With you every step of the way
This is the perfect snack for a warm day!
It’s so easy – too easy to be called a ‘recipe’! All you need are some nice grapes – green or red – your choice.
Pop them in the freezer for a couple of hours (I just throw them in wherever I have space but obvs you could put them inside a Tupperware or plastic bag if you prefer).
Then enjoy!
Brilliant to quench thirst, and help with sugar cravings – low cal, healthy, tasty! And so easy!
🙂
Xx
Feeling down, need ice cream… 🍦
It’s normal to feel emotional from time to time and many of us eat our way through it when it happens. At the moment chances are you may be feeling anything from stress, feeling low, bored, fed up, to anxious and worried etc or it may just be yet another ‘lockdown movie night’. So you may feel the need to work your way through an entire tub of ice cream – it’s natural, it’s human and it’s also damn tasty!
So how about making a simple swap? Rather than working your way through 1,300 calories of Ben and Jerry’s (or other standard ice cream equivalent) , you could instead have 620 calories of Ben and Jerry’s… just their lighter version! (or one of the any other equivalent low cal ice creams – I’m also an Oppo and Halo top fan).
But isn’t low calorie stuff loaded with sugar? No – it’s not actually, it’s lower sugar and fat than the ‘real stuff’ and it tastes amazing! 🍦
It’s ok to want to treat yourself when you’re feeling rubbish (or anytime
I’m fact!) and we don’t need to deny ourselves nice tasting stuff just because we’re watching our calories – try making some swaps instead. Check out the wide range of lower calorie options available now.
So you really can have your cake (*ice cream) and eat it! 🤗
Tuesday Tip: Diet Drinks 🥤
Are diet drinks bad? This is something I hear a lot and there seems to be a lot of concern out there over drinking zero or low calorie soft drinks. So I thought I’d address them today.
Proponents of the “diet drinks are bad” message often claim that the sweetener in them, aspartame, causes cancer. In fact there is no scientific evidence that aspartame causes cancer (or any disease). One study, on rats, found a possible link to blood cancers, but the largest study on humans found no link at all.
Others claim that diet drinks cause obesity. Obesity is caused by consuming excess calories, but diet drinks contain no calories so they can’t possibly cause obesity. They can’t work against the laws of thermodynamics!
Then there’s the people that say it must be bad because you can clean a coin/ silver etc with Diet coke…erm.. well what it does to your body is not the same as what it does to a coin. You can clean a coin with lemon juice/vinegar etc yet people consume those without question. Some argue that it negatively affects gut health but as the gut doesn’t have much involvement (there is nothing to be absorbed) this isn’t the case. Studies have only shown an impact with extreme consumption (we’re talking over 8 litres per day every day).
Finally the most recent claim is that the diet drinks “trick” your brain into thinking you’ve had sugar and therefore causes an insulin response (which then causes you to eat more sugar). This simply isn’t true – insulin isn’t released unless sugar is present, no calories, no sugar – no insulin response.
Some people are sensitive to aspartame (just as some people are sensitive to a range of foods) and obviously if it doesn’t agree with you then clearly don’t have these drinks. But zero calorie drinks can be a really helpful way to replace a calorie dense soft drink with something of similar taste but no calories, so can really help aid fat loss. In addition (as per last week) they contribute to the volume of things being consumed and help to keep you fuller longer.
So consuming diet drinks in moderation (a few cans a day or so) is perfectly ok!
Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx
Just a drink…. 🍷🍫
I think it’s fairly safe to say that for many people during lockdown consumption of alcohol and chocolate (and other snacks etc) has increased. Perhaps in the case of alcohol without even really realising it – certainly that’s what many of my clients have been telling me.
You might easily get through a bottle of white wine during an evening – a glass when you finish work, a glass while you’re preparing dinner, and then a couple during… and before you know it that’s a whole bottle gone. But it’s just a little drink… right?
In contrast if you sat down and ate 4 chocolate bars whilst preparing and eating your dinner you’d probably consider it to be a “bad” thing, and you may even refer to it as a “binge”. You’d almost certainly consider your “diet ruined” if you were trying to watch the calories, but you may not view the wine in the same way,
Liquid calories are much easier to consume, and when they become habitual – like a glass of wine with dinner, it’s even easier to consume them without really registering them. Everyone has their vices and those things they view as “treats” – it may be booze, it may be chocolate or ice cream or crisps etc, but if you are drinking more than you were before lockdown and you are trying to maintain or lose bodyfat then you may just want to think about factoring those booze cals into your daily amount, rather than viewing them as “just a little drink:”
🤗
Xx
Tuesday Tip: More Volume, Fewer Calories 🍿
Following on from last week’s tip one really good way to help control appetite is to focus on food volume. Recent studies have shown that its the volume of food you’re eating that matters more than the actual calorie content.
In one study participants were given a smoothie, one group had a small one, the other a larger one. Both contained the same number of calories, but the larger one had greater volume as it contained more air. The group that had the larger one ate far fewer calories for the rest of the day – between 12 and 30 percent less! Similar studies have tested it with yoghurt-based meals, soups and normal shakes and all have shown the same results; those who had the meal with greater volume consumed fewer calories and were less prone to overeating for the rest of the day.
In another study they provided participants with soups for lunch over the course of several weeks. When they gave the group a soup that was greater in volume but with the same amount of calories, the participants felt fuller faster and ended up eating fewer calories in that sitting. When they kept the volume the same but increased the calories in the soup the participants ended up eating more calories over all and took longer to feel full.
So basically this shows that food volume can be very important when it comes to controlling appetite and hunger. So what does this mean in practice? There are a few tips you can use to feel fuller quicker – if you have smoothies or protein shakes etc for breakfast allow them to blend for 5 mins longer than usual. This will increase the volume and amount of air in the smoothie. Go for foods that full of air; snacks like rice cakes or low calorie popcorn (high fibre and high volume, but relatively low calories) are brilliant, even zero calorie carbonated fizzy drinks are a great way to help you feel full. Whipping up food also helps; you can whip 0% greek yoghurt and add fruits, or add herbs and spices for a dip. Fruit and vegetables in general are filling as they contain more fibre, water and air so eat those first and include them in your snacks too.
Happy Tuesday 🤗
Xx
Every Step Fitness 