Hello Dear Reader,
Thanks for the interesting comments about food waste and I'm delighted that most of us are on the same page. It's iniquitous to waste food and the best way is to get our portions to the right size to begin with. According to NHS guidance, as a relatively inactive person, I need no more than 1800 calories a day to stay the same weight. I'm considered a 'relatively inactive person' as I only get one hour of exercise a day. If I did no exercise then I would need even less. To lose weight I need 1400 calories a day. I'm holding 100g of potatoes which is an average serving. I don't always eat 1400 calories a day and I'm never hungry after a meal.
As I said yesterday, look down at your waistline, around your hips and neckline, if there's more there than you would like - that is where the wasted food is going - on you. We need to eat so we don't feel hungry, not so we feel full. Eating more than we need is a waste.
I would like to show what 1400 calories looks like and here's today's food.
Breakfast 30g of Rice Crispies with sliced banana and skimmed milk
Lunch - 1 little gem lettuce, 1/4 cucumber, 6 cherry tomatoes, 150g of prawns, 15g of sweet chilli sauce
1 natural Greek Yoghurt, 1 banana, 2 apples
Dinner - 200g of grilled chicken, 100g of steamed savoy cabbage, 100g steamed carrots, 50g of gravy
1 Greek yoghurt, 15g of honey
Total Calorie intake - 1309.
Piling my plate with greens added 17 calories and a heap of carrots were 24 calories. If you want to eat big portions, then go for vegetables to bulk out every meal.
The other secret weapon for anyone who wants to check on portion size is to weigh food. Not forever and ever, but initially so you get used to portion size. I love yoghurt but every now and then like to sweeten it with honey. The massively indulgent squirt below is 15g and 45 calories. It's impossible to stick to a healthy eating plan and have nothing sweet and this means I can make an expensive bottle of honey go a very long way.
Another interesting thing to do, again, just initially or even just the once is to check the calories in your food. I use a free app on my phone called www.nutracheck.co.uk. . If you have a smart phone you can photograph the barcode and enter the weight of the food you've eaten and it will calculate the calories.(They have not asked me to write about this! I've chosen to do so)
I now use this instead of Weight Watchers online, this is free and I can keep my food intake in check by mentally being aware of what I eat. I'm not a snacker and my desire to not regain the weight I've lost motivates me to be conscious of what I eat.
The NHS says "An average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. These values can vary depending on age and levels of physical activity, among other factors." It's important to remember that we need less calories as we get older and less calories if we are inactive. Walking the dog or doing the house work is not enough calories to eat the maximum of 2000 a day for women. Often, people just don't know how many calories they are eating
My suggestion to everyone which will save them money and even your life (heart disease and diabetes epidemic in the UK) is to reduce portion sizes and be aware of your calorie intake. Eating frugally isn't about cheap food it's about enough healthy food and not eating anymore than we need. Keeping our portions to a healthy size means we don't go hungry and resort to snacks between meals and we keep a check on our finances as we don't buy, cook or eat more than we need.
Over to you Dear Reader. Now really, who is eating too much? Who can find the squidgy bits and see that their portion sizes have been too large? Who's been wasting food by adding it to their waistline and not to their health? Come clean and let's reduce our food costs and ward off health problems.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxxxx