Nutrition

Nutrition is a word we have all come to love and hate. We all know the importance of good food for improving our health. You are probably also familiar with such sayings as “food is the best medicine”, “abs are made in the kitchen” and “the best doctors are sleep, exercise and a good diet”.

There is a great deal of truth in these statements. In fact, the word ‘nutrition’ comes from the Latin words nutritious and nutrix, which mean ‘to nourish’ and ‘to nurse’.

Yet, choosing healthy food in this unhealthy world is a challenge for all of us. Experts are constantly dishing up contradictory advice. Of course, there are also hundreds of diets out there, each claiming to be the perfect solution to our weight loss efforts.
It can quickly become very confusing.

That is where we can help!

Our body needs energy to grow, move and for the repair of body cells, such as our hair, skin and the immune system. We get this energy from food in the form of calories. When we eat fewer calories than the body needs, then we start to lose weight.

Fat contains more than twice the calories in carbohydrates and proteins! Therefore, reducing your fat intake lowers your calories more quickly and will help you to lose weight. In fact, many people cook with lot of oils, salad dressings and eat deep fried food, which all contain lots of calories!

Many studies show that people eat more calories when they eat highly processed food. Using fewer fats, like oils, cheese and butter, and replacing sugary treats with fresh food alternatives will help you to lose weight without having to count your calories.

Top tip: Use less oil and butter when cooking meals and limit the amount of high processed, sugar containing foods!

Whilst food provides the body energy the body needs, movement will burn calories and help us to lose weight.

There are 24 hours in the day and we spend around 16 hours awake. When a person is trying to lose weight, they will often do 1 hour of hard exercise and spend the rest of the day sitting down or moving very little because they are tired. That leaves 15 hours of the day that we are mostly sedentary.

You will see that I use the word ‘movement’ here instead of ‘exercise’. And that is because adding more easy movements, such as walking and doing household chores, can be a great way to burn more calories and help us to lose weight.

Top tip: Add more movement into your daily routine, such as walking phone calls and early morning walks to start your day.

It is easy for us to talk about eating less and moving more, but when it comes to taking action, it is all too easy to hit the Snooze button on our alarm or reach for those crisps we know are in the kitchen.
By only buying the food we crave in small amounts we can stop ourselves from overeating when we start to get food cravings. Telling the people close to you what you want to achieve is another way of pushing yourself to achieve success with the exercise and eating goals that you have set.

Controlling our environment helps us to stick to our plans when our hunger cravings kick in and lead us to build good habits. This is one of the most important tools for helping us to lose weight, especially during times like these where our normal lives and routines have been changed by Covid-19. Identify the barriers which stop you from losing weight and control your environment to help you overcome them!

Top tip: Arrange to meet a friend for your 8 am exercise session and put your gym clothes out the night before.