Have a Healthy Christmas!

You can have a healthy Christmas and still enjoy it!

 

Before I start, I feel I should share some history and background of my eating habits to set the scene of LHB and the reasons I do what I do.  A few years ago, if it wasn't nailed down I'd eat it.  I LOVED food and could easily eat a huge plate of pretty much anything that was put in front of me.  But I exercised restraint and didn't go overboard too often, did some exercise now and again and managed to keep at a sensible weight. 

 I thought I was quite healthy too, but in the summer of 2008 I gained a skin condition from nowhere that caused me great problems.  For about 5 years I didn't get anywhere with doctors, kept being palmed off with antibiotics and skin washes so just put up with it, as thousands of other sufferers still do every day.  However, I did my own research into my condition and found that whilst official research on it is still very limited, a number of people have found help through a change in diet.  Worth a try I thought, so I started off by limiting the amount of processed food I ate, cut down on bread and sugar and tried to eat more real, whole, unprocessed food.  It wasn't instant, but I saw a definite improvement over the first couple of months which inspired me to keep going.  I hadn't completely conquered it though, so made a few more tweaks including almost completely cutting out anything containing flour and/or wheat and hey presto, my symptoms all but disappeared.  This was around October 2013 and I have continued to eat this way since which has put the condition almost into remission.  

I am now aware that my trigger foods are potatoes including their derivatives (overnight effect) and wheat/flour products (effect after a few days) so as long as I avoid these and eat a real food diet, I have no problems.

Fast forward to now, LHB is up and running and Christmas 2014 is approaching.  I enjoy Christmas food as much as the next person, but I know that MY Christmas food has to be different to that of other people.  Does that mean I feel like I miss out, or have to longingly watch people around me tucking into mince pies and roast potatoes?  HECK NO!  I know what works for me so I embrace that, not worrying what the rest of my family, friends or the bloke down the road might be tucking into.

So what?  How does this relate to me I hear you ask?

Mainly just to share that you don't have to indulge with mince pies,christmas cake, roast potatoes,  beer, boxes of chocolates etc to enjoy this time of year.  You don't have to continue the cycle of stuffing your face in December only to feel guilty by January and embark upon the latest diet/fast/fad which lasts all of 3 weeks before you get bored and go back to eating your 'normal' foods again.

I am envisaging the rush of people looking to get healthy once Big Ben dongs at midnight on New Years Eve and there is nothing necessarily wrong with that; but it would be much better to take steps before that point so you don't end up being yet another January Joiner and February Failer.  Obviously a Christmas present to yourself of long term health starting now aided by LHB would be my ultimate recommendation!  But if that's not realistic, at least try and make a few changes for damage limitation over the next few weeks (then sign up with LHB in January!):

• Don't go silly with portions.
  
  Even the healthiest foods aren't great to excess.  A roast dinner can be a great balanced meal, as long as you watch the amount of potatoes, Yorkshires, gravy and added sauces.  Go for an extra slice of turkey and another spoonful of veg instead.  By all means have a piece of Christmas pud or trifle, just keep it a reasonably small portion and don't eat it just because it's there if you're already stuffed!

 

• Focus on the positives.
  
  One of the LHB philosophies is not to focus on what you can't have, but embrace what you can.  I don't sit crying over not having mince pies, I just enjoy a baked ham, oatcakes with lots of different cheeses, pate and a nice glass of red wine with a bit of dark chocolate instead.

 

• Alcohol is fine, in moderation!
  
  I'm not going to say that you shouldn't have alcohol at Christmas; I'm not that much of a bah humbug!  Just think about the type that you choose and focus on quality rather than quantity.  Lager and alcopops are best avoided, but a glass (or 2!) of red wine or a bottle of nice cider are fine and will help you feel like you're not missing out on the festivities.

 

• Don't be pushed, or be a pusher.
  
  We've all been there; 'you know you want one, go on, one won't hurt'.  There's nothing wrong with saying no to something and it doesn't make you into a boring grinch just because you don't want the entire contents of your Mum's Christmas chocolate stash.  Similarly, don't feel that you have to push others into having something they don't want, or more of it if you are hosting a party or Christmas meal.  They may be just as happy with the one small glass of wine so let them be.  I'm at the point where people don't even bother to offer me cake or chocolate now and I'm fine with that and you can be too.

Hopefully that is a useful starting point for anyone who thinks they have no choice but to have a Christmas which involves excesses.  If you want some more information or tips then get in touch at info@lincolnhealthbuddy.co.uk to sign up for our newsletters or to make an early start on one of our 6 week programmes to beat the January rush.  
 

Don't believe what the food companies tell you!

Shopping has recently started taking a lot longer than it used to as I find myself looking at every label and forming an opinion on everything on the shelves!  Over the last week or so I have had a couple of facepalm moments at the unbelieveableness of some new products and the claims which the manufacturers dare to make.

Exhibit #1
Ocean Spray's 50% less sugar Tropical Blend Juice Drink

On the face of it, sounds like quite a good idea.  Everyone knows there's quite a lot of sugar in fruit juice, so surely it's good to have an alternative with less sugar, right?  WRONG!
Firstly, this isn't fruit juice; it's a 'juice drink'.  This means that it's a blend of water, sugar and a small amount of actual juice.  Compare the labels between juice and juice drink next time  you're shopping and you'll see the difference.
So already we're losing as it's a sugar/water/juice-esque imposter.

But surely 50% less sugar is good though?  Well sort of, if you're going to have a juice drink then having less sugar is better than more.
Let's look at the ingredients...

First on the list is water; promising!
Next comes fruit juices from concentrate, a whole 13% of them!
Then comes sugar, oh dear.
A bit more fruit in the form of 2% mango puree, then some other stuff including the very vague 'flavourings' and a bit more fruit from carrot and cranberry concentrate although it doesn't say how much so could just be a drip's worth.  There is also sweetener (steviol glycosides).

Quite a lot of ingredients for something that you can just get from giving some fruit a good squish!

Looking at some of these ingredients more closely:

Sugar - well we know what that is.  But why would you want to add sugar to something which is naturally sweet anyway?
Fruit juices - 13-15% fruit in a juice is really nothing to be proud of.
Flavourings - this is especially vague so a bit of detective work was necessary to figure this one out.  In the FAQs of Ocean Spray's website they say 'our natural flavours are...of a specific plant species.  No MSG or animal product extracts are used.'  Yep that clears it up then.  Or not.
Citric and malic acid - These are found naturally in fruits and contribute to the taste.  Citric acid is also found in cleaning products, yum.
Sweetener - yes Stevia comes from a plant so is technically natural, but often, the processes used to extract the sweetness from the leaves can be anything but natural (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/25/stevia-food-babe-investigates/).

It is worth mentioning at this point that the 50% less sugar claim refers to the comparison with Ocean Spray's standard Cranberry Juice which isn't necessarily a like for like comparison.  To compare with a standard supermarket juice (Asda's Orange, Mango and Passion Fruit juice) shows us that it has:
104 calories in 200ml compared to the Ocean Spray's 96;
24.4g of sugar in 200ml compared to 11g in the Ocean Spray.
So yes it does have less sugar, but at least the real juice only contains real fruit sugar and not added sugar instead and there are no dubious 'added natural flavourings' in a squished orange.

Bottom line, juice isn't the best option generally due to the sugar and you are better off drinking water.  But if you do want juice, either get yourself a juicer and make it yourself so you can control what goes into it, or at least buy actual juice.

Exhibit #2 - Coca Cola Life

Marketed as 'great tasting cola with fewer calories, sweetened from natural sources', the new member of the Coke family sounds promising.  But does it do what it says on the bottle?

So the ingredients list is our first port of call again (as it should always be for you):
Carbonated water - fizzy water, no major problem there.
Sugar - hang on, thought it was sweetened from natural sources?  I suppose sugar is natural if you're going to get technical about it.
Colour Caramel (E150d) - got to love a good E number.  Otherwise known as sulphite ammonia caramel; 'controlled heat treatment of sugar with ammonia and sulphite containing compounds' (http://www.laleva.cc/food/enumbers/E141-E160.html).
Natural Flavourings including caffeine - there's those elusive natural flavourings again.  I guess they are part of Coke's secret recipe so aren't going to be well publicised but it would be nice to have an idea.
Phosphoric acid - sounds tasty.  Added to bring out the flavour and slows the growth of bacteria.  It is either extracted from rocks with sulphuric acid or by burning phosphorus and adding water.  It is also a corrosive acid and can produce toxic fumes in certain conditions.  (http://www.livestrong.com/article/468217-why-is-phosphoric-acid-bad-for-you/).  Sounds yummy, no?
Sweetener (steviol glycosides) - Finally, there are those steviol glycosides again which may well be produced using dubious methods and not as natural as they initially sound.

None of the other members of the Coke family are any better:
Regular Coke has most of the same dubious ingredients as this plus a ridiculous amount of sugar;
Diet Coke has the same ingredients plus a nice helping of artificial sweeteners in the form of aspartame and acesulfame-K to help you reject healthy non-sweet foods, make you twice as likely to be overweight (http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030) , mess up your insulin sensitivity and also possibly contribute to the chances of getting a brain tumour (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/23/aspartame-artificial-sweeteners.aspx).
Coke Zero contains the same as Diet Coke but with the added bonus of an extra E number, E331 as an acidity regulator to be precise.  It's a sodium salt of citric acid which may not mean a lot other than it's not something I want in my food.

So there you have it, Coke's new 'natural' offering.  I don't buy it, literally.  Not had a Coke of any description for over a year and my insides thank me for it.  You may be wondering which of the Coke products are the best option, given that they are marketed for different people for different reasons.
The simple answer is none.  Don't even go there.  Ever.

What message should you take from today's blog offering?

If nothing else, please know that food companies are not creating these products to help you be healthier.  They are creating them to try and appeal to new customers or to get people to buy them instead of an alternative; bottom line, they are trying to make more money out of you.  Don't fall for the 'health' claims on the label, read them for yourself and decide if it is something you actually want to be putting into your body.  Chances are it won't be, so don't.

Fed Up Movie - A must watch for everyone

I've spent the last couple of days watching Fed Up; a movie I've been meaning to add to my list of must-sees for a few months now.  I'm super glad I did.  Unfortunately it was one of the most depressing things I've seen in a while; showing the obesity problem (in USA mainly) as it is today, including through the eyes of children who are doing what they think is right to try and lose weight but are failing.  It also showed the fast food and processed food industry's true colours, manipulating studies and sometimes downright lying about scientific findings to suit their arguments and safeguard their profits.

Now obviously this is a one-sided documentary and some people may disagree with some of the facts or issues discussed within it, and this blog is just my personal/professional opinion too, but you can't dispute the fact that people are fatter and unhealthier than they were 30/40/50 years ago and that there has to be a reason for this.

I'm not going to go into the whole argument as I don't have the time or inclination (and the film has done a pretty good job of giving us a good chunk of the information we need) but it's now obvious that we need to take control of what we put in our mouths and start to be more aware of what is actually in our food so we can make informed choices about what we are eating.

My favourite quote from the film was "junk is still junk even if its a bit less junky" which partners my philosophy brilliantly.  If you're eating reduced fat biscuits/cake/meals/snacks it doesn't make it healthy.  Real food is healthy, so eat that, not some food-esque collection of unpronounceable ingredients which markets itself as healthy.

If you become a client of mine, you will learn that you don't need to carry on with a diet of rice cakes, Weight Watchers chocolate cake bars and skimmed milk.  You can eat butter, steak and full fat milk and still be healthy.  KEEP IT REAL!


Some of the rather worrying facts the film highlights:


Health insurance companies are investing billions of dollars in fast food companies.
Why?  Because they're keeping people ill and means they need to spend more on getting themselves healthy again therefore a bigger insurance spend.  (Obviously this isn't relevant to the UK but the concept still is).

 Fast food companies are still arguing their products do not contribute to the rising obesity levels.  Apparently, McDonalds don't advertise junk food, they advertise fun and happiness through Ronald McDonald.  Really?!?!
The majority of high schools in the US serve fast food on a daily basis and most worryingly of all, a portion of fries and a slice of pizza both count as a vegetable portion in school meals.  Words fail me!

Governments and food companies are still promoting exercise as the cure to obesity.  'Eat Less, Move More', 'Let's Move' and exercise programmes sponsored by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Cadbury etc are just a few examples of this.  Yes, exercise is an important part of living healthily but promoting it as the best way to lose weight over food choices is at best clever marketing, at worst downright lies.  A quote I love is 'You can't out-exercise a bad diet' and it is so true.  It is so much easier to not drink a Coke than it is to add an extra 30 minutes walking into your day.


On a slightly more positive note, the film did show that the UK has taken more steps than the USA has to try and help the obesity problem.  We no longer allow food advertising on kids TV channels, we don't have the amount of fast food in our schools as the USA do and our food labelling shows the percentage of daily sugar allowance where it doesn't in the US.  Also, our food portions thankfully haven't reached the mammoth proportions that you find across the pond although we are seeing more instances of this over recent years (belly buster breakfasts anyone?!).

Overall, the basic message from the film has to be that you have to take control of your own health and the food that you are using to fuel your body, as the food companies sure don't have our health and wellbeing at the top of their priority list.

Watch it now, and learn this for yourself:

Fed Up Movie 

Meal replacement, don't do it!

Wandering round Tesco recently, I came across their 'Ultra Slim' meal replacement products. Investigating the 'Summer Strawberry' shakes further, I realised just how horrendous they really are, hence the need for a blog post about them!

It's a tempting idea; just drink a couple of shakes a day without having to worry about making food and the pounds will just fall off.  Yes they might (in the early days), but at what cost to your longer term health and weight management capabilities.

Let's start with the packaging:

Front of box

Clearly marketed to women; the hourglass shape on the front reminding you of the shape you 'should' be.

Summer Strawberry flavour and some pictures of strawberries; must be good for you, fruit is healthy, right?

No artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.  Because you wouldn't want any artificial junk would you?

Nutritional information on the front so you can see how low calorie and good for you it is.  It's quite low fat and only 200 calories, winner!









Now let's look a bit deeper and see what these are really all about.

This is the ingredients list:

Ingredients - Summer Strawberry Flavour

1. Spot the strawberry.  Nope, I couldn't find it either.  The vague 'natural flavouring' could be strawberry based but then it could be hundreds of other things too.

2. Main ingredient is fructose, which is sugar.  Seriously?! The main ingredient in something intended to replace real, nutritious food is sugar?  Sounds like a great idea!



3. How many ingredients which are actually food can you see?  At a stretch, milk protein, whey powder and the beetroot aspect of the colouring could be classed as food.  Otherwise you need a chemistry degree to know what everything else is.  Again, you're replacing real nutritious food with a bunch of chemicals; another great idea!  Remember though, there's no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives so it must be good for you (hoping you're getting the sarcasm here!).

Onto the nutritional information:

'Nutritional' Information - you're kidding right!

* worth mentioning that the 'per portion' figures are including the skimmed milk which you add the powder to.

The first thing that strikes me is that out of 100g, 44g is sugar.  That means that 44% of your 'meal' when you have one of these is sugar.  There are so many reasons why this is not a good idea but for now, just understand that it isn't a good idea.
Each serving is 25g of sugar - we'll remember that for later.


Each serving is 200 calories which may sound like a positive thing as you would think less is more right?  Nope!  Too few calories a day (which we will look at more in the next section) will initially lead to weight loss, but isn't even vaguely healthy and not maintainable in the long run .  Part of my main philosophy is not being afraid to eat; you don't need to limit your calories to this extent and you shouldn't.

The only vaguely acceptable thing is the 15g of protein per serving; the majority of which will be from the milk.

A day in the life of an Ultra Slim user:

So this is what Tesco recommend your day of 'eating' should look like whilst using their programme.  Let's look a bit closer...

Breakfast - a shake.
So 200 calories and 25g of sugar.
A nice blood sugar spike to start the day, ready to crash a couple of hours later leaving you starving and craving the wrong foods.  Not many calories either which won't keep you going for long.

Morning snack - an apple or an Ultra Slim snack.
The apple wouldn't be too bad for a snack choice generally but when coupled with the shake breakfast you've had, its more sugar and no protein or fat to try to fill you up.
Even worse would be the Ultra Slim snack, more non-food to not give you any nutrition for even more of the day.




Lunch - Another shake or Ultra Slim snack (200 calories and 25g of sugar for the shake).
Blimey, is there any chance of some actual food throughout the day!
More sugar, non-food and limited everything else.  You're bound to be starving by this point!

Afternoon snack - carrots.
Again, not too bad as a general snack, at least it's real food and has got some natural vitamins rather than the added stuff you get in the Ultra Slim products.
But, no protein or fat again so you'll still be starving!

Dinner - chicken salad.
Real food, at last!  Salad will give you plenty of vitamins and minerals, especially if you include a wide variety of vegetables with it.
The chicken will give you some protein (that isn't milk!) so there may be a chance of you not wanting to eat your cat for a short time afterwards in contrast to the rest of the day!
Still no fat though of any type and I can't imagine they intend for you to have an oil-based dressing with it .  Fat really isn't your enemy and you need an amount of fat each day.  Clearly they've forgotten this basic nutritional fact.

Supper snack - a pear.
Oh look, another sugar based snack with no protein or fat, I can see a pattern forming!

So let's look at the day as a whole.
Breakfast                200 cals            25g sugar           15g protein             3g fat
Snack 1(apple)         60 cals            10g sugar          0.3g protein          0.2g fat
Lunch (shake)        200 cals            25g sugar           15g protein             3g fat
Snack 2 (carrots)      20 cals           2.8g sugar          0.4g protein          0.1g fat
Dinner (approx)     300 cals              2g sugar           30g protein             4g fat
Snack 3 (pear)          86 cals            15g sugar             1g protein             0g fat
Totals                     866 cals           75g sugar          62g protein          11g fat

In a word, terrible!  866 calories isn't even vaguely close to the amount that you need to nourish and keep your body going.  A 30 year old woman (5ft 7 tall and weighing 11st) burns about 1500 cals a day just being alive and yes a calorie deficit will make you lose weight, but it can't carry on indefinitely and you're not doing your long term health any favours by creating that much of a deficit.

75g of sugar is a lot considering the very limited amount of food you're consuming.  Admittedly some of it will be natural sugar from the fruit, but the added sugars are bad news. Excess fructose can lead to fat deposits around the organs and in the liver, cause insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 diabetes and can lead to a cycle of cravings and binge eating.  None of these are especially helpful for losing weight and being healthy. (Info from http://authoritynutrition.com/why-is-fructose-bad-for-you/).

Protein is part of every cell, tissue and organ in our body and is necessary for repair and growth. Government recommended levels are around 46-56g a day, although studies have shown this is well below the amount needed for optimal health. (http://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-protein-per-day/).  Our example 30 year old woman, who weighs 11st and is 25% body fat would need 80-100g a day to maintain and have a hope of building muscle.  Over half of the protein comes from milk too which may be OK on some days, but ideally you need a variety of protein sources to ensure you get the full range of amino acids you need for optimal health.  Protein also helps you feel full and can make it easier to lose weight through boosted metabolism so it's a bit of a no-brainer really!

The amount of fat people should be eating is a bit of a hot topic at the moment, with the low-fat guidelines of the last 40+ years being challenged through a number of studies which show that fat isn't the enemy it has been portrayed as (more on this in a forthcoming blog post) and that excess sugar causes worse health problems than excess fat.  Even if we take the government recommended level of no more than 70g of fat, you can see that our Ultra Slim day is well below that.  Fat is necessary for energy, the proper functioning of nerves and the brain, vitamin transport and a number of other functions.  If you limit fat to this extent for long periods of time, you are certainly not doing your body any favours.

To sum up:

 You do not need to replace food with high sugar, nutrient-empty shakes to lose weight.  They will not do your body any favours in the long term.  If you want to get healthier and lose some weight in a more sensible and nutritious fashion, then contact us to get started.  If you are considering using these (or similar) food replacements, please don't.  Your body will thank you for leaving them on the shelf.