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Tuesday Tip: Blood glucose/ Gut microbiome diets

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Blood glucose/ Gut microbiome diets 📉

There are a lot of companies at the moment that track your blood glucose, blood fat and gut micro biome – are they really the answer to all our health and weight loss goals?

Healthy individuals without diabetes shouldn’t be worried about their glucose levels since glucose spikes are a totally normal physiological response.

But even if you decide to ignore that statement and use a glucose monitor anyway a recent study found glucose monitors can vary quite wildly in their response to the same meal eaten at different times. So much so that the individual variability in post-meal blood sugar response to eating the same meal had as much variability as eating an entirely different meal. I don’t think people should overhaul their entire diet based on potentially faulty readings. Even if they were accurate does it translate to more weight loss or better health (which they equate to a ‘better’ glucose response) when following the advice?

A 2022 study found no difference in weight loss over 6 months between a control group on a low-fat diet or a personalised diet based on glucose response to foods. A 2023 study found that the personalised diet didn’t lead to greater reductions in blood sugar variability or HbA1c levels compared to a standardised diet.

But what about gut microbiome?

In truth we still know very little about what impact the gut microbiome has on overall health, despite how confidently some people on the internet talk about it. A recent study suggested most diseases are not in fact linked to an altered gut microbiome. Also, the claims that an imbalance in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of the gut microbiota in humans is a hallmark of obesity hasn’t actually been reproduced in human studies. So it’s difficult to associate the gut microbiome with health status and obesity.

In addition a recent study found an increased risk of disordered eating from the use of these glucose monitors in healthy, non diabetic people.

A personal observation – of the clients I know who’ve tried these products – their supposedly personalised diets were all identical which is an interesting coincidence. Remember these companies want your money and are cherry picking studies to support them. If you’re worried about your insulin sensitivity, your first priority should be losing body fat and doing regular physical activity as these will have a far bigger impact on improving your overall health than anything else. As for the gut microbiome, just do what most people already know they should be doing–eat a varied diet of with plenty of whole foods, fruit and veg. minimally

Save your pennies until the research is clearer!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip, Uncategorized

Tuesday Tip: Navigating the weekend

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Navigating the weekend 🍻

The weekends can be tough for a lot of us, so if you struggle, you’re definitely not alone. Sometimes they’re difficult because we’re trying to be too perfect /restrictive during the week, meaning we swing in the opposite direction once Friday night hits.

Or it’s the change in routine, the lack of structure and freedom that can pull us off track at the weekend.

However, you absolutely do have the power to be more consistent over the weekends, and a lot of it comes down to doing just a little bit more planning, changing your mindset, and working on a few habits.

Here are a few tips:

# Do a mini food prep

It’s common to do the main food prep and planning on a Sunday which means but Thursday you’re out of food. Try a mini prep on a weds – just something quick – to tide you over until Saturday, or plan a few meals in for the weekend that are easy and won’t require too much extra thought or prep. A rotisserie chicken, microwavable rice, and steamable veggies go a long way for example.

# Add a little structure

Add just a little bit more structure to the weekends. A lot of folks use the weekends to de-stress and de-compress, as you should. But a lot of the free time we have can pull us off track. So, write out a loose schedule for yourself to follow. Figure out when you’ll workout if you’re doing to, go on walks/activities, do any chores or errands, or spend time with friends or family members.

# Plan something for Sunday morning

If you struggle with moderating alcohol or staying on top of your diet on a Saturday night then plan a something for Sunday morning – a workout, a walk, meeting friends etc. Nobody wants to go on any sort of adventure hungover or not feeling they’re best.

# Moderate your alcohol

If you are going to drink then alternate between an alcoholic beverage and a water. You could try going for one very nice nice (more expensive) drink and savour it a bit more rather than going for the cheapest option too. Use low or alcohol free options too. Plan ahead and decide in advance how many drinks you are going to have and track them in advance.

# Choose one..

Choose one meal or part of a meal to enjoy/indulge in rather than the entire weekend e.g. brunch with friends might be one you decide to allocate more calories to, or if you’re out for dinner go for a starter or a dessert or 2 drinks – not all of it.

# Plan snacks

Try to plan your snacks so the weekend doesn’t become one long grazing session – especially if you’ve had late nights/are hungover. Plan in some nice, but slightly lower calorie options e.g. light popcorn with a film etc

# Don’t punish yourself

If you do end up overeating or drinking you can’t go back and change it but that doesn’t mean all is lost. Nip that ‘all or nothing” mindset in the bud and remind yourself that even a little better is better.

Accept, acknowledge, adjust, and move forward. Make sure you reflect and ask yourself what you can change and do differently next weekend. Then, get back to your typical routine as soon as you can.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

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Don’t trust yourself…

Dr Nancy P

Don’t trust yourself… 🤨

I mean this in the best possible way but if you want to help yourself stick to a calorie goal then don’t trust yourself. Seriously, instead of buying large, single bags of crisps, biscuits, drinks etc buy multipacks of single servings. In my experience with 100s of clients, this simple approach and reduce the likelihood of overconsumption of these highly palatable and frankly delicious snacks.

Instead of trying to depend on ‘will power’ and ‘motivation’ to stick to your nutrition plan, instead try to remove some of the likely pitfalls. Decision fatigue is a very real thing and as the day and week progresses your ability to make an informed, logical, decision reduces. So instead of relying on your will power to portion out the snacks in the evening after a long day, put strategies in place to help.

Buying a pack of mini packs of crisps or biscuits, or smaller cans of drink can help you not to overeat. These foods are perfectly fine to include in your diet but they’re designed to be hyper palatable due to the combination of fat, sugar, lack of fibre and general tastiness! And before you say ‘I’ll just end up eating 2 or 3 mini packs’ – well that’s still better than eating the whole of a large pack! Look at the calorie differences in these examples. And even the short break between small packs can provide some time for you to reflect and potentially halt the overeating.

And if you’re concerned about the extra cost or packaging and want to buy larger bags then do yourself a favour and portion them out immediately into other containers. Don’t wait until you’re starving and tired to try to do it.

Other strategies to help include putting them into a small bowl to eat from, slowing down when you eat and focusing on the food (rather than shoving handfuls in your mouth whilst doing chores), try to break the link between these snacks and tv/other enjoyable activities and of course track the calories . No

🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips, Tuesday Tip, Uncategorized

Tuesday tip: All or nothing?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: All or nothing? 🤔

The all or nothing mindset is one of the biggest issues which keeps people from making meaningful progress towards their weight loss and fitness goals. I’m sure we’ve all struggled with this; I know I have and I know many of my clients do too. You start introducing some changes to your diet or exercise regime, you’re diligent and follow it to the letter, and maybe start to see some results but then life happens and you miss a few workouts, or overeat or eat something you don’t deem as ‘healthy’ and suddenly

everything seems to go to pot. Your motivation disappears and you feel defeated, frustrated and discouraged. Somehow one meal or day overrides weeks of progress. You’re hard on yourself and start to fall back to old habits and progress stalls. You think ‘f*ck it’ and don’t even bother trying to be ‘good’. Then after a while, you are unhappy with your weight and the whole process starts again.

This type mentality is very black and white, or off and on – like a light switch. You’re either committed to your goals and the switch is on, or you’re not and the switch is firmly off. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s not a very healthy mindset to have for long-term, sustainable progress. Think about why you want to improve your fitness or lose weight. Ultimately it’s to live a healthier and happier future, so you can enjoy life. That means you’ll have to learn to manage life and all it entails, and incorporate some of that enjoyment into your new habits and weight loss journey. This means you’ll need to accept that sometimes you’ll do things that don’t fit perfectly into your fitness/weight loss goals, and that’s ok! It’s not about perfection, it’s about consistency.

Rather than being either ‘on’ or ‘off’ instead think about more of a dimmer switch. You can dial the intensity of your effort up or down depending on what’s going on in your life. Recognise that sometimes it’s ok to indulge or to not exercise, and dial down your expectations during that time. Practice a little self compassion and understand that progress isn’t linear and that being able to incorporate these times is actually progress itself. If you are making things too restrictive then it won’t be a long-term sustainable plan for you. Focus on consistency not perfection and with a little patience you will reach those goals. So remember if life gets in the way- dim the lights, don’t turn them off completely, so you can still see your goals!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

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Tuesday Tip: You can always control those calories …

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: You can always control those calories … 🥗

When you’re trying to reduce your calories and lose weight/fat eating out can become something that either causes stress/anxiety or results in a ‘f*ck it’ mentality. This is because often, unless it’s a chain restaurant, it’s hard to know the calories of the food you’re being served. The same applies for social situations at friend’s or relatives houses. There is a fear of eating ‘bad’ foods (though as we know – there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods – it’s all about quantity). You may be in a situation where choices are limited and there are no obviously lower calorie options.

So you may feel like there’s no point even trying to control things in these situations and that can often lead to over eating (and the consequent guilt the next day). But the thing is even though you may not know the calories of what you’re being served and you may not have control over your choice (at a friend’s dinner party for example), but you ALWAYS have control over how much you choose to eat.

If you normally go out and have a starter of satay chicken and it’s 6 skewers, have 3, that halves the calories! You can even ask the restaurant to only serve half. If you’re out for pizza at a friends have 1/2 instead of of a whole pizza. If you’re at a dinner party ask for a small portion and load up on veggies etc.

There are always ways to reduce your calorie intake IF you want to. So don’t think it all has to go to pot if you don’t know the exact calories because you can always control your portion size! Enjoy having that control over what you eat.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx