Tag: tuesdaytip

Tuesday Tip: Visual cues 👀

Portion control is one of the biggest issues when it comes to losing weight.

We often gauge how much to eat by how much food is placed in front of us; the eat what’s on your plate approach. This even holds true when the plate refills e.g. in one study those that had soup in a bowl that refilled from a hidden tube in the bottom consumed 73% more soup than when eating from a regular bowl.

When it comes to snacks (biscuits, crisps etc) “you can’t eat just one,” right? If we have larger bags we eat more. With the current cost of living crisis this is likely to become more of an issue if we buy in bulk to save costs. However visual cues to portion size mean people eat less e.g. in one study on stackable crisps (Pringles) researchers inserted a red crisp to indicate portion size. Participants weren’t told what the red crisp indicated. Those with the red crisps tended to stop eating sooner than those without. It acted as a sort of “stop sign,” a subconscious indicator you’ve had enough. In another study participants were given unlimited fried chicken wings whilst watching a film. One group had the bones cleared from their plate regularly, one didn’t. Those that didn’t ate far more as they acted as a visual indicator of what had been eaten.

Essentially there are 3 reasons we overeat beyond satisfaction in these scenarios:

– We lose track of how much we have eaten

– We perceive a ‘normal amount’ of food to be whatever the serving size happens to be.

– Eating has become a semiautomated habitual activity, which continues until interrupted e.g you’re focused on the tv instead

Visual cues help regulate how much you eat by showing the appropriate serving size, letting you keep track of what you’ve eaten and by interrupting the semiautomated eating we tend to do when watching a film etc. How can we do this?

⁃ Use smaller plates or bowls = smaller portions. you’ll automatically eat less.

⁃ Buy pre-portioned snacks or measure out your snacks into a bowl and leave the packet in the cupboard etc.

⁃ Leave wrappers, drinks cans etc on the table so you can see how much you’ve already eaten/drunk.

⁃ Pay attention to what you’re eating and avoid mindless eating for an extended duration.

These small changes can lead to big calorie savings over time!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Lost motivation? 🤔

Do you feel like you’ve lost motivation? I hear this a lot – clients tell me they’ve just lost their motivation and don’t know how to get it back. But the fact they’re even thinking that means they haven’t lost motivation and neither have you. You’ve just lost momentum. The forward motion has just stalled temporarily – that’s all!

Here are some things you can do to ‘get back on the wagon’ and regain that momentum.

#1: Start small – with one small step and one small win. When you first started you took one step at a time – so go back to that. Whether it’s tracking your next meal, filling half your plate with veggies, hitting 1000 extra steps today etc. Small wins for the big wins!

#2: Take one day at a time. It takes time to rebuild habits so just focus on getting back into some of those habits – like tracking cals, reducing alcohol intake, doing a workout a week etc. Set yourself some daily and weekly, achievable goals.

#3: Try to remember what motivated you to start originally – maybe it was a specific event you wanted you lose weight for, or maybe it was to ensure you’d be a fit and healthy for your children/grand children, maybe it was a goal to take part in a sporting event. Got back to that and write it down your goal and why it’s important to you.

#4: Tell someone! Communicating your intentions and goals to someone will increase your chances of success of sticking to it! Find an accountability buddy!

#5: Choose exercise you enjoy! There is literally no point in trying to build exercise habits based on things you hate. You’ll never stick to it! Join a class, try swimming, focus on walking, or resistance training , or join a local sports club. You’re more likely to keep at it if you enjoy

what you’re doing.

#6: Incorporate foods you enjoy! This has to be a long term lifestyle change – so cutting out foods you love won’t allow you to do that. Find ways to include the food and drink you love – just moderate the amounts and frequency if you need!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Fat burning ≠ Fat loss 🚫

It’s quite common to see things described as fat burning. Sometimes it’s in reference to specific diets, modes of eating or certain types of exercise. Low carb diets are often promoted as fat burning on the premise that because there are fewer carbs to burn for energy, fat burning will increase. The same rationale is used by those promoting working out before eating (rather than after) or fasting for periods of time.

You’ll find certain types of workout described as fat burning or you may find your activity monitor describes your workout in terms of the percentage of time in the ‘fat burning’ zone. The argument is that the body burns a greater percentage of fat with lower-intensity exercises than higher intensities because the body doesn’t require ‘fast energy’ from glycogen. As such, this theory promotes longer and lower-intensity workouts that maintain your heart rate within the ‘fat burning zone’. However, while the body does burn fat during low-intensity workouts, the rate remains low and you have to exercise longer to burn the same amount of calories you would at higher intensities.

The main issue is that burning fat is often confused with losing body fat. Fat burning or oxidation refers to the use of fat as a fuel source by the body. This doesn’t equal body fat loss. Eating low carb (and therefore high fat) does mean you’ll burn more fat as fuel because there is more of that available to use. But if you need 1800 cals a day and are eating 2000 cals then you have an additional 200 cals of fat. This won’t increase your fat burning. In a calorie surplus more fat is available in the bloodstream due to a higher intake, so the rate of fat storage is also greater. Research shows that whilst low-carb diets increase fat oxidation, they don’t actually result in

superior fat loss in comparison to higher-carb diets when calories are matched.

This same concept applies to ‘fat burning workouts’ or fasted cardio vs fed cardio. Yes fasted cardio BURNS more fat in the session (because fewer carbs/glycogen are available) but if total calorie intake for the day is in surplus to your needs then you won’t lose body fat.

“Fat burning’ and “fat loss” are not

interchangeable concepts.The biggest priority for fat loss is a calorie deficit. If eating fewer carbs, or eating after your workout etc help you to maintain a calorie deficit and therefore make weight loss easier then fab! But going low carb / fasted workouts / fat burning workouts will not inherently be better for fat loss when calories are matched. The overall goal is to find a sustainable way for you to consistently achieve a calorie deficit.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: More Exercise ≠ more calories 🏃🏼‍♂️

Most people view exercise as ‘more is always better’ when it comes to burning calories. However, more exercise doesn’t always equal more calories burnt. Studies show that whilst energy expenditure does increase with increased activity it’s only up to a point E.g if you go from being sedentary to active, you’ll see an increase in energy expenditure. But if you’re already active and increase physical activity levels further, you aren’t likely to see energy expenditure increase linearly because the body adjusts other processes to maintain total energy expenditure within a narrow range. A recent study found weight loss was only half of what might be expected when burning an extra 2500 cals per week, because of behavioural adaptations that reduced 24-hour energy expenditure.

This explains why people don’t always lose the expected amount of weight despite doing more physical activity. It is also why I ALWAYS tell clients not to view exercise as a way to burn calories and why you can’t ‘eat back’ the calories you think you’ve burnt.

Studies have found that as energy expenditure is increased the body compensates by approx 30 percent. E.g if you increased physical activity by 500 kcals, rather than total energy expenditure increasing by 500 kcals it only increases 350 cals.

Also those with more body fat actually compensate more than lean individuals, compensating by up to 50 %. This means that those predisposed to increased body fat may be that way because they’re ‘energy compensators’ which is another reason why using exercise as a weight loss strategy isn’t always successful.

So essentially this reinforces the fact that you can’t out-exercise diet – not only is it unsustainable but also the number of calories you think you’ve burnt is far less due to energy compensation (and the added inaccuracy of activity monitors!).This isn’t to say you shouldn’t exercise or be active; of course you should for a whole host of health benefits. And of course it will increase your energy expenditure, just not as much as you’d want it to and the extent to which it does will decrease, and eventually plateau, as you reach high activity levels. Focus on the diet for weight loss and exercise for health and enjoyment! Any increase in energy expenditure should be seen as a bonus, not the sole reason for exercising

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx