With financial constraints which many people are under, home cooking seems like the most affordable option as well as being considered the healthiest, however home cooking could actually hamper your diet according to diet experts Weight Watchers.

They found through a YouGov survey of more than 2,000 Britons that 68 per cent of those questioned aim to dine at home more often, but 95 per cent of those who cook at home kept on eating despite being full, to clear their plate.

Unfortunately people are dishing up bigger portion sizes which is causing over eating, the survey found that 57 per cent believed they dish up the recommended portion sizes, only 14 per cent of people actually did.

There are plenty of cookery shows and food shows on TV which is encouraging people to cook at home using fresh ingredients, but with no real knowledge on diet and or any grasp on how much food they are consuming, people are struggling to maintain a healthy diet. Many people think obesity stems from an unhealthy diet consisting of takeaways and junk food however people who eat ‘healthy’ home cooked food are also at risk of obesity because of over eating.

Now though Weight Watchers is looking at educating people on portion control, Lucy Vickers, the firm’s nutritionist, said: “In today’s ‘eat as much as you can’ society package sizes keep growing with giant bottles of cola, extra-large bags of crisps and king-size chocolate bars. This distorts portion control and research shows some people eat more from larger food containers. In a recent test when moviegoers were given popcorn containers of two different sizes, the people given the larger tubs ate 44 per cent more.”

They are also looking at the phycology of overeating as well as some people may not realise they are over eating, Lucy Vickers explained: “Finishing everything on your plate is often a deeply ingrained habit from childhood. Simple adjustments can help reverse the habit, such as serving up smaller portions and using leftovers for lunch the next day.”

Out of those questioned in the YouGov poll, 68 per cent said they aim to dine at home more this month, with 24 per cent saying this was a way to cut calories. Other figures also show that 24 per cent want to be healthier and 54 per cent want to save cash by cooking meals at home from scratch.

Looking at the report, Weight Watchers suggests that education needs to begin much closer to home rather than what the Government is pushing with their ‘The Responsibility Deal’ which up to now has only concentrated on what we eat when buying from takeaways or fast food outlets and restaurants when outside the home. Looking at what people eat when at home, what they cook and how much they serve up will help people understand where they are going wrong with their diet.

Mac & Cheese

Picture courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt

We have been told time and time again, that snacking regularly is bad for us. But is it as bad as it’s made out to be?

No doubt you have heard the saying, that snacking between meals ruins your appetite and now we are even being told that snacking is the demon behind the modern-day crisis of obesity.

But if you an active kinda guy, then neither of the above may necessarily be true. On average, men need to consume an extra 600 calories more per day than women. Factors such as height, weight and occupation, can push this figure even higher still.

Basically, snacking can be a good thing. It can give you the extra calories you need, whenever you need them.

Snacking is pretty much essential if you miss a meal, as busy men are liable to do. Many of us regard meals as a low priority when we’ve got a hundred other things to do.

Snacking is not a problem, if you lead a busy life. However, it then because a problem if you choose to snack of the wrong types of foods.  Another advantage of snacking is that it gives you energy for specific occasions, like a workout or football game, for example.

Now, experts are actually saying that having three big meals is a mistake, and that instead we should have three smaller meals and some snacks, too.

Digesting large meals is hard work for your body and can actually make you feel lethargic. However, eating five times a day isn’t for everyone and can often be bad for those people who are prone to over-eating. But if you lead an active life, then this can be a very effective way of maintaining energy.

The American Dietetic Association suggests that if you’re truly hungry, a small snack could be a good way to ‘tide you over’ until you are ready for a big meal. If you don’t snack when you feel hungry, your blood sugar can drop sharply.

The dangers of snacking

The dangers of snacking are pretty basic. If you snack at the wrong times, with the Snacks high in fat, wrong foods, you are highly likely to gain weight.

What should men snack on?

There are a few rules for snacking. First, your snack shouldn’t be the sugary, carbohydrate-heavy type. This will only send your blood levels soaring.

When it comes to snacking, you should try high-fibre cereal topped with fresh fruit, picking at slices of lean ham, turkey or beef, or dipping into a punnet of cherry tomatoes throughout the day. This is extremely health and is almost certain to keep your hunger at bay.

If you find yourself a bit peckish before playing sports, oatmeal is a great snack. It has a healthy balance of protein and good carbohydrates. This releases glucose into the bloodstream more slowly, which then avoids peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels.) If you prefer energy bars, go for ones that are low in fat and sugar and made from whole oats.

Smoothies are another fabulously healthy way to see you through the afternoon. Made from a mix of fruits and either yoghurt or soya milk. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a healthy snack!
And finally, there’s chocolate. Yep, you heard that right. But it has to be the dark stuff, rich in heart healthy flavonoids. Milk chocolate is too high in sugar and fat.

Get snacking

Forget what you heard, snacking can be beneficial for most men! Snacking gives extra energy and helps you to avoid low-sugar lumps. Remember, this is only true if you snack on the right things!

When you’re in a rush or can’t decide what you want to eat, it’s tempting just to reach for a supermarket sandwich, ready meal or takeaway –but just how many calories exactly do these foods contain?

With obesity becoming an on-going problem, we need to start to consider fat contents and calories in common takeaway foods. We know that they’re bad. But how bad exactly, are they?
The average Indian takeaway consisting of: chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and a plain naan contains a whopping 1,338 calories and a huge 55g of fat. That one meal contains around two-thirds of the daily calories and 80% of the fat a woman should consume in a day. Wow.

Creamier dishes such as korma, pasanda and masala are even worse- but starters and sundries can do a similar damage. For example, one single onion bhaji contains 190 calories and 16g of fat, while a poppadom contains 65 calories and 5g of fat. These amounts are ridiculously high for such foods that you tend to eat as a snack, even before the meal has started. Can it possibly get any worse?

Yes. A Chinese takeaway of prawn crackers, crispy duck, chicken balls and spring rolls contains 2,832 calories – this is equal to two days’ worth of food if you’re trying to lose weight. What’s more shocking is the fat content. The typical Chinese take-away contains around 132.5g of fat – This is equal to a wine glass full of lard.

Pizzas vary in their calorie and fat content depending on their size, base and toppings used – and where you buy them from of course. So this information may come in useful when deciding where to eat in the future.

A regular margherita from Pizza Hut has 53% more calories than its equivalent at Pizza Express, for example. Pizza Express’s pizza contains around 664 calories compared to Pizza Hut’s regular 11-inchmargherita which contains a whopping 1,020 calories. Ouch.

Of course, different toppings need to be considered when looking at fat content etc. The worse toppings (and the ones to steer clear of) include: pepperoni, salami, spicy sausage and extra cheese.

Most of us know that a trip to McDonald’s spells the end of the diet – but it’s not just the Big Mac and fries that do the damage. Enjoying a large chocolate milkshake after the end of your meal and you’ll be drinking more than a meal’s worth of calories and fat.

Around two weeks ago I went to McDonalds myself. It’s not until I started writing this article that I was interested in how much calories I had eaten in just one of my three meals in that day. Using the McDonalds nutrition guide, I was able to accurately calculate my calories, fat and saturate content. I was not impressed! For a Large Chicken Legend meal (with cool mayo large fries and a large strawberry milkshake) and a Crunchie Mcflurry I had found that my total number of calorie intake for that one meal had been 1830 kcal, my fat had be 64g from which 20g was saturated. That is shockingly bad!

There is nothing worse than after lunch feeling the onset of the mid-afternoon slump where your body feels like it just can’t carry on with the rest of the day. All you want to do is put your head down on your desk and have a nap.

However you don’t have to feel like this there are a couple of things you can do that will help you get through the afternoon without you needing a nap or siesta:

Eating a good breakfast – There is a reason why people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, what you eat on a morning can impact you for the rest of the day. So if you regularly skip breakfast or only have something small you will feel it in the afternoon. Having something substantial, which isn’t sugary and isn’t refined carbs you will find your much better equipped to get through the day. Go for eggs, wholemeal toast, and yoghurt or fruit anything which releases energy slowly.

Eat little and often – After a good breakfast gets you to work and through the morning try to eat little and often after that especially if you work in an office. Our bodies aren’t equipped to digest lots of food whilst leading a sedentary life style so from about 1130 to 230 make time to have regular small snacks rather than a large lunch. It will be a lot easier for your body to digest and will stop you feeling sleepy in the afternoon.

Exercise – If you don’t have time or persistence to go to the gym at lunch, try and at least fit in a quick power walk. Exercise is a great boost plus it means it gives you a break from the computer screen. You will return to the office with your endorphins raised which will make it much easier to focus for the rest of the day.

Keep hydrated – Keeping hydrated is important especially when you work in an office, if there is air conditioning this can such the moisture right out of your skin. Dehydration is one of the top causes of fatigue, plus even mild dehydration causes blood to thicken. This forces the heart to work harder to pump blood around the body and wearing you out in the process. Make sure you drink plenty of water during the day especially if you drink lots of coffee which can also dehydrate you. Make it ice cold to give you an extra wakeup call in the afternoon.

Avoid cat napping at work

Picture courtesy of cbowns

A lot of people in the UK suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) and as we head towards the darker winter month’s people will feel it more and more. Many people use a SAD light on a morning to help boost their mood over the winter months. However eating correctly can also help you too.

With SAD many people turn to comfort eating to make them feel better however comfort eating sugar-loaded carbohydrates and fat-rich foods will actually do little for you. Instead make sure you eat the following to help SAD:

Eggs are very good for your health, over the past few years health experts have said they can do more harm than good although it was never really proven, now however health experts are in agreement that they are good for you, shocker! Eating eggs for breakfast make a really good start to the day, they contain folic acid and are protein-and-fat-rich but don’t cause fluctuations in blood sugar.

Avocadoes are another food that gets health experts in a tizzy however it has been shown that they are full of depression-fighting magnesium as well as B6 and folates. They also contain quite a lot of monounsaturated fat, which aids your metabolism and helps to lower your cholesterol. Mexican food uses avocadoes in most recipes and side dishes so why not have some Mexican feasts to brighten up your winter.

Sweet potatoes make for a good alternative to the spud, because they contain B6 vitamin, they affect the neurotransmitters in your brain and increase your mood. They are also low on the glycaemic index so means you won’t experience a peak and trough in your blood sugar. They are easy to cook with and can be treated pretty much in the same way as a normal spud, however make the most of them by roasting them with spices for a healthy potato wedge.

Oily fish have numerous health benefits which is why experts say we should incorporate them a lot more into our everyday diet. Fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids have been used to successfully treat depression plus they do wonders for your skin. They are a great option for breakfast, lunch and dinner so why not add some of these little god sends to your diet to beat SAD.

Diets which are rich in natural spices could help protect your heart by preventing heart disease according to researchers. It’s thought that you could still eat a high fat diet without it having an adverse effect on your heart if you add spies such as turmeric, cinnamon and paprika to the food.

The researchers from Penn State University have found a blend of antioxidant spices can actually reduce the stress that high fat foods put on your heart which is done by the build-up of triglycerides that are stored in fat cells.

Study leader Sheila West said: “If triglyceride levels are raised too much your risk of heart disease is increased. We found that adding spices to a high-fat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 per cent, compared to a similar meal with no spices added.”

The research was carried out by preparing two meals which were identical except that one had culinary spices in it and researchers drew blood from the six male participants aged between 30 and 65 every 30 minutes for three hours. They found that when the meal contained the blend of spices, antioxidant activity in the blood was increased by 13 per cent and insulin response decreased by about 20 per cent.

Speaking about the scientific findings Doctor West said: “Antioxidants, like spices, may be important in reducing oxidative stress and thus the risk of chronic disease.”

Oxidative stress is thought to be a contributing factor to heart disease, diabetes and arthritis according to many scientists, the results from these latest experiments can be found in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

When it comes to losing weight there are only two things which will achieve this, eating less (cutting calories) and exercising, fad diets etc., weight loss drugs and other ‘health’ things won’t ever really help you successfully lose weight and keep it off.

Cutting your daily intake of calories is quite an easy way to get you started on weight loss, by cutting as little as 100 calories a day you will find that it will have an effect on your weight loss. In fact you could save around 36,500 calories a year and this could help you lose up to ten pounds. That’s before you even think about exercising.

It’s a lot easier to cut 100 calories a day than you may think, swapping simple things or cutting down or other things is the place to start:

Cutting out spread/butter on your bread, go nude only add your jam to toast or sandwich filler instead.

Switch your milk from semi skimmed to skimmed and knock any fattening coffee to go drinks on the head and opt for a standard coffee or tea.

For part of your five-a-day go for fresh fruit rather than fruit juice, it may seem like an easier way to get your fruit but juices and Smoothies can have a lot of sugars in them which equates to calories.

Cut down on the olive oil, although the Mediterranean diet may be healthy, olive oil does contain quite a few calories, so try and restrict your intake for example cut it out of your salad dressings.

Say no to the alcohol and fizzy drinks, it can be quite hard to do without when you’re out but at home cutting down on fizzy drinks and alcohol, swapping them for water will help cut the cals!

Healthy tinned fish contain the Omega 3 oils which are good for your health, cut the cals with these by buying fish in spring water rather than sunflower oil and olive oil.

Steaming is best for your veg, although a stir-fry may seem like a healthy option the oil or butter people use to fry their veg in adds cals which is why steaming is better!

Cut out the fat by choosing lean cuts of meat, or cut off any visible bit and you should be able to reduce your calories which also goes for chicken skin too!

If you’re looking to add a bit of punch to your diet  or just want to add a little extra vitamins and minerals then why not have a look at adding some of these health drinks below:

Beetroot juice

Not a taste for everyone but it is exceptionally good for you, recent studies have suggested beetroot can help lower the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure, beetroot juice is also very good for a hangover and if you can’t stomach it on its own try mixing it with other fruit juices.

Berry drinks

Smoothies are an ideal way to get topped up with berries such as strawberry’s, which contain vitamin C and both blueberries and raspberries both of which contain lutein for healthy vision. It’s thought that darker berries are good for your skin because they contain antioxidants and anthocyanidins which strengthen the bond between the collagen fibres which strengthen our skin.

Coconut water

This is the drink many slim celebrities swear by but it has had a bit of bad press about its qualities recently however there are some facts which can’t be disputed. Coconut water contains more potassium, less sodium, and less sugar than most energy drinks plus and contains fibre which is good for energy boosts.

Pomegranate juice

There are quite a few health benefits in pomegranates; these include reducing stress levels; people who drank pomegranate juice regularly had significantly lower levels of the stress hormone in their saliva and they are also good for your heart.

Aloe Vera juice

It may not be the best tasting but it is one of the most effective juice drinks out there, aloe vera is rich in a range of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other trace elements. It is also good at reducing inflammation as well as good for your skin, dental health and immune system.

Thermogenic foods are foods use more calories to digest than they contain and this process aids weight loss and can help you to shift those pounds quicker than if you didn’t include Thermogenic foods into your diet and it’s also a great way to maintain a healthy weight.

Digesting food requires burning calories, some food need more calories to be digested than others, and some foods need more calories to burn than they actually contain. The increase in metabolic rate is referred to as the diet-induced thermogenesis where energy is used to break down food.

The following foods will help speed up your metabolism and are known as Thermogenic foods:

Oily fish – Omega 3 fatty acids, found in tuna, salmon, mackerel, and other fatty fish
Protein – Lean meats and fish help you feel full for longer
Celery – Great for snaking on
Chilli – Capsaicin in chilli stimulates your body’s ability to burn fat
Garlic – Helps break down fat deposits in the body
Grapefruit – Contains naringin which also accelerates the fat burning process
Orange – Rich in vitamin C
Green tea – Inhibits the action of amylase, a primary digestive enzyme of carbohydrates
Ice water – Drinking ice cold water burns more calories
Caffeine – Drink and eat caffeine rich products like coffee, dark chocolate and cola

Bananas mainly consist of sugars and fibre, which makes them brilliant for an instant, in addition to a slightly pro-longed, energy source. Bananas are frequently over looked as a fruit when it comes down to providing nutritional value and should be incorporated into the diet more, whether it be sliced up and combined with cereal, blended in a smoothie, or even consumed whole as a quick snack! It is recommended that the banana ought to be eaten as part of a nutritious diet at least 4 times a week…

Some of the health advantages of bananas include:

-Decreasing Depression: Bananas contain a specific amino acid that the body converts into serotonin, resulting in an improved mood.
-Bananas are also high in iron, helping the body’s haemoglobin functions work.
-Due to their content of fibre, bananas help to maintain a constant, usual bowel function.
-Bananas contain substances which help our body absorbs more calcium, meaning stronger bones (green bananas are better for this!)
-It has been proven that Bananas act in a significantly protective way towards the kidney.
-Bananas are high in Potassium and extremely low in Sodium… providing the perfect balance for maintaining a constant blood pressure.
-Help minimise heartburn
-Bananas can help those trying to quit smoking as they are high in B6 and B12 vitamins which help the body recover from nicotine withdrawal!
-Good for stress relief!
-Can help reduce the risks of strokes.
-It is well known that 3 portions of fruit a day can help better your eyesight!