Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Avoiding cravings… or listening to them…

Dr Nancy P

Avoiding cravings… or listening to them… 🍫

We all have cravings for certain foods or drinks at certain times. It may be for chocolate, biscuits, cheese, toast, wine – etc, whatever it is it’s usually perceived as a “bad” food.

If you’re trying to lose fat/weight then when a chocolate craving hits you may avoid it at all costs. Why? because it’s “bad”. It’s not a snack packed with protein or fats, or vitamins or all those things we know we should be eating. It’s full of sugar (omg!) so it is definitely evil and must be avoided at all costs…..So you avoid it when you’re desperate for some at 3pm. But you spend the rest of the day thinking about it… By the time you’re back from work and have had your dinner the craving is so strong that you dive straight into the a giant bar and inhale it without even tasting it. Then you’ll feel guilty, probably fairly stuffed, uncomfy and miserable. You’ll also have taken in an extra 1920 cals.

Instead, if you really want some chocolate at 3pm – have it! You don’t need to earn it. You don’t need to justify it. Not every item of food you eat needs to be packed with vitamins, protein etc. If you have a balanced diet overall then it’s absolutely fine to have some foods in your diet that aren’t nutritionally great but that give you pleasure!

Chances are that in most cases if you enjoy that chocolate for your snack, factor it into your day’s calories, then you won’t feel the need to inhale a giant bar later that day. So instead of ending up gorging on 1920 cals of chocolate you will have had 240 cals of it when you wanted it.

So rather than creating rules about foods that are good or bad, try to view all foods as things you can have – in moderation.

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Pizza Night!

Dr Nancy P

Pizza night! 🍕

Socialising is a really important part of a healthy lifestyle and often that will involve eating out with friends or family. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going out and eating whatever you want – be it a massive pizza or anything else.

However if you are trying to lose fat or weight then you may wish to limit these extra calories. One option is simply to avoid social situations. That’s not ideal – life will be full of social situations and if you’re trying to make sustainable changes then you can’t just avoid everything for ever! Or you could of course say “f*ck it” and just have whatever you want. Nothing wrong with that – but if you’re then likely to spend the next few days feeling guilty or being angry with yourself for not making progress etc then that’s not a good option either.

The final option is to simply switch what you have for something that’s essentially the same but just a smaller portion. In this example I’ve gone for a large, “rustica” Gamberone and Chorizo pizza and a large glass of wine. That could wrack up over 1700 calories -which for most people is a large proportion of their daily calories. And let’s be honest, that’s an awful lot of food. No one actually needs a pizza that large… instead you could swap it for a “skinny” or small version of the same pizza (which almost all restaurants offer nowadays) and a small glass of wine. Same taste, same enjoyment, you can socialise, and you’re consuming less than a third of the calories.

So no need to avoid pizza night, or blow the diet, to still be able to enjoy yourself. Consider simply having smaller portions.

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Good potato, bad potato… 🥔 🍠

Dr Nancy P

Good potato, bad potato… 🥔 🍠

The common perception is that white potatoes are somehow a ‘bad’ choice, whilst sweet potatoes are inherently ‘good’.

Sweet potatoes are good – they have a lower glycaemix index than white potatoes (though it’s not actually ‘low’) which means it has a lesser impact on blood sugar levels. It’s also a great source of vitamin A, C, B6 and Potassium and also fibre.

In contrast white potatoes have a higher glycaemic index, slightly less fibre and less vitamin A, but are also good sources of Vitamin C and B6. They aren’t ‘bad’ though.

Despite the higher glycaemic index it’s not the individual foods that matter in that context but rather the glycaemic index of the whole meal, so it will depend what you’re eating with the potatoes. Combined with other low GI foods, protein and fats, the overall GI of the meal will be lowered.

In addition they actually contain fewer calories than sweet potatoes. So from a fat/weight loss perspective you’d be marginally better off having white potatoes.

So if you’ve been tucking in to sweet potatoes thinking they’re better for weight loss then perhaps think again. In reality the difference is pretty small, and the calorie impact is fairly similar. So just have the potatoes you actually like the taste of!

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

A healthy snack….. or is it?

Dr Nancy P

A healthy snack….. or is it? 🍫

There are lots of snack bars out there that are marketed to imply that they are a “healthy” choice. This is a perfect example – this bar definitely looks like it’s a healthy choice. It’s got oats and banana in it – which are great for a sustained energy release, and it contains chia seeds – they’re a super food right so it must be good?

So you might decide to reach for this rather than reaching for a chocolate bar thinking it was a better choice. Well that may not always be the case.

Although it does contain a good range of nutrients and will definitely give you energy and keep you full, it’s also very high in calories (and fat and sugar). You could actually have 2 crunchie chocolate bars for fewer calories. So if you were trying to lose fat/weight and looking for a snack, then rather than reaching for a “healthy” snack bar you’re probably better off just going for a snack you actually want – like a chocolate bar if that’s what you fancy. And if you do want the oat based bars then be sure the read the labels carefully as some are extremely high in calories.

Ultimately, if you’re trying to lose fat or weight, it comes down to calories. So enjoy a balanced diet overall and just be mindful of the calories in what you’re having.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

I started my day with a clean brekkie…

Dr Nancy P

I started my day with a clean brekkie… 🍉

‘Clean’ eating is a recent trend we often see on social media and I often hear people telling me they are ‘eating clean’ in order to lose weight/fat.

‘Eating clean’ is essentially the idea that you’re eating foods which are perceived to be better for one reason or another (that might be based on properties the food supposedly has, or nutrients it contains etc).

There is nothing wrong with that at all, though I’m not a fan of demonising foods, but if you want to eat certain foods for whatever reason then that’s fine. The problem is that the common misconception is that because a food is ‘clean’ or promoted as healthy, that it is automatically going to help you lose weight/fat and that it must be a ‘better’ option than other foods you may also love.

The breakfast granola and smoothie bowl is a great example of this. They’re very photogenic and found all over Instagram. It’s essentially granola and smoothie in a bowl topped with fruit, seeds, nuts etc. They’re delicious and full of great nutritious foods, but they’re also rather high in calories and sugar (mostly from the large amount of fruit used). In this example, based on a standard instagram smoothie bowl recipe, there are 761 cals in one bowl! Combine that with a bottle of “healthy” smoothie and you’re looking at over 1100 calories in total.

In comparison a Gregg’s sausage bap with a small white coffee is often perceived as a bad or dirty choice. In fact it has less than half the calories of the clean option with only 511 cals in total. It still provides carbs, protein and fat so will keep you satisfied until lunch. I’m not suggesting you have one every day, but it’s certainly not terrible!.

So if you’re trying to lose weight/fat, and you really enjoy a sausage bap for breakfast then go for it! As long as it’s part of a balanced diet which contains fruit and veg etc it’s fine! Don’t be swayed by beautiful Instagram photos and Instagram experts telling you that you need to eat clean to be lean. You don’t.

Enjoy a range of foods and be mindful of the calories and you’ll be fine! 🤗xx

Enjoy 🤗

xxx