Tag: Breakfast

‘I don’t eat much but I can’t lose weight…’ A piece of toast for brekkie, bit of fruit for a snack with coffee, healthy snack bar and a sandwich for lunch with a ‘healthy’ drink, and a ‘healthy’ dinner of fish and salad….. that’s not really much for a day?…right…… 🤔

Often we think we’re not eating much and can’t understand why we don’t lose weight. It’s not until you actually add it all up that you realise you’re probably eating a lot more than you realise. The coffees, the couple of biscuits you forget about, the dried fruit snack (it’s fruit – it’s fine right?), a ‘healthy’ dinner of fish and salad … it must be ok?

It is ok and there is nothing wrong with any of that, but when you actually add it all up you’re looking at over 2,700 calories… for a ‘good’ day! Now for most people trying to lose weight or fat that is going to be far too many calories to be in a deficit which would let you lose fat.

So if you feel you aren’t eating much but you’re not losing weight/fat then maybe it’s time to just write down everything you’re eating on those days and see how much you really are consuming 🤗. Remember – calories count! Xx

A 100 calorie snack is a perfect option to keep those hunger pangs at bay.

You could choose to have 100 cals of chocolate – about half a bar of dairy milk. Or you could have an entire punnet of strawberries.

Now I appreciate strawberries are a poor substitute for chocolate but they’re a brilliant option if you are trying to lose fat and cut calories. For 100 calories you get a large volume of strawberries, which will help to keep you full and prevent you snacking on other things. They’re naturally sweet and can help to prevent or reduce sweet cravings. You’re unlikely to eat too many of them (it’s quite hard to eat more than a couple of punnets in one sitting! 🤗).

Chocolate on the other hand won’t be as filling as it’s calorie dense so the volume of food is less. There’s a pretty good chance that half a bar won’t cut it – are you really going to leave the other half (I wouldn’t 😬) and it’s extremely easy to over consume. You could easily demolish 500 cals of chocolate without much trouble!

So if you’re looking for snack options consider fruits like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries etc instead of the chocolate.

Of course sometimes only chocolate will do and in that case have it – just be aware of how much you’re having 🍓🍫xx

‘It’s only a little sauce on the side, and a bit of oil for cooking – I don’t need to track that…’ 🤔

If you’re hoping to lose fat in a sustainable way you need to be aiming for a deficit of around 200-300 cals a day. Most people are pretty good at tracking the big stuff – the sandwich, the packet of crisps, the porridge for breakfast etc but how often do we overlook the little stuff. That little bit of ketchup on the side, that chilli sauce on your rice, that dash of oil in the pan….

And how often when you’re trying to lose fat do you deny yourself something you really want simply because you’re ‘on a diet’. A cheeseburger comes in at around 805 cals – this is something you may not feel you can have whilst on your ‘diet’ and yet you probably don’t even think twice about the 1,284 cals you might rack up in sauces and oil (and tbh that’s a conservative estimate on the oil!). In one week that’s your whole deficit gone and you may not even realise it.

I always tell my clients to track everything – right down to the oil they’re cooking with as that can be the difference. So if you’re tracking cals and hoping to lose fat make sure you include these, and if you’re just trying to cut some cals maybe they’re a good place to start being more mindful too?

Oh and if you fancy a cheeseburger – just factor it in to your calories and have it! 🤗xx

Remember – calories count! 🤗xx

We all need a snack sometimes and these 100 calorie snacks (approx) are a few options for when you feel you need something but don’t want to spend lots of calories.

Obviously some are ‘healthier’ than others and some may be more likely to fill you up than others but remember you don’t have to sacrifice everything to lose weight/fat. It’s perfectly ok to snack on Jaffa cakes rather than blueberries etc if you want – just be aware of the calories and enjoy them!

Also remember it’s about having a diet that is balanced overall, that doesn’t mean that every item of food you eat needs to be providing a balance of nutrients. So have the chocolate or twiglets if it helps keep you on track, and just get the vitamins, good fats, protein in your other meals etc.

So a quick run down of what’s pictured.

On the sweet side:

200g Pineapple

310g Strawberries

170g Blueberries

Small Banana (100g)

Malt mini loaf (95cals)

Go bites energy balls (93 cals)

1/2 Small Dairy milk bar

2 Jaffa cakes (92 cals)

Halo Top ice cream lolly (80-110 cals depending on flavour)

Fibre one square (90 cals)

On the savoury side:

1 large hard boiled egg (78 cals)

Reduced fat hummous and carrots (105cals – nb different supermarkets vary in cals so do check)

12 Cashew nuts (17g)

Bag of Popchips

24g Bag of Twiglets (94 cals)

2 light mini babybels

2 oatcakes (92 cals)

20 Green olives (45g)

Happy Snacking! 🤗 xx