Someone asked me this week about calories and weight loss, and whether the quality of their calories mattered.
For example: a female who wants to maintain or lose weight is looking to stay around the 1200 calorie mark each day (approx 5000kj), depending on her activity levels etc. So does it matter whether these 1200 calories come from “healthy” food such as meat and vegetables, or whether they come from lollies and soft drink?
In theory, weight loss is about calories in v calories out. You burn more than you eat and you lose weight. There’s a catch though. Only eat low quality, processed food like sugar and soft drink and in no time you will feel pretty ordinary. You know the feeling-the sugar high followed by the tired, sleepy slump. You’re tired, moody and have no energy. Keep this up day after day and your chances of diabetes, heart disease, cancer etc all will increase, as will your nutritional deficiencies.
Then there’s the satiety factor. Eat a piece of grilled chicken and some vegetables and you’ll feel full for hours afterwards-the protein especially takes time to be processed by your body. If instead you have say a chocolate bar and a can of coke, you could probably eat again 20 minutes after. Not so great if you’re trying to keep those calories down! Speaking of that chocolate bar…there’s another problem with these processed foods-lots of calories-not much bang for your calorie buck! A mars bar, for example, is 250 calories, a can of coke 160 calories. Right there is 1/3 of your daily energy intake gone! Good luck sticking to the 1200 calories now!
So, my opinion is, eat what your body needs, not what your brain thinks it wants. Eat lean protein at every meal as it helps you feel full, and helps with muscle repair and recovery (chicken, turkey, ham, eggs, fish, seafood), eat lots of fresh salads and vegetables with lots of colours (the more colours the more nutrients you will get) , add healthy fats in a couple of times a day (nuts, seeds, avocado, fish), and drink lots of water! Food should be fuel for your body, not a solution to boredom, tiredness or stress. Good luck!