Healthier Eating Tips

Heart Breakfast asked nutritionist and personal trainer Gareth Ramsden to offer some advice on how we can change our diets for the better.

Gareth is a fully qualified personal trainer and sports nutritionist based in Lincolnshire

Gareth says one of the best ways to start eating more healthily is to make small changes to your current diet...

Snacking

Instead of snacking on chocolate bars, snack on un-salted nuts such as almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts (however, bear in mind that healthy fats do contain a lot of calories so they can still add up, a handful at a time is fine).

If you like to eat ice cream, then replace higher fat ice cream with a lower calorie alternative such as Skinny Cow Ice Cream.

Instead of snacking on crisps, try rice cakes, they are a nice alternative.

Instead of chips use healthier carbohydrate source such as pasta, rice, cous cous, etc…

Substitute burgers for a different, healthier form of protein such as, chicken, turkey, fish, etc…

Perhaps buy some lean mince from a supermarket or local butcher, and make your own, healthy version of burgers.

Cooking

When cooking, if you use a lot of oil, why not grill your food or choose a low-calorie spray oil which are available in most supermarkets.

Ensure that fibre rich vegetables are within the diet, such as spinach, broccoli, etc… Eating vegetables such as the fore-mentioned are an excellent choice when you eat meals, as the fibre within the product, helps to keep you satiated and less hungry.

Drinking

Ensure that water intake is also kept high. There is no set amount to drink, but a pint of water with each meal is a great way to ensure adequate hydration.

If you drink high calorie fizzy drinks, substitute these with their lower-calorie option. Flavoured water is sometimes a great way to curb sugar cravings (however, some flavoured water can contain a lot of calories due to the carbohydrates within them, in the form of sugar).

Fast food

If you like Indian food, why not buy some fresh chicken breasts and some flavouring or spices such as tikka flavour, and make your own healthy, yet tasty meal.

If on a night out, try not to eat a kebabs and such like at the end of the night, especially when it is your last meal before bed time.

A very important aspect is be careful with foods which are labeled ‘Low Fat’, these are often loaded with sugar, to enhance the taste following the reduction in fat content.

Always plan ahead, if you are going somewhere, then take healthy options with you to eat. Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail. Don’t be stuck in a situation where you are forced to eat something unhealthy simply because you haven’t prepared in advance.

Some examples...

Proteins
Chicken
Turkey
Eggs
Fish
Steak
Mince
Lean Bacon
Quark
Cottage Cheese
Yoghurt
Protein powder

Carbohydrates
Oats
Pasta
Rice
Rice Cakes
Oat Cakes
Weetabix
Potatoes
Beans

Fibrous Carbs
Spinach
Cucumbers
Lettuce
Cabbage
Asparagus
Green beans
Mushrooms
Carrots
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage

Healthy Fats
Flax Oil
Fish Oils
Natural Peanut Butter
Oils - Sunflower, Macadamia, Olive, Grapeseed, Hempseed, Sesame.
Oily Fish - Sardines, Salmon, Makerel.
Nuts - Almonds, Brazil, Walnuts, Hazlenuts.

More help

You can find out more about Gareth at his website here

And if you want to lose weight join Kev and Abby in trying to get Peterborough to lose 1000lbs here