I was compelled, on a recent trip to Melbourne, to try life on the other side of the fence. To ignore all of my heavily entrenched healthy eating habits, for the purpose of research and insight.
So I found myself Stakes Day pushing LOTS of boundaries to see just what could be achieved in a world where absolutely no limitations were placed on what went into the mouth, how much or when!
I must say it was fun! A bottle, at least, of champagne, a tub of basil pesto and crackers, 6 “cointreau-politans”, 1 straight cointreau and a 200g bag of chocolate bullets later, I was feeling quite content and impressed with my efforts. (N.B. this amount of alcohol- equivalent of 14 standard drinks- was consumed over a period of 14 hours, and is certainly NOT condoned, encouraged OR recommended! This was merely a social experiment)
I should also add, that the above mentioned food and drink items were IN ADDITION to the base breakfast, lunch and dinner!
So upon arriving home in QLD my mission was to calculate the calories in such a “binge” to determine what the impact might be if this was to occur on a regular basis- as I hear that in some circles this is common! ;)
10, 840kJ was the total worth of those ADDITIONAL calories consumed during my “all out” day. Let’s assume that my base intake (for breakfast, lunch and dinner) was around 6,300kJ. That makes a grand total for the day of 17, 140kJ!
Currently my daily energy requirements, i.e. the amount of calories I need to sustain my current weight is 6,300kJ. Thus, what I took in on this day was 2.7 times my daily energy needs!
If I did this once a week for a whole year (and I wouldn’t!), that would mean a surplus of 563, 680kJ- the equivalent of 15kg worth of excess body weight!
Profound!
Perhaps this offers some insight into how we may gain weight gradually over time and dispel the common attitude that “once a week”, or “every now and then” wont hurt!
Even once a month, this pattern leads to an extra 3.5 kg over a year.
That is without considering the effect on your overall health, particularly your liver and risk of developing cancer! Studies show that binge drinking (more than 2 standard drinks for women, and more than 4 for men) markedly increases the risk of developing a number of cancers, and is certainly never ok.
I do hope this post has given you some insight into the effects of such days, not only on our weight, but also on our overall health. It certainly gave me very good insight into many of the patterns I see in some of my clients and demonstrated very clearly that “being good” all week is fruitless if you choose to sabotage yourself on Friday night, or over the weekend!
Please email me with any questions, feedback or insights :)
Cheers! :)
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Travel Tips!
In response to many queries from my clients re upcoming holidays and impending road trips, I have quickly put togther an initial draft of a Travel Tips handout that I hope will help address worries and concerns in this area.
I have pasted the content below and would love for you to read, give me some feedback and email me with any questions you may have so I can use these to improve the information sheet
As said, quickly thrown together so please excuse oversights!! It may need to be structured/ordered to be more user friendly..?
I hope some of these ideas help you to enjoy the holiday season!
Cheers!
Bridget :)
Trust your own knowledge and guidance and simply do the best you can!
Happy travels!!
Enjoy good food, fun times and lasting memories! :)
I have pasted the content below and would love for you to read, give me some feedback and email me with any questions you may have so I can use these to improve the information sheet
As said, quickly thrown together so please excuse oversights!! It may need to be structured/ordered to be more user friendly..?
I hope some of these ideas help you to enjoy the holiday season!
Cheers!
Bridget :)
Travel Tips
Plan, plan, plan!!! Failing to plan is planning to fail!
Plan, plan, plan!!! Failing to plan is planning to fail!
Use supermarkets!
Pop in for on-the-road snacks and meals
Snack Ideas
Fresh fruit
30g nut packs
50g lean ham/turkey/chicken packs
Carrot stick
Celery sticks
Cherry tomatoes
Corn thins
Wholegrain rice crackers
Low fat yoghurt
Vita Weats
Water
Meal Ideas
Pre-packaged garden salads- avoid creamy/oily dressings and cheese
Add a protein of choice for sustained energy:
Lean ham/turkey/chicken packs
Tinned fish in spring water/brine/low fat dressing
Tinned mixed beans
Low fat cottage cheese
BBQ chicken- skin removed
Mixed seeds and nuts
Add your own dressing by purchasing a small jar of dried mixed herbs and a lemon! VOILA!
Other low fat sauces/dressings/flavours include, low fat mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce, balsamic vinegar, oil free dressings, lime/orange juice, other herbs/spices
Low fat deli salads- coleslaw, pasta, potato- check LOW FAT, as most are not!
Grainy bread/rolls and BBQ chicken- skin removed!
Tin of baked beans- eat cold out of the tin- YUM!
Stir fry veggie mixes- if you are a raw veggie fan- these are fine with a protein of choice (see above list). If you have access to a microwave, you can steam them lightly
Restaurants:
Scan menu as best you can not only for suitable meals, but suitable INGREDIENTS from which you can compile and request as your own special order
E.g. they may offer a satay chicken salad- served on a bean of leafy greens, cherry tomatoes, onion, cucumber, sprouts and a satay dressing
Ask for the salad, without dressing and request chicken to be grilled or poached in lemon juice and herbs- NO SAUCE, or if they can’t do that as chicken is marinated in satay sauce, request smoked salmon, or steamed fish/prawns, etc
Ask for PLAIN (i.e. no added oil) balsamic to be served on the side with a few wedge of lemon! Delish! :)
Most places are happy to do a LARGE bowl of steamed veggies with steamed prawns and sweet chilli sauce- YUM!
OR steamed veg and poached chicken/fish
Be sure to be direct and clear when you order
Always specify NO ADDED oil or butter on salads, vegetables, steamed/grilled/poached fish or chicken. If they need to use something, request that they use lemon juice as first preference, or stock as another alternative
Pop in for on-the-road snacks and meals
Snack Ideas
Fresh fruit
30g nut packs
50g lean ham/turkey/chicken packs
Carrot stick
Celery sticks
Cherry tomatoes
Corn thins
Wholegrain rice crackers
Low fat yoghurt
Vita Weats
Water
Meal Ideas
Pre-packaged garden salads- avoid creamy/oily dressings and cheese
Add a protein of choice for sustained energy:
Lean ham/turkey/chicken packs
Tinned fish in spring water/brine/low fat dressing
Tinned mixed beans
Low fat cottage cheese
BBQ chicken- skin removed
Mixed seeds and nuts
Add your own dressing by purchasing a small jar of dried mixed herbs and a lemon! VOILA!
Other low fat sauces/dressings/flavours include, low fat mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce, balsamic vinegar, oil free dressings, lime/orange juice, other herbs/spices
Low fat deli salads- coleslaw, pasta, potato- check LOW FAT, as most are not!
Grainy bread/rolls and BBQ chicken- skin removed!
Tin of baked beans- eat cold out of the tin- YUM!
Stir fry veggie mixes- if you are a raw veggie fan- these are fine with a protein of choice (see above list). If you have access to a microwave, you can steam them lightly
Restaurants:
Scan menu as best you can not only for suitable meals, but suitable INGREDIENTS from which you can compile and request as your own special order
E.g. they may offer a satay chicken salad- served on a bean of leafy greens, cherry tomatoes, onion, cucumber, sprouts and a satay dressing
Ask for the salad, without dressing and request chicken to be grilled or poached in lemon juice and herbs- NO SAUCE, or if they can’t do that as chicken is marinated in satay sauce, request smoked salmon, or steamed fish/prawns, etc
Ask for PLAIN (i.e. no added oil) balsamic to be served on the side with a few wedge of lemon! Delish! :)
Most places are happy to do a LARGE bowl of steamed veggies with steamed prawns and sweet chilli sauce- YUM!
OR steamed veg and poached chicken/fish
Be sure to be direct and clear when you order
Always specify NO ADDED oil or butter on salads, vegetables, steamed/grilled/poached fish or chicken. If they need to use something, request that they use lemon juice as first preference, or stock as another alternative
Use your imagination and be creative
If you don’t ask, you don’t get
They may have ingredients that you have not noticed on menu, so sometimes directly asking for something results in a positive response!
Remember why it is important to you to eat well and stick to your guns- you are the PAYING customer and are entitled to be catered for!
If you don’t ask, you don’t get
They may have ingredients that you have not noticed on menu, so sometimes directly asking for something results in a positive response!
Remember why it is important to you to eat well and stick to your guns- you are the PAYING customer and are entitled to be catered for!
Take-away
Minimise!! Limit to once per week and utilise above strategies
There are some healthy take-away options that may permit you to eat take away much more often
Salads are often available and a good choice- watch dressings and cheese, and other “energy dense” ingredients, e.g. marinated/roasted vegetables (these are ok but try to have less of these and more calorie-free salad/veggie choices)
Minimise!! Limit to once per week and utilise above strategies
There are some healthy take-away options that may permit you to eat take away much more often
Salads are often available and a good choice- watch dressings and cheese, and other “energy dense” ingredients, e.g. marinated/roasted vegetables (these are ok but try to have less of these and more calorie-free salad/veggie choices)
Trust your own knowledge and guidance and simply do the best you can!
Happy travels!!
Enjoy good food, fun times and lasting memories! :)
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