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Most of the diets I have written over the years have been based on eating fewer calories than we spend in energy, with the consequence that followers of those diets would almost certainly lose weight.
In recent times, calories have received a pretty bad press and been labelled ‘old-fashioned,’ but as any nutrition scientist will tell you, calories do count – whether you like it or not!
The secret to our success, if we want to lose a few lbs or retain our healthy weight, is not to become a slave to calories as that is tedious and time-consuming. Instead, we should try to become wise to them and smarten up our act when choosing or preparing our meals. When we do, not only do we automatically cut down the calories but we also reduce our food bills.
Here are 10 ideas to help you:
- When making a meat-based dish, e.g. Spaghetti Bolognese, Chilli con Carne or a Cottage Pie, think about how you can cut the calories but not the taste: Buy beef with a lower fat content (5% rather than 20% fat) and cut the quantity by 20 - 25%. As a substitute add extra vegetables such as grated carrot, finely chopped courgettes and/or peppers to bulk it out. Also, add more tinned chopped tomatoes and plenty of chopped fresh herbs. This will make the volume of the dish go further so there may even be a portion left over that you can freeze for another day.
- Try cooking with a healthy meat substitute. Quorn, beans, tempeh, lentils, mushrooms, nuts and seeds contain protein yet yield significantly lower calories than meat. They are very healthy and much cheaper. If you don’t want to cut out the meat altogether why not try combining half and half - half real meat and half with a plant-based alternative?
- When mashing potatoes, rather than using butter to cream them try using a little semi-skimmed milk and a spoonful of natural yogurt. It will save lots of unnecessary calories and still tastes great.
- Add any left-over soup into gravy or potato-topped pies to save waste and add flavour and it will make it more nutritious and substantial. Always cook potatoes with a vegetable stock pot or stock cube which gives them more flavour.
- Spraying a pan with Frylight is a great idea to stop food from sticking but apart from using that, avoid adding fat or oil to your recipes or when you cook. Remember, oil is 100% fat. By avoiding such high-calorie ingredients, we immediately reduce the calorie count significantly.
- Watch your portion sizes. It is so easy to eat too many calories by giving ourselves too generous a portion of breakfast cereal, rice or pasta without realising it. I always use my Portion Pots® to control the calories but also to avoid waste which makes sense when prices in the shops are on the rise.
- Avoid buying anything you don’t really need. Don’t be tempted by special offers which can lead us astray from eating healthily and distract us from keeping an eye on our calorie input. After all, unless they are store cupboard staples, they don’t save us money as we hadn’t planned on buying them in the first place.
- Bulk up your portion on your plate with healthy vegetables or salad so you still have plenty to eat without piling on the pounds. Eating more vegetables and eating healthily keeps us feeling fuller for longer so we are less tempted to snack on unnecessary high-calorie foods.
- Try cooking in bulk and freezing in portions as you may get more servings out of what you are preparing. How often do we cook a recipe and ‘don’t want to waste this last bit’ so we end up eating it? If we cook in bulk and portion it up, we are in effect better controlling our calorie intake and saving waste.
- Buy vegetables that are loose rather than ready-packed. Apart from them being cheaper (and we all know it is better for the planet) buying loose veg means we only buy the quantity we need rather than the quantity the shop wants to sell us. Store any excess in an airtight container in your fridge and they will last.
You may find watching the How to Lose Weight video on our website helpful.
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Serves 4
Per serving: 220 calories, 1.8g fat
Prep time 25 mins
Cook time 40 mins
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 courgettes, diced
1 small aubergine, diced
1 large red pepper, seeded and diced
175g red lentils
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
150ml (1⁄4 pint) vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsps chopped fresh thyme
2 tsps garam masala curry powder
8 cardamom pods, crushed and seeds removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh mint to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6.
- Place the prepared vegetables into a roasting tin, season well with salt and black pepper and bake at the top of the oven for 25 – 30 minutes until lightly roasted.
- In a large saucepan, bring to the boil the lentils, tomatoes, stock, garlic, thyme and spices.
- Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes to soften the lentils and allow them to absorb the liquid.
- Add the roasted vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to combine.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with fresh mint.
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
I am so grateful that I enjoy leading a physical life as it has SO many benefits to our health and wellbeing and I hope that it is the same for many of you who read this newsletter every week.
Being active means that we spend a good number of calories without having to think about it too much. For those who, by nature, prefer a more sedentary way of life then the calories they consume every day must be kept in check! The maths is simple... if you can achieve a balance of calories-in with calories-out our weight will remain the same. But if only it really were that easy! Unfortunately, the human being is a most complex creature making that so-called ‘simple’ equation a challenge to achieve!
The word calorie comes from the Latin for 'calor' meaning heat and it has had quite a chequered history, as it took a long time for the scientific community across the world to agree on its definition and usage. But now we have it and thank goodness I say. If you are interested take a look at our Did you know...? section below.
Today it is better to not be obsessed with calorie counting, which was prevalent in the past (as Rosemary alluded to above), but we do need to know that some foods have considerably more calories than others.
Here's a reminder:
- Protein = 4 calories a gram
- Carbohydrates = 4 calories a gram
- Fat = 9 Calories a gram
- Alcohol = 7 calories a gram
So, no wonder Rosemary focussed on cutting down on fats all those years ago and its success was totally down to the fact that those who followed her low-fat diets lost weight. Combine that with the recommendation to do lots of exercise and it made it the 'golden formula' which still stands to this day.
However, we all agree that maybe we don't need to focus quite so much on calorie counting as we used to. Apart from being rather laborious there really should be no need. Supermarkets have finally got their act together with food labelling making it easier to detect those foods very high in calories and the recent introduction of calories on menus in restaurants is proving to be highly effective for diners to be made more aware of the choices they are making.
The big question is: Do you think you need to lose weight? If you are not sure whether you are unhealthily overweight use the NHS BMI Calculator to find out where you are on the scale.
You can also find out your IBW (Ideal Body Weight) from the same web page. Then set a goal that will motivate you to manage your exercise and food intake ensuring you lose weight gradually and healthily. Why not start today!
If your weight is at a healthy level, continue to eat healthily and stay active and you will dramatically improve your quality of life and hopefully live longer too.
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- Do a Strength & Toning workout selected from the website 3 times this week. This will increase the amount of muscle in your body and muscle is calorie hungry!
- Treat your daily 30+ minute walk as an exercise session and challenge yourself. Wear appropriate clothing and footwear and set a good pace! Remember, the faster you go the more calories you spend!
Do the Post Walk Stretches after each walk.
- Complement all your hard work with the Stretch Programme and relaxation.
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Did you know...
A calorie is a unit of energy. It is defined as the amount of energy (heat) needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.
In general usage it might be shown as cal (calories) or Kcal (kilo-calories). Either way, the number indicates the energy value of the food and normally shows a figure per serving or per 100 grams, (often both) to enable you to compare one food with another. The labels will also sometimes carry a traffic light guide (red/amber/green) and compare the item against the government's recommended daily calorie intake figures.
Some foods are much more calorific than others:
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And finally...
Our ultimate goal must be to be able to balance our lifestyle in such a way that we can lose any unwanted weight and then maintain it at a healthy level whilst doing sufficient activity for us to be healthy. Let’s do everything we can to be the best we can be – whatever that is.
Have a great week!
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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