The Power of Peas for Fat Loss!

the humble pea has a lot going for it!

One of the most important aspects of successful fat loss is good blood sugar management. Healthy blood sugar levels are sustained through a combination of eating a balanced, unprocessed diet, getting regular exercise and managing the body’s most important hormones in other ways (eg: getting enough sleep and reducing stress).

Blood sugar is raised by glucose, which is the sugar we get from eating foods that contain carbohydrates. The glucose is then ferried off to body cells by insulin which is secreted by the pancreas, to generate energy and blood sugar levels return to normal.  When we haven’t eaten for a while, levels drop and messages are sent to the brain to tell us to eat something and the process begins again. Insulin levels rise and fall in accordance with when and what we eat so it is vitally important we get it right. A diet overloaded with sugar and starchy carbohydrates and light on fibre, protein and fats prompts all-too-regular blood sugar highs and lows and increasing demands on the pancreas to produce insulin and over time the system breaks down and we can become insulin resistant which greatly increases our risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease and weight gain is almost certain.

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Bare All with Confidence - smart snacking

best ever snacks for fat loss!

If snack attacks are your elephant in the room and you find you can’t get through the morning, the afternoon or that very dangerous early-evening-before-dinner slot without a snack, here are a few humdingers that curb sugar cravings, balance blood sugar levels in record time and encourage a bit of fat burning!

I know it has been said before - repeatedly by me and others - but fat really is your friend for fat loss, particularly when it comes to snacks. Why? Because healthy fats fill you up fast and you don’t need much to take the edge off an all-consuming bout of hunger or beat a sugar craving - and if you are trying to lose weight, this is crucial!

try some of these...

Nut butters (particularly almond and cashew) and seed butters (particularly pumpkin seed and sesame seed - tahini) are the serial snacker's saviour. The added bonus here is that nut and seed butters have a rather lovely habit of sticking to your teeth for a while so the snack lasts much longer than you might imagine! Slather them onto a couple of mini oatcakes or rye crackers or dip celery sticks or sliced apple into the jar.

Hummus is hard to beat when you need a snack, again because of its richness in health-enhancing and filling fats and is great with a bunch of crunchy raw vegetable sticks - but ring the changes from time to time and use it to top some chunky cucumber, tomato and/or raw courgette slices, sprinkle some smoked paprika powder over the lot and you have some rather sophisticated-looking and tasty canapés! Another great snack involving chickpeas is 2 or 3 falafel balls dipped into natural yoghurt - tasty, herby, filling and fast.

Breads made with vegetables and fruits also make a great, filling and largely-devoid-of-sugar snack (the vegetables and fruits provide most of the sweetness). I worked on my Apple, Carrot and Courgette Bread for some time before I was happy with the result but I have to say that a couple of slices (toasted in particular) with a cup of tea or milky coffee make for a really filling and splendidly-nourishing snack mid morning or mid afternoon.  

Avocados are bursting with fats but not fattening! One fairly extensive survey found that "eating half a medium-sized avocado on a daily basis was highly correlated with improved overall diet quality and a 50 percent reduced risk of metabolic syndrome…not only did the avocado eaters report a lower body mass index and smaller waist circumference, they also consumed significantly more fruits and vegetables, and fiber and vitamin K - nutrients associated with weight loss". Avocado, egg and prawns make particularly good bedfellows so for a super-quick and super-nourishing snack, fill one stoned half of this magic fruit with a mix of chopped boiled egg, fresh prawns, natural yoghurt and give the whole lot a good few grindings of black pepper or just throw a few leaves into a small bowl, top with teaspoon scoops of avocado flesh, a dash of lemon juice and a decent glug of avocado oil, season well and devour.

Mackerel, river or lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and wild alaskan salmon top the charts for their richness in Omega 3 fatty acids. These fats are now legend for their health-enhancing and disease-defying properties - but - if you don’t like oily fish, flaxseeds or walnuts, I would strongly recommend you take a daily supplement providing 1000mg. However, if you do like oily fish, the ready-cooked varieties of these swimmers make for a splendidly-satisfying and flavoursome snack, particularly when mashed onto a rye crisp bread and topped with a few crunchy, toasted walnuts. Try some of my other Crisp Bread Toppings - all are nutritionally great and seriously take the edge off hunger.

Fruit, cheese and nuts are possibly the quickest snack you can throw together. Sheep’s milk is generally richer than cow's in medium chain fatty acids (MCTs) which can benefit weight control by promoting fullness (so a little goes a long way), breaking down fat deposits, increasing energy expenditure and being more easily metabolised so head for varieties such as manchego, ossau-iraty and pecorino and either shave them, cube them or graze on a decent-sized chunk along with a juicy, fresh piece of fruit and a handful of toasted nuts.

View all my Bare All This Summer Top Tips here.