Here are some of my personal tried and tested additional tips for managing those tricky snacking habits…

• Have one of something sweet (or savoury), then wait it out.  

I do this quite a lot – I’ll just have one chocolate, or one small biscuit (and ENJOY it!), then intentionally pause before grabbing more.  I’m not saying this is easy to do, but it can work really well as the craving often disappears after about 10 mins, but you have to wait it out!  

• Opt for a low calorie snack

Sounds like basic advice, but the smaller snack bars, protein yoghurt pouches, small packets of dried fruit, etc, can really hit the spot when you’re craving something sweet!  In the evening, my go to is a low calorie hot chocolate with a few marshmallows.  No, it’s not the same as a chocolate bar, but it allows me to stay on track with my goals!  And that’s important to me!  

• Eat proper meals.

If you eat 3 proper, satiating meals it will impact how you feel psychologically and physically.  If I have a ‘small’ meal, I tend to automatically want to pick later in the evening.  I have found that it’s much better to plan, look forward to, track and cook a larger meal in the evening so that I feel satisfied.  I’m MUCH less likely to want to snack afterwards.  ‘Spend’ more of your calories on a filling, nutritious meal and you will probably consume fewer calories overall.  

• Say it out loud.  

I read this ‘tip’ in Atomic Habits by James Clear (great book!)…  And I do sometimes do it!  I feel like an idiot, but it helps!  Haha!  Before you eat a snack, say it outloud…  “I’m going to eat this KitKat now” – it interupts the usual pattern and should give you an opportunity to think about whether you really do want it.  Sometimes I just put it straight back in the cupboard (not every time though)!  Haha!  

• No powders / tricks / supplements needed!

In my view, there’s no need to invest in appetite suppressants / other pills / shakes, etc…  It’s simply about being more mindful and helping yourself as much as possible to make choices / decisions that are in line with your overall goals.  Willpower will only get you so far, so trying new ways to implement some discipline can really help.  

Please remember – snacking isn’t bad.  Just think about moderating what you have, using whichever methods work for you.  Hopefully these tips (plus the ones in the other blog) help with that!  

If you’d like more structured advice or help with overall nutrition, target setting, accountability, someone to lean on and someone to help you develop better, healthier habits, please reach out to me via the website or via Instagram – I’d be more than happy to chat to you about what you’d like to change / achieve.   

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I have personally employed some of these strategies to help me control my snacking and like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes…. I promise!  (And – spoiler alert – YOU CAN STILL HAVE SNACKS!!)

1. Drink water – staying hydrated is important to help you feel fuller for longer, so you are less likely to experience cravings.  It’s also really bloody good for you, so try and drink lots of water every single day, regardless of your snacking habits!  
2. Introduce a NEW RULE!  One snack per day. Limit it. Set yourself a rule. If you are serious about achieving your goals, you’ll understand why this is important!  If you are tempted by a snack after you’ve already had your daily allowance, save it for the next day.   You’ll probably enjoy it even MORE if you wait!  Delayed gratification!  
3. Only have it if you REALLY want it. Make it a ‘HELL YES!’ snack!  If there are biscuits in the office which you think are ok, but aren’t your favourite, just say NO!  Practice it!  Remind yourself that saying yes to the biscuits is like saying no achieving your goals.  Or flip it – saying NO to the crappy office biscuits is like saying YES to your goals!!  Get serious about it – nothing changes if nothing changes.  
4. Enjoy your snack as you eat it, take the time to savour every bite. This is important, let yourself enjoy it, guilt free, especially if you’ve factored it into your calorie intake (which I encourage you to do!)
5. Create a barrier or remove the stuff likely to tempt you. Don’t buy it, or if you do have it in the house, or move it somewhere else to interrupt the automatic habit of opening the snack cupboard (or your equivalent!).  Create a barrier, or do something which makes you pause before taking action.  

Hope this is helpful and you’re able to take some pointers away to help you take control.  Snacking isn’t ‘bad’, but having some strategies to implement will definitely help you achieve your weight loss goals!  Please let me know how you get on!

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What is protein?

Protein is one of the three key macronutrients the human body needs to function properly.  

Proteins are complex, multifunctional compounds that carry out many critical roles in the human body, helping us with development, repair, defence, communication, and general survival. 

Basically, maintaining sufficient protein intake allows your body to work at maximal capacity – and that’s what we all want!  

Why should we eat more of it?  

When it comes to health, fitness, weight loss and optimal function, it’s a good idea to focus on consuming more protein for 5 main reasons:

1. AIDS FAT LOSS. Protein helps preserve and build lean muscle mass, even when in a calorie deficit for fat loss… Having adequate levels of protein prevents the loss of metabolically active muscle so your body uses fat for fuel instead. Protein is also necessary for exercising muscles to repair, rebuild and grow bigger and stronger.
2. KEEPS YOU FULLER FOR LONGER. Protein increases feelings of fullness and reduces hunger. The high satiety impact of protein helps you feel satisfied while consuming fewer calories, making it easier to sustain a calorie deficit without hunger pangs (which in turn can lead to overeating).
3. BURNS MORE CALORIES. Digesting and metabolising protein burns more calories than carbs or fat. This thermic effect of food containing protein results in higher daily energy expenditure aiding fat loss.
4. STABILISES BLOOD SUGAR. Protein helps to stabilise blood sugar. Steady blood glucose levels mean insulin stays balanced as well, meaning fewer ‘sugar spikes’ which affect energy levels. 
5. IT IS AN ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT.  Protein helps your body function optimally and it is used to form important hormones, enzymes, antibodies and neurotransmitters throughout the body.

So, we know it’s important, but how much do I need to eat?

The easiest way to calculate how much protein you should be eating is to multiply your body weight in kilograms by 1.2 (some places say between 1.0-1.2 but I’d recommend aiming for the higher amount).  This will calculate how many grams of protein you should be aiming to eat in a day.  

E.g.  A woman weighing 11st (70kg) should be aiming for around 84+ grams protein per day (70 x 1.2).

You can monitor your overall protein intake in My Fitness Pal if you are tracking your food accurately.  

5 x tips on increasing protein intake: 

To get adequate protein, you should think about basing your meals around a protein source.  

Here are 5 top tips for increasing protein intake:

1. Have a protein source at breakfast – Start your day with a high-protein choice like eggs, Greek yoghurt, protein yoghurt, or cottage cheese to start the day.
2. Add protein to snacks – Snack options like protein bars/shakes, edamame, and nuts can help you hit your target protein goal.
3. Include quality protein in every meal – Incorporate foods like poultry, fish, beans/legumes, lean beef, and low-fat dairy.
4. Load up on high protein plant foods – Foods like tofu, lentils, quinoa, and hemp offer plant-based protein.
5. Check food labels for protein content – Compare protein content to make informed food purchases.

Remember, completely overhauling your diet is not the aim here – we want to introduce small, sustainable changes, so start to think about the above and how you can incorporate more protein in your diet.  Small steps in the right direction are still steps to achieving your overall goals.  

If you have any further questions on this or any of my coaching / programmes, please drop me a message!

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Quick reminder that tracking food and eating the right things is the single biggest thing which will have the largest impact on fat loss / body composition, so it’s important to make tracking as easy as possible for yourself!  (As we know, exercise is also super important for health and wellbeing, but if you’re looking for fat loss results, you HAVE TO focus on what you’re eating.)

So, MFP is a really effective way to monitor and record what you eat over time.  Some key, helpful features of the app are:

1. Recipes

You can enter the ingredients for a recipe and save it to use again in future. Go to Add food -> My recipes ->  Create recipe. You can then select it and enter the amount you’ve eater; half a portion for example.

2.  Barcode scanner

You’ve probably discovered this already but if not, it’s really handy! Scan tins/ packets/ cartons, etc, to get accurate nutritional info which you can enter quickly and easily.

3.  Quick add calories

If you know roughly what you’ve eaten, but are in a rush or can’t find it on MFP (e.g. random pick n mix or a handful of something obscure!) then you can make a guess as to how many calories it has and track that. I wouldn’t recommend using this a lot as you are simply guessing, but it can come in handy. Also, always better to over estimate calories than under estimate 👍🏼

4.  Sync it with your fitness tracker

This is a fab feature and means all your data can be stored in one place. Link your fitness tracker to MFP to track net calories and steps over time (if you want to – not essential!).  Please don’t ’eat back’ any calories you’ve ‘burned’ – exercise just helps create a bigger energy deficit. Your calorie range targets should be enough that you aren’t over restricting anyway. If you feel you are then please talk to me.

5. Get more insight into your nutrition and habits

If you go into your food diary and scroll to the bottom (left), you can click ‘ NUTRITION’ and it gives you a daily / weekly breakdown of your food intake and calories.  It tells you which of your meals tend to contain the most calories, what your macro split (carbs / protein / fats) looks like, and what your overall nutrient breakdown is.  Some of this information may be irrelevant to you, but if you’re interested, take a look – you might learn something new!

Please remember though this is not an exact science.

Tracking calories is not exact but serves as a great way to make you think about what you’re eating. It’s a consistent measure so even if it’s consistently inaccurate, that’s ok… we will know soon enough (by gauging other measurements) if your calorie target needs to be changed. Using MFP is not something you need to stick to long term (unless you like to track, like me!) – use it as a way to educate yourself. I still find it incredibly useful to keep me on track 👍🏼 Also, like anything, the more you use it, the easier it becomes.  Any questions, please let me know.

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My general advice will always be ‘eat a balanced diet which includes food from all macro and micro nutrient groups, focus on eating more protein and vegetables and reduce your consumption of processed foods’ – if you stick with that, you should achieve a healthy balance overall. 

For the average person there’s no need to meticulously calculate macros or cut out whole food groups.  If you have a specific goal (i.e. body builder) then of course you would need to pay more attention to this and amend your diet according to your goals, but for general health, wellbeing and fat loss, it’s simply about creating a calorie deficit whilst still consuming all the main food groups in a balanced way.

There is a rule of thumb for macro-nutrient consumption, so if you want to know what this is and are interested in doing this yourself, please read on for a simple beginner’s guide to understanding macros:

First, you can use an online calculator to determine your target macros in grams based on your age, gender, activity level and goals. Calculators will give you results based on:

• Protein: you should aim to consume 1-1.2g per pound of bodyweight for muscle recovery and satiety.
• Carbs: 3-5g per pound of bodyweight. Go towards the lower end if trying to lose weight. Focus on complex, high fibre options. 
• Fat: 20-30% of total calories. Prioritise healthy unsaturated fats.

Next, you would need to get familiar with how many grams of each macro common foods contain. Download a tracking app or refer to nutrition labels. With practice, you’ll quickly learn which foods are protein, carb or fat dominant.  The free version of My Fitness Pal breaks this down for you on a total daily consumption level.

When building meals and snacks, aim to get macros from whole, minimally processed sources. For protein you can eat meats, dairy, eggs, fish and plant proteins like beans, lentils and tofu. Choose complex carbs like whole grains, starchy veggies, beans and fruit. Healthy fats include avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, coconut and fatty fish like salmon. 

Finally, if you’re interested in your macros and understanding more, maybe think about tracking your food intake (including grams of protein, carbs and fat) just for a few days to give you an idea.  You may find you need to adjust amounts as needed to align with your target macros. Don’t stress over hitting numbers perfectly each day, just try to maintain overall balance based on your goals.  Like food tracking generally, the more you do it, the easier it will become and the more you’ll understand and recognise the nutrient content of the foods you’re eating, but I don’t want you to think this is something you must do. 

Tracking macros is simply an additional tool you can use if you have an interest in understanding more about the topic.  Tracking macros is not necessary for fat loss, it can be helpful, but it can also lead to over-complication and overwhlem which I want to avoid at all costs!  

The post Understanding Macros appeared first on Kaye Louise Fitness.

First, make sure you’re getting enough of the major food groups each day – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and dairy. Keep fruits and veggies front and centre at meals and snacks. Opt for whole grain breads, pastas, and brown rice over refined options. Choose lean proteins like chicken, fish, beans, eggs and Greek yoghurt. And don’t skip the dairy – it provides so many nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and protein. 

Planning out meals and snacks for the week can save you time and help you eat balanced. Cook extra chicken breasts, grains or veggie side dishes on the weekend to use in lunches and dinners during the week. Prepping healthy snacks like trail mix, cut up veggies, hummus and yoghurt keeps you fuelled on the go. Remember to eat the rainbow! Colourful plates are healthy plates!

Be realistic – no one eats perfectly 100% of the time. Some top tips:

• Plan your meals and do the food shop with a shopping list.
• Allow yourself a little bit of what you fancy occasionally WITHOUT guilt. 
• Share dessert with the kids rather than denying yourself completely. 
• Swap takeaway for homemade pizza or burgers using lean proteins and lots of veggie toppings. 
• Don’t be afraid to rely on grab-and-go healthy convenience foods sometimes too – pre-packed sandwiches with high protein content, pre-washed greens, frozen fruits and veggies, canned beans, rotisserie chicken, etc. 

Also, it’s also important to listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Eat when you’re hungry (don’t force yourself to when you’re not), and focus on whole, minimally processed foods whenever possible. Also, try to stop when you’re satisfied, which may be before cleaning your plate. Slow down and savour meals without distractions when you can. Stay hydrated with water throughout the day.

With a little planning and self-compassion, you can find a healthy, balanced diet schedule that keeps you feeling your best while still accommodating your busy lifestyle. The habits you build now will pay off for years to come!

If you need any help building the basics, please reach out.  I can help with planning and balancing meals, ensuring you’re focussing on the right things.  It takes time to establish new habits but it’s totally worth it in the long run.

The post Find the balance – Busy Mums guide to a healthier diet appeared first on Kaye Louise Fitness.

Many of the ladies I know and work with at the moment want to drop body fat, get leaner, fitter and stronger – and upping protein intake can absolutely help with that.  

Protein is one of the most important macronutrients when it comes to achieving body composition goals and supporting overall health and it’s for this reason I advocate trying to prioritise it at each meal.  

There are various reasons why we should all eat more protein and it’s especially important when trying to lose fat and build muscle:

• Protein helps preserve muscle mass – When in a calorie deficit, protein intake helps minimise muscle breakdown so more fat is used for fuel instead of the energy stored inside the muscle tissue.  Your body will use energy provided via carbs and fats before it breaks down proteins, so if you consume proportionately more protein (and therefore proportionately fewer carbs and fats), then the body will start to utilise its fat stores, reducing body fat over time.  
• Supports muscle growth – Protein provides the amino acids required to repair exercise-induced muscle damage and synthesise new muscle fibres, supporting hypertrophy (muscle growth).  Beware – you will NOT pack on a load of muscle through eating more protein alone – this takes time and serious dedication!!  
• Increases satiety – Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, meaning it suppresses appetite and controls hunger better than carbs or fat. This facilitates eating fewer calories overall as you are fuller for longer.
• Requires more energy to digest – Protein has a high thermic effect, meaning your body burns more calories digesting it compared to carbs or fats. This boosts your metabolism.
• Stabilises blood sugar – Protein tempers spikes in blood glucose and insulin, leading to more stable energy levels and decreased fat storage from carbs.
• Improves body composition – Higher protein diets help shift body composition towards less fat and more lean mass over time for all of the reasons above.
• Immunity and injury prevention – Protein is a vital structural component of antibodies that prevent illness and fight infection. Protein is also necessary for maintaining the integrity of tissues like skin, bones, muscles, and organs that prevent injury.
• Mental health and emotions – Protein contains amino acids that help to regulate mood and emotions. Diets with more protein are often associated with lower risks of anxiety and depression. Protein provides the fuel your brain needs for concentration, mental alertness, and cognitive performance.

In summary, adequate daily protein intake is crucial when aiming to get leaner and stronger. It optimises muscle building and repair while also facilitating fat loss through multiple mechanisms, so try and incorporate more of it in your diet.  

Ways in which you can increase your protein intake:

• Find a protein based breakfast you enjoy and swap cereal for higher protein options.  I tend to eat protein granola, protein yoghurt, chia seeds and fruit on a daily basis for breakfast.  Eggs, avocados and beans are also good savoury options.
• Base every meal around a good protein source, e.g. chicken / fish / lean meat / beans / lentils / tofu.
• Buy easy to use proteins – for example, tinned fish can be great if you don’t have time, frozen Quorn / Tofu can be cooked straight from the freezer.
• Supplement your diet with protein if required – protein shakes are often a good way to do this (be careful not to choose protein powders which have added sugars)
• Keep protein-rich snacks on-hand; protein bars are great if you’re craving something sweet.
• Bake some high protein treats!  Baking with oats, nuts, seeds and protein powders can really boost protein intake (especially if served with high protein yoghurt!)

Good luck increasing your protein intake – remember it doesn’t have to be a seizmic shift to protein, just start to add a little more in on a daily basis.  If you need any more help with this or if you have any questions, please get in touch!  

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