Holidays Can Be Hell for the Waistline!

You have been on a real mission, you have stuck to your weight loss diet for weeks or maybe even months and the day finally arrives when you breeze into the airport with case packed, boarding card in hand and are feeling fairly confident that you are going to hit the beach looking and feeling slim, trim and fit - it’s all good and you can see nothing but fun and sun ahead!

Then… you start to relax and enjoy a few indulgent treats and it all starts to go a bit belly-up and after a great holiday, you end up heading home having gained weight and it’s back to the drawing board! Unfair but irritatingly, all too common. Recent statistics indicate that our somewhat devil-may-care approach to holiday eating and drinking can lead to us piling on anywhere between 4 and 10 pounds - particularly when we head to those spectacularly cost-effective, all-inclusive holiday resorts!

there are traps everywhere!

First there is the breakfast buffet with everything you could possibly desire just sitting there, waiting to be devoured with no cooking or washing up involved, then there are the beach bars groaning with deliciously-refreshing but overly-sugary cocktails and mocktails plus mile-high club sandwiches, super-crisp skinny fries, pizzas just out the oven and ice cream sundaes begging to be bolted down. It’s still only mid-afternoon and already you have possibly consumed as many calories and as much, if not more sugar, salt and starch as you were consuming in a whole day when you were getting your body beach-ready and it’s not looking too good!

did you know?

• 2 of those ‘hot out of the oven’ delectably-moreish pastries from the breakfast buffet will start your day with around a quarter of your recommended daily fat and added sugars allowance and 500-600kcals! Solution: Go for ham and eggs or an omelette or fresh fruit and yoghurt and stay away from the breads, pastries and cereals.
• A frothy cappuccino will add around 120kcals, yet more sugar and yet more fat. Solution: Have a small, rich, dark espresso or a pot of tea (green, black, red, fruit, herb) without milk or sugar - very few calories and no sugar or fat.
• Regular snacking is possibly the most dangerous habit we happily-embrace when on holiday! A bowl of tortilla chips with a creamy dip weighs in at around 350kcals plus a whopping 10g of fat, 2 teaspoons of sugar and a load of salt. Don’t risk it! Solution: Have a generous slice of melon and a couple of handfuls of fresh nuts. 
• A couple of slices of freshly-baked pizza or a burger, bun and fries at lunchtime can up your daily calorie count by another 300 to 500 and heap more added sugar, salt and fat to your day! Solution: Go for a lightly-dressed salad with lots of colourful vegetables and some protein instead. 
• One of those enticing ice cream sundaes with toppings that cool you down mid-afternoon can add a whopping 500kcals, 5 teaspoons of added sugar and 20g of fat. Solution: If you must, have a single scoop of ice cream or frozen yoghurt coming in at around a quarter of the above!
• A steaming bowl of pasta with a meat and tomato sauce and grated cheese topping adds around 350kcals, 3g fat, 4 teaspoons of added sugar and a hefty amount of salt to a day. Solution: Grilled meat or fish with plenty of vegetables or a salad will more than halve that.
• A few fabulous cocktails in the evening can end your day with anywhere between 300 and 400 additional calories and another 3 or 4 teaspoons of added sugar! Solution: Stick to very dry white wine or prosecco, spirits ‘on the rocks’ or with soda, ensure you match every drink with a large glass of water and know you are keeping the calories and sugar under control!

Here’s a comparison of the likely totals of calories, fats, added sugars and salt involved in the above options to consider when making your daily food and drink decisions:

OPTION 1

Breakfast: pastries and a cappuccino
Snack: tortilla chips and a dip
Lunch: burger, bun and fries
Afternoon: ice cream sundae
Dinner: pasta with sauce
Drinks: cocktails
Calories: between 2500 and 2800
Fat: between 80g and 100g (and most of it is likely to be processed and unhealthy) 
Added sugars: between 10 and 15 teaspoons - more than twice the recommended daily limit
Salt: between 8g and 12g (we should aim for 6g maximum per day)

OPTION 2

Breakfast: omelette and black coffee or milk and sugar-free tea
Snack: melon and nuts
Lunch: protein-rich salad
Afternoon: scoop of ice cream
Dinner: grilled meat or fish with vegetables or salad
Drinks: white wine, prosecco or light spirits with soda
Calories: between 2000 and 2200 (body swerve the ice cream and have no more than 2 alcoholic drinks in the evening and you can reduce this to between 1800 and 2000)
Fat: between 50g and 80g (and most of it will be naturally-occurring and healthy)
Added sugars: between 2 and 5 teaspoons - well below the recommended daily limit
Salt: between 3g and 5g (just under the radar!)

and finally...

The calories in versus calories out theory is misleading as the quality of the calories you consume in a day tend to make a more meaningful difference to whether you gain weight or not than the quantity of calories but it may help to keep in mind that in a bid to burn calories in excess of your recommended daily intake for weight maintenance (1800 to 2000 kcals for women and 2300 to 2500 kcals for men), you should plan to walk briskly for at least 50 minutes or jog, swim or cycle strenuously for at least 30 minutes for every 200kcals of daily excess - otherwise, there is a strong chance they will be stored as fat and you will gain weight!

Easter = Chocolate = Weight Gain (or does it?)

It seems like only a few weeks ago that the supermarket shelves were groaning with 'quick to cook' pancake batter mixes and delicious toppings and the internet was awash with syrupy-sweet recipes to help us celebrate Shrove Tuesday and now here we are facing Easter and it’s all about chocolate!

How are we supposed to keep our waistlines in tact when faced with such potential indulgence? One route is to just say “no” but where’s the fun in that? Another route is to carefully plan your chocolate moments!

How, what and when we eat daily has a meaningful impact on how efficiently we digest and absorb the nutrients provided by our last meal or snack to generate energy within our trillions of hard-working brain and body cells. And when we get the timing right, there is a good chance that the occasional indulgence (be it a chocolatey or otherwise) won’t do too much damage!

Here are a few magical tips to keep up your sleeve and allow for a little guilt-free sweetness this Easter:

• If a sweet treat is perhaps on the cards, have it somewhere between 11am and 4pm when your energy requirements are likely at their height and there is a good chance the sugars will be used to generate some of that energy rather than being stored in your fat cells.
• Always have some protein just before or alongside a sweet treat - the protein helps to slow the release of the sugars into the blood stream and keeps you feeling fuller for longer so you don’t experience an energy dip and seek out more sugar all too soon. For example: have a small carton of natural yoghurt or a handful of unsalted mixed nuts and seeds or a protein-rich smoothie with your chocolate treat (darker the better by the way) for a mid morning or mid afternoon snack or have your sweet treat just after a protein-packed lunch (a chicken salad, a mixed vegetable omelette, a fish curry, a couple of rye, seeded crisp breads topped with avocado and smoked salmon).
• If you exercise regularly and strenuously, your ‘cooling down’ time is perhaps the best time to sneak in a sweet treat as your metabolic rate is likely to be boosted for a couple of hours so the sugars will be used to replenish your depleted muscle glycogen levels rather than being stored as fat - but don’t forget to have some protein alongside and no, this is not an excuse to chow down a whole chocolate Easter egg!
• And lastly… make soup your waistline-preserving friend. It’s almost impossible to get as much goodness into a small space as in a bowl of fabulously-tasty, filling and protein-rich soup. If you suspect that there may be a little too much chocolate indulgence over Easter, get the soup pot out now, make a couple of vats, bag them in portions and freeze them, have them for lunch or for a snack and be confident that a little sweetness in your life won’t cause too much drama when enjoyed just after a bowl or mug!
• Have your tried my Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Chorizo Soup? - it's really, really good and seriously moreish let me tell you!

Don't Use Artificial Sweeteners if you Want to Lose Weight and Look After Your Health

THIS IS ALARMING TO SAY THE LEAST!

Several large-scale studies have now found positive correlations between artificial sweetener use, weight gain and diminishing health in both adults and children. Here’s an overview of just a few. Please feel free to contact me should you wish links to the studies...

• 3,682 adults over a 7-8 year period were found to have consistently higher BMIs at follow up.
• 78,694 women using artificial sweeteners gained weight compared to non-users matched by their initial weight.
• 31,940 women gained weight over an 8 year period when using saccharin.
• a positive association between diet soda and weight gain was seen in 11,654 boys between the ages of 9 and 14.
• 3,111 children and young adults had a significantly elevated BMI when their diet regularly included diet soda.

I have lost count of the number of people who tell me (and understandably believe, thanks to brilliant marketing) that because their fizzy drinks are always 'diet' or 'zero' it's all good and they are keeping their sugar consumption down. Not so fast! Sadly, the brain doesn't do a particularly good job of distinguishing between natural sugars and chemically-distorted, artificial sugars - it's all just sugar of one sort or another! And whilst too many natural sugars from the food we eat and the drinks we consume are likely to get it all charged-up and happy for a while (whilst not necessarily doing our waistlines much good if we overdose) the above studies rubber-stamp my continuing advice when it comes to sweeteners.....

If you really, really need something sweet on occasion, make sure it's 'the real thing' and leave the artificial stuff to reach its sell-by date and be trashed!  

From Giant Omelette to Longest Pizza!

The bigger the better appears to be the order of the day on the food front! Last month I blogged about the humble but oh-so-nutritionally-fabulous egg on the back of the annual celebration in a small french town where chefs join forces to create a 'giant easter omelette' and now it seems to be time for pizza to hit the headlines!

Naples has recently claimed the 'longest pizza' award - have a look at the Telegraph video - that's one mighty big pizza!

I am often asked about whether pizza can feature in a healthy, balanced diet and those who are trying to lose weight, regularly want to know if the odd slice or two of their favourite pizza combo is going to wreck their diet and/or encourage weight gain. Yes and no is the answer. It all depends on the base and the toppings!

Image by Matt Lewis

I happened upon this image a while ago and thought it looked so darned delicious that I decided to have a go at creating something similar. Instead of the 'classic' refined wheat flour pizza base, it involves a chickpea flour flatbread. So... why should that be a big bonus for pizza lovers? Because chickpea flour is higher in protein, higher in fibre, lower in carbohydrate, lower in calories and richer in healthy fats than wheat flour. It is also gluten-free and is bursting with an array of vitamins and minerals. This impressive combination makes it more filling (so we eat less), a splendid route to keeping blood sugar levels balanced (so we don't find ourselves hungry a couple of hours after our pizza fest) and as it is slightly sweeter than wheat flours, satisfies any niggling little sugar cravings.

The quickest and simplest route to making one 9-10 inch chickpea flour pizza base is to whisk together 120g chickpea flour (also known as gram flour and readily available in supermarkets and health shops), 235ml water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 or 2 peeled, crushed garlic cloves and a good pinch of sea salt. Cover the bowl and leave for around an hour. Meanwhile, prepare your toppings. I roasted thinly-sliced onions, red, yellow and orange peppers (lightly coated in olive oil, salt and pepper) in the oven until cooked through and caramelised around the edges, steamed some kale and spinach until just wilted, crumbled some feta cheese, drained some anchovies and sliced up some pitted black olives. 

When you're good to go, heat a heavy-based, oven-proof frying pan until hot, swirl 1 tablespoon of olive oil around before spreading the batter evenly over the pan surface and cooking over a medium heat for 3 minutes each side (or until the flatbread is cooked through and beginning to get slightly crispy around the edges) then spread a little more olive oil over the surface and get topping (leaves first, then onions and peppers, then anchovies and olives and finally feta). Pop the whole thing into a hot oven and bake for 6-8 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown and the pizza base is nice and crisp.

You can get super-experimental with your toppings (the more vegetables and the fresher the better) but stick with cheeses with a lower fat content (goats, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, Swiss - and be sparing) and if using meat and poultry, lightly cook fresh cuts rather than opting for processed, pre-packed products.

Now that I am firmly on the road to creating healthy pizzas that are not going to compromise my waistline, I intend to try all manner of different base and topping combinations - I'll keep you posted but in the meantime, let me know about any that feature regularly in your pizza world and I will include them in my recipe page - send images if you have them!