Tag: fitnesstip

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Protein isn’t magic

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Protein isn’t magic 🔮

I talked about carbs last week – the devil food 😉 so now I thought I’d touch on the supposed super star – protein. Eat more protein and you’ll lose weight – right? That’s the rhetoric out there isn’t it? Well I’m sorry but protein isn’t magic – I wish it was, but it just isn’t!

The idea that eating more protein will magically alter the laws of thermodynamics and make you lose weight regardless of how much you eat is just silly. There is a basic law of physics at play here – to lower fat content of the body (i.e. to lose weight), you have to reduce the calories consumed, or increase the calories burned – where these calories come from makes no actual difference. In fact it’s been clearly disproved in many studies. In one study from Columbia University they fed participants liquid meals of fixed calories, some with vastly more protein, some with more carbs, some with more fat – but all contained the exact calories required for the participants to maintain their weight. Guess what – they all maintained their weight… even those eating more protein…

Now that’s not to say protein isn’t super important and a useful factor to consider though. There’s no denying that higher protein foods tend to keep you fuller and more satisfied for longer (especially when combined with fats), and as I’ve mentioned before there is a small increase in the calories used to digest protein (very small and not enough to really influence overall weight loss), it’s also full of vital amino acids for muscle repair and building. If you’re a body builder and looking to put on large quantities of muscle in a short time then yes def prioritise protein (but you’ll be over eating anyway as your goal is muscle gain… not weight loss). If you struggle to stick to your calories because you’re always hungry then yes definitely consider upping your protein and fats a bit in your meals – but not at the complete sacrifice of carbs (otherwise you will crash and burn).

So there it is – yes protein is great, but no it isn’t magic! So no need to fret over it too much!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips
Dr Nancy P

Carbs are bad… so I can’t have Pizza…. 🍕

There is a common misconception that carbs are inherently ‘bad’ and that in order to lose weight you need to cut them out or avoid them completely. I often hear people complain that they feel really bloated after eating things like pasta/pizza etc “due to all the carbs”.

Pizza is definitely placed firmly in the “carb” camp, but In reality that large pizza that you consider to be carbtastic is actually mostly fat and protein (from the toppings). The reason you may feel bloated isn’t necessarily the base, but the combination of rich, fatty cheese, with other toppings and the sheer quantity of food. As you can see 38% percent of the 1,144 calories from this pizza come from carbs, whilst the remaining 61 percent are from fat and protein (with a small % from other nutrients). So actually it’s mostly fat and protein, not carbs, and let’s be honest, you wouldn’t eat that quantity of naked pizza dough without any toppings right? So perhaps it’s time to stop demonising the carbs?

In reality there is no reason at all to cut carbs (or pizza) from your diet. You can lose weight with or without carbs of any sort; it’s all about calories. Now obviously some people have medical reasons to avoid things like gluten in some carb-based foods (coeliacs etc) but for the majority of people these foods are fine. The reason you may see less bloating and more weight loss when cutting these sorts of carbs is simply because you’re reducing your overall calorie intake and reducing consumption of that rich combo of fat and protein. However unless you never want to eat carbs again then you’re not really setting yourself up for sustainable, long term weight management.

Different carbs do have different pros and cons; complex carbs will keep you fuller longer, whilst simple carbs (fruits mostly) will provide a faster hit of energy, you’ll get different nutrients from the different types too. It’s important to have a balanced diet, including a range of carbs – from pizza to fruit! Cutting out whole food groups is never a sensible or sustainable approach though.

Eat the carbs you like and enjoy and just be mindful of the calories! 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Low carb diets aren’t magic

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Low carb diets aren’t magic 🌟

Low carb (or keto) diets are ALL the rage, and for some people they do seem to work, but not because they magically make you burn fat. Here’s what actually happens

#1 A reduced carb intake leads to almost immediate loss of water weight, hence sudden drops in weight at the start. It’s not fat. It will come back once you eat carbs again.

#2 They involve eating more protein, which is important for hunger control. So you’ll feel fuller and eat less overall, and be in calorie deficit. Calories, not carbs, dictate fat loss and gain.

#3 Protein also has the highest thermic effect of any nutrient (i.e. takes the most cals to metabolise). So you’ll be burning very slightly more cals each day, contributing to the deficit.

#4 These diets also mean more fruit and veggies. These are high in fibre and water making you feel fuller, slowing digestion and less likely to eat as much. They’re also high carb but everyone forgets that lol!

#5 More fats are also consumed, another key for staying fuller for longer and slowing digestion. So once again you’re far more likely eat less.

#6 They revolve around reducing the amount of carbs; the biggest portion of people’s diets. AND most calorie dense junk foods are carb-based so you’d be cutting those out. When you remove a food group you’re removing calories too, so you end up in a deficit.

SO how do these diets work? By getting you to do things that lead to consuming fewer calories, whilst telling you it’s nothing to do with calories and all about magic low carbs!

Does this mean you should do it? If it works for you then sure! Do I think it’s sustainable? Nope. Avoidance of food groups creates a poor relationship with food leading to binges or blow outs. It can also lead to fatigue, health risks, regaining water weight when you go back to carbs, etc and of course it will only work if you have a high refined carb-based diet anyway.

My advice is everything in moderation. We need carbs as much as we need protein and fat. If you want a long term sustainable diet then just focus on reducing overall calories by whatever means works for your lifestyle.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Volumetric vs Weight measures…

Dr Nancy P

Volumetric vs Weight measures…. 🧭

This tip doesn’t just apply to tracking your calories, it’s also important for baking too! You will often find that certain items on tracking apps / recipes are measured in cups. This method of measuring though is very inconsistent. For a start – which cup? What size is the cup? Well usually this means measuring cups, but UK and US cups are actually different sizes so even that is inconsistent! The other issue is that measuring cups and spoons vary slightly in capacity from manufacturer to manufacturer. In addition people differ in their perceptions of how to fill them e.g. do you have it loosely packed, compressed, levelling off the top, heaped etc. So whilst these measures give you a ball park figure they aren’t that precise. For some things this won’t matter – a cup of lettuce for example is so low in calories that it won’t make much difference. However with certain things it can make quite a difference.

In this example, oats are often measured in cups, especially on tracking apps. A serving is half a cup which is assumed to be 40g. So you may think it’s ok to just go with a half cup when scooping out your oats. In reality though a loosely filled half cup is actually closer to 55g. This is an extra 56 cals per portion. 56 cals may not seem like much but if you were also measuring other things in your oats with cups/measuring spoons (like a tbsp peanut butter, tsp jam etc etc) and all those are out too then you’re consuming quite a bit more than you realise. If you’re doing that daily that’s over 390 cals a week, which is enough to affect your progress.

So where possible go for metric measures i.e. grams or ml on a kitchen scale if you want to track your calories more accurately, especially for calorie dense foods.

Enjoy 🤗

xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Good Egg, Bad Egg?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Good Egg, Bad Egg? 🍳

A recent study suggested that eating eggs (specifically yolks) was linked to a 14% increase in early death (due to raised cholesterol primarily). High levels of LDL cholesterol long term are the strongest risk factor from a blood lipid point of view for cardiovascular disease (whilst HDL cholesterol is considered “good” cholesterol so high levels are not such a problem).

Although increasing dietary cholesterol can impact LDL levels, it’s worth noting that the overall impact is minimal. You would need to have extremely high levels in your diet, doubling the typical “western” diet levels to have even a minor effect. In comparison the effect of high levels of saturated fats is much more significant. And in fact it’s really the ratio of saturated to polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diets that are more important.

So what does this mean? Saturated fats are more closely linked to increased risk of disease and death than dietary cholesterol itself. Try to swap out some saturated fats (e.g. butter, chocolate, cakes, pastries, deep fried foods and fatty cuts of meat) whilst increasing polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats like extra virgin olive oils, almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts and oily fish.

It’s also wise to increase fibre levels which helps decrease cholesterol levels via essentially grabbing onto bile in your digestive tract, preventing it being reabsorbed and recycled into cholesterol in your liver.

So what about eggs? Eggs get targeted due to their cholesterol content. However they are low in saturated fat and therefore their impact is clinically insignificant. They are instead an excellent source of protein, omega-3’s, vits A,B,E, D and zinc, phosphorus and potassium. This means we can safely consume eggs without risk of cardiovascular disease or death increasing.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx