Tuesday Tip: are you eating enough fibre? 🌱

Fibre is often overlooks it’s one of those things that has a surprisingly big impact on our health and most of us aren’t getting enough. In the UK, adults are advised to aim for around 30g of fibre a day, but average intakes are considerably lower.

So what are the benefits and why does it matter?

1. It’s good for your gut.
Fibre helps keep things moving and prevent constipation, while certain types feed the beneficial bacteria living in our gut.

2. It can help keep you fuller for longer.
Higher-fibre foods generally take longer to eat and digest and can increase feelings of fullness — useful if you’re trying to manage your weight without feeling permanently hungry!

3. It can help with blood sugar control.
Soluble fibre can slow digestion and the absorption of carbohydrate, helping reduce rapid rises in blood glucose after eating.

4. It can help lower cholesterol.
Certain soluble fibres can help lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

5. It’s associated with better long-term health.
Higher fibre intake is linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.

There’s also another interesting benefit . You may actually absorb very slightly fewer calories from a high-fibre diet. The calories contained in food and the calories our bodies actually extract aren’t always identical. In one study, people eating a high-fibre diet excreted more energy in their stools; equivalent to around 116 calories a day. That doesn’t mean eating 50g of fibre magically gives you 116 ‘free calories’ but it’s certainly an interesting potential benefit. Fibre, resistant starch and the physical structure of less processed foods can all affect how much energy we extract.

Wholegrains, beans, lentils, chickpeas, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds are all great sources of fibre. If you currently eat very little fibre, increase it gradually and drink plenty of fluid, suddenly doubling your intake may give your digestive system rather more excitement than you bargained for!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip: Lunch Tips 🥪

Lunch is one of the meals I’m definitely worst at and many of my clients are the same. Here are some lunchtime mistakes and how to prevent them.

#1 Eating out every day

Do you just end up buying lunch instead of bringing it? If you’re making yourself dinner each night why not make a bit extra for lunch too. Or if you’re buying lunch choose options you can easily scan and track the calories for so you can stay on track like a sandwich, pre-packaged salad etc .

#2 Eating too fast

I get it, you’re racing around, back to back meetings, no time to stop, stuffing your lunch in on the go, but this is when we tend to over eat. A recent study found a direct relationship between faster eating and weight gain. Try to take at least 20 mins over your lunch.

#3 Eating too little

I often hear clients saying they only have a small salad for lunch and they wonder why they end up craving snacks at 4pm or after dinner. Salad is a great lunch but it needs to be more than just leaves and a bit of cucumber, ensure to add a protein (chicken, egg, feta, chickpeas, tofu etc) and then add some complex carbs (quinoa, brown rice, beans etc).

#4 Choice of drink

Going for a juice or soft drink at lunch in your meal deal is just extra empty calories. Ditch it and go for water (add lemon, cucumber or zero cal squash for flavour if you need) and save the calories for your food.

#5 You’re too hungry

You rush to work, skipping breakfast and by lunchtime you’re so hungry you end up making bad choices. Avoid this by either having breakfast or having a 100 – 200 cal mid morning snack (yoghurt and berries, apple and nut butter etc). This will help you make better choices at lunch.

#6 Grazing

You’re trying to avoid eating too much so just end up grazing instead – a snack bar here, maybe some fruit, half a biscuit, another bar.. before your know it you’ve actually eaten more cals than a standard sandwich lunch but you won’t feel like you’re have. It’s easy to kid yourself that you’re not really eaten lunch, you’ll still be hungry and more likely to overeat later. So either make sure you track the snacks or have a proper lunch instead.

Happy lunching! 🤗

xx

Tuesday Tip: No Progress? 🤔

Are you stuck and not making progress? When things aren’t going the way you want it’s easy to give up, here’s a little kick up the backside to hopefully prevent that happening!

# 1 ‘I just need to find my motivation’

You don’t need motivation, you need action. Motivation isn’t going to magically appear; you have to decide to make a change. That will be what motivates you, not a pretty Insta quote (but we love them anyway 🤣).

#2 ‘It’s not my fault…’

It may not be your fault but it is your responsibility. We can all find reasons why we can’t do things. Yes it may be harder for you; you might have a health condition or responsibilities that affect your ability to exercise/lose fat etc. But what’s the option? Not bothering just because it’s going to be harder? Of course not! Anything is better than nothing! 🤗

#3 ‘I’m just not prepared to give up….’

Some things are going to have to change if you want your body to. The ‘you’ who has lost 10kg fat isn’t doing what you’re doing now, so if you want to get there you need to make changes. You have to decide what you’re willing to sacrifice; switch your 1200 tub of ice cream for a 320 cal one? Cut back on meals out? Switch tv time for a 30 min walk? The choice is yours.

# 4 ‘I just can’t say no…’

The main reason people don’t lose fat is because they can’t say no. ‘Fancy a cake with coffee?’, ‘want another drink?’, ‘how about a take away?’. Try saying no and choose something nice but lower in cals! Prove to yourself that you have the ability to choose!

#5 ‘It’s been 3 days and I’ve lost no weight…’

The body you want is the sum of all the small actions you do today. Eating 300 fewer calories today, or going to the gym when you don’t want to, doesn’t seem like it’s getting you that result today, but do it consistently for 1, 2, or 3 months and it will.

Life happens, things get stressful – it happens to everyone. Don’t let that stop you doing something. Can’t make it to the gym? Do a 15 min walk, Blown your cals? Get straight back on it tomorrow. Do something, no matter how small, every day that takes you closer to your goal.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Under-reporting food 📝

The sad truth is that people are terrible at accurately reporting how many calories they’re eating and multiple studies demonstrate this time and time again. For example in a couple of recent studies participants were convinced they were eating 1200 cals or less a day but on average they were eating over 2200 cals! In other studies it’s been shown people under-report by an average of 1500 cals.

It’s not that surprising – if you’ve never tracked your food intake, why would you have any idea how much you’re actually eating? This is even harder when we are surrounded by calorie dense, easily accessible foods which are easy to over eat.

It’s quite fashionable at the moment to disparage calorie tracking (ironically often by those social media ‘experts’ who’ve spent years tracking their own food) but it’s still something that’s actually really important. Aside from providing a reality check on how much you’re eating it also helps as it gives you a better idea of not only calorie content but also other nutrients. You learn what actual portion sizes look like and how many calories some of those restaurant meals actually contain but equally you may find other things you’ve avoided through ‘fear’ are actually fewer cals than you thought. It also dispels the marketing myths around foods and the assumption that ‘heathy’ foods are naturally low calorie etc.

Tracking isn’t so much about tracking but more about increasing knowledge and awareness about your diet and habits and then how you can make positive changes. Not everybody has to track, but most people could benefit from tracking for a short period of time.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: How to get back on the wagon 🍟🍔🍕

After the summer holidays and a bank holiday weekend, you may feel as though you’ve overindulged and completely fallen off the wagon. So, what now? Should you throw in the towel and write the whole week off? Absolutely not! Before you beat yourself up or get stuck in a cycle of overeating, try these tips to get back on track.

1. Chin up

Stay positive. So you’ve eaten or drunk more than planned? One weekend or calorie splurge isn’t the end of the world. Refocus on why you want to lose weight or feel healthier. There will always be peaks and troughs—the overall journey can still be heading in the right direction, even with a few bumps along the way.

2. Make your next meal healthy

Don’t wait until tomorrow, Monday or when the children go back to school. Make your next meal a healthy one. You’ll feel better for it and immediately start getting yourself back on track.

3. Bank a few calories

Don’t starve yourself or severely restrict your calories after a blip. You’ll only end up ravenous and more likely to overeat again. However, you could eat around 100–200 Cals less for the next few days. You’ll barely notice the reduction, but it can help buffer some of the extra calories.

4. Get active

You can’t out-exercise a consistently poor diet, but being active can burn a few extra calories and help you feel better. Go for a walk, cycle, swim, take a class or grab a skipping rope—anything that gets you moving!

5. Think!

Consider what led to the splurge. There’s no need to beat yourself up, but it’s useful to understand why it happened. Were you away from your normal routine? Surrounded by tempting food? Bored, hungry or emotional? Did friends persuade you to have another drink?

Once you recognise the reason, you can plan for it next time. Most importantly, don’t let one indulgent weekend turn into an indulgent week. Draw a line under it and move on!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx