want to have a clean start. However it’s worth just taking a step back and considering your approach. On the left is the person who is all about perfection. January 1st hits and they are 100% on it – they start a new fitness plan/ diet and go all out. They drastically cut calories, cut out all what they consider ‘bad’ foods, don’t go out, exercise 7 days a week. They make quick progress to start with but they eventually either hit a wall and their energy and enthusiasm drops, or ‘life’ happens – a social event they can’t get out of, they get sick, a stressful event etc etc. They ‘fall off the wagon’ and overeat or miss a workout etc and that’s it – they can’t be perfect so what’s the point? Progress stalls and they give up.

On the right is the person who starts slow. They make some small sustainable changes – a reasonable calorie deficit they can stick to, they include all the foods they enjoy within that, they exercise 3 times a week because that’s what they can fit into their life, they socialise but limit damage when they do. They also have ‘bad’ days, and ‘life’ happens too but when they ‘fall off the wagon’ they get back on track the next day.

They don’t make progress as fast, but they’ve made sensible, sustainable choices they can stick to so over the longer term they actually make more progress – that lasts.

Being consistent trumps being perfect over time – because no one can maintain perfection every day, every week and every month. Being ‘good enough’ consistently is how true, long lasting sustainable progress happens. So resist the temptation and go for the slow burn!

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Practical New Year’s Resolutions…

January 4, 2023 Dr Nancy P

Practical New Year’s Resolutions… ⭐️

It’s January which means many of us are full of New Year’s resolutions and wanting to make a fresh start at health and fitness. Often these resolutions will be things like to “lose weight” or to “get fit” or perhaps “eat healthier’. Now whilst these are all great goals they’re quite hard to achieve without some practical steps. They’re outcomes of changes you need to make rather than actual resolutions per se.

So if you are making New Year’s resolutions about your health and fitness, then instead of making generalised statements try to focus instead on small actions you can take every day that will lead to those end goals.

So instead of resolving to lose weight, perhaps instead resolve to identify where the excess calories are in your diet. Are they coming from alcohol? Extra snacks? Take aways? Portion sizes? And then you can take steps to reduce them and therefore reduce your calorie intake (leading to fat and weight loss).

Instead of resolving to “get fit”, instead focus on upping your daily steps. Rather than choosing an arbitrary goal of 10,000 steps, instead commit to increasing your steps. If you’re already hitting 12,000 steps a day then aim for 14,000, if you’re getting 4,000 aim for 6,000 etc. Also consider adding some exercise 1-3 times a week. It doesn’t matter what that exercise is really just pick something you actually enjoy; dancing, running, weight lifting, swimming cycling etc.

Rather than resolving to “Eat healthier” commit to adding a portion of fruit or veg to every meal. Aside from the fact that it will increase your overall nutrition, it will increase fibre levels, and will probably help reduce overall calories as by filling some of your plate with fruit and veg you’re going to eat less of other, more calorie dense foods.

This approach is far better than making massive changes, subscribing to fad diets/detoxes/challenges etc which may well cause you to lose weight quickly but will also see you putting that weight back on once you’re back to eating normally again. Take small sustainable steps and you’ll find you’ll hit your goals and be able to maintain it within your lifestyle too! 🙂

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Happy New Year!

December 28, 2022 Dr Nancy P

Happy New Year! 🥂🥳

A short and sweet one today for the upcoming New Year. I’m sure a few glasses of Champagne will be raised on Saturday night after the year we’ve all had! Enjoy! And at only 95 calories a glass it’s a bargain!

Happy New year 🥳🎉🌟xx

Xx