Tag: fatburning

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

A healthy snack….. or is it?

Dr Nancy P

A healthy snack….. or is it? 🍫

There are lots of snack bars out there that are marketed to imply that they are a “healthy” choice. This is a perfect example – this bar definitely looks like it’s a healthy choice. It’s got oats and banana in it – which are great for a sustained energy release, and it contains chia seeds – they’re a super food right so it must be good?

So you might decide to reach for this rather than reaching for a chocolate bar thinking it was a better choice. Well that may not always be the case.

Although it does contain a good range of nutrients and will definitely give you energy and keep you full, it’s also very high in calories (and fat and sugar). You could actually have 2 crunchie chocolate bars for fewer calories. So if you were trying to lose fat/weight and looking for a snack, then rather than reaching for a “healthy” snack bar you’re probably better off just going for a snack you actually want – like a chocolate bar if that’s what you fancy. And if you do want the oat based bars then be sure the read the labels carefully as some are extremely high in calories.

Ultimately, if you’re trying to lose fat or weight, it comes down to calories. So enjoy a balanced diet overall and just be mindful of the calories in what you’re having.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Perfectly Imperfect

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Perfectly Imperfect 💜

When you’re starting a new healthy kick it’s very easy to get caught up in having to be perfect; feeling bad or guilty because you didn’t manage to fit your usual work out in that day, throwing the towel in because you went out for dinner and blew your calories etc

Try to stop that thinking right now. You don’t need to be perfect, you don’t need to be 100 percent. Sure, if you’re an Olympic athlete or a professional body builder, then yeah you probably do need to be close to perfect! But most of us aren’t, we’re normal people who just want to lose some weight or improve our health or fitness.

No time to fit in the 45 Min workout your trainer has given you? – do 5 mins, or ten mins, or 2 mins of skipping! Something is better than nothing!

Gone over on your calories today? Not ideal, but neither is it the end of the world – forget it, move on, don’t let it cause you to think sod it and gorge on junk food.

Can’t hit the macros (amounts of protein, carbs and fat) you’ve read you should be eating? – really don’t worry. Who cares? It won’t make a massive difference whether you’re slightly over on carbs and under on protein (total calories are more important anyway). Sure if you manage to get more protein and fats in you’ll probably feel fuller for longer and it will help you stick to your calories but it won’t impact on your weight loss (unless you’re over eating on total calories).

You’ve read you should eat X within 45

mins of your workout but it just doesn’t doesn’t fit in to your lifestyle – don’t worry – you’ll still be fine. This sort of fine level detail is only really important for managing performance or body composition for actual athletes – for you and me, it doesn’t matter.

If you’re not perfect it doesn’t matter – you’ll still make progress, it may take a little longer, but you’ll still get there. So don’t get hung up on doing everything perfectly – anything is better than nothing – keep doing what you’re doing – a few blips on the way aren’t the end of the world, they just mean you’re human!

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Sometimes the “bad” option isn’t so bad…

Dr Nancy P

Sometimes the “bad” option isn’t so bad… 🍔

So before anyone reacts – I’m not suggesting a McDonald’s is a healthy meal choice – it’s clearly not. It is however something you can have now and then as part of a balanced diet if you want to. There may also be times when, for whatever reason, you have no option but to grab a Mcdonald’s for lunch/dinner and in that case it’s worth considering the options.

Most people would assume the cheeseburger is a “bad” choice, whilst the grilled chicken wrap must be a better option – because it’s grilled chicken right? It’s grilled chicken, it doesn’t have cheese, it’s in a wrap – it must be a better choice ….

However when you actually look at the calories you may be surprised. Neither are particularly high in calories and both provide a range of fats, carbs and protein which will help to keep you fuller for longer. However the cheeseburger is actually lower in calories than the grilled chicken wrap. Now I don’t know about you but that surprised me.

Mcdonalds are one of the many restaurants that have all their calories on their website so it’s very easy to check before you order. But this does go to show that we need to consider our preconceptions about certain foods and whether the are “bad” or “good” and remember that ultimately it’s the calories that count.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Try something new

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Try something new ! ⭐️

Ok, ok, I know.. It’s a cliche – new year, new start blah blah blah but … Bear with me… Thinking about it, what better time to try something new than the start of a new year?

So my tip today is to do just that – commit yourself to trying one new thing today, this week, or even this month! Just one thing! It might be a new workout or exercise class, it might be a new food (time to finally try that recipe you spotted the other day etc?), or try a new hobby/local club or activity, or just try a new habit – always having a healthy breakfast, or walking at least 20 mins a day for example? It doesn’t have to be physical – try something new that’s good for your mental health too – take 10 mins a day to meditate, try saying ‘no’ to a few things when you actually mean no, commit to a few hours a week doing something (whatever that is) for you…. The possibilities are endless!

So there is my challenge for you today – try something new, no matter how big or small! Let me know how you get on!

Happy New whatever you try and Happy Tuesday! 😁

Xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Can I eat too little to lose weight?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Can I eat too little to lose weight? 🥗

I am often asked whether consuming too few calories causes your metabolism to slow down so that you stop losing weight, and even gain weight, as the body “hangs on to fat”. People say that to get out of this “starvation mode” you need to eat more. One small problem – starvation mode is a myth!

As long as you have a calorie deficit (eating less than you burn) you will lose weight – regardless. Calories in vs calories out is what matters. A long term calorie deficit does cause adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic rate slow down) BUT it is not significant enough to stop weight loss and can’t cause weight gain! It just slows the rate of weight loss down, but what slows it even more is the fact that you’ve already lost weight so the body isn’t burning as many calories as it did initially. That’s why you need to adjust your calorie intake as you lose weight and why plateaus are common. In one famous large scale study – the Minnesota study – 36 men were put on a 24 week low calorie diet (1560 cals) and also had to complete physical tasks. ALL the men lost approx 25% body weight and ended up at approx 5% body fat. No one stopped losing weight, no one gained weight. You can’t defy the laws of thermodynamics – you need energy to fuel your body, you can’t magic it out of thin air, if you don’t eat enough you will lose

So what’s the moral of the story? If you’re not losing any weight/fat or your shape isn’t changing over a significant period of time, it’s not because your calories are too low, or because you’re in starvation mode. It’s because there is no deficit. Even if you think there is… there isn’t. If there was, you’d be losing weight!

Happy Tuesday🤗

Xx