Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

‘Just a drizzle…..’ 🍳

If you’re trying to lose fat and are working on reducing calories then you’re probably going to be recording your cals somehow. But are you really recording everything? It’s very easy to overlook some things because they seem so insignificant.

Oil used in cooking is a great example. So many of my clients will say they’ve just used a ‘drizzle’ of oil when cooking, so it’s not much. As a result they perhaps don’t measure it and don’t factor in those calories. Now aside from the fact that one person’s ‘drizzle’ could be another person’s ‘pour’ there’s actually a pretty good chance that you’re adding 100-200 cals a day to your meals with that ‘dash’.

That ‘drizzle’ of oil in the pan is probably around 25 ml, which depending on the type of olive oil will be at least 200 cals… But hey, that’s not worth recording right? Wrong! A sensible calorie deficit for fat loss is around 200 – 300 cals per day. So you’ve already eaten into your deficit with that one dash and turned a potentially low calorie meal like a stir fry etc into one that takes you over your allowance, for minimal satisfaction. You won’t notice those extra calories, and you’ll consume them without them really affecting how full you feel but they can really add up. If you’re cooking once a day that’s 1400 extra calories a week.

Now I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t use oil – if you want to then go for it! But if you are trying to lose fat, or your fat (weight) loss has stalled perhaps go back to basics and double check whether the amount you’re using could be more than you realise. And be a bit more mindful of this, or simply record it and have it within your daily calories. If you want to reduce the calories from cooking with oil then invest in a one calorie oil spray (you can get olive oil ones so you still get the health benefits if those monounsaturated fats) – 20 sprays will only be 20 calories, rather than the 200 plus cals from the ‘dash’ of oil 🤗

Xx

A snack or loads of snacks… 🍫

There are lots of strategies you can use when trying to stick to your calorie deficit to lose weight/fat. Being aware of the calories in the foods you choose to consume and swapping to lower calorie foods which you also enjoy is an obvious option. As well as the calories though it’s worth considering the quantity and volume of the food you’re choosing.

Snacking is a common problem and an easy way to extra calories to sneak in. If you were to snack on a chocolate tiffin bar you’re looking at a substantial 400 calories of food. That’s quite a lot for a snack, and it will be gone in a few bites. However for only 259 calories you could have a curly wurly, a light babybel, some raspberries and a packet of popchips. This combination not only has the advantage of fewer calories overall, but also higher protein overall which will help to keep you fuller for longer, and they contain more fibre (mainly from the raspberries) and other micronutrients which will also help. But an often overlooked aspect is that there is also a greater volume of food in the lower calorie option. It will take you longer to eat the 4 snacks than the muffin, which will also increase feelings of satisfaction. You may also even find you don’t even need to eat all 4 snacks.

Obviously if you fancy the tiffin and can fit it into your calories then go for it but this is just another strategy to add to your toolkit to help you stick to those calories.

Enjoy

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

‘What you think you had…..’ 😬

We all know that to lose weight/fat you need to be eating and drinking at a calorie deficit. Often the problem though is our awareness and perception of what we are actually consuming. Portion control is a massive part of this – specifically underestimating serving sizes and what you’ve consumed.

It doesn’t help that we are continually marketed to to choose larger sizes at better value. More food/drink for less money – of course we want that right? But it doesn’t help when you’re trying to eat and drink less!

Studies repeatedly show that almost everyone, even those who are trained dieticians and nutritionists (and therefore should be ‘experts’ on portion sizes etc) significantly underestimate what they’ve consumed. This is even more so when recording in hindsight. We forget things, we underestimate what we’ve had, we don’t even know we’re doing it.

For example, having a couple of glasses of wine and some crisps with friends before dinner. You may think you’ve had 2 small glasses and a portion (40g) of crisps – that would be approx 381 cals. That’s not bad and can be easily factored into your daily cals. In reality though you probably had 2 large glasses, and much more than the portion size of crisps – closer to 150g (a grab bag size) for example- which comes in at 1,121 cals! That’s not as easy to fit in, and you probably barely noticed the crisps.

So if you’re struggling to lose weight and can’t work out why, try being totally honest with yourself and see if you may actually be underestimating things. The best way to do this is you get out the kitchen scales, weigh the portion and track the calories – before you eat them! You definitive do not need to cut these things out completely – that’s totally counter productive and unsustainable long term. So instead work on becoming more aware of the actual quantities you’re eating / drinking and fit them into your diet accordingly. Knowledge is power!

Enjoy 🤗 xx

Brown Bread is healthier…Or is it? 🍞

Most people feel like they’re being healthier if they’re having brown bread 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 bread is marginally more calories for a standard 40g slice.

But what about fibre I hear you cry? Well as you can see, the fibre content is actually not that different. The brown bread does have more fibre but only 1.6g 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 bread you choose as they do vary!

🤗xx