Tag: fitnessmotivation

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

‘I’ve had so many naughty snacks’…

Dr Nancy P

‘I’ve had so many naughty snacks’… 😈

With Easter just behind us I’m hearing a lot of people saying how ‘naughty’ they’ve been or how they’ve been having lots of ‘naughty’ snacks. When you’re trying to lose fat it’s natural to try to avoid ‘junk’ food or foods high in sugar and fat. One such ‘naughty’ snack is the Cadbury chocolate orange mousse bunny . It’s chocolate so very often it’s perceived as a bad thing to be eating and is therefore accompanied by feelings of guilt and shame. But eating the cacao and almond ball is viewed as healthy and something to feel virtuous about.

In reality in terms of calories, sugar and fat the ‘healthy’ snack is not really much better than the chocolate! Yes the cacao ball has a little more protein (which can help you feel fuller for longer), and more micronutrients, so it is a slightly more balanced snack, but that doesn’t mean the chocolate is necessarily a bad option. Contrary to what many people may think the chocolate also has less sugar too (again something that is often vilified unnecessarily). The calories are very similar between the two.

Overall calories and overall nutrition across your entire diet are what count – and if you’re trying to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit – and in that scenario either would probably be fine if you have enough calories for an approximately 170 cal snack, especially if you’re eating a balanced diet and getting protein and the other nutrients in your other meals.

Emotional well being is also important and depriving yourself of foods you enjoy and instead choosing the cacao ball under the misguided impression that it’s a healthier option or isn’t good for long term sustainability or a healthy approach to food.

As an additional aside – the bunny is only 40p and the cacao ball is £1.85! So you’re saving yourself a good few pennies too!

So if you have a few Easter chocolate bunnies still hopping around at home don’t feel guilty about eating them!🤗

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Don’t exercise to earn food

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Don’t exercise to earn food 🍫

With the recent Easter weekend there will undoubtedly be a lot of talk of exercising to ‘burn off’ those Easter eggs. In fact the media usually produces a list of activities and the equivalent amount of Easter chocolate it would burn. This is actually totally misguided and a really bad way to approach food and weight loss. Aside from the fact that it’s almost impossible to out exercise diet (mainly because we grossly over estimate the amount of calories we burn exercising) it’s also an extremely unhealthy relationship to foster between food and exercise.

If you are choosing to eat something you enjoy, that you want to eat and that fits into a balanced, flexible diet then eat it! You do not need to earn or burn your food with exercise. Food and exercise do not exist in an exchange-based system.

Choose exercise that you enjoy – if running isn’t your thing then walk, if you hate spin classes then try a different class etc. Eat to
nourish and fuel your body, it will then use that fuel as needed on a daily basis. So don’t skip lunch because you missed a workout that day or avoid dessert because you skipped the gym. Remember that your body still needs fuel to function – to fuel the brain, to fuel your muscles to get you from a to b, to fuel all your bodily functions. And remember that you won’t have actually burned as many calories exercising as you think anyway so it’s a futile effort.

So the next time you workout think to yourself – why am I exercising? Is it to feel good? Is it to relieve stress? Is it to move your body in a way that feels good? Or is it punishment or to earn/burn food?

Eat to fuel your body, and exercise because you enjoy it. In regards to that Easter chocolate you may have eaten – view it as fuel to help you workout IF you want to – not something you have to exercise to burn off!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Enjoying a seasonal treat ….

Dr Nancy P

Enjoying a seasonal treat …. 🥚 🍫

I never tell clients cut out any foods/drinks totally from their diet and as a big fan of Easter chocolate I certainly wouldn’t ever be ‘banning’ chocolate eggs, but if you are trying to lose weight/fat then you may just want to be aware of the calories involved.

There’s no reason you can’t have any Easter eggs you want as it ultimately comes down to whether you’re in a calorie deficit. However, with the size of some of the eggs out there now it’s very easy to rack up over a thousand calories or more, without even noticing!

For example – if you’re a Crunchie fan and lucky enough to receive the Giant egg you’d be looking at over 2,750 cals for the entire egg and accompanying bar (the egg alone is over 2,200 cals!). That’s more than most people’s daily calorie goal 😬

In contrast you could enjoy a large Crunchie egg and the bars for around 1176 cals. Now ok, the egg is just a milk choc egg (not full of crunchie bits like the ultimate one) but it’s still delicious and that’s still almost a whole day’s calories for many people.

So if Easter eggs are your thing (they are definitely mine!) then maybe just be aware of the cals in them if you’re trying to stick to your goals.

Enjoy! 🐣

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips, Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Eat your veg

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Eat your veg 🥕

Finding ways to help sustain a calorie deficit to enable initial weight loss and then to maintain that loss is critical for long term success. One fairly easy habit that can help is focusing on having fruit or veg with every meal.

Aiming for a fist sized portion of fruit or veg with every main meal is a great way to help calorie control which is conducive to weight loss.

Why? Well fruit and vegetables are typically very nutrient-dense, relatively low calorie per portion and high in fibre. This means you’ll consume fewer calories overall for the same or larger volume compared to other foods. The extra volume and fibre also means you’ll feel fuller and stay fuller for longer. This helps you to stick to your calorie goals and can therefore help with weight loss/ maintenance. With the exception of a few higher calorie fruits/veg like avocados, bananas, starchy veg like potatoes you can pretty much have a free reign on the amount of fruit and veg you have without worrying too much about tracking. I promise you won’t get fat from eating too many raspberries or carrots!

In addition ensuring you have fruit or veg with every meal also drastically increases the chances that your diet will provide the required vitamins and minerals you need to promote healthy functioning of the body and reduce the risk of poor health. So it’s a win win!

Obviously it won’t work for every single meal but even if it’s only 70-80% of your meals it will still help. It’s also something you can apply to snacking and meals out. Adding berries/grapes/apple to your snack to increase volume is a great way to help you stay on track e.g. instead of 4 digestive biscuits for a snack, go for 2 and a handful of raspberries. Equally when eating out try to add some veg to the meal e.g. instead of eating an entire pizza go for half and a salad, or if you’re out for Chinese go for the garlic broccoli as well as the fried rice/cashew chicken etc.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Habit prompts

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Habit prompts ✅

Part of losing weight is about creating new habits around food and activity. Building new habits is hard though! So how can you make it easier?

Environmental cues play an important role in building habits and your environment is extremely influential in decision making. So setting up your environment in a way which reminds you of the habits/behaviours you want to start incorporating will help.

The main idea is having something visible which reminds you to do that specific habit or which makes that the easiest choice. Do this by putting a cue in a spot where you can’t miss it and won’t forget. Conversely you make the habits you want to ditch harder by making things associated with them less visible.

For example for habits you want to encourage you could;

⁃ Place hand weights next to the sofa to remind you to do 5-10 mins of exercises each evening in the advert breaks,

⁃ Have a snack box on the kitchen side containing lower calorie snack options and fruit for the day.

⁃ Have a bottle of water on your desk to encourage you to stay hydrated.

⁃ Pop a post it note on the bathroom mirror reminding you to stretch your calves while you brush your teeth.

⁃ Ensure when you open the fridge the first thing you see are easy lower calorie snacks – vegetables sticks, mini light babybel, yoghurts, berries and other fruit etc .

⁃ Move the calorie tracking app on your phone to the home page next to WhatsApp or a frequently used app to remind you to track.

For habits you want to break make it harder to do them;

⁃ Store chocolate in a sealed tub at then back of the cupboard.

⁃ Keep the bottle opener upstairs so it’s more of an effort to ‘just open a bottle’ after a stressful day.

⁃ Leave your phone in another room/place when working so you’re forced to get up to get it regularly to avoid sitting for long periods.

Try setting up your environment for success today!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx