Category: Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Just a walk…

Dr Nancy P

Just a walk… 🚶🏼‍♀️

As 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, home school the children, 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 most people are managing to walk more, making the most of their allowed outdoor exercise time. 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 or that sort of workout 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 the kids out the house for bit, and it in fact burns more calories than the workouts.

I did this experiment on myself so the numbers will vary according to your age, height, weight and fitness levels but the principal is the same (and has been shown in independent studies too). A one hour walk a day will burn significantly more calories than a 45 min HIIT workout a day. 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 or like you’re not burning anything if all you manage is a walk on some days.

🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Low calorie or “normal” ice cream?

Dr Nancy P

Low calorie or “normal” ice cream?….. 🍦

Here are two ice cream options – one is a low calorie, currently very popular ice cream stick – a halo top strawberry cheesecake one. The other is an oldie but a goodie and just a “normal” ice cream – the humble strawberry split.

Now anyone who knows me knows I’m a massive fan of the low calorie Halo top ice cream – not just because they’re low calorie but because they taste good. But it’s very easy for people to discount the “normal” strawberry split. So whilst these are obviously not directly comparable in flavour and texture etc they are very similar and serve a similar purpose – as a dessert or snack. One is marketed as low calorie, one isn’t.

I think it’s safe to assume that many of use would presume the halo top ice cream is the “healthier” option as it’s marketed as low calorie, and certainly the lower calorie option. In reality it’s not – the strawberry split is actually considerably fewer calories. So if you were tracking calories and trying to lose weight/bodyfat then the strawberry split would be a better choice. It does however have a bit more sugar than the Halo top – so if weight loss isn’t a goal but you want to go for a less sugary option then the halo top might be the better choice.

Overall the differences are relatlively small. Neither is a “healthier” option – it’s ice cream. Ice cream isn’t consumed to provide us with nutrients – it’s consumed because we enjoy it – so choose the one you enjoy most! However, as always, be aware of those calories – you may find some of your favourite ice creams aren’t actually as bad as you thought they were!

Now go and enjoy an ice cream

🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

OMG I’ve ruined my diet ?

Dr Nancy P

OMG I’ve ruined my diet ?….. 🍦🍪

We all know the feeling, it’s mid afternoon, we’re a bit peckish but we’re ‘being good’ so don’t want to reach for a biscuit. Instead we grab a couple of slices of toast – nothing wrong with that right? It means we’re still on track with our ‘diet’ and all’s well….

But some days you may not have that will power… sun’s out, so you grab a cornetto out the freezer.. then have just one Jaffa cake… which becomes 2, 3, .. or maybe just one more – so that’s 4 and perhaps a final one… so you finally stop at 5! Now you’re wracked with guilt! How could you be so stupid? You’ve totally ruined your ‘diet’! Why don’t I have any self control you say to yourself?!

Hold on just one second! Perception is a wonderful thing… and it can also be a terrible thing. That toast that seems ‘ok’ may not be that much better. Two slices of sourdough toast with butter is up to 424 cals. That cornetto and 5 Jaffa cakes… a mere 384 cals! So neither is a great choice if you’re trying to stick to a particular calorie goal, but in most cases you’ll view the cornetto/Jaffa cake saga as a total disaster on the diet front, whilst probably overlooking the toast completely.

It pays to be aware of the calories in what you’re eating. That way you can choose with knowledge rather than your preconceived or conditioned ideas about what’s ‘bad’ or ‘good’. Being aware of the calories in different foods empowers you to make that choice and can help remove the guilt. Knowledge is power!

🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Lockdown Snacking…..

Dr Nancy P

Lockdown Snacking….. 🍫🍦

Whether you are currently isolating, or just in lockdown, or even still out there going essential work, it’s quite likely that with the increased stress, uncertainty, inability to go out as you normally would etc that snacking and having “treats” is likely to increase.

Now there is absolutely no point trying to avoid snacking completely. It’s not realistic, it’s also putting unnecessary stress on yourself at a time when other things are far more important. Instead some simple, lower calorie, swaps can really help reduce the impact of all those extras.

You can still have “treats” and things you enjoy but you can minimise the impact and hopefully prevent too much overeating. You can make some really simple swaps – swapping your chocolate for something like a curly wurly, a grab bag of crisps for some pop chips, and choosing a a low calorie ice cream could reduce your snack calories by two thirds!

Finding similar tasting treats that are simply lower in calories is a great way to cope with the snacking temptations of being at home more, or the added stress and anxiety without negatively impacting on your fat loss goal.

🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Healthy frying…

Dr Nancy P

Healthy frying… 🍳

With most people’s general activity levels lower at the moment and a natural focus on eating more “healthily” to stay well it seemed like a good opportunity to consider how to fry food more healthily.

There is an assumption that coconut oil is a healthy choice for cooking. As with other oils (e.g. olive oil), it does have some health benefits. The oil contains saturated fat, specifically medium-chain triglycerides, which are easily absorbed by the liver and converted to ketones (an alternative energy source in the brain) and there is evidence that it could be beneficial for dementia and related conditions. There is also evidence that coconut may help type-2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels and may assist weight loss.

So many people recommend using coconut oil to cook with – dolloping in a spoonful of the stuff for stir fries, pan frying meat and fish etc. Now whilst it is healthy it’s also extremely calorie dense. A spoonful (15g) of coconut oil is approx 129 cals. If you used this for one meal a day that would give you a total of 3,612 calories over the course of a month.

Thats a lot of extra calories! If you’re using oil simply to ensure the food doesn’t stick then you’d be far better off buying a good non-stick frying pan and using no oil at all! Or if you really need it you can get a 1 calorie coconut oil spray.

By using a non-stick pan you can save those extra calories (which you’re probably not accounting for anyway) and spend them on something else. It’s a small sacrifice for some big savings and assuming you’re having a balanced diet overall then you won’t suffer a decrease in health by cutting it out.

🤗

Xx