Tag: healthy foods

‘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 creme egg. 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 boost ball is viewed as healthy and something to feel virtuous about. I mean how could it not – it’s covered in loads of ‘healthy (and often meaningless) buzz words like ‘low carb burners’ and terms that are perceived to equate to healthy/good for weight loss – raw, keto friendly, vegan, low sugar, gluten free.

In reality in terms of calories, sugar and fat the ‘healthy’ snack is worse than the chocolate! Yes the raw brownie ball has a 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 fat too (again something that is often vilified unnecessarily).

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 – in that scenario then really the creme egg might be a better choice as it has fewer calories, 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 boost ball under the misguided impression that it’s a healthier option isn’t good for long term sustainability or a healthy approach to food.

As an additional aside – the creme egg is only approx 70p and the cacao ball is £2! So you’re saving yourself a good few pennies too!

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

Enjoying a seasonal treat …. 🥚 🍫

I never tell clients to 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 mini egg fan and lucky enough to receive the Ultimate egg you’d be looking at over 1900 cals for the entire egg and accompanying bag of mini eggs (the egg alone is over 1500 cals!). That’s more than most people’s daily calorie goal 😬

In contrast you could enjoy a medium one and the mini eggs for around 993 cals. Now ok, the egg is just a milk choc egg (not full of mini egg bits like the ultimate one) but it’s still delicious and that’s still a large chunk of a 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

Weight loss is rarely linear…. 📉

I’ve had to remind a few clients of this recently so I thought it was worth re-sharing. Most people measure their fat loss progress by stepping on scales. This can create an all or nothing mentality and can impact not only your happiness but your behaviour. If the scales don’t go down when you’ve been ‘good’ then what’s the point? You may as well throw in the towel and enjoy that cake!

Weight loss is rarely linear. It’s normal for your weight to fluctuate on a day-to-day basis. There will be days where your scale weight goes up, just like there will be days where your weight will drop, and there will also be days (maybe even weeks) where your weight will stay exactly the same. Your weight can fluctuate up to 6kg during the day depending on what you eat and drink, and how you exercise. If you drink 2-3 litres of water a day that’s up to 3kg. Then how much do you pee, sweat and breathe out over the day? It’s impossible to measure. Our bodies are mainly water so changes in hydration cause significant weight fluctuations.

In addition a bowel full of food, a big meal the night before, fibrous or salty meals, and menstrual cycle hormone changes can all influence weight and cause greater daily fluctuations so real change can be hidden. Exercise can affect the scale both ways; if, after a workout, you’ve refuelled properly your muscles will be full of glycogen and water. On the other hand if you’ve sweated loads your weight will drop due to dehydration. Alcohol does the same; it’s a diuretic so will dehydrate you initially, but can cause cravings for salty foods leading to water retention.

For many of us, seeing that weight go up, despite ‘being good’, can make us give up. It’s vital to trust the process and think long term. This graph is real client data. Look at how the weight fluctuates and look at the overall trend. By trusting the process and not giving up when the scales went up they’ve continued their weight loss over time.

We’re conditioned to focus on weight but instead try to use other measures e.g. items of clothing and how they fit, or cm measurements etc. If you must step on the scales then look at averages over time rather than daily variations and focus on long term trends.

🤗 xx