Tag: healthy snacks

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Eating out, on track

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Eating out, on track 🍽

With restaurants reopening I know a lot of people are heading back our for meals etc. So I thought it would be useful to go over a few tips to help you stay on track, when when eating out.

Look up the menu in advance and decide what you will have, or a few options that you fancy. Then reverse engineer your day around it – log the meal, and fit your other meals around it.

You may want to prioritise lean protein for your main course e.g. steak and salad. But be mindful that restaurant portions are 2-3 times bigger than those you’d have at home, so consider a doggy bag.

Try to choose 1 or 2 courses rather than 3 if you can. Remember you’re the customer – if you want starter and dessert, or 2 starters, or even 2 desserts you can do that! You don’t have to go for starter, main and dessert.

Avoid extras – bread, olives, nibbles, oil, dressings etc. Ask for sauces on the side and you can decide how much you want to use. Ask for your veggies without butter etc too and be mindful of liquid calories (both alcoholic and non alcoholic).

Choose your indulgence – perhaps it’s booze, or the dessert, or the bread basket – whatever it is (for me it’s always dessert!), rather than having them all! It’s ok to enjoy a meal out but if you want to stick to your calorie targets then you can’t have it all.

Focus on the company and conversation – that’s what you’ll remember from the meal. It won’t be the food or that glass of wine, it will be the laughs and stories with your friends or family that you remember in months and years to come, not whether you had dessert or not!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Recipes

Hoisin Pulled Veggie ‘Pork’

Dr Nancy P

If you’re a Chinese takeaway fan this is a great lower calorie, home-made option for you! You can use any veggie alternative – there are pulled pork, pulled chicken and pulled jackfruit options available now. I happened to have the Linda McCartney pulled fake chicken in my freezer so that’s what I’ve used.

This serves 3-4 people and comes in at around 230 cals per portion (before rice etc).

You will need:

1 pack of veggie pulled ‘meat’

1 small onion

1 clove garlic

1 stick of celery

1 small red pepper

1 small red chili (optional)

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp black bean sauce

1 tbsp water

Small handful of cashew nuts (optional)

A couple of spring onions (for garnish)

Place the pulled fake meat in a bowl and add the soy sauce and sweet soy sauce – leave to marinate.

Chop the vegetables up into small pieces and add the onion, garlic and celery to a hot wok or pan with a little oil (or oil spray to save calories)

Add the peppers and chili if using.

While the vegetables sauté add the hoisin and black bean sauce and water into a small bowl and mix together. Set aside.

Add the marinated pulled fake meat to the wok and fry it for 5-7 mins.

Meanwhile, if you’re using the cashew nuts roast them in a dry pan.

Add the sauce mix to the pulled meat and cook through for another 2-3 mins.

Serve with the cashew nuts and spring onions sprinkled over the top, with rice or noodles.

Enjoy 🤗

xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

What you track vs what you actually eat…

Dr Nancy P

What you track vs what you actually eat… 🥜 🥄

If you’re hoping to lose fat in a sustainable way you need to be aiming for a deficit of around 200-300 cals a day. So you have your calorie goal, and you’re tracking your calories and weighing your portions. You diligently weigh your peanut butter for your slice of toast … 30g – that’s 169 cals – all tracked, all good. But what about the little bit you just scrape off the side of the jar as you’re getting that spoonful… or that bit that dropped on the plate that you wiped off with your finger.. or the bit you lick from the lid….

All that can add up to another 15g – that’s an extra 84 cals.

84 cals in itself isn’t going to ruin your progress, but if you’re having a couple of slices of toast a day that’s 168 extra calories a day or 1,176 cals a week! And that’s assuming that’s the only “extras” you have. That can easily stop you progressing or slow it down. And to be honest you probably don’t even realise you’re doing it.

So if you’re tracking cals and hoping to lose fat then perhaps double check you’re actually tracking what you’re eating, especially with calorie dense foods like nut butters etc.

🤗 xx

Nutrition and Calorie Tips

Bread is bad! 🍞

Dr Nancy P

Bread is bad! 🍞

I’ve lost count of the number of times people tell me they need to stop eating bread, or that they’ve had a bad week with too much bread, or their main weight loss issue is their love of bread…..

There seems to be a common misconception that bread is inherently bad and that having it means you can’t lose weight. Bread in itself (white or brown) is not that high in calories – a typical slice of hovis is 88 cals, and even a small sourdough is only 120 cals or so. Bread in itself is not a problem, what you put on it is the problem. The scraping of butter that you barely notice almost doubles the calories that slice of bread/toast will give you. Butter and 30g jam nearly triples the calories, as does a serving of Nutella (without butter underneath)! If you’re a peanut butter fan then that 40g serving (without any butter underneath) brings that piece of toast up to 349 cals. A snack of a little cheese on toast (no butter) is around 255 cals whilst a brunch of toast, 75g avocado, egg and a little ketchup comes in at 324 cals ….

Technically it is of course possible for bread to derail you if you’re eating a huge amount, like any food, but it’s far more likely to be what you’re putting on the bread that’s doing the damage. Bread isn’t the devil; in fact it’s a great source of carbs, which we all need. It tastes good and it’s also a really convenient food for a snack or lunch (as a sandwich) etc and there’s no need to cut it out of your diet to lose weight, but it may pay to be aware of what you’re putting on it and consider some lower cal toppings if you are trying to watch the calories.

Enjoy bread responsibly 🤣

🤗 xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Are you in a Calorie deficit?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Are you in a Calorie deficit? 📉

We know that for fat loss to occur you need to be eating at a calorie deficit – i.e. eating fewer calories than you expend. People often say they are “definitely under their cals” (i.e. at a deficit) but they’re not seeing the scales drop. So here are some ways to tell if you are at a deficit that aren’t all scale-based.

Now before I mention any of these indicators it’s important to note that you won’t see results immediately; you need to be at a deficit for several weeks (not days) so the first thing you need to ask yourself is has it been long enough?

Here are some other indicators:

• Your measurements are dropping. If you’re losing cm’s but your weight hasn’t changed, then you’re probably in a deficit.

• Your clothes fit better. You may not notice specific measurements going down but those tops which are usually tight now feel looser. That means you’re probably in a deficit.

• Others are noticing. If you’re suddenly getting compliments or people are noticing you seem to have lost weight then you probably have lost some fat and are in a deficit (even if it isn’t showing on the scales)

• You are seeing more definition in certain areas – arms, collar bones, shoulders etc. That will mean you’re losing some fat and are probably in a deficit.

• Finally – the scales are going down, consistently. Though I would add a caveat that very sudden, large, weight losses are more likely to be fluid changes than fat loss. It’s also normal for your weight to fluctuate up and down so always focus on long term trends.

Fat loss is different for everyone – everyone responds differently and at different speeds. If you’re seeing any of the changes above then you are doing ok! All it takes is consistency and you will see the results you want. Conversely though, if you’re not seeing any changes, then it’s time to double check your food intake because it means you aren’t in the deficit you thought you were.

Remember it’s not all about the scales. If you woke up tomorrow with the body you’ve always wanted would you care what the number on the scales said? No you probably wouldn’t, so focus on the other changes!

Happy Tuesday

🤗

Xx