5 reasons Mums can’t lose the weight

August 12, 2014December 27, 20141 Comment

In the past week, I’ve had at least 5 conversations with other mums about their weight, and how to lose it. It’s one of those things that just seems to happen…….after each child you don’t quite manage to get to your pre pregnancy weight, then over the years the weight creeps up even more. You feel that you’re not over eating, in fact sometimes you can go most of the day without a meal. And you’re on your feet all day so you must be burning up loads of calories.

So why are the scales not going down? What is going on? In a nutshell, you are eating more calories than you are burning. This can be for a number of reasons:

Here a the top 5 reasons why you can’t lose the weight:

Skipping meals: you wake up and are met with the insane and constant demands of your children. Not only do you have to get yourself ready for the day, but all of the children too. If I include myself, I’ve 4 sets of teeth to clean, 4 hairs to brush, 4 bodies to dress, and 4 mouths to feed. It’s easy to miss breakfast! Before you know it’s 10am and you are starving, so you grab a muffin in Starbucks (a skinny one, must be healthy right?), or a croissant, and a latte. At lunchtime, you’re not that hungry, so a biscuit or two or a a packet of crisps is fine, and so the inconsistent grazing continues through the day. By not eating regular meals, you snack on less than nutritious, high calorie food. This is ‘mindless’ eating. Not only are you depriving yourself of nutritious food, you are stacking up the calories. Take 2 minutes in the morning to tell yourself that today, you are going to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
‘Tasting’ while cooking: I am certainly guilty of this. I love cooking and baking, and can easily spend a few hours each day in the kitchen. I like to taste the food, so I’ll have a munch here and there, a taste of this and that to gauge the flavour, and the final product of course.
Finishing the kid’s food: Kids eat until they’ve had enough, so more often than not there will be left over food on their plate. Half a sausage down your hatch with out even thinking about it – that can be nearly 100kcal. Some yoghurt left in the pot (hey, it’s healthy and we can’t let that go to waste can we, and it there’s less mess to clean up!). Half a banana on the walk home from school because daughter didn’t want it, in it goes! All these add up to 100s of calories per day. You are not a human dust bin!
Over eating/drinking in the evening: I understand the immense relief that comes with the children finally being in bed. The peace is something to behold. It’s ‘me’ time, time for a lovely meal and a glass of wine to wind down. You need it, and you deserve it. It is what has been keeping you sane all day. Just be aware that this is a form of
Better get cracking on this lot (7200kcal)!

emotional eating and drinking, and often is a major contributor to weight gain. Look at your portion size of pasta or rice – does it fill the plate? 1/4 plate of pasta, or a fist size amount provides about 250kcal. Fill your plate with salad and veggies. I’m not going to lecture about the health dangers of regular alcohol intake, but one bottle of wine has about 600kcal, the equivalent to a meal.
Reduced metabolism – as we age, our metabolism slows, probably due to loss of muscle. As well as reduced metabolic rate, although you may be active all day, the calories you are using up through exercise is not enough. You need to boost your metabolism by getting some strenuous exercise that gets you sweating! Just pootling up and down the swimming pool or sitting on the exercise bike for twenty minutes isn’t enough. HIIT training is fabulous for those who don’t have much time. Building some muscle by doing weight bearing exercise will also help.

4 Foods to Boost Gut Bacteria

August 4, 2014August 29, 2014Leave a comment

Just when we thought we knew everything about our digestive system, the complex universe of gut bacteria is slowly being unveiled by scientific research. Experts agree that what we currently know is just the tip of the iceberg. Here is the story so far!

Gut bacteria fast facts:

there are 100 trillion bacteria in your gut made up of at least 500 different types
during the natural delivery of a baby (not cesarean section), and breastfeeding, a baby’s digestive system is populated with the beneficial bacteria
there is a mix of good and bad bacteria in your gut, the balance of these can significantly affect your health
antibiotics kill the bad AND good bacteria in your body, disturbing the balance.
a diet high in processed foods encourages the bad bacteria
Processed food – encourage the ‘bad’ bacteria
Whole foods encourage the ‘good’ bacteria
whole grains, fruit and vegetables ‘feed’ the good bacteria
some foods (see below) actively contain good bacteria. You can encourage good bacteria in your gut by including these foods in your diet.

How improving good gut bacteria can affect health:

There is a huge amount of scientific interest in the role that gut bacteria has on health. Watch the headlines over the next few years for how they can make big positive impacts on your waistline, brain and immune system. Here is what the science is starting to show:

helps gastrointestinal problems like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and gas
reduces inflammatory conditions such as some cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
obesity – overweight people have a different balance of gut bacteria
immune system – there is good evidence that our guts provide much of the body’s immunity
better absorption of nutrients

Natural sources of probiotics (good bacteria) you can include everyday:

As well as eating lots of prebiotic foods such as vegetables, fruit and whole grains which feed the good bacteria, here is a list of foods which actually contain the good bacteria to boost the levels in your system.

Yogurt – The easiest and most popular source. Choose any yogurt that has ‘bio’, ‘bio live’ or the specific strain of bacteria on the label. Sometimes you need to look very carefully, as it
can be in small print on the back. e.g. Yeo Valley, Activia, Rachel’s, Onken. If you have lactose intolerance, yogurt should be easier to digest than milk as the fermentation process reduces the amount of lactose. People sometimes worry that dairy products are fattening or will raise cholesterol. Eaten in moderation this is not the case, and can in fact help with weight loss.

Kefir This can be harder to find in the shops and is not as popular as yogurt. Kefir is a Turkish word meaning ‘long life’ or ‘good life’. With billions of friendly bacteria, Kefir is a drink made from milk and kefir cultures. It has the consistency of a drinkable yogurt but is much more tart and has a slight fizz (I found this very odd!). Drink it plain (an acquired taste) or add it to a smoothie. It can be bought in Tesco’s in the Polish section, Wholefoods or in some independent health food shops. The culturing process reduces the amount of lactose, therefore may be suitable for people with lactose intolerance.

Miso A staple seasoning in Japanese kitchens, also may contain probiotics. While it’s most often used in miso soup there are other ways to incorporate this protein-rich seasoning into meals. For an easy between meal snack, mix the Miso paste with warm water as a drink. If you have high blood pressure you probably should avoid as it is high in salt.

Unpasteurised Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut – pickled cabbage in a jar. The pickling process produces the live probiotics. To get the benefit from Saurkraut, it is important to buy it unpasteurised as the heating process kills the probiotics. Unpasteurised jars can be found in the fridge in health food shops. If it is in a jar on the supermarket shelf it is likely to be pasteurised. Some people eat it straight from the jar, or add to salads, stew or soup. I’ve been told by a client that it is easy to make, so here’s a recipe (it’s one of the next things on my list to try!)

Probiotic supplements – there are a vast array of probiotic supplements available and it can be confusing to know which one to choose. Here is a good article as guidance on the specific strains of bacteria to look for for different health issues. Most people have heard of Yakult or Actimel which can be bought in most supermarkets. I usually recommend more potent forms such as Symprove, Biokult and VSL 3 (click on pictures for more info).

Veggie Spaghetti – with £3.29 gadget!

June 3, 2014November 7, 20162 Comments

Julieene Peeler, £3.29 Lakeland

Do you struggle to eat more vegetables?

Need fresh and inspiring ideas?

Are you watching your weight, or need to lose a few pounds?

Spiraliser (£30 Amazon)

I very rarely recommend a gadget, but yesterday I was inspired by an article and recipe in this month’s Red Magazine, which used a gadget called a ‘spiraliser’ (£30 from Amazon). It allows you to transform a healthy, low-calorie, low-carb vegetable into a giant bowl of pasta! Nutritious, filling and very, very easy. After a bit of online research, I was able to come up with a cheaper alternative to the Amazon Spiriliser…….a julienne peeler (£3.29 from Lakeland). We are lucky enough to have a Lakeland store here in Kingston, so after dropping the eldest two children at school this morning, the Little Man and I high tailed it to purchase the peeler.

Courgette, carrot and garlic

Lunchtime saw a quick experiment with the new gadget. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical that the veggies would taste any different to simply chopping or grating. Just a few minutes of ‘julienning’ a carrot and a courgette, tossed in a pan with olive oil, some garlic and a tin of tuna produced a most awesomely delicious lunch for the two of us (I added some left over rice to Little Man’s to bump up the carbs and cals for him). The carrot and courgette had the most fabulous texture, a little al dente and juicy!

Result! in just 5 minutes

For anyone in to calorie counting, here is a comparison. One courgette julienned producing a big bowl of courgette noodles: 30 kcal. One bowl of spaghetti: 220kcal! And I can honestly say that, to me, it tastes miles better than standard pasta or noodles.

I’ll be testing the new spaghetti veg on the girls this evening. I predict it will be a big hit with them too!

Slurping up the courgette spaghetti!

After School Snacks for Kids

June 2, 2014August 12, 20142 Comments

Our posh tent – with real beds & sofa

It’s the first day back to school after the half term holidays, so I can breathe a sigh of relief that the teachers can entertain my children for a few hours each day! Over the holidays we spent 4 days camping on the Isle of Wight (not ‘real’ camping, we were Glamping/posh camping).

Four. Long. Rainy. Muddy. Days. I grew up spending summer holidays camping in France, Spain and Portugal, and being Irish, I’m used to wet weather. However, the combination of camping and terrible weather, with 3 small children and a husband thrown in, proved somewhat ‘tricky’. ‘Nuff said.

So back to school today! Yay! I’ve had a few Mums at school asking about healthy things they can feed their kids after school. I think the issue these days is that there is so much ‘children’s food’ available from the supermarkets, and often it’s high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. So what can you bring to fill up the tummies, reinstate emotional calmness, and provide them with something tasty and nutritious?

Here’s a list of healthy kid friendly snacks that can be eaten on the go:

fruit: keeping it simple……apple, banana, grapes etc. If necessary, tell them to eat the really good stuff first, then they can have a biscuit.
smoothie: before you leave for the school pick up, blend 150ml milk, a handful of frozen berries and a ripe banana. Add a dollop of honey for extra sweetness. Put in a children’s drinking bottle. The blended frozen berries will keep it cool until you get to school.
DIY popcorn
Homemade popcorn: buy the corn kernels, they take about 5 minutes to make in to popcorn (just heat some butter or oil in a saucepan, add the corn kernels, allow to pop, sprinkle with cinnamon/some teaspoon of caster sugar). Put in to bags for the kids (and yourself!)
Cocoa Bars: these homemade ones are really chocolately, and my kids feel like they are getting a special chocolate treat. They don’t know that they are made with ground almonds, chopped dates, chopped raisins and cocoa powder. If they new this they wouldn’t touch them! The recipe is based on the Nakd Bars, so these are an alternative if you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own.
Banana Bread – call it ‘cake’ and they will be delighted.
Rice cakes sandwiched with peanut butter & jam
Yo Yo – these are basically fruit. Expensive for what they are (cheapest I have found is 50p for a packet), but convenient and healthy.
Nairn’s Oat Biscuits – I discovered these recently discovery in Waitrose. They are oatcakes that come in a variety of flavours e.g. fruit & spice, berry. Some sugar has been added, so they are sweet enough to be a biscuit rather than a blander oatcake (1.9g sugar per biscuit, which is less than half a teaspoon, limit to a couple of biscuits).
A sandwich: wholemeal bread/pitta/wrap filled with tuna mayo/ham/cheese & carrot

If you are concerned about filling their tummies up too much before dinner, try choosing less filling options e.g. rice or corn cakes, apples, pears, popcorn and water. Today I’m bringing some grapes and the Nairn’s Oat Biscuits…….I’ve been sitting here typing for too long so haven’t had time to make the banana bread that I had planned!

4 brilliant reasons to meal plan

May 8, 2014May 9, 2014Leave a comment

I spotted this nifty little tear off meal planner pad in John Lewis today. It has space for writing your meals from each day of the week, with separate spaces for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Another fabulous idea from JL. For those not in the UK, John Lewis is the most delightful department store imaginable. One day when I am rich, I will decorate my entire home from there, and fill my cupboards with the clothes and crockery. I will also go there for coffee and cake for a rest from my shopping sprees. (Dear John Lewis, I swoon at 99% of your products, and will graciously accept a sponsorship deal should you offer one).

So back to the meal planner………4 reasons why planning your meals is a winner!

You will eat more healthily – if you plan what you are going to eat when you are in a sensible frame of mind, you will choose more logically, plan better more balanced meals and snacks, and have the ingredients in the fridge/freezer/cupboard. No dashes through McDonald’s Drive Thru’ or a desperate online order to Domino’s (and no stuffing half a loaf of bread and butter in your gob because your blood sugar levels are so low you might pass out). By having healthy snacks for the week sorted, you are less likely to resort to crisps/chocolate/cake/biscuits etc. which will just make you feel bleurghhhh, lethargic and guilty.
You will save money – if you have your list of meals and snacks and know the ingredients, you can make a shopping list. There will be no need to fling ‘just in case’ purchases in to your shopping trolley, and there is less likely to be waste. When you know what ingredients you need (and you have the time) you can even use a website such as Mysupermarket to compare prices across the supermarkets to get the cheapest deal.
You will eat more variety – find yourself trying to think of something imaginative to do with pasta three nights on the trot? By planning your meals, you will be more conscious of how often you are having things and make more effort to change things up. e.g. Monday chilli & rice, Tuesday potatoes & salmon, Wednesday tuna pasta, Thursday quinoa Superfood Salad, Friday pizza, Saturday chicken fajita wraps, Sunday eggs & toast. All with a great big serving of veggies or salad of course!!
You will be less stressed – trying to decide what to make for a meal at the last minute can be stressful when you are rushing frantically home from work and hungry. To add to the pressure, you may have children squabbling because they’re famished too (mine are irritable little monsters when they are hungry, ~~as am I~~). If you have a plan in place, an immense amount of pressure is removed. For the extra busy days, you could even prepare a meal in advance e.g. chilli and rice, that just needs to be reheated in the microwave.

So I am going to put my money where my mouth is, and get planning. As well as the John Lewis paper version, there are lots of menu planners online. This is a good from Tesco if you need meal inspiration……it even gives you the shopping list!

7 thrifty tips for healthy eating on a budget

May 2, 2014May 2, 20141 Comment

We’re not poor by any stretch of the imagination, but budgets are tight since my husband has changed his career and I continue to build a client base in my dietetic business. I’m very comfortable with thrifty living……it’s probably because I’m trying to relive my youthful cash strapped student days!

So here are some of my top tips for finding cheap healthy food. Fruit, veg, fish etc. can all be hideously expensive. If I didn’t know where to look for cheaper options, my daily shopping would be in excess of £30. So here are some ways to cut the costs of healthy eating:

Use your local market, and get to know the stall holders…….some will be cheaper than
My £2 haul – 16 peppers, 4 avocados

Avo Man @ Kingston Market:Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays

others, and offer bargains on particular days. If you are a regular customer they may even throw in an extra something for free. My local market is in Kingston town centre, where on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays my Avocado Man is there with bargainous 4 avo’s for a pound and massive bowls of peppers, also £1. Officially, the sign says 3 avocados for £1, but he makes his customers feel special by throwing in an extra one. Great marketing (excuse the pun!) Today I got 16 peppers and 4 avocados for £2. I was so excited with my haul that I missed the large basket of cherry tomatoes for £1 (noticed this is the photo above!) What to do with avocados. 10 things to do with a pepper
Berries are often extolled as a ‘superfood’ and included in many of my recipes. They are full of antioxidants and all sorts of other goodies that a completely wonderful for you. They are also relatively low in sugar and low calorie. Bought fresh, berries can be expensive (£2-3 for about 150g). Buy the frozen basics range for a much less eye watering £1.35 for 500g. These are fabulous for making smoothies (no need to defrost), in berry crumble, in flapjacks, with yogurt for breakfast/dessert.
Oats: super nutritious with soluble fibre which is great for keeping the digestive system healthy, lowering cholesterol, filling, low in sugar, and very versatile. Oh yes, and cheap! Even if you buy the posh chunky variety, they are cheaper than most other breakfast cereal. Oats are extremely versatile. I use them everyday for porridge, to make Granola and biscuits. I think they are so awesome that I devoted a whole post to them.
Basic range carrots, apples, bananas, carton chopped tomatoes: once again, do not be afraid of the supermarket ‘basics’ ranges. The basic apples are usually the ones that are in abundant supply at the time, therefore cheaper. As an example, my favourite Egremont Russets were £1.80 per kilo, but they were also being sold at the same time as the Basics apple at £0.80 per kg. Bonkers! The Basics carrots aren’t perfectly straight and you may get the odd half carrot in the bag, but otherwise great. As for the bananas, I really cannot tell the difference between Basics and any of the others!
Lidl: here are my particular favourites from this frills free supermarket…….Pesto, 1 litre tubs of yoghurt, beetroot and eggs. All miles cheaper that the other supermarkets.
Bulk out tomato dishes with red lentils: bolognaise, soup, chilli, Shepherd’s Pie. Not only
tomato & lentil soup

are you making the cost of the recipe cheaper by needing to use less meat (or use the same amount of meat and have leftovers to use at another time), you are increasing the amount of great fibre making it very filling, reducing the overall percentage of saturated fat, and increasing the amount of plant protein. Red lentils actually look an orange/brown colour when cooked, so I add a great big squirt of lycopene rich tomato puree to ‘brighten up’ the colour of the recipe.
Save any leftovers……take what you haven’t used and put in a tupperware container for the fridge. I always over estimate the amount of rice we need, so use it the next day for egg fried rice with peppers, spring onions and a dash of soy sauce, or throw in to an omelette with some grated carrot (great finger food for weaning babies and older children). My breakfast this morning after the school run was left over Chicken Jambalaya from the night before (not to everyone’s taste for breakfast!!).

I estimate that I can save about £10 a day using these tactics, which adds up to £300 a month!

KIDS – Health by Stealth!

April 1, 2014April 3, 2014Leave a comment

In an ideal world, our children would sit politely at the table and eat what was put in front of them. Some children do, but there are many that don’t! 99% of the time, fussy eating is just stage, never the less, parents get immensely stressed out about it. Here are some ways to Health by Stealth!

Strawberry milk

Strawberry Milk Whizz up some milk (calcium and protein), natural yogurt (calcium, protein and probiotics), frozen berries (vitamins and antioxidants) and honey (sweetness).

Hide the veg

By making your own Tomato Sauce, it is possible to hide mountains of veg and even lentils in it. By blending it before serving, it’s nice and smooth. Grate onions, carrots, add tomato puree to bolster the veg count. You can even slip some lentils in without anyone noticing!

Meatballs with multi veg tomato sauce

Another tip came from a mum of a very selective eating child with autism: add grated apple to mince to make burgers. I tried this and it’s fab!

Tell them it’s just for the big children/grown ups/they probably wouldn’t like it This works brilliantly when preparing vegetables e.g chopping pepper/carrots/grated cheese. Say “no touching!” in a playful way. This can turn it in to a game where they try to ‘steal’ the food from the chopping board.

Distract with a book It’s not ideal, and in a perfect world our children would sit politely at a table. If you are desperate to shovel some good food in, distraction can work well. Look at a book together, while you spoon feed (I resort to doing this on occasions with my 2 year old).

It’s all in the name for children (and adults!) what you call a dish can affect how they think about it. “Barbeque chickeny rice” will be eaten, but if I called it my it’s real name “Chicken Jambalaya” it would be met with great suspicion and clamped shut mouths.

Sausage Surprise – I cook the sausages, chop them up and put them in to pasta with
Banana ‘Cake’ (definitely not Banana Bread!)

tomato sauce (with hidden veg, see above). They have a treasure hunt to find the sausages.
Banana Cake – ever so much more appealing to have ‘cake’ than Banana ‘bread’
Chocolate – Cocoa Bars are made with ground up nuts, raisins, dates and cocoa powder. They are deliciously chocolatey!

Probiotics many children can suffer from ‘tummy trouble’ after taking antibiotics or after a tummy bug. Probiotics can help replace the good bacteria in the gut which are essential for the immunity and digestion. Many probiotics that are in capsule can be broken apart and added to food (not hot food, it destroys the good bacteria!)

Fish oil essential for health and brain function, many children dislike the taste of oily fish so it is advisable to take a supplement. Liquid omega 3s can be added to yogurt or even Ready Brek or porridge.

Omega 3 supplement

A final essentil tip for fussy eaters is for parents. Back off, chill out, and, even if it takes an Oscar winning performance, pretend you are not too bothered.

When to be concerned:
If your child has weight loss, is lethargic, irritable or weak, see your GP to rule out underlying problem e.g anaemia or coeliac disease

If issues continue consider seeing a dietitian with experience in children with eating and digestive issues.

Sarah Danaher – NHS and private practice Dietitian

Category: family