I've been investigating fast food a fair bit recently and as a nutritionist it scares me how bad some foods can be. Here are some ways you can make eating out healthier over the festive season:

- If you can get a wholegrain sandwich this would be a good option. Choose one that is filled with lots of salad. Try to get one with lean meat and go easy on the cheese and dressings.

- If you are having a picnic or meal outside, buy a pre cooked chicken, remove the skin and any fat you can see (the breast meat will have less fat). Have this with a bread roll and plenty of salad.

- Go Asian – ask for steamed rice, steamed vegetables and lean meat or seafood. A stir-fry is also a good option – just make sure it contains lots of vegetables and that the meat used is lean.

- If you opt for a pasta meal make sure that it is a pasta with tomato based sauce. Make sure the meal also contains salad or vegetables and that you use cheese in minimal amounts.

- Baked potatoes are another vegetable based meal that would be perfect so long as you don’t add too much cheese, and ask for light sour cream if you have sour cream.

- Mexican food can be a great, flavour filled option. Choose a burrito or enchilada filled with plenty of salad, chicken or lean meat or beans. Avoid sour cream, corn chips and cheesy sauces.

- Salad bars are becoming more popular. Choose a salad that is obviously high in vegetables, but that also contains a little carbohydrate and protein (such as lean chicken, nuts or falafel) so that you are sustained for a longer period of time.

- Another healthy option is to have a kebab. Get as much salad as you can along with falafel, tabbouli or lean meat. Watch out for cheesy, or higher fat sauces.

- Pizza can be an option so long as you are careful about what is on it. Vegetarian pizza will be healthier but also ask for less cheese to be put on it and ask for a plain crust – not stuffed crust.

- Gourmet burgers are available everywhere these days. Choose one that contains a grilled meat patty, and plenty of salads. Avoid ordering the fries on the side.

GOOD LUCK! and remember colour is a good thing - more colour more nutrients!

A step closer to a healthier environment?

This week the children of New Zealand got a step closer to a healthier with the withdrawl of regular soft drinks from all schools. Frucor Beverages and Coca Cola Amatil have withdrawn full sugar drinks and will only supply schools with diet drinks, flavoured waters or fruit juices. Is it enough though?

Well its a good start - regular soft drinks are loaded with sugar and bad not only for our waistlines, but also our dental health. If sugar is left on the teeth it harbours bacteria which creates plaque. So this decision may not just help in the fight against obesity but also in other ways.

Although its a great start to making a healthier environment we still need to do more - what is to stop a teenager walking to the diary near school to buy a soft drink? We all know that while browsing the supermarket it is obvious that soft drink is cheaper than milk (and often bottled water) so it can be a hard choice for those on a budget to make the healthier choice. We still have a long way to go to make the environment more conductive to making the better choice - but its a start!

A healthy Kiwi BBQ

Its that time of year where we get our jandals on and get together with family and friends for a great Kiwi BBQ and its time to update your BBQ from just a sausage in bread with a splash of tomato sauce!


Traditionally the BBQ is all about chargrilled meat and bread with sauce but considering that its not exactly blanced you can use these tips to make your next BBQ better:

• Take along a salad or two - that way you will have a way of adding your greens to your meal
• Pasta, rice, couscous or potato salads are a great way of adding more carohydrates to your BBQ meal - try and use lower fat dressings to keep the fat and energy down
• Make sure you dont overdo it on the meat - make a balanced meal with salad and vegetables
• A great way to add more vegetables to your meal is to add corn on the cob, or vegetable kebabs (thread mushrooms, capsicum, onion and any of your favourite veges on a skewer and cook on the BBQ)
• Try and avoid excessively buring the meat - HCA's on burnt meat and foods are not good for our health
• If there is dessert have a low fat alternative such as a fruit salad with yoghurt or a small scoop of ice cream

While you are at the BBQ also keep an eye on your alcohol intake, and try and add in an activity - think backyard cricket, rugby or pole tennis - great BBQ activities of the past!

Can thinking about food make us store energy in our muscles?

New research from Japan suggests that just thinking about food can make our muscles take up glucose for use as an energy source just by thinking about it. The study was conducted with mice but the researchers think that the results will be transferable to humans.

The researchers in Japan investigated a protein known as orexin-A, which is activated in the brain by physical activity, moods and thoughts. Orexin-A was injected into the brians of the mice used and this caused a message to be sent to the muscles (skeletal muscle) which then directed the muscle to fuel up with glucose.

We do know that even just thinking about exercise can cause the body to start preparing for an exercise session - e.g. an increase in heart rate may be seen, and during visualisation in athletes muscles have shown the same activity that is seen in 'real' movements, so it is definately possible that our thoughts impact our bodily function.

Although it is very early to tell if this will help in humans it does indicate that it could help in terms of carb (glucose) use in athletes preparing for events, and in weight management medications. Stay tuned....

Slow Carb not Low Carb

Everyone has heard of the Low Carb phenomenon, but what we really should be thinking is Slow Carb, not Low Carb. Carbohydrates are an essential part of our diets - at least 55% of our energy should come from carbs. They are used as a fuel source in the muscles, liver and in the bloodstream and without a decent supply we suffer not only in physical performance, but also in mental performance.

If you restrict your carb intake you run the risk of running out of fuel. If there is not enough carb stored in your muscles you will run out while exercising, you may have heard of this being called "hitting the wall". This significantly impacts on your performance - if you have to stop your training session early you miss out on vital training adaptations and kilojoule burning. Those who limit their carb intake also run the risk of more grumpiness, lethargy and a decrease in mental function. The brain primarily uses carbs as its energy source - if this supply is limited the brain cannot function effectively - you end up feeling tired, irritable, unable to concentrate properly and with decreased reaction times. Not a nice side effect for you (or the people you interact with on a day to day basis!).

The reason that low carb diets are often associated with fast weight loss is that when you eat carbs you store them with water, if you dont eat enough the stores of carb and water are depleted (and this shows up as a loss on the scales) - you are not burning through body fat, therefore as soon as you start eating more carbs that weight will go back on as you store them + water.

What we need to do is switch from a low carb idea to a slow carb mentality. Slow carbs are those with a low glycaemic index. They digest and release sugars into the bloodstream slowly, and therefore dont have such a large insulin response. They keep us feeling fuller for longer as well (and are generally high in nutrients). Good slow carb foods are: wholegrain breads, lentils and pulses (e.g. chickpeas), kumara, basmati rice, oats, apples, yoghurt, bananas, kiwifruit and sweetcorn.

To begin now... or after Christmas?

I've been talking to a lot of people lately who, although they know they want to make some changes to their diet and lifestyle, know that Christmas is just around the corner and are torn between the decision on when to start.


Many say "well Christmas will make it difficult anyway so Ill just start after Christmas" but is this the best approach? I know that Christmas is a difficult time to make sensible choices consistently but I like to think THERE IS NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT! Many people find that they put on a couple of kgs over the Christmas period so when they do decide to make changes afterwards they have an extra couple to think about, whereas starting now you can look to lose a little before Christmas and maintain this through the period, giving you an even better starting point for the New Year.


This exercise might be helpful to make that decision:

1. What I am thinking about achieving? Try and make it specific - is it a weight focus? is it a performance focus?
2. How will I feel when I reach this goal? Think about you will feel when you dress, when you look in the mirror, what others will say to you about how you look, what your energy levels will be like, how it will feel to exercise etc
3. How would I feel if I don't achieve that goal? How will you feel? unhealthy? unenergetic? lethargic?
4. Am I ready to take the first small step towards achieving that goal?
5. What help do I need to enlist to get the support and motivation to achieve it?
6. When I am going to get started?


You may find this information helpful: http://www.sportsnutritionist.co.nz/index.php?pr=Our_Services

Surviving a birthday buffet

With my birthday this week, and my partners last week his parents took us out to a delicious dinner buffet last night and it made me realise that even with the best intentions it is hard to say no to the extras! As I wanted to enjoy it without feeling stuffed to the brim when leaving I used the following strategies to help me moderate my intake:

1. Go for the salads first - fill up your plate with plenty of colourful salads (I went for the lettuce, shaved carrot, tomatoes, greek salad, couscous and pasta salad and 1/2 a hard boiled egg). With plenty of colour it is then easy to go easy on the roast potatoes and extras!
2. Luckily we were seated the furthest you could get from the buffet - this means that you think twice before getting up from the table to get a second helping.
3. Go for the lower fat desserts to have less calories - I went for the mini pavlovas with fruit, fruit salad (although I couldn't resist a little creme caramel and tiny spon of trifle!)
4. Go easy on the alcohol - I had just one glass of wine - alcohol is high in kilojoules and can lower your self control when you are trying to watch what you eat
5. Watch your intake before you go out - I made sure that I had a perfect breakfast and lunch, with a small afternoon tea so that any extras at dinner wouldn't have so much of an effect. Having a small afternoon tea made sure that I wasnt starving by the time we sat down and I didnt need so much dinner.

De-Stress with Chocolate?

Chocolate lovers will be happy to hear that new research has shown that eating dark chocolate each day may reduce stress.

A new study by researchers in Switzerland have found that dark chocolate may help improve stress. They took 30 subjects and fed them 40g of dark chocolate a day (20g in the morning and the remaining 20g in the afternoon) and measured levels of certain stress hormones in the subjects blood and urine. They found that in the group of high stress anxiety subjects that these levels of stress hormones decreased over 2 weeks. Does this mean though that we should be eating chocolate every day?....

It's important to remember that dark chocolate may sound healthier but it still contains a significant amount of fat and sugar and can contribute to weght gain. Eating it for morning and afternoon tea may also displace other healthy foods from your diet (e.g. if you switch chocolate for your normal mid morning piece of fruit). It is also important to realise that this was a small study (only 30 subjects) and that much more research needs to be done before we can conclusively say that it is beneficial for us, so for now enjoy it in moderation (even doing that may reduce your stress levels!)

Do your weekends ruin your good eating intentions?

When you work hard during the week it can be easy to get to the weekend and relax off your nutrition and exercise strategies. When I ask clients if their week day eating habits translate through into the weekend there are usually two distinct replies, 1. No, I skip meals as Im busy, or 2. No, I eat many more treat foods. Now there is nothing wrong with being relaxed on the weekend but if you allow yourself to relax fully and do any of the following then you are really risking all of your hard work during the week

• Eating more snacks as you graze throughout the day
• Eating large amounts of treat foods e.g. bags of chippies on the couch
• Having too much alcohol (and consequently making bad food choices)
• Skipping meals as you are out of routine (especially bad for athletes and those building muscle mass)
• Not drinking as much water
• Not eating as much fruit and vege
• Eating large amounts of processed foods
• Eating larger portion sizes

Try and stick to your weekly routine as much as you can during the weekend, otherwise you might find yourself making up for it next week!

What we eat with has an impact on how much we eat

What tools we use to eat with has an impact on how much we actually eat. Imagine that you are given chopsticks to eat your normal stir fry dinner - can you eat your meal as quickly as you would normally would with a knife and fork? Chances are you can't - research shows that we slow down and eat less whe we use chopsticks - so when you are eating Asian foods at home use chopsticks instead of a fork to slow yourself down and ask for chopsticks when you are out.

Its also a well known fact that the bigger our plate is that we eat off, the more we will fill it up and eat it. Change your dinner plate to a smaller version so that you can still enjoy a balanced meal but you don't feel like you are having a smaller portion. The same with your bowls - if you eat out of a deep bowl it can be hard to judge how much food is in the bowl (and easy to fill it up so it looks like a decent sized meal) - find a shallow bowl where you can see your entire meal and use this instead.

If you are drinking out, research also shows that from a tall glass might slow us down as well. We seem to think that we are getting more from a tall glass and drink it slower than a short glass.

Fibre - what is it?

Fibre is essential to a healthy diet, and is known to play a role in decreasing the risk of bowel cancer, and heart disease. It is also important in healthy digestion.

Fibre is the term to describe any type of plant food that is not broken down by digestion. Fibre is therefore found in fruits and vegetables, and cereals. We don’t find fibre in dairy products or meat products. You will often find that some foods have added fibre in them, check the label if you are unsure of the fibre content of a manufactured food.
There are 3 major types of fibre in foods (most foods contain a mixture of these types)

Resistant starch – found in firm bananas, cooked and then cooled potatoes, roasted chickpeas, baked beans. This type helps to prevent constipation.

Insoluble fibre – found in wholegrain and whole wheat based products (such as cereals and pasta), apple skins, popcorn has a tough chewy texture and provides bulk to the diet.

Soluble fibre – found in fruit, vegetables, oats, rice and barley helps to produce softer bowel motions and aid in healthy bowel function.


Why wholegrains?

Wholegrains contain more nutrients and fibre as they have not been processed as much as refined grains. A whole grain contains; bran (a fibre rich outer area), a germ (a nutrient rich inner area), and an endosperm. We need to choose wholegrains at every opportunity

The 5 P's - Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Recently Ive been talking to a lot of athletes who are gearing up for big events like The Lake Taupo Challenge and 1/2 Ironman and it really makes me think about the 5 P's - PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE !! Nutrition, whether you are an athlete or not comes down to planning - you can have the best intentions but if you are not planned then chances are its not going to go to plan.

It is essential for athletes who are training for events to plan ahead - think about what your event entails - e.g. how long will you be competing for? what could go wrong in that time to extend that time? what foods and fluids will you have beforehand? what foods are suitable and work for you during the event? how do you carry your food and fluid needs? do you need support crew? will you take this food and fluid with you or will you rely on finding it in the event location? what do you need for recovery? how many times will you practice these strategies before the event? how will travelling to the event impact on your food choice?

As you can see there are a huge number of factors that need to be planned for an event. Sometimes it can seem like more work but two great examples can highlight the downside of this - one year that I did the full Taupo cycle challenge I actually saw a rider get off his bike and get a pie from a local store as he had run out of food - a pie as a good fuel source - NO WAY!, and another year a major supermarket ran out of bread - now if you had relied on finding toast at the location you would have been very disappointed! take what you need with you and then there's no risk of getting frustrated trying to find your 'normal event food'.

It is important to plan ahead, that way when you get to the start line you can relax and concentrate on your event - you have planned and practiced your strategies so you know they work! Prior planning prevents poor performance! For more info on how we can help you plan http://sportsnutritionist.co.nz/index.php?pr=Sports_Nutrition_

Perfect food for on the road - How I avoid mindless eating

In my last blog I wrote about my burger ring downfall on a car ride home, this time I'm letting you know what else I do when I'm eating on the run.

My favourite lunch when I'm away from home and I don't have a homemade lunch prepared is to nip into a supermarket. As I dash through I pick up a small amount of loose leaf lettuce (this usually costs about 20 cents!), a piece of fruit (also usually less than a dollar), a thin slice of edam cheese from the deli (still only 40c worth), a wholegrain roll (I really like the wholegrain Kaiser rolls), about 40g of chilli lime cashews and a bottle of water. When I get back into the car I fill my roll with the lettuce and cheese (you could also add a thin slice of 99% fat free ham or shredded chicken) and have this with my water. Then I also have the cashews and piece of fruit in case I get hungry later on in the trip. If I'm feeling a bit like a treat I'll pick up a calcixtra strawberry milk to have as well.

A really important thing to remember is if you are purchasing things like cashews or nuts, make sure you only get exactly what you need - if you get more you'll eat more, and if you can, stop to eat your meal - that way you'll enjoy it more and know when to stop.

Other great ideas for quick meals are sushi + a piece of fruit, or salads (I especially love Kapai salad's rocket, roasted kumara, and feta salad with thai chilli and lime dressing.

The dangers of eating while driving

Some of you will be aware that I spend a fair amount of time in the car travelling and I have to admit I'm not immune to the sweet treats that the petrol stations and supermarkets have along the way - but an overload of burger rings has reminded me of an important concept.


After a couple of long days it can be tempting to go for these sugar packed foods and I will also admit to a small pack of burger rings on one particular trip home (I'm human too!) What this really reminded me of is the concept of mindful eating- when I'd put my hand in the bag and realised I was out of burger rings I looked over in horror wondering who had consumed most of the packet! - It certainly wasn't me I thought!!! This can easily happen though, as I was focused on driving I hadn't even experienced those burger rings - I couldn't even recall what they really tasted like - sound familiar?


We all do it - its mindless eating. We should be thinking about, and concentrating on the food that we are consuming, savouring it as if it were a treat (which the burger rings were) and be able to tell if we are no longer hungry. This particular car ride re-taught me a valuable lesson - don't eat and drive (and don't buy treats if you aren't really going to experience them properly - its just a waste of calories!). Next time Ill tell you how Ive avoided mindless eating in the car ever since and how you can too!

The importance of setting healthy goals

We all like to think about getting healthier, losing a bit of weight and improving our fitness but what are the secrets behind actually getting to where you want to be?

Firstly, you need to know what you want achieve - if you think "ok I just want to lose some weight" - how do you define when you have done that - is it 1kg or is it 10kg? It needs to be measurable. When you are setting your lifestyle based goals you might think "well 1kg is pretty easy and if I set a big goal like 10kg I'll never make it!", but if you dream big, you'll get big. Start by having a great goal and then to make it more manageable set smaller goals along the way - for example your big goal might be to lose 10kg within 10 months, and your smaller stepping stone goals may be to lose 1kg in in month 1, lose 2kgs by the end of month 2, and so on. Having stepping stone goals will make it more manageable and motivating when you get to them. A great way to keep motivation up is to reward yourself when you get to each stepping stone. Avoid using food as reward as you are embarking on a new healthy relationship with food - instead you may like to have a spa treatment, buy a new pair of shoes, take a mini vacation or weekend away.

When you have your goals and stepping stones decided write them out and place them somewhere that you will see them each day so tat you are constantly reminded of them. Now you are ready to make changes in your lifestyle to achieve your goals - you can see more on how we can help you set and achieve your goals at www.sportsnutritionist.co.nz

Is the food diary the ultimate dietary change tool?

Is the food diary the ultimate dietary change tool?

It possibly could be... I know that when I'm travelling a lot its easy to get out of routine and find that I am adding extras (or foods that I normally don't have so much of) to my diet. Thats where getting the food diary out again can help - it always makes you think twice about what you put in your mouth - do I actually want other people to see that!

Research has shown that those who keep a food diary lose weight more effectively, and manage to keep it off more successfully. It is a motivating tool - I also find with myself and clients that it is a great idea to highlight any treats in your food diary, that way you can easily see how often you have had treats (and whether you should be thinking twice again!).

A point to remember in using your food diary is to make sure its precise - don't just write cereal for breakfast, write 1/2 cup Just Right + 1/2 cup Calci Trim milk and 2 tablespoons of cranberries. That way you can track your intake over time and look for corresponding patterns. If you need a template for your food diary check out these

Do we always go for cheaper food?

If an item of food is cheaper in the supermarket or store does that make us more likely to eat it?

A new cut price store has just opened in Wellington and is offering junk food - chocolate for up to half the price of what it is in regular supermarkets (read the story from the Dominion Post here). This has opened debate on is it right to have this kind of store when we are trying to encourage new Zealander's to have better diets?

I know through working with clients who are trying to lose or manage their weight that the environment plays a huge role. I know that people can choose where to shop and that is great, but I also know that for some people the temptation is just too great to shop at places like this. What is also harder is that once you have walked into the place it can be hard to say no to all the extras that are on display, even when you didn't intend to buy them.

I am a big advocate of everything in moderation but lets just look at how could it affect your daily intake if you were to indulge:

As a snack - 10 squares of Milk Chocolate will give you 1116kJ, 14.8g fat (thats almost 3 teaspoons), 9g of that is saturated, and 28.2g sugar (5.6 teaspoons). If you have a peice of fruit instead e.g. an apple thats ~250kJ, nil fat and ~10g sugar. A much better choice - but would you choose the apple over the chocolate if the chocolate was less than half price?

Can we eat well on a budget?

With the current economic situation there is a huge focus on healthy eating on a budget. Can it be done?

It sure can! Numerous people tell me that they can't possibly eat well on a budget and that its always easier (and cheaper) for them to buy a fast food meal. So to investigate I logged on to Woolworths online shopper and looked at just how cheap meals can be. I love pasta and am a huge fan of it in meals - for this example I have gone with spaghetti bolognaise and vegetables - perfect for a cold winters night.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

500g of Penne Pasta $2.70
350g of Signature Range Tomato Pasta Sauce $1.99
750g of Signature Range Frozen Mixed Vegetables $3.49
560g of Premium Beef Mince $8.49

How to make - place mince in a non stick fry pan and cook until browned through. Drain off any excess fat and add pasta sauce. Warm through while you cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. While this is cooking place your mixed vegetables in a steamer, microwave or boil in a small amount of water (to prevent loss of too many nutrients). Once everything is cooked, place the pasta on your plate, top with the mince and pasta sauce mix and put plenty of mixed vegetables on the side. This will easily serve 4 - 5 people, and all for a grand price of just $16.42.

Lets just compare that to a KFC Family Meal Deal where you get 10 peices of original fried chicken with 4 family sides - not exactly a complete meal esecially if you choose soft drink and fries as your sides, and it costs $28.90! I know which one I would rather choose!

It's not hard to eat healthy and for minimal cost - the food you create at home will have more nutrients, taste better and fill you up for longer!

More strategies that can help in lowering your food costs are:

- take a list of what you need and don't deviate from that
- avoid in store demonstrations : you will end up buying it if you like the taste
- buy fruit and vegetables in season
- if you see specials for staples (such as canned fruit, rice, pasta) then make use of these
- avoid the treat food aisles
- avoid buying soft drinks : water is free at home!