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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

Nutrition and Calorie Tips, Uncategorized

The lower sugar myth…

Dr Nancy P

Sugar is often vilified as the cause of all health issues and as a result many companies have latched on to the idea that people are keen to reduce their sugar consumption. Now whilst sugar in excess amounts is undoubtedly not good (no nutrient in excess is) normal amounts of sugar in the diet are absolutely fine. However if you’re diabetic or trying to reduce your reliance on sugary snacks then it may be sensible to opt for some lower sugar options.

If you’re trying to lose weight (fat) then you may also decide to reduce sugar consumption. Many people equate lower sugar to mean lower calorie and would therefore go for the reduced sugar option in the belief that it would help them lose weight. In this example the actual difference is pretty insignificant.

A bag of normal Colin the Caterpillar sweets contain 499 cals, whilst the reduced sugar version contains 471 cals – a reduction of 28, which is unlikely to result in weight loss. Yes, every little bit counts, but the expectation would probably be that it was much lower and therefore you may eat a larger portion, or expect bigger fat losses from this small change. So at first glance you’d assume it was a lower calorie option. It’s not really! Clever eh?

So if you’re trying to reduce your calories and are going for the reduced sugar versions of things you love just take some time to check the calories and portion sizes and see if there really is a difference. If you enjoy the reduced sugar option and it helps to keep you on track then go for it! But don’t pay more for a marketing ploy when you don’t need to. Enjoy the sweets you like, in moderation, as part of a balanced diet 🤗

Xx

Recipes, Uncategorized

Lemon veggie ‘chicken’ and ‘bacon’ rice

Dr Nancy P

This is something I used to make many years ago with ‘real’ chicken and bacon. You can obviously use the real deal if you want, but even if you’re not veggie it’s worth considering the vegetarian alternatives as they do save a lot of calories without sacrificing taste or satisfaction.

This works well with either freshly cooked or leftover rice. The lemon gives it a real freshness which is great for a warm spring/summer dinner or lunch.

It serves 4 and is approx 320 cals a portion.

You will need:

200g rice of your choice (uncooked weight)

300g Chicken alternative (I used Quorn chicken pieces)

120g Bacon alternative (I used Quorn)

1 onion, diced

A couple handfuls of frozen peas

Juice and zest of one large lemon (plus extra wedges for serving)

1/2 tsp oregano (or mixed herbs if not)

Black Pepper to taste

Start by getting the rice going – cook as usual (add to boiling water and boil until as soft as you like it). Drain and put to one side.

Use a little 1 cal oil spray in a hot pan and add the diced onion and sauté until brown.

Add the veggie chicken pieces and allow to brown.

Chop the veggie bacon into small pieces and add to the pan, allowing that to brown too.

Then add the peas – you can use as many as you like!

Cook through for a couple of minutes and then add the cooked rice and stir well.

Then add the oregano/ herbs, black pepper and lemon zest and mix.

Finally pour the lemon juice over and stir in well. Then serve, with a wedge of lemon.

Enjoy! 🙂

Xx

Uncategorized

Craving chocolate…. just have chocolate!

Dr Nancy P

Craving chocolate…. just have chocolate!🍫

At this time of year it’s quite common for people to try complete bans on certain foods in an attempt to lose weight or fat. Usually these foods are those they deem to be “bad” – often the more calorie dense or triggering food such as chocolate for example. Labelling foods as good or bad is never a great idea – no food is good or bad and all can be included within a balanced diet. The key is being aware of the calories in those foods and consuming them in moderation.

The problem with completely banning certain foods is that it isn’t sustainable long term. If you’re using it as a kick start – then fab, if you find it works for you and you need it to get you into the right mindset then brill, if you’re doing it because you find those foods trigger binge eating or other behaviours you want to avoid, then go for it! However if you’re arbitrarily banning them because they’re “bad” then think again. One of the biggest issues is that when we ban certain foods as “bad” we often consume “good” foods instead without being aware of their quantities or calories.

This is example is a classic one – and one I’ve fallen foul of numerous times myself. You’re avoiding chocolate because you’re trying to be “good” but you are desperately craving it. So instead you try a cocoa naked bar – cos that’s kinda chocolatey right? But it doesn’t really cut it, so you reach for the chocolate brazil nuts – ok so they do have some chocolate, but they’re “good” because Brazil nuts are great for you, and they’re not a proper chocolate bar so thats ok…. but that still doesn’t cut it…So you reach for the Superfood protein balls – cos protein and superfoods must be good eh? By now you’re probably too full to have more, but you still haven’t suppressed that chocolate craving.

However you’ve consumed over 700 cals in that little exercise… Instead you could have had a 45g sized bar of actual chocolate – enjoyed it, fed the craving and got on with your day for a mere 240 cals. In fact you could have had 2 bars and still have consumed fewer calories!

So sometimes you’re better off just having the damn chocolate!

Enjoy 🤗

xxx