Meditrim

Each year we all decide to make our New Year’s resolution so in the New Year we are a better version of ourselves, January the 1^st brings with it a fresh start. But it does not take long for these good intentions to go right out the window. Here are some simple steps to help you not only stick to your New Year’s resolutions but make better ones in the first place.

• When making your resolution be specific with the details. For example, don’t just say ‘I want to be slimmer’, say ‘I want to lose 10kg so I am slimmer and healthier’. This gives you a clear idea of what to achieve. This also allows you to set stepping stones to achieve your overall goal. For example, ‘I want to lose between .5-1kg a week’. Then as you achieve your smaller goals you can celebrate that you are one step closed to successfully completing you New Year’s resolution and may even want to reward yourself with something like going to see a movie you think you will enjoy, this will keep you motivated along the way. Losing 1kg a week is not as hard to picture initially as 10kh in total.
• Make your New Year’s resolution achievable. Before you start, make sure you research and have resources readily available so you have every chance of succeeding.
• Make sure you set a time frame for your resolution to be achieved. Having a deadline will ensure you stick to your goal, but don’t let this become a stress- be realistic. Have something like ‘I will have lost 10kg by Jan’s wedding in June’.
• Don’t make resolutions you have no intention in keeping. If you hate exercising but want your New Year’s resolution to be increased exercise don’t resolve to become a gym junkie who goes to the gym 7 days a week. Be realistic, make your resolution to become more active by going for a 30 minute walk  2-3 times a week, or make an appointment with a personal trainer at your Genisis Gym once a week to get your motivation up. Once you get started you may actually start to enjoy it because it is realistic and achievable.
• Don’t make too many resolutions at once, this will require too many lifestyle changes and make it harder to stick to. Make small changes at first following the above suggestions and then you can increase these as you go along.
• Record your progress. Sometimes we focus so much on where we want to be at we lose sight of how far we have come. Having a record to look back on will help increase your motivation and help to keep you going.

Good luck and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Two more sleeps, til Chrissie! What will you be eating? Ham, Turkey, Prawns, Pudding, Mince pies? What’s healthier?

Prawns: (52 calories per 100g)

Ham: (82 calories per 100g)

Turkey (roasted and skin off) 1 serve at 100g = 68 calories

Fruit minced pie 1 serve at 70g = 175 calories

Christmas fruit cake: 1 slice at 70g = 249 calories

Christmas pudding with cream: 1 serve at 70g = 314 calories

Rum and Diet Coke. A basic twist on the old standard with over half the calories!  Standard drink 110 calories

Vodka Diet Cranberry. The cranberry juice in this popular cocktail will boost up the sugar and calories.  The diet version of this drink will drastically reduce your calorie intake making it only 140 calories per serve compared to 220 calories for the regular version.

Cosmopolitan. The Cosmopolitan is an excellent naturally lower calorie alcoholic drink that can be made easily. A Cosmopolitan is four parts vodka, two parts triple sec, two parts cranberry juice (use the diet version), and one part lime juice for a tasty low calorie treat.

Mojito. This old favorite is making a comeback! A properly made Mojito has 160 calories and 15 grams of sugar, and it is a tasty treat. To make a Mojito you need 3 fresh mint sprigs, two teaspoons of sugar, three tablespoons of fresh lime juice, 1.5 oz of light rum, and club soda. In a tall thin glass crush the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lime juice first, stir thoroughly. Top it with ice and then add the rum and top it off with cold club soda, then add a lime slice and the remaining mint.  Enjoy!

Bloody Mary. The classic Bloody Mary is only 150 calories and 10 grams of sugar, making this a great lower calorie classic.  Although beware of the inflated, ‘strong’ versions on this drink some bar tenders can mix up.

Easy Reach Equals Easy Temptation: Don’t stand near the table with food and drinks when you are at a function. If it is in easy reach you will be more inclined to pick at the snacks. Remember, every mouthful and taste counts towards your daily intake.

H2O: if you are at a party and the wine is flowing remember not to neglect your water intake. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger so keep up with your water intake so you are nicely hydrated. Also, excessive alcohol intake often leads to snacking and as alcohol is calorie dense if you are not burning these for energy it is stored as fat. Making a conscious effort to drink water will stop you from drinking more alcohol to quench your thirst.

Remember Your Serving Sizes: when you are serving up your Christmas meal you do not have to taste a bit of everything, this is setting yourself up to over eat. By having small amounts of different tastes it can actually take longer for your brain to register when you are full.  Start off with your usual size serving, chew your food slowly and really savour all the delicious flavours, put your knife and fork down in between mouthfuls as the slower you eat the easier it is for your brain to register satiety.  When you are finished wait about 15-20 mins, take time to enjoy in the table conversations and company of the other guests, this gives your brain a chance to register if you’re full or not, and remember only 80%!  You are better to start with a smaller serve and go back for another small serve if you really are not 80% full, once it is on your plate and in front of you, you are more likely to keep eating until all the meal is gone, even if you are full, leaving you feeling stuffed!  A helpful tip also, once you are finished eating to stop yourself picking at the food remaining in your plate cover your plate with your napkin; out of sight out of mind!

Question: Which is better pure blonde v’s coopers pale ale?

Answer: Pure Blonde Low Carb

Ingredients

1 sachet unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
1 tbsp + 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. low carb chocolate syrup
1/2 oz. well naturally low carb dark or milk chocolate, grated

Instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water; allow to stand a few minutes to soften. Set over low heat, cook stirring constantly until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add cocoa; stir until dissolved.

2. In a food processor, combine gelatin mixture, ricotta cheese, and chocolate syrup.  Puree for 30 seconds, until smooth.

3. Pour chocolate mixture into 4 individual dessert dishes, cover and refrigerate 1 hour, or until set.

4. Top each serving with 2 strawberries if desired

Makes 4 servings
Each serving provides approx: 172 calories, 9 g protein, 8 g fat, 14 g carbohydrate

This recipe is to be used as a Christmas Treat only.  Enjoy but don’t over indulge!

Heavy beer, low carb beer, light beer, low carb wine, low alcohol wine, red vs white, ‘no carb’ sprits, cocktails so many options can be confusing!  How do you know what’s best for your waistline?

Firstly, how does alcohol affect weight loss? 

Alcohol is not a carbohydrate.  When alcohol is consumed, it is metabolised and absorbed faster than anything else.  Your body processes alcohol first, before carbs, fat or protein. Your body converts a small amount of the alcohol consumed into fat. The rest is converted by the liver into a substance called acetate, which is released into the bloodstream and is used as the body’s primary source of fuel and energy.  Therefore drinking any type of alcoholic beverage slows down the fat burning process and encourages the body to store any food calories consumed.  

Each gram of alcohol contains about 7 calories which makes it nearly twice as fattening as carbohydrates or protein (both contain about 4 calories per gram) and only just under the caloric value for fat (9 calories per gram).  

Unlike other food or beverage options, alcoholic beverages provide pure calories with no other nutritional benefits.  They can also reduce your resolve to lose weight and make more likely to snack on fattening, high calorie foods.

So for weight loss, all alcoholic beverages should be kept to a minimum.  However if you are enjoying a few drinks over the festive season, here’s some tips to keep in mind about your choices.

• Low alcohol or ‘light’ options are better than their higher alcohol counterparts.  This is because, as mentioned about, alcohol itself is very calorie dense and slows the burning of fat.  However, with their lower alcohol volume, be careful you don’t consume twice as much!
• ‘Low carb’ options are better than the regular version however it’s important to remember that the alcohol is the main thing providing the high volume of calories, not the carbohydrates.
• ‘Low carb’ wine, simply has a reduced alcohol content, it is a lower calorie option as long as you don’t consume twice as much to make up for the lower alcohol content!

Types of Alcohol

Red wine vs white wine:

Although relatively low in carbohydrates, wine can be high in calories. In general, dry wines such as chardonnay/sauvignon blanc, have fewer calories than sweet wines such as reisling because sugar is not added to dry wines after fermentation. Dessert wines have the highest amount of sugar, carbohydrates and calories! 

Wine contains between 65-160 calories per glass, with dry white wine around 65 – 90 calories and most red wine about 70 – 90 calories. The ports and dessert wines you need to be wary of at 160 calories per glass!

Note: Each example below is based on a 4-oz glass. However, depending on the bar or the restaurant (or how much you pour yourself), glasses may be as large as 8 oz.

Beer

A couple of beers can pack as many calories as an average meal, without the nutritional value.  As mentioned previously ‘light’ and ‘low carb’ options are preferable as they have a lower calorie content.  ‘Light’ beer has a reduced alcohol content to reduce the calories and ‘low carb’ beer has a reduced carbohydrate content to reduce the calories, with the end result being that both have a similar overall calorie value.  The main difference being the higher alcohol content in the ‘low carb’ beer. 

Note: If consuming ‘low carb’ beer, make sure the higher alcohol content doesn’t reduce your resolve to resist those high fat snacks and if consuming ‘light’ beer, make sure you don’t drink twice as much!

Spirits/Cocktails and mixed drinks

Alcoholic beverages are all calorie dense, and most of the calories come from the alcohol.  However with cocktails and mixed drinks you are adding extra high calorie fruit juice and soft drink mixers to this alcohol and your calorie count can hit staggering levels!

Note: These approximate values are based on 1½ oz of alcohol and 8 oz of mixer. Keep in mind, however, that jumbo-size drinks in re

staurants can contain much more. For example, a Long Island Iced Tea can pack up to 16 oz and 750 calories.

burn off the calories

You can burn off the extra calories you’ve consumed although it may take a while.  So keep this in mind when you reach for that extra glass. 

1 beer = 20 – 30 minutes on the treadmill

Standard glass of dry white or red wine = 20 minutes on the treadmill

Bourbon and Coke = 30 minutes on the treadmill

Vodka and Soda = 20 minutes on the treadmill

Our recommendations

• Try to limit your alcohol intake per week.  If you have a Christmas Party on the weekend.  Avoid the glass of wine with dinner during the week
• Stick to low carb beer or dry wine for less calories per drink
• Avoid high calorie cocktails and mixers
• Avoid snacking whilst you’re drinking, especially high salt/fat snacks
• Drink slowly.  Sit on one or two drinks and avoid the top up offerings
• Alternate your drinks with water.  Not only will this reduce your calorie intake but it will also reduce your hangover!
• Exercise before you drink and also the following day to help burn the extra calories you’ve consumed
• Remember dancing is exercise!  Get out on the dance floor at your party and enjoy yourself while you burn calories!!

Question:Which is better for your waistline Vodka and Diet Cranberry or Chardonnay?

Answer: Chardonnay