The Downside of Calorie Counting: Focusing on Long-Term Health and the Role of Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Calorie Counting – In my decades of experience as a dietitian, I’ve seen many diets come and go. A popular one that never seems to go out of favour is calorie counting. This is continueally promoted as the ultimate solution to weight loss and better health and I see it every day pushed by companies, PTs etc wanting to sell you a plan. For some this is right up their street, others maybe a useful starting point and for the rest a numerical nightmare leading them into a bad relationship with food. I have observed time and time again that focusing on counting calories can be detrimental to our well-being and you can see more about this in my YouTube video or click on the image below. As this is typically the time of year when panic sets in advance of the summer holidays and crash diets are underway I thought I would return to this topic. In this blog, we will explore why calorie counting is not always recommended and how focusing on anti-inflammatory foods and the correct ratios can promote long-term health and longevity. Conclusion While calorie counting may offer short-term benefits in weight management, it often neglects the importance of nutritional quantity and quality, individual variation, and psychological well-being for the long-term. A good example is to take a low kcal cake bar, it may be 100 calories, but it fails to offer any nutritional value instead likely highly processed with a long list of ingredients and inflammatory. A bowl of berries with natural dairy topping – yoghurt/cream however may have more calories but also provides essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin C, polyphenols and fiber making this a better choice for a dessert for your body. Enjoying good quality choices ensures you are physcially and mentally optimised. As an expert dietitian, I am passionate about getting this right for you for life and I teach that long-term health and longevity are best achieved by focusing on anti-inflammatory foods and adopting a holistic approach to nutrition. By emphasizing whole, nutrient-dense foods, flexibility, kindness to ourselves and considering the broader aspects of well-being, we can relax around foods and enjoy a healthier and more fulfilling life. So, what to do next or for anything else.. If you are needing help with your diet and health, activity, sports performance we can assist you with this. Maybe you wish to change your eating habits, stop tracking or need help optimising the foods you eat and are not sure what programme to select, please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition-related queries big or small. If you want to book your programme TODAY we would love to help you. You can book a 121 Dietitian Programme today by clicking on the link below If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Do visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. If you are interested in how I overcame my Thyroid Autoimmune Condition do check out the About section below Before you go please check out our 121 Dietitian Shop created specifically for optimising your health. Gillian x
Confused by food labels? Let’s get clear!
Food labels which can leave you confused. Here, we share our top tips on understanding what they really mean. Food labels – You’re ready to make some health changes and like many others, your new year resolution may have you rethinking your shopping trolley contents. The internet bombards us with recipes and healthy eating advice multiple times a day. So surely it must be easy to eat healthily? Wrong! With more advice and food labels it has become more confusing to eat healthy. We see this in clinic every day, and it affects a wide range of people. Whether it’s acute or chronic health issues, sports nutritional needs, weight loss, weight gain or allergies, everyone struggles to not only find the right foods for their needs, but how to integrate them into their day, suit their budget and time constraints for shopping and cooking. As Dietitians, we work with individuals to ensure they select the correct foods and nutrients optimal for their particular health issue or request. We also work with families to ensure they get value for money when they shop and that their kids will enjoy eating the same meals. A win-win in reducing the shopping bill and stopping the need to cook separate meals. How can you be sure you are picking foods that are correct for you? We know from The Institute of Grocery Distribution’s research since 2015 that many people are confused about how to use the information displayed on nutritional labels correctly. The main areas of confusion, in particular, are portion size information, reference intakes and colour coding. As a general guide the front of label’s nutritional information can be helpful. Taking a particular food – like bread as an example – there can be numerous options to choose from. Some are low fat, some high fibre… What therefore do you need to consider when looking at labels of foods in general? Using front of label information 1. Start with the colour background All green and it should be a good choice in relation to the nutritional guidelines – HOWEVER… My advice in addition to this is to always turn to the ingredients to check it is not loaded with artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes as this is a great way manufacturers can achieve all green. Some foods that fall into this amazing green light category can actually be chemical junk. The goal: Choose foods that are unprocessed. 2. Know your portions This detail can be very telling and misleading. A small cake may have the nutritional information available for a portion and doesn’t look too bad! Think: supermarket coffee and walnut cake (400g). The portion info is for 1/6 of the cake or 68g. If you manage to keep to 1/6 of a slice then that’s fine but most people cut bigger portions and so the nutritional information then becomes meaningless. Don’t just rely on portion measurements but take a look also at 100g measures. If your sugar value is below 5g per 100g then you are on the right track (unless your portion is over 500g!). For fibre push for 20g per 100g. 3. Checking the carbohydrates content is useful It’s worth remembering that too high carbohydrates intake is converted to fat if over-eaten. My advice is to check the total sugar and fibre content which makes this carbohydrate figure more meaningful. High fibre 20g/per 100g, low sugar 5g/100g is what you want to see. 4. Fat is very much in vogue The media are all about fats at the minute. After being banished for three decades, fat is now back on the menu. Fat is found in various healthy and not so healthy forms. Watch out for the saturated fat content in processed foods and keep to below 5g per 100g or 5%. Palm oil, refined oils and processed vegetable oils are linked to inflammation, due to the chemicals used for extraction and production. Many more factors are involved in selecting foods and using front of packet labels are helpful and a good starting point. Using common sense and checking the ingredients are also top priority. Remember the first ingredient on the list has the largest amount in the product and so on with the smallest amount of the ingredient last. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.
