Tag: healthyhabits

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Watch the Weekends

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Watch the weekends 🥂

If you’re trying to lose bodyfat then consistency is key; a consistent calorie deficit over weeks/months to see a sustainable change.

Often we are great at achieving a calorie deficit during the week but weekends signal downtime, changes in routine and relaxation – which means relaxing on the food side of things too; allowing yourself what you want, or just not being mindful about tracking.

It’s very easy to blow your calorie deficit in one night, even when you think you’re being good. You’re out to dinner, but you’re going to be ‘good’; you have a small healthy starter, for main you go for the fish, with veg and you only have a little potato – fine right? But you have a few of your friend’s chips, and a few mouthfuls of your other friend’s dish.. oh and a few olives (but you didn’t have the garlic bread so that’s good)… and only one glass of prosecco… so that’s good? There is NOTHING wrong with any of that. BUT if you’re convincing yourself that you’re only a little over your cals and you’re not bothering to even try to track it because you don’t know where to start then you’re in for a bit of a surprise. In reality you’ve just clocked up over 1300 cals on a ‘good’ meal and BOOM you’ve just eaten or drunk away your deficit from the whole week.

The choice is yours, but the only way you can make that choice is by acknowledging what you’re consuming over the weekends and by continuing to log. You want to aim for an average deficit over the entire week so you need to know what you’re doing at the weekends.

So here are a few tips to help.

⁃ Check the menu in advance and decide what you want

⁃ Estimate the cals in your meal (using similar foods and then add a little extra for oil/butter etc)

⁃ Don’t dip in to others’ plates

⁃ Have slightly smaller breakfasts/lunches the day before and after to buffer the meal out

⁃ Remember those foods will all be there once you reach your goal so decide what matters most to you now – if it’s the meal then just have what you want and enjoy it, but log it so you can see where the extra calories are coming in. If it’s reaching your goal then consider pulling back a bit.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: Portion Control

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: Portion Control 🥗

Portion control is super important for healthy eating and long term, sustainable fat loss but it’s one of the hardest things to master. Here are a few tips to help you naturally control portion sizes and develop healthy habits.

# 1 Aim for 50/25/25

Start by filling your plate half full of veg or salad, then a quarter with protein and the remainder with whatever starchy veg or carb you’re having (potato, rice, squash etc).

# 2 Set aside leftovers

If you plan to eat some for lunch tomorrow etc then set it aside at the start rather than after – that way you won’t be tempted to keep picking after you’ve eaten your portion.

# 3 Share

When you’re out at restaurants or cafes consider sharing with whoever you’re with. Portions are usually massive at restaurants so it can easily feed two, especially with things like potatoes or chips.

# 4 Smaller plates

Lots of studies have shown that eating from smaller plates leads to less calories being consumed (even when subjects are allowed to top up the plates). So choose side plates and small bowls to trick yourself into eating less. We’re conditioned to clear our plates, even when we’re already full, so this way you can clear your plate and not over eat.

# 5 Take a whiff

As well as our eyes our noses are heavily linked to feelings of satiety. Take time to smell the food you’re about to eat – breathe in the scent and savour it. Studies have shown this helps to limit the number of calories consumed by tricking your brain in to thinking you are more full than you are.

# 6 Don’t eat from the bag

Put your food or snacks out on a plate before eating then, rather than eating from the bag. Visually seeing your what you’re eating sends a message to the brain about the quantity you’re consuming and leads to less likelihood of overeating.

# 7 Put away distractions

When you’re eating focus on eating. If you’re distracted by TV, phones, etc then studies have shown you’re likely to over eat. Pay attention to what’s going into your mouth and you’ll be better able to recognise when you’re full and stop before you overeat.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Accept you’re not doing it right

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Accept you’re not doing it right 🙌🏼

How you think about your fat loss has a profound impact on how you cope with sticking to a sustainable fat loss plan.

If the weight isn’t dropping and you’re saying to yourself ‘I’m doing ‘everything right’ but I’m not losing weight (fat) – it must mean I need a new program or diet or there’s just something wrong with me and I can’t lose weight right? Wrong. If you’re not losing fat then quite simply you’re not doing everything right.

Not losing fat or weight is the ultimate proof that you’re not doing everything right when it comes to fat loss. It means you’re not at a consistent calorie deficit. If you were you’d be losing fat. But the bigger issue is that this sort of thinking of ‘I’m doing everything right’ immediately puts you on the defensive. If you’re doing everything right, then there can’t possibly be anything to correct – because everything is right? So there’s no impetus to change your own behaviours or actions or find a solution.

With the ‘I’m doing everything right’ thinking you can’t possibly be consuming too many calories? You can’t possibly be incorrectly estimating portion sizes , you can’t possibly have forgotten to log some of those calories, it can’t possibly be that you’re doing something (probably subconsciously) that means you’re eating more calories than you think… because you’re ‘doing everything right’.

What we need to do is be a bit more

open minded and accept that we must be doing something wrong so we can then figure out what the solution is and how to fix the problem. So if you’re not making progress and feeling like you’re doing everything right try to take a step back and rephrase it; ‘I’m not losing fat, I must be doing something wrong’ and then you can find out what that is and try to fix it.

That way you’ll be more likely to solve the problem and continue on your fat loss journey

Happy Tuesday 🤗 xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: Taming post-workout hunger

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: Taming post-workout hunger 🍕

Do you find you’re famished after a workout? It could be down to the type of workout you’re doing. A recent study in The International Journal of Obesity found that strenous interval training dulls the urge to splurge. Participants who did high-intensity intervals were less hungry afterwards than people who spent the same amount of time on the treadmill or cycling at a steady rate. 🚴🏼

Why? Bursts of high intensity, hard effort actually helps to suppress the appetite as it decreases the production of the hormone ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and also increases the levels of blood lactate and glucose which reduce the desire to eat lots. In contrast, steady state, moderate intensity exercise can reduce blood glucose levels and suppress grehlin which makes you hungry. This is also the classic ‘runger’ that runners get!

So if you’re trying to watch what you eat consider focusing on shorter bursts of higher intensity workouts – either in the gym or in a class (HIIT, insanity or Bodyattack are great examples). If you love your longer runs or steady cycles etc there’s no need to stop them, just make sure you fuel yourself properly to prevent that post workout need to stuff your face! Have something with protein, fats and carbs before you do your workout – e.g. something like peanut butter on toast, and then try to get something in shortly after your workout that’s easily digested but high in protein and carbs – if you like it something like chocolate milk (normal or dairy free) is a fab option. If you want any specific tips for your own recovery then do drop me a line 🤗

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Practice random acts of fitness!

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Practice random acts of fitness! 🏋🏻

I know how difficult it can be to fit everything you want to in to your days, and sometimes it’s things like classes or gym workouts that suffer. As I’ve said in previous tips, it’s not just those “big” workouts that matter though when it comes to losing or maintaining weight and fitness (see my tip on fidgeting from a few weeks back), it’s the rest of your day that matters. So as well as being generally active, try to practice some random acts of fitness!

Sneak things in to your day whenever you can – lots of day to day tasks actually burn a good few calories – gardening, hoovering, washing the car, carrying the shopping from the car (try to bring as much as you can in one go to increase the intensity), unloading the dishwasher (as fast as you can!) etc for example. Or try adding in some little bits of fitness throughout the day e.g. ten squats before you sit down, marching your feet while you watch tv, or setting challenges for each other while you watch – one push-up for every advert in the break etc… have you got a skipping rope? .. then how about one min of skipping before you make dinner…. or how about a quick hula hoop, or maybe a game of catch with your children (or fetch with the dog)…. 30 secs of fast feet in the kitchen while waiting for the kettle to boil…. single leg squats while you brush your teeth…..That’s just a few ideas, I’m sure you lot have loads more!

Don’t think that just because you can’t devote 45 mins or an hour to the workout that it doesn’t count.. it does! Although it’s not going to massively increase your cardiovascular fitness or muscle strength, it’s still really valuable and a great thing to do when your busy and can’t fit in your usual workout. You could easily burn an extra 200 – 300 calories a day with these random acts… that’s the deficit you need to lose weight…

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx