When it comes to weight loss, there is often a common enemy that stops us from reaching our goals. And that, my friends, is SNACKING.
Now I don’t just mean food… I also mean DRINKS – juice, coffee, soft drink, alcohol… you get the point.
When it comes to weight loss, calories in needs to be LESS THAN calories out (think of a scale). If these two things are balanced, then our weight should remain stable. And if calories in is MORE THAN calories out, then we put on weight.
For those of you who are thinking ‘what the bloody hell is a calorie’, let us explain. Calories, or kilojoules, are a measurement for total energy in food, i.e. each food will consist of a certain amount of energy based on the ingredients and composition of the food. When you hear the phrase ‘energy dense’, that means the food has a high amount of energy, or calories.
We often hear clients saying ‘I don’t eat much, but I’m still putting on weight’. That may be because the foods consumed are higher in energy. And high energy foods are just so annoying because, if weight loss is our goal, we need to consume less energy overall to meet our goal.
So… it seems obvious, yeah? Consuming lower energy foods = you can eat more (yay!) AND you are more likely to meet your weight loss goals, not to mention the fact that many of these lower energy foods are often PACKED with nutrients i.e. Salad and Vegetables.
The other important factor to consider is how much you are snacking. Do you grab a biscuit from the cupboard while you wait for the kettle to boil? Do you eat a slice of cheese while you wait for dinner to be cooked because you are just SOO hungry? Do you grab a takeaway skinny cap from the coffee shop next door to your work to get you through a busy morning?
All of these things contain energy, but are often forgotten about when we are considering how much energy we are taking in each day. This might be going straight over your head, so to make this relevant to YOU, I recommend downloading the ‘Easy Diet Diary’ app and track your food and drink intake for a week. This will give you a better understanding about the amount of energy you are taking in, and how much your snacks are contributing to your overall energy intake.
What to do from here? Well, if weight loss is something you are motivated to achieve then we are here to support you! Why not book in to see one of us and go through your food diary together? Then we can talk about how we can modify it to fit your goals! And if you are using the ‘Easy Diet Diary’ app you can email your diary directly to us and we can analyse it on the spot, AMAZING HEY!
On another note, because we are super passionate about weight loss and helping you achieve your goals and find a healthy BALANCED diet, we have developed the 50 for 5 program. The program is a 6 week weight loss challenge, designed to kick-start your life-long healthy eating behaviours! Plus, we will be right along with you cheering you on!
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Looking to lose 5-10kg without restrictive diets? Book a free Game Plan call to learn how we can help you and get complimentary customised nutrition plan! Click here to book now (limited spaces available).