Healthy Eating Be smooth not spiky Snack Get active Eat starchy, fibrous carbohydrates with protein and good fats at each meal and snack. Together, these will fill you up, keep you sustained and provide a smooth supply of energy to your day. A good example for breakfast might be scrambled eggs on wholegrain bread served with avocado, spinach and salmon. Avoid overly processed foods that are full of simple sugars. These can cause spikes in your blood sugar levels, insulin surges and energy crashes which are detrimental to your mood and appetite control. Repeatedly eating these foods may lead to weight gain and increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Unprocessed foods in their raw state are the best option in most circumstances. People that eat 3 meals a day with 3 snacks have lower levels of cholesterol and a more sensitive insulin response to elevated blood sugars, as compared to those who eat 3 square meals a day. Effective control of your blood sugars helps to regulate energy levels and appetite. A 3 hour gap between eating times can be a helpful guide. Snack on foods with decent protein levels, that are relatively low in sugar and have some good fats such as a banana and a few walnuts. Snacking doesn t lead to weight gain if caloric intake remains stable. You can split meals if you are worried about over eating. If you usually have cereal and peanut butter on toast for breakfast, start with the cereal and have the toast and peanut butter a little later in the morning. Eat when your body and brain, the most calorific organ in the body, needs fuel and when you ll burn it off. Typically this means a big breakfast, a good sized lunch and perhaps a reduced sized dinner with several snack breaks along the way. Get active for at least 150 minutes per week doing anything that raises your heart rate, gets you breathing a little harder and makes you feel warm. This could be a brisk walk. If you then can t effectively control your weight you may need to do more. Fuel yourself before and after exercise and sport. A well balanced small meal an hour beforehand and perhaps something more energy available (e.g. a ripe banana) right before can boost performance. Be sure to refuel after a training session within a couple of hours, 15-60 minutes is ideal.
Carbohydrate Protein Carbohydrates (carbs) are broken down into glucose and enter the blood stream. Insulin is released from the pancreas to moderate levels of blood sugars. There are many health benefit to maintaining insulin sensitivity and stable blood sugars not least appetite control and even energy levels. Persistently high blood glucose levels increase the risk of ill health such as diabetes. Blood sugars are affected differently by different carbs. Sugar and processed carbs cause sharp spikes in blood sugars, surges of insulin and energy crashes, leading us to eat again- potentially causing weight gain and insulin resistance. Make the majority of carbs high fibre and starchy ones. These release energy slower, providing a smooth supply of energy. They fill you up, prevent overeating and maintain insulin sensitivity and fat burning ability of your body. Eat them! Fibrous foods are good carbs! The fibre also maintains gut integrity, keeps us regular and helps keep cholesterol levels healthy. Limit white bread, pastries, sugary cereals, cakes, deserts, ice cream and don t add sugar to hot drinks. Eat whole rolled oats, a variety of different grains, whole grain breads, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole fruits and vegetables. More than 20g of sugar in a serving is a lot limit foods containing this much sugar. One teaspoon of table sugar is 5g. Eat no more than 60g of added sugar per day (based on a 2500kcal diet). This includes table sugar, honey, syrups and sugars in fruit juices and concentrates. Check the fibre content of foods. If a serving delivers 3g of fibre or more it is a good source. Get at least 18g of fibre per day. Always eat complex carbs, such as grains, with proteins, such as fish at every meal. Together they break down more slowly creating a steady flow of energy that helps keep you powered up and feeling satisfied for longer. Protein can make up 10 to 35% of your calories. That s a pretty wide range. The lower end of the range represents the amount you need to keep your body functioning. To take full advantage of the fat-burning, appetite-regulating, and lean-muscle-building effects of protein, you d probably want to shoot for the higher end of that range. But there s not much to be gained from going any higher. Eat a variety of protein sources especially plant based ones such as lentils, nuts and green leafy green vegetables. These don t carry the health risks associated with eating too much meat and animal produce, such as raised cholesterol. Limit Red meat and processed meat consumption to 2 servings per week. Chicken and fish at other times is fine. Try to get 30g of protein at breakfast for a natural energy boost to your morning, and when snacking choose foods with decent protein servings. You could get 30g of protein by eating a bowl of porridge with a cup of low fat yoghurt and a dozen almonds. Throw in a handful of blueberries for added fibre and one serving of your 5 a day. To get about a third of your calories from protein, eat approximately one gram of protein for every pound you weigh. If you think in kilograms, you ll eat about 2 grams for every kilogram. There are 8g of protein in a serving of lentils, 6g in an egg and 25g in a tin of tuna.
Fat Salt Eating good fats such as avocado and olive oil as part of each meal and snack will further slow the release of energy into your system when combined with some protein and good carbs. Too little fat in the diet can result in poor hair condition and dull complexions, too much can lead to weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels. It s the mix of fat that you eat, rather than the total amount that matters most to your health. The key is to have less saturated fat and more unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are linked to elevated cholesterol levels and are found in full fat animal products like meat and butter and full fat dairy as well as cakes, ice creams and pastries. Unsaturated fats are heart healthy; you ll want to eat as high a proportion of these when eating fat. Good sources include nuts and seeds, oily fish, avocado, peanut butter and olive oil. Eat a variety to make sure you get all the essential fatty acids the omega 3s and 6s. The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure. The higher your blood pressure the greater the strain on your heart, arteries, kidneys and brain. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and dementia over a prolonged period. Limit your salt intake to 6g a day (2.4g sodium). Up to 80% of the salt we eat is hidden in processed foods. Read labels to check for salt levels. 2g of salt per serving is a lot. If presented with 2 products such as bread, choose the lower salt variety if all else is equal. By eating more fruit and vegetables, you will increase your potassium levels and help to restore the delicate balance of salts in your body. Good sources of potassium include: potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, yoghurt and fat-free milk. Don t eat more than 30.5g of saturated fat in a day (based on a 2500kcal diet). When looking at labels; any more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g is a lot so be mindful of overeating foods with this much in. Six out of every 10 UK adults have raised cholesterol. Having a cholesterol test is the only way you will know if you are one of them. For most people a healthy total cholesterol level is one that is below 5 mmol/l (after an overnight fast). Triglycerides (TGs) should be under 1.4 mmol/l and LDL under 3mmol/l. If the LDL s are elevated it s probably dietary. If TGs are raised it could be familial. One test before the age of 30 will pick up any issues and provide a baseline. Be mindful of eating foods cooked in oil that are heated repeatedly such as deep fried chicken. These foods may contain trans fats which are worse than saturated fat at clogging our arteries. The World Health Organisation labels them toxic. They are also found in some low quality biscuits, pastries and ice creams and may be labelled as hydrogenated vegetable oils or shortening.
Breakfast Lunch Never skip it! Your body and brain need some fuel to get you through the morning s work. Skipping breakfast may also leave you less rested as it is linked to the natural rest cycles of the body. The stress hormone cortisol has two daily dips; one is in the afternoon, typically around 2-4pm (the familiar post lunch lull). The other is at night which helps to aid a deep sleep. Tellingly, those that skip breakfast flat-line on these diurnal rhythms and report feeling lethargic. It takes two weeks of reintroducing breakfast (45-60 minutes after waking) for these rhythms to kick back in. Eat a high fibre, complex carbohydrate and combine it with a little protein and some good fat so that you can sail through your morning without getting hungry. You could have muesli with a low fat yogurt, some seeds and an apple. Avoid sugary cereals and pastries and too much fruit juice. Sub in a piece of whole fruit instead and you ll get the benefit of some fibre and more protection from tooth decay. Count and limit yourself to 4 cups of coffee a day. You can double that for tea. That should net most appetites, allowing you to enjoy caffeine s benefits of increased alertness without suffering from agitation, anxiety or dependence. Have a glass of water for each mug of coffee and drink 8 glasses of water a day, sipping regularly. Even mild dehydration lowers the metabolism, decreasing performance of body and mind. Mid-morning snack a bridge to lunch Eat something with decent protein levels, relatively low sugar <20g, with moderate fat levels and of this significant unsaturated content. This will keep your concentration and focus from dipping before lunch. You could eat: Almonds and a banana (15 20 pieces) 2-3 Ryvita and low fat cottage cheese Raw broccoli or carrots or sugar snap peas with hummus Have a quarter of your serving as starchy slow energy release carbohydrates of your choice (brown rice, whole grain bread), a quarter protein (meat, fish, beans, lentils), and half as non- starchy vegetables (carrots, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli these are high in fibre but low in starch). This applies if you are eating on a plate in a restaurant or grabbing a sandwich. wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_non-starchy_ vegetables When eating out chose salads, vegetable based dishes, and sea foods. Restaurants almost always use refined carbohydrates in their offerings so unless otherwise specified, assume that any bread, pasta or rice dish is made with refined carbohydrates (white) and avoid them. Look or ask for foods to be steamed or grilled. Stir fried is okay. Mid-afternoon snack The gap between lunch and dinner is usually much longer than that between breakfast and lunch so it s important to plan a healthy snack to keep your body and mind going for the afternoon. Keep snacks on hand from the following food groups: > Fruits and vegetables > Whole grains e.g. whole grain bread and peanut butter > Nuts and seeds e.g. a handful of almonds with a banana and yoghurt > Low-fat dairy products e.g. cottage cheese on ryvita Combining them is great! Greek yoghurt and an apple may be all it takes to keep you going through to dinner. These whole foods are generally low in sodium and high in fibre, and they provide a moderate amount of healthful fats and some protein which will curb your appetite. If it really is sweet tooth time, have some dark chocolate and nuts instead of cake. Just a couple of slices a week can up your calorie intake by 1000 calories which adds up quickly to weight gain.
Dinner Portions For dinner select a slow release carb like sweet potato, some protein and good fats in the same proportions recommended for lunch. Be mindful of how much you actually need for dinner. What are you energy needs for the evening? Are you hungry from not having fed yourself enough throughout the day? Slow down and concentrate on your food stop when you are full. After dinner snacking No matter how healthy the food you eat is, you can still be at risk of serious health problems if you eat too much or too little for your energy needs. If you re overweight despite sticking to a healthy, balanced diet you may need to cut down your portion sizes. A portion size is the amount of a food that is recommended to be eaten in one sitting. Many people are surprised when they realise what a typical portion size should look like. If you re used to piling your plate high with pasta or filling your bowl to the brim with cereal, it can come as quite a shock. But once you cut down, you ll soon get used to eating less. Portion size guidelines haven t changed in 20 years but certainly portion sizes we are often served have, particularly in restaurants, takeaways and ready meals. So, it s worth having a look at the guidelines. bupa.co.uk/health-information/directory/p/portion-size Limit late night snacking on sweets. Sugar and inactivity is a recipe for weight gain and guilt. Whilst eating late at night won t make you gain weight in itself - a calorie at the beginning of the day will have the same effect on weight as one at the end of the day - it s the types of food people tend to go for such as chocolate, crisps and ice cream that s the problem. If you feel like snacking after dinner choose veggies or fruit, a low fat yogurt or a bowl of wholegrain cereal.
Activity Exercise Inactivity is a leading cause of death. The Health hazards of sitting down for long periods of time include metabolic changes that lead to an increased risk of weight gain, diabetes and heart disease. Furthermore, desk jobs and sedentary lifestyles can cause poor postures, decreased mobility, poor circulation and a strained neck, shoulders and back. Worse, an hour of exercise doesn t seem to offset the damage so it is important to stay as active as possible throughout the day. If you have a standing desk use it. Standing burns 50 calories more per hour compared to sitting. Standing will also help with your posture, blood flow and brain function. Build up to standing for half the day over a work week this amounts to an extra 1000 calories burnt, without having changed your diet or going to the gym! If working standing up isn t an option try to get up every 30 minutes for a short walk. Stand when talking on the phone. Take the stairs, walk or cycle to work, get off the tube a stop early to boost your overall activity levels. Get active for 30 minutes a day on at least 5 days of the week, more if this doesn t meet your health and fitness goals. Find something you enjoy that raises your heart rate (cardio), builds a little lean tissue (strength) and improves your flexibility. If you want to lose a little fat don t follow diets that promise more than 1lb (0.5kg) of weight loss or more per week. That is the maximum amount of fat that you can lose in this time and it is best achieved through a combination of healthy eating and exercising more. Similarly, to build muscle you don t need to eat a great deal more as muscle gains are limited to 0.5-1kg per month depending on genetics and training regime.
Alcohol Drink moderately (see below), choose your drinks wisely (go for vodka-soda with lemon, or opt for a glass of wine over a sugary piña colada) and accompany them with a tasty, healthy, well-balanced meal, including loads of veggies, some lean protein, and healthy fats. If you are going for a drink after work don t neglect your nutrition. Be prepared - grab a sandwich. Alcohol and sweet drinks cause sugar crashes which can lead to us reaching for junk through hunger when our will-power and inhibitions are down. Be aware of how calorific alcohol can be (see opposite). Drinking alcohol also reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy. While we can store nutrients, protein, carbs, and fat in our bodies, we can t store alcohol. So our systems want to get rid of it, and doing so takes priority. By the time your body gets around to burning food calories, it might not need the energy and instead will store the extra calories you ve eaten as fat cells.
Download MyFitnessPal to track your diet and find out exactly where your energy is coming from. It s important to get tracking if you are serious about making changes to your weight or body composition. 50-60% of your daily energy needs should come from carbohydrate, 10-35% from protein and up to 35% from fat (11% sat fat, 13% monounsaturated and 6.5% polyunsaturated). We typically remember the good things that we do in our diets like turning down desert after a meal. And when we do something bad we are really good at justifying it. It s therefore good practice to keep a food diary to alert you to your habits, both good and bad. Final Note Eat foods that sustain you for the longest time at regular intervals, based around your energy needs and activity levels. Plan your food like you plan your day. Make healthy choices often, but don t be discouraged by temporary obstacles and setbacks. Healthy eating and living is about stepwise progression. A consistent plan with occasional interruptions is far more effective than a rigorous regimen that fails.