The 20% Calorie Win!
We have talked over the last few weeks about how it’s not just the exercise that helps you lose weight. Most of our bad habits that make us gain weight and therefore our opportunities are in food.
We know that to continue eating at a rate that means you are currently gaining weight, you are going to have to burn more than 1000 calories a day just on exercise. This is the equivalent to a 7-10 mile run, depending on your size, 2 and half hours of HIIT exercise (impossible!), or 5 hours of strength training (impossible!). EVERY SINGLE DAY! So it makes sense to seek the biggest opportunities in the easiest ways. FOOD, and being clever about calories.
National Initiative
Public Health England also think the same, and due to the increasing problems the country now has with obesity levels, they are asking the food industry to reduce calories in food by 20%. Now this will
have to be a gradual process for the food industry so that customers don’t turn their backs on their well loved brands, so it won’t happen overnight, but it got us thinking about how you could save 20% of
calories at home, in ways where you don’t feel like you are ‘on a diet’, ‘starving yourself’ or ‘restricting what you eat’.
What food do you eat the most of, that you know is where you are falling down when it comes to calories?
- Bread?
- Cheese?
- Chocolate?
- Biscuits?
- Cake?
- Alcohol?
Do it yourself
Could you save some calories by removing these out of your diet? If you have them every day, have them every other day and that’s halved the calorie intake from those foods/drinks! Have them once a week and you have reduced your calorie intake by 85% on that food. Cut them out completely and that’s a massive win!
When you are shopping for food, if a food has traffic light labelling, pick those that are green for fat and sugar, as these are the nutrients that are bringing the most calories to the party.
For alcohol, look for lower alcohol options – lower alcohol means less calories. Look for lower carbohydrate alternatives like cauliflower rice, courgette spaghetti and konjac noodles. These are all lower carb, therefore less calories. But remember to keep some carbs in especially when you
are training. Your body and your brain needs carbs to function!
The Be Strong Pizza is a brilliant way of still having what you want for less calories – a pizza express margarita pizza is 624 calories for the full pizza. A Be Strong pizza comes in at about 350 calories – almost half!
Sleeping to lose weight
This month’s challenge is to focus on your sleep and try and improve your sleep pattern. According to an American study by the Minnesota Obesity Centre, the National Institute for Health and the Mayo Clinic, if you sleep 2/3 less than normal you could consume up to 549 calories extra each day! That is the amount you need to gain 1-2 lb a week. There is also research to suggest that being sleep
deprived, erodes your will power making you more sensitive to food smells and less able to resist food.
Choose wisely not through habit
Coffee from coffee shops is another killer… hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream, well we all know that that’s going to be full of calories but even things like a tall latte is 143 calories, swap it for a tall cappuccino with skimmed milk and that saves you a third of your calories, down to 93 cals. An Americano is only 6 calories!
Get out of the habit of cleaning your plate. We are taught to clear our plates as kids, but we should stop eating when we are full. Drink a glass of water before your meal, eat slower, sip water throughout
your meal and listen to your body, to see how full you are between mouthfuls. When you are full, stop. Try leaving something on your plate for every meal you eat this week, and see if you feel any different.
Look for those quick wins, as that will be the key to success. If it’s easy, it won’t seem like a chore, and by seeing the results you want, it will give you the boost you need to continue.