Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Lunch on the go… 🥪

In an ideal world I’m sure we’d all have the time to prep a perfectly calorie controlled and balanced lunch every day. However in reality we often need to rely on convenience foods or grabbing a lunch on the go. 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.

If you’re grabbing a meal deal for example and getting a sandwich, drink and snack then just take a moment to check the calories on that sandwich. In this example you could go for chicken club sandwich, a fruit, yoghurt and granola pot and a Fanta. That will cost you nearly 900 cals. That’s a very hefty lunch! However you could also grab a chicken salad sandwich, a yoghurt, fruit pot and a Fanta zero and only spend 568 cals. That’s still a good sized lunch but it’s also greater volume and fibre (from the fruit mainly) and will probably leave you feeling fuller for longer. The saving of nearly 300 cals is the daily deficit you need to lose fat… so it’s a win win!

So if you are grabbing lunch just take a moment to check the cals before you decide what you’re having. Remember, knowledge is power!

Enjoy!

🤗

Xx

A brown roll is healthier…Or is it? 🍞

Most people feel like they’re being healthier if they’re having a brown roll rather than white. However is it actually that much better?

White grain products have just had the outer layer of the grain removed – in most cases this doesn’t remove that much in terms of nutrition. In terms of calories both products tend to be the similar, although sometimes the white version is actually lower in cals so if you’re tracking your intake then it can be a way to cut some cals. In this example you can see that the brown roll is marginally more calories for a standard 60g roll.

But what about fibre I hear you cry? Well as you can see, the fibre content is actually not that different. The brown roll does have more fibre but only 0.8g more. If you’re already having a balanced diet, which includes fruit, veg and other grains, then you’re better off simply choosing the one you prefer the taste of and not worrying too much about the fibre. If you’re trying to reduce calories then pay attention to the calories in the roll you choose as they do vary!

🤗xx

TV Snacks… 📺

It’s Sunday afternoon, you’re about to settle down in front of a movie with some snacks. So you grab a few biccies, packet of crisps, bag of chocolate, some sweeties 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 and sweets (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 few biscuits (3 Jammy dodgers at 78 cals each), a packet of hula hoops (120 cals), bag of haribo (548 cals), grab bag of giant buttons (636 cals) and a Pepsi (120 cals). That’s a whopping 1673 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 enjoying. You could have a bag of mini jammy dodgers (88 cals), a packet of hula pufts (72 cals), two mini haribo bags (55 cals each), two treat size bags of buttons (152 cals) and a Pepsi Max… for only 422 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!

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Xx

Protein snack… 🤔

I often talk about the marketing power of “protein” and how snacks (and other products) are often promoted or perceived 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 these lentil chips/crisps and think it would be a good snack option – it’s something that feels like a treat (crisps) and it’s says it’s 15% protein – win win! It’s 175 cals which is actually not bad for a snack at all and contains 6g protein – also not bad.

Oh but this is awkward… the humble baked bean snack pot is a mere 158 cals and it will actually provide you with even more protein – 9.4g in fact! Aside from the fact it’s lower calorie, 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. It is also considerably cheaper!

Enjoy!

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Xx