Do you have ‘Portion Distortion’?

Many people eat more than half of their daily calories after 4pm. I liken it to the movie ‘Gremlins.’ During the day, you’re hunger is like a cute little Mogwai, easy to tame and keep under control. But once the sun starts to set, boom – out comes your inner Gremlin and Whoosh, you’ve inhaled over half your daily calories and looking for more.

The hormone Ghrelin, is your inner Gremlin

Our hunger hormone has the name Ghrelin (Coincidence – I think not!). It’s what stimulates your appetite, giving you the rumbly tummy before a meal, and it tends to be very time based. It’s almost like an internal clock that says ‘Well you ate at this time yesterday, so it must be time to eat again!’ It’s also a greedy little bugger, and the more you feed it the more it wants. In fact if you feed it high fat, calorie dense meals, it actually craves more.

If you skip breakfast – be warned!

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Tagged As: Portion control, Salads, snacks, Soups

Ever wondered what the top nutritionists recommend for healthy snacks???  I recently had the pleasure of interviewing my nutrition idol Dr Joanna McMillan Price on her top tips for snacking. Joanna has written many fantastic books on health and nutrition. She comes from a strong research background, yet has a brilliant way of explaining things in practical terms.  She walks her talk and is one of the most highly respected Nutritionists in Australia.

Joanna talks about her favourite snacks for health, weight management and enjoyment!

Two key lessons really stood out for me:

1. Spread out your meals: You will expend more calories (ie speed up your metabolism) if you spread your calories out in the day (rather than eating 2-3 larger meals). That’s why if you skip breakfast then eat more than half your daily calories after 4pm, you will probably struggle to lose weight.
2. Beware Foods that Drive Hunger: The three main drivers for hunger (ie these things make you want to eat more) is Fat, Sugar, Salt. Food manufacturers know this so they load up food with these things. Chips: Fat and Salt. Chocolate bar: Fat and Sugar – ouch!

Joanna’s top Snack Pics:

• Fruit/veggies: Bananas, Oranges, apples, strawberries, carrot sticks, celery sticks.
• Muesli bars (Be Natural are her top pick). Beware of fat and sugar content
• Small portion sizes of nuts and seeds

Thanks SO much Joanna for your informative (and cheeky) interview! I need one of those banana holders!

What are your favourite snacks that follow my guide of  SIMPLE – NUTRITIOUS – DELICIOUS?

Tagged As: diet, joanna mcmillan price, nutrition, snacks, Weight loss

Choosing the right snacks for low calorie diets can be really tricky. They need to be tasty, nutritious, filling, and easy to prepare. Here are my favourite 150 cal snacks (600kj). Please note to convert KJs into Cals divide by 4.

Nutrient Dense Whole Foods

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Tagged As: diet, snacks, Weight loss