Nutrition and Calorie Tips

A healthy snack of dried fruit…

December 2, 2020 Dr Nancy P

A healthy snack of dried fruit… 🍇

Fruit makes a great healthy snack and we’re encouraged to swap chocolate and biscuits for fruit instead… but be careful about the fruit you’re actually having.

Many people will happily snack on dried fruit thinking it’s a great way to lose weight. Now whilst there’s nothing wrong with dried fruit at all, as it’s full of fibre and vitamins, it’s also much higher in calories (mostly from sugar) than fresh fruit. And you’re far more likely to over eat it. It’s easy to eat a whole packet of raisins for example but you’re a lot less likely to eat an entire bunch of grapes (and in fact you could eat 4 bunches and still be consuming fewer calories.

The reason the raisins are so much higher in calories is because they’ve lost 95 percent of their water content leaving mostly sugar and fibre, in a much smaller package. This ramps up the sugar and calorie content, so 100g of dried fruit can be more than 4 times more calories than fresh fruit, and less filling.

So if fat loss is your goal consider the type of fruit you’re snacking on, and be mindful of how much dried fruit you’re consuming and don’t be afraid of fresh fruit.

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Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Swaps to save calories….

November 25, 2020November 16, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Swaps to save calories…. 🥤🍟 🍫

When I’m working with clients for sustainable fat and weight loss one of the big things I try to encourage is making some ‘easy’ swaps that they can incorporate into their diet. to save calories. It’s not about replacing something you love with something you hate (that will never work and will make you feel like you’re deprived) but there are some swaps you can make which you may not even really notice. Or they may be compromises which you’re willing to make.

This is a selection of some of the common ones and although individually some of the calorie savings may seem small it’s amazing how they all add up. Some involve similar tasting but lower calorie products, others are a portion size thing too. Obviously there are loads more – but I have tried to present a few of the main ones that my clients have used and enjoyed. Let me know about your own swaps too!

Here’s the list:

⁃ Oven chips (100g) 157cals vs 100g potatoes and oil spray (ten sprays) 83 cals

⁃ Lean beef mince (250g) 313 cals vs meat free mince (250g) 225 cals

⁃ 15ml olive oil 125 cals vs fry light olive oil spray 1 cal per spray (so even using 25 sprays is still a massive saving)

⁃ Bacon rashers (3) 180 cals vs Turkey Rashers (3) 72 cals

⁃ Cheddar cheese (20g) 85 cals vs babybel light (20g) 42 cals

⁃ Kettle Chips Small bag 205 cals vs pop chips 94 cals

⁃ Ben and Jerrys tub 1125 cals vs halo top tub 320 cals

⁃ Mars bar 228 cals vs curly wurly 118 cals

⁃ Grab bag Haribo 649 cals vs 3 mini bags 162 cals

⁃ Medium whole milk latte 237 cals vs skinny Americano 25 cals

⁃ Gin and tonic (single) 93 cals vs Gin and slimline tonic 64 cals

⁃ San pellegrino Lemonade drink 71 cals vs 7up zero lemonade drink 0 cals

⁃ Pint of London Pride Ale 199 cals vs Michelob Ultra 95 cals

Remember as part of a balanced diet it’s not a problem including some lower calorie options, especially if they mean you actually stick to it! If you want any help with making swaps just shout!

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Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Just a walk…

November 18, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Just a walk… 🚶🏼‍♀️

I shared this back in the summer but as this second lockdown progresses I’ve noticed a lot of my clients are beating themselves up over not doing “enough exercise”. In many cases they’ve been trying to work from home again, and run the household etc. Some days they’re managing to fit in a workout, others they’re not and they’re feeling guilty about it, and worrying about the loss of those activity calories they “should” be burning.

During this time one thing most people are can manage is to walk more, making the most of the allowed outdoor exercise. This is often not viewed as something which contributes to those activity calories, but it’s actually doing more good.

It’s natural to associate cardio workouts with burning loads of calories; you feel sweaty and breathless so you feel like you’re working hard. A 45 min HIIT for example is very tough and regardless how hard you’re working you’re going to be feeling it. However, it may be hard to motivate yourself to commit to a 45 min session at home when there are so many other things shouting for your attention (children (literally!), work, house chores etc). In contrast an hour’s walk doesn’t feel particularly strenuous, it may be something you do anyway to walk the dog, get the shopping or get out the house for bit, and it in fact burns more calories than the workouts.

I did this experiment on myself back in the summer so the numbers will vary according to your age, height, weight and fitness levels but the principal is the same (independent studies show this too). A one hour walk a day will burn significantly more calories than a 45 min HIIT workout. So if you’re not managing a workout every day – don’t stress, especially if you’re managing to go for a walk. In addition 7 days of HIIT workouts is actually NOT a good idea – studies have shown these workouts impact negatively on sleep if you’re doing too many a week. Obviously there are cardiovascular and health benefits to the HIIT workouts which are equally as important as calories burnt so don’t ditch them completely but my point is that you shouldn’t feel guilty if all you manage is a walk on some days.

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Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Healthy alternative.. or what you actually wanted?

November 11, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Healthy alternative.. or what you actually wanted? 🍫 🥜

When trying to lose weight people will often go out of their way to force themselves to choose a “healthy” alternative. If you really fancy a snickers bar you may think you’re better off choosing chocolate covered peanuts instead (nuts are healthy right)? There are nutritional differences between the two options – the chocolate peanuts have higher protein and lower sugar levels, but also higher fat and overall calories.

Both these snacks contain relatively high levels of sugar and significant amounts of fat. The peanuts may have more “good” fats but when it comes down to it the source of that fat makes very little difference to how your body processes it – especially in the context of this example. Both taste good, but if you are really craving a snickers and instead force yourself to have the chocolate peanuts you’re taking in more calories. Now that’s fine if that’s where it ends, but often that craving will still be there. Also the peanuts come in a larger bag so you may not stop at the 50g portion, and end up with the whole bag which is 578 calories! The snickers on the other hand may also give you an emotional boost, as well as an energy one.

So if you’re choosing the chocolate nuts in an effort to lose weight, then think again. If you’re choosing them because you like them then brilliant – keep having them. If you fancy a snickers then have it!

There are no good or bad foods – all foods can be accommodated within a balanced diet. Being aware of the calories in different foods empowers you to make that choice.

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Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Protein drink vs “just a” drink….

November 4, 2020 Dr Nancy P

Protein drink vs “just a” drink…. 🥛

There are lots of brands out that that are using the marketing power of “protein” to sell their products. The unspoken idea is that protein = better or healthier etc. 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. For most people a balanced diet will contain enough protein so you don’t need to go out of your way to take in extra protein unless you’re a bodybuilder or professional athlete. However you may still wish to focus on higher protein foods and snacks to help keep you feeling full.

So you may well see this protein fruit drink and think it’s a good option. However, it isn’t actually particularly high in protein, with only 2.2g per 100ml and it also has a significant amount of sugar (9.4g).

In contrast the strawberry milk probably wouldn’t be perceived as “healthy” nor a high protein drink. Yet the strawberry milk contains more protein (3.6g) for very similar calories, and contains less sugar. In addition the strawberry milk is over 3 times cheaper!

Neither are particularly “healthy” and neither would be classed as high protein. In terms of weight loss both will probably do the same basic job – they are very similar calorie wise and that’s what matters most. So don’t be swayed by the “protein” label – actually check the nutritional info and then choose the drink you want!

Enjoy

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