How To Stay On Track At Summer BBQ’s 🍗

It’s BBQ season! With lots of summer parties and BBQ’s it can be hard to stay on track with your goals. Here are some tips to help!

# Eat before you go

If it’s more of a drinks and nibbles type event then eat before you go so you’re not starving and likely to stuff down whatever nibbles come your way. Equally if it’s a late afternoon BBQ don’t let yourself get too hungry before you go – have an early lunch or brunch so you are satiated and less likely to overeat later.

# One piece of meat

There is no other meal really where you’d load up on chicken, burger, a sausage… maybe a lamb kebab … so why do we do it at BBQ’s? Treat it as a normal meal – one , maybe two pieces of meat max!

# Watch the salads

Salads are great but if they’re loaded with dressing, sauces, avocado, potatoes, cheese etc then they’re also quite high calorie. That’s not a prob – but don’t kid yourself that they’re low cal!

# Stay hydrated

Drinking water in between each alcoholic beverage can help keep you hydrated and save you some booze calories. Not getting too drunk will also help you make more sensible food choices too.

# Don’t stand by the food table.

You are more likely to over eat if you’re hanging around the food table. Take your conversation and move it away so you’re not tempted to mindlessly snack.

# Bank calories

As with any social event you can save some calories ahead of time. Don’t go too low in the preceding days but saving 100-200 cals for a few days will give you more to spend at the party.

# Shift the focus

Instead of focusing on the food and drink focus on the company instead. You’ll remember the fun times with friends more than the burger you eat…

# Have fun and don’t stress

If you do wake up the next day and you’re a little heavier don’t stress yourself out over it. Get right back on track. It’s most likely just water and a lot of glycogen. Stressing about it it’s just going to make things worse. Enjoy yourself.

🤗Xx

Grocery shopping tips… 🛒

It may sound simple but getting the grocery shopping right is a good way to set yourself up for success if you’re trying to lose weight.

Here are a few tips:

# Make a list

Very basic, but so so important! How many times have you walked aimlessly through the supermarket, ended up buying things on impulse and forgetting things you needed.

# Keep it consistent

You don’t need to buy different things each week. There’s nothing wrong with consistency week to week. In fact having a fairly consistent diet (as long as it’s a balanced one) is a great way to help reduce decision fatigue and stick to your plan.

# Use a trolley for main shops only

If you’re doing a larger shopping trip then use a trolley. For other shops either use a basket or nothing – to avoid loading up on things you don’t need.

# Check calories

If you’re trying to maintain a calorie deficit then it’s worth checking calories as you shop, rather than getting home and discovering you’ve bought things you can’t accommodate easily within your calorie budget.

# Shop the rainbow

This tip relates to the variety of fruit and veggies. Different colours relate to different nutrient profiles, so try your best to incorporate as much color when you’re in the produce section

# Chill out

If you are a busy person then ready meals, frozen veggies and fruit are a great thing to stock up on. There’s nothing wrong with convenience foods – especially nowadays – there are loads of great ones and frozen fruits and veg are often higher in nutrients than some fresh ones anyway.

# Be realistic

How many times have you done a ‘new diet’ grocery shop where you buy no ‘treats’ or indulgences? This results in unnecessary dietary restraint, often daily stops at convenience stores and then overeating when you do get the treats you wanted. Add some treats to you trolley!

# Spend 30-60 mins

Try to limit shopping trips to 30-60 mins if you can – so you’re not rushing but equally so it’s not taking forever. The longer you spend the more likely you are to add unnecessary extras into the cart.

# Avoid the hype

Try to look past marketing and sales pitches. Just because something has ‘healthy’ or ‘skinny’ or ‘high protein’ emblazoned across it doesn’t mean it’s automatically lower calorie or actually healthy. Look at the labels. Equally avoid being swayed by sales deals that might make you buy products you don’t actually want!

🤗Xx

Ice creams / Lollies for 100 cals or less … 🍦

Technically it’s summer… despite what the weather thinks.. but nevertheless it’s definitely ice cream and lolly season for me and my clients.
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 20 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