Who are you eating with?

Did you know that the people that you eat with can have a profound effect on how much you eat? Did you know that the number of people eating with you can also influence how enjoyable and palatable the meal is?

Research has long shown that others and our environment can have a profound effect on what we choose to eat. Both males and females tend to eat more when they are in the presence of others, especially those they know well. If you don't know the people you are eating with you tend to eat less - maybe we try to impress those we don't know but don't care when we are around familiar faces?

Research* has shown that there can be an increase of up to 76% of calories consumed when and individual eats with seven or more people - that is a huge increase in energy, especially if you do it often! Other research has also shown that there may be an even larger effect of eating with others when alcohol is consumed.

So what should you do if you are watching your weight? If you are going to be eating in a large group do enjoy your meal but keep in mind how much you are consuming. Add what you like to your plate, look at it, eat it and don't go back for more. Constantly filling up your plate will add loads more energy to your meal and constitutes overeating. It's also easy to forget to think about, and respond to signals of fullness if you are in a large group and the conversation is flowing. Take part in the conversation but put down your knife and fork (or chopsticks etc) regularly and take a moment to think about how full you are.

Eating with others is one of life's great pleasures but be careful that you don't overeat - it may make achieving your weight or health based goals that much harder.

Reference

* Stroebele and De Castro, (2004) Ambience and Food Intake. Nutrition, (20),9:S821-8838

What's in your lunch box?

Lunch boxes aren't just for kids - I find it refreshing to put all of my lunch (+ snacks) in one container and knowing thats what I'll consume through the day. It stops me going out and getting something else on a whim but also lets me check that I'm getting everrything that I need for the day...so what should be in your lunch box?

The first thing I pick for my box is a filling option like a wholegrain salad sandwich with hummus or a chickpea salad. I'm not a big meat eater at lunch so sometimes I'll change this to a bean salad (also really good for keeping you feeling full for longer!). Once Ive decided on this main part of the meal I'll also add some dairy like a low fat yoghurt. I also add some snacks so there is always a dried fruit/raw nut/seeds mix (although I do restrict the size I take otherwise I eat it all!), a number of pieces of fruit (like 2 mandarins, a plum and a nectarine). I also often add a small homemade bran muffin in case I get extra hungry. To top if off I include a bottle of water and I'm all set for a long day...

What shouldn't go in your lunch box? My example above doesn't have any treat foods (that's not to say I don't like them but I find that if I'm going to feel like a treat it will be after dinner so I dont want two in a day!). If I'm doing long days I know that eating treat foods only give me a quick, but unsustained rush of energy so I avoid them by not taking them. Treat foods will also not give you nearly as many nutrients as you would get from 'real food'.

When you pack your lunch box next make sure that you fill it up with a main option like the sandwich or a wrap or salad, add some other protein (a hard boiled egg is good, cold meat or cottage cheese with vegetable sticks are also handy), some fresh or tinned fruit and fluid (preferably water) and any other snacks that you think you may need (good ideas include plain popcorn, yoghurt, flavoured milk, homemade muffins).

Cleaning up your diet

Over the past few weeks Ive realised (along with a lot of others) that I need to clean up my diet a bit. Travelling, working and exercising keeps you busy but it can also lead to a few good habits falling to the wayside... I realised that I needed to do a reality check and get myself back on track.

I'm a firm believer in moderation but on the odd occasion I think I was having more than a little moderation! My first step was to get my food diary back in action and take a good look at exactly what I was eating... the results weren't too scary - I realised that I needed to clean up a few things. I needed to ease back on the treat and convenience foods, add even more fruit and vegetables in and drink more water. Not hard stuff and once I was writing everything down it was pretty simple - and yes I did feel so much better - I had even more energy and could concentrate more.

Some of the simple things that I added back in included a dried fruit/nut and seed mix instead of sweet treats or more processed snacks, getting a slab of low fat chocolate yoghurts so that if I felt like something sweet at least I'd get more nutrients from it and I made sure if I was travelling that I had an entire lunchbox made up - this stopped me from buying any food out and about.

It can be hard to have the perfect diet - not even nutritionists cant manage it 100% of the time but being aware of when you are slightly straying off track and how to get back on track is one of the biggest parts of a healthy (and enjoyable) diet.

BAD fats to be labelled on our foods? But will it stop us eating it?

We might get an extra helping hand if the decision is made to label trans fats on food labels later this month (as seen here) . I think its a great idea but there may also need to be more education on these types of fat as we as New Zealanders still seem to be confused on different types of fats.

With such an onslaught of "FAT IS BAD!" many people still have the idea that all fat is bad when in fact we know that some fats are indeed healthier than others. Most will know that saturated fat is bad in that it increases the levels of LDL cholesterol (the type which tends to sit in and clog up your arteries).

Trans fats are thought to be even worse than saturated fats because they have been hydrogenated. The fat is usually cooked at a very high temperature which causes its chemical structure to change (and not for the better!). They are generally used in bakery products, pastries and foods which need to stay fresher for longer.

But would labelling the trans fats cause us to decrease our intake? I'm not entirely sure... I know as an avid label reader (+ its a vital part of my job!) I would love to know exactly how much trans fats are in foods so I can make a better choice but I'm not convinced that everyone will. Maybe what we need is more education at the same time to show people why they need to decrease their intake of them. I'd love to know your thoughts... would it make you eat less or not worry at all?

Can we really blame the recession for buying (and supposedly eating) less fruit and veges?

I was watching the news on Sunday night and saw a segment blaming the recession for the Restaurant Brands profit surging but the purchases of fruit and vegetables dropping - can we really blame the recession though? Turners & Growers saw a decrease of 34% profit and this was attributed to the fact that people weren't buying fruit and veges in the recession. That same day I had also read the newspaper and a great article on a different slant to the decreased purchase of fruit and veges - that article discussed how so many NZer's are now growing their own fruit and vegetables and that this could be in fact the cause of the slump in profits - not that we had just gone off veges and brought fast food instead.

I believe there is a lot of proof to the newspaper article - I myself now have vegetable plants growing (red onions, spring onions, celery, lettuce etc), we have a huge feijoa plant as well as large lemon tree and a passionfruit vine. Because of this we do spend less at the supermarket on fruit and vegetables but its not to say we aren't eating them.

Although it may be reported that fast food consumption is increasing there are still a lot of NZer's concerned about their health and making a big effort to increase to their intake fruit and vegetables which is great to see!

Weight Watchers @ McDonalds

You may have heard today that McDonalds is partnering up with Weight Watchers to provide new points based choices. Good idea or bad idea? Well there's definitely plenty of comments on Stuff's article (www.stuff.co.nz) - as I nutritionist what do I think?

I think we need to weigh up both sides of the story...

Weight Watchers provide a weight management service that works on a point based system for each portion of energy. Each person has their set points that they can consume each day and theoretically by staying within their points limits means that they lose weight (by controlling their energy intake). For some people this works really well - they have a limit and can work within this and by having boundaries they can stay in control.

One issue I do have is that by having a range of points it may not always encourage balanced eating - if you know you want a treat food you can save up your points. I know of people who have in the past cut back on eating more balanced foods like wholegrain breads so that they can drink a bottle of wine on Friday night - not exactly a balanced diet!

McDonalds have made big inroads in the past few years by offering healthier choices, which is great but how many people have the willpower to say no to the 'not so healthy' options while they are there 100% of the time? The options at McDonalds which have a points rating of 6.5 are the Filet-O-Fish, chicken nuggets and the Sweet chilli seared chicken wrap. Just how many nutrients are in those chicken nuggets I ask?... going by what they look like you may get some protein from the chicken but otherwise they aren't a balanced meal (and 6.5 points is around a meal for most people) - there is no salad, no fruit or vegetables and no serve of wholegrain breads or cereals with the nuggets. Having a points scheme may entice people to order these options more, but its not teaching them to eat a more balanced meal.

In the end it comes down to a personal decision - will you spend your money on a meal that doesn't fill you up, isn't as balanced as it should be and feel hungry soon after eating?, or will you make a more educated decision to make a homemade meal or find a better, more nutritious, more filling choice?

2 for 1 - is it worth it?

While browsing the supermarket this morning I got to thinking about the 2 for 1 deals, are they really all they are cracked up to be?

I know there has been an occasion in our household when Squiggles were on special and consequently they were devoured far too quickly - is a cheaper product really worth it?

No I don't think so, especially if its something that you like that should be classified as a treat (and lets face it fruit and vegetables aren't usually sold on a 2 for 1 deal!). Its generally the high fat, high sugar foods that are promoted in these deals.

If it was a healthy product - for example I got 3 cans of chickpeas for $4, then that's great - but only because its a healthy, high fibre food that's not going to go off in a can.

My best advice - make your shopping list before you leave - only buy whats on your list (if its on special thats great) but don't buy extra foods just because you can get more for your money. If its chocolate or treat foods pay more for one and be happy in the knowledge that the second isn't going to tempt you over the next few days!