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Having a healthy diet, is an important part of maintaining a balanced lifestyle and can have numerous benefits for your physical and mental wellness. It can help you maintain a healthy weight, boost your energy levels, and improve your overall health.

Take a read!

Understanding Calories

Calories or Kcal, is the unit in which the amount of energy in a food is measured. For example, a chicken breast has (roughly) 284 calories and a mars bar has 230 calories in it.

It is important to not confuse nutritional value and calories. Nutritional value is explained in more detail on the next page.

If we use the examples above, a chicken breast has better nutritional value than a mars bar, however, a mars bar has less calories.

When seeking to loose, maintain or gain weight the sole factor that will determine this is how many calories. you consume.

Here are the facts:

  • If you consume more energy (Kcal) than you burn you will gain weight.

  • If you consume the same amount of energy (Kcal) that you burn you will maintain the same weight.

  • If you consume less energy (Kcal) than you burn you will loose weight..

Every person will have different thresholds that you will only be able to find out through experimenting, however the NHS advises:

Women: 2,000 Kcals to maintain

Men 2,5000 Kcals to maintain.

Nutritional Value

Nutritional value relates to the nutrients that are found in the foods you consume. There are 5 main food groups that all play a role in a balanced diet. They are:

  • Protein

  • Carbohydrate

  • Fat

  • Dairy

  • Vitamins & Minerals

Some foods are very nutrient dense, such as avocado, but are very high in calories.

When choosing a balanced diet it is important to consider both nutritional value and calories otherwise you are at risk of weight gain.

Here is some more in depth information on each food group

  • Protein is a great source of fuel, fairly low calorie and keeps us full.

    For those of you wanting to sculpt or grow your muscles a high protein diet will be very important!

  • Carbohydrates, also known as carbs, are vital at every stage of life. They're the body's primary source of energy and the brain's preferred energy source. Carbs are broken down by the body into glucose – a type of sugar. Glucose is used as fuel by your body's cells, tissues, and organs. It is important to maintain balanced glucose levels in your body so that you do not experience sugar highs or sugar lows.

  • Eating or drinking dairy products offers a variety of essential health benefits, like building and maintaining strong bones. Dairy food provides nutrients that are vital for maintaining healthy organs. These nutrients include calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and protein. For example, calcium is vital for healthy teeth.

    If you follow a vegan diet, it is essential to source your dairy intake from alternative sources such as: Soya yoghurt and coconut yoghurt.

  • The body uses fat as a fuel source. Fat also has many other important functions in the body, and a moderate amount is needed in the diet for good health. Fats in food come in several forms, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Too much fat or too much of the wrong type of fat can be unhealthy for our organs and arteries.

    If too many fats are consumed this can lead to fatty organs and blocked arteries all of which contribute to heart disease and heart attacks.

Extra’s

When I say ‘extra’s’ I am talking about all things sauces, dips, marinades, rubs, drinks, coffee’s, shakes etc.

Food is to be enjoyed and it should be tasty at all times. BUT. We should always be mindful of fat intake, sugar intake and calorie intake.

If you are on a fat loss journey you do need to be mindful of these. There are a few things I suggest that will help you on your journey.

Stay away from shop bought marinades. These are often high sugar, high fat and highly processed. There is a reason why they can stay on the shelf for months on end…..

Don’t forget liquid calories. That coffee you have everyday can easily rack up 400+ calories if you're not careful.

If you are struggling to loose weight, download a food tracking app and track EVERYTHING for 2 weeks straight, then evaluate.