fitnessmotivation – Page 79 – Every Step Fitness

Most commonly under-reported food and drink items when tracking… 🍷

If you’re trying to lose fat and are working on reducing calories then you’re probably going to be recording your cals somehow. But are you really recording everything accurately? It’s very easy to overlook some things because they seem so insignificant or to under estimate certain things.

In studies the most commonly under-reported foods and drinks include things like spreads, sauces, dips, gravy, salad dressings etc. All those little extras in meals seem pretty insignificant and so people often either don’t record them at all or they’ll estimate them and usually those estimates are too low. For example a scraping of mayonnaise on your lunchtime sandwich may not seem much but if you have it 3 times a week that’s still at least 300 cals, and the gravy on your Sunday roast is probably another 200 cals, whilst a drizzle of salad dressing 3 times a week is another 540 cals. That’s already an extra 1000 cals that you may not have bothered to record or have under-reported. Oil for cooking is another key area that people underestimate – a slug of oil when you cook is at least 120 cals – but most people use more than that and estimate far less.

Liquid calories are something people often ignore or underestimate e.g. the dashes of milk in teas and coffees, soft drinks, juices and alcohol. These are easily overlooked or under estimated and can really add up across a week. The little nibbles – bites, licks, tastes, extra spoonfuls or foods or snacks are rarely tracked and of course can really add up (an extra spoonful of granola (40-50 cals), a lick of peanut butter (30 cals), a bite of the kid’s muffin (60 cals) etc etc).

A sensible calorie deficit for fat loss is around 200 – 300 cals per day. With this little lot you’ve wiped out your weekly deficit without even noticing. All these little extras sneak in without really affecting how full we feel and without us noticing but they can really add up. So whilst I wouldn’t want people to become overly obsessed with tracking the minutiae, at the same time if you’re not seeing progress then perhaps it’s worth just going back to basics and paying attention to some of these areas to see if you’re underestimating or overlooking them.

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Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Why you overeat

May 17, 2022 Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Why you overeat 🍕

Overeating can be an issue for everyone and whilst there are many reasons for it which don’t relate to the food itself (e.g. emotional eating, binge eating etc), there are some more general scenarios which make it much ‘easier’ to overeat.

Before I start I want to make it very clear that none of these foods are ‘bad’ and there is no reason at all why you shouldn’t include them in your diet, in fact I’d never recommend totally cutting any food out because it’s just not sustainable long term. However, there are certain foods that are more likely to lead to over eating. Foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat, such as pizza, ice cream, cakes etc cause a dopamine response in the brain. This means that eating them makes you feel good – as a result you will want to eat more to get that reward again. Having these foods isn’t bad and you shouldn’t cut them out completely but it’s important to be aware of the effect they have and to be mindful when you do have them. This also doesn’t mean you’re ‘addicted’ to sugar etc – you’re not – you’re just eating high-reward foods which makes you want to eat more.

So if you’re susceptible to overeating certain foods then it might be sensible not to have them around all the time e.g. If you know you can’t stop at one biscuit it might be better not to have a cupboard full of biscuits, but just buy them now and then instead.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Healthy vs unhealthy starter?

May 11, 2022 Dr Nancy P

Healthy vs unhealthy starter? 🥟

If you’re trying to watch your calories or lose weight then restaurant meals can be tricky (although considerably easier now larger restaurants have calories on their menus). We often have a number of preconceived ideas about which the ‘healthier’ option is and equate that with lower calorie. In reality sometimes things aren’t quite as you’d expect.

A great example of this is the classic Wagamama starter or side of edamame beans with chilli garlic salt. These yummy little beans are a popular dish and definitely a healthy choice as they’re full of nutrients. I think most people would order them thinking they were the best option calorie wise, and probably not even really think about tracking the cals (because they’re just veg right?). You’d probably munch on these without even thinking about it before you had your main starter and meal. Or you may even avoid another starter or side you actually prefer to choose these instead in the belief they’d be lower calorie.

However that’s not actually the case. It would be natural to assume that the pulled pork gyoza starter was a ‘worse’ choice in terms of calories. In reality that dish is actually lower calorie and fat than the edamame beans. The difference isn’t huge but it is there nonetheless. It also shows that those beans are a significant addition to the overall calories of the meal. So they are definitely worth counting and not something to have as an extra unless you actually want them!

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Diet and Sleep Quality

May 10, 2022 Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Diet and Sleep Quality 😴

I recently wrote about the link between sleep and fat loss and how increased sleep can aid fat loss. I discussed ways to help aid sleep but one other factor that impacts sleep quality is diet.

Sleep quality can be characterized by the amount of slow wave sleep (SWS) & rapid eye movement (REM) sleep one gets at night. As sleep progresses these 2 stages occur with greater duration. SWS has a restorative function and is known as deep sleep. Both SWS and REM are involved in memory consolidation.

Studies have found that certain nutrients can influence sleep quality. Increased saturated fat and decreased fibre intake reduces SWS , increased night time wake ups, and decreased overall sleep quality.

Alcohol consumption decreases REM sleep, whilst caffeine is linked to delayed sleep

onset (difficulty falling asleep) and decreased sleep quality. I’m addition larger portions or eating large meals just before bed also disrupts sleep due to the thermogenic effect of digestion.

In contrast increased carbohydrate consumption is linked to faster sleep onset (falling asleep faster), and increased protein and dairy can promote longer sleep duration. This is particularly true for tryptophan rich protein sources such as milk, yogurt, turkey,chicken, fish, eggs, pumpkin seeds, beans, peanuts and leafy green veggies. The idea of a nighttime glass of milk aiding sleep comes from the fact it’s rich in tryptophan and natural melatonin

Antioxidant (Vit C, E & A) and magnesium consumption not only aids recovery from exercise but may also affects sleep since their regulation is influenced by pro-inflammatory cytokines which promote sleep.

So what’s the takeaway here? No takeaway that’s for sure!

Avoid large meals, alcohol and caffeine close to bedtime. Instead have a balanced light meal including carbs, protein and dairy (if you eat it) and green veggies to aid sleep. And if you need a snack later on consider something like a bowl of cereal with milk for example.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Weekday restriction = weekend overeating

May 4, 2022 Dr Nancy P

Weekday restriction = weekend overeating🍕

This is an extremely common pattern I see – being overly restrictive during the week and then overeating at the weekends. It’s tempting to go for lower calories during the week so you can ‘relax’ at the weekend. There’s nothing wrong with this and it is a strategy I employ with some clients, so sometimes this CAN work, but it rather depends how much you restrict and relax!

For example, let’s say you have a cal goal of 1800 cals. So Monday to Thursday you go extra low and only eat 1500 cals. By Friday you’re feeling deprived and craving the foods you’ve avoided, and then Saturday and Sunday you totally “relax” and have a few “treats”, because it’s the weekend right? You’ve been good all week so it’s fine… Things like two weekend breakfasts, a pizza, a few glasses of wine, some crisps, Sunday evening ice cream and chocolate etc are easily well over 1500 extra calories and take you to 14,750 calories for the week

That makes a daily average of 2100 cals and is why you won’t be losing fat. These sort of weekend ‘treats’ aren’t crazy or particularly over indulgent. I’m sure we’ve all had weekends like that right? But if you’re overly restrictive during the week you’ll find it even harder to restrain yourself over the weekend.

Now I’m definitely not suggesting you don’t enjoy some of these foods from time to time, but if you really want to lose fat then its worth getting away from the idea of restricting during the week and ‘relaxing’ at the weekends. Have the things you enjoy but in moderation and within your overall weekly calorie target – all week.

Choose a sensible calorie goal that you can include some treats in and stick to it every day – being overly restrictive during the week rarely works and almost always results in over eating at the weekends.

If you do have events or meals out to plan for at the weekends you can still reduce your weekday calories a little to give you a buffer for the weekend but only aim to save 100-150 cals per day max. Also try going for smaller options of the weekend treats, a small bar of chocolate, a single portion bag of crisps, low cal ice cream etc. Pick one meal you want to let your hair down with rather than the entire weekend and keep tracking over the weekend so you can see where the extra cals are creeping in.

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