fatlosstip – Page 36 – Every Step Fitness

Tuesday Tip: Simple food for busy days 🥫

When you’re busy and stressed trying to decide what to eat can be a bit much, on top of that if you’re trying to lose weight/fat then trying to find something that’s lower calorie or fits your calories can be even harder. That’s when it’s easy to just grab a take away or a high calorie snack/meal – which then doesn’t align with your weight loss goals.

Many people are under the impression that you MUST plan and prep your meals ahead and they MUST all be home cooked masterpieces if you want to lose weight. The reality is they don’t need to be.

Make your life easier and take the pressure off. There are loads of super simple, convenient options you can keep in your cupboards/freezer for days like that. You don’t need complicated, organic, home made meals for weight loss. What you do need are things you can easily put together into a meal when you’re busy and tired. If having these things means you can stick to your calories and get nutrients in then that’s perfect!

There’s lots of options but some of the basics include:

⁃ frozen veggies

⁃ Pre-Cooked meat

⁃ Eggs

⁃ Jacket potatoes

⁃ Tinned fish (tuna, mackerel etc)

⁃ Bread (beans on toast or eggs on toast – perfect quick meal)

⁃ Canned veg (baked beans, sweetcorn etc etc)

⁃ Microwave rice

⁃ Tinned fruit

⁃ Tinned soup

⁃ Frozen veggie protein products

So stock up on some of these essentials and then next time you’re too tired to cook you’ve got some easy options on hand

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Raw vs cooked calories….

July 3, 2024June 25, 2024 Dr Nancy P

Raw vs cooked calories…. 🍝

A question I’m often asked is whether you should track your calories as raw or cooked weights? To be honest it doesn’t matter as long as you’re consistent and know which you’re tracking so you can record the correct calories, but it can be a little confusing!

Unless otherwise stated nutrition labels are usually raw weights. However, you’ll find sometimes some grains, pasta and pulses might be listed as cooked or ‘as prepared’ weights – which is when you need to be careful, as you will underestimate cals if you weigh them raw.

Different foods absorb different amounts of water as they’re cooked. This makes them swell and weigh more. So for things like rice, pasta, cereals etc it’s probably best to track them as raw weights. As you can see there are small differences between white and brown varieties but only after cooking really, which is down to the differing amounts of water they absorb. You’ll also find different shapes and types of pasta will vary too for the same reason. Oats are the same and in fact over 80 percent of the weight in cooked oats is actually water.

Protein sources, like chicken, tend to lose weight when cooked. This is because the water and liquids in the meat evaporate during cooking. They loose 20-25 percent of their weight during cooking. Again it’s best to track raw weights. It’s also worth noting that the cooking method has an impact on meat too. The calories for 100g cooked chicken are based on a grilled skinless chicken breast, the same amount of roast chicken (skinless) is 220 cals – due to the fats in the meat thanks to the roasting. So that’s also worth remembering if you’re a roast fan or are oven baking chicken with the skin on.

Whichever you chose to track is up to you but be sure to choose the right option in your tracking app.

Enjoy 🤗
Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips, Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Blood glucose/ Gut microbiome diets

July 2, 2024 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.

Save your pennies until the research is clearer!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Uncategorized

Tuesday Tip: Blood glucose/ Gut microbiome diets

July 2, 2024July 1, 2024 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.

Save your pennies until the research is clearer!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Ice creams / Lollies for 100 cals or less …

June 26, 2024June 25, 2024 Dr Nancy P

Ice creams / Lollies for 100 cals or less … 🍦

The weather has been extremely warm lately so Ice creams and lollies have certainly formed a large part of mine and my client’s diets! There’s a perception that ice creams / lollies are ‘bad’ and something that is a bit ‘naughty’ so if you’re trying to lose weight you might deny yourself these cooling treats believing them to be ‘bad’ (aka high calorie). However, there’s no reason you have to give up ice creams and ice lollies to lose weight as it ultimately comes down to whether you’re in a calorie deficit.

Obviously there are many frozen desserts out there which are high calorie and some can be 300 cals or more. So if they’re on top of your main meals then you might end up racking up unwanted calories. However in this weather everyone needs a cold snack or dessert right? So if you do fancy an ice cream or lolly, but want to stay within your calories then here are a selection of lower calorie options at 100 cals or less. This list is by no means exhaustive – but it’s just a range of the options out there.

Oppo Salted Caramel balls 22 cals each
Mini milk 32 cals
Rocket lolly 39 cals
Mini twister lolly 39 cals
Fruit pastille lolly 57 cals
Little moons mochi balls 70 cals each
Fab lolly 75 cals
Regular twister lolly 76 cals
Jude mini ice cream tubes 70
Jude mini ice creams 94 cals
Exotic Solero lolly 98 cals
Calipo Lolly 100 cals

So you can fill up on ice lollies to stay cool this summer without worrying it’s going to derail your progress!
Enjoy 🤗
Xx