There's nothing worse when a client tells me their go to snacks or meals and there's so many hidden calories in them. What seems healthy on the outside might be slowing down your progress and stop you getting the results you want. This blog posts covers everything from:
Naughty foods on where to find hidden calories
Educating yourself on calories and macronutrients
Healthy swaps for foods with hidden calories
The foods guilty of hiding calories
Finding out one of your favourite healthy snacks isn't actually that healthy can be quite shocking. Hopefully it will make you stop and revise the nutritional content rather than the label and the pretty packaging.
Cereal Bars
Notoriously known for small calorie content and high sugar content. Now, the marketing team at cereal bar head quarters have found a way to market their high sugar bars - they'll add PROTEIN to the label.
Now I'm not saying every cereal bar on the planet is bad for you, but for the small calorie content and the high amount of grams of sugar, you're best off swapping your cereal bar for a small bowl of overnight oats or fruit - there's much more nutritional value and it'll keep you fuller for longer.
Fruit smoothies
Although full of fruit and may have labels such as '2 of your 5 a day' pre-made smoothies found on in the meal deal section can be full of sugars from more processed ingredients. I'd advise eating the fruit rather than buying it blended down - it'll taste nicer and fresher and will keep you fuller for longer.
Dried pasta
Ahh this one. I've been there myself. A serving of pasta is best measured cooked as the weight multiplies when cooked, so make sure you're being truthful to yourself and logging your calories and macros of your pastas and rices when they're cooked.
Nuts and seeds
Full of healthy fats, a handful of almonds, cashews, walnuts and the rest can be a healthy snack as an alternative to a chocolate bar. However, nuts can be really tempting to overindulge on so make sure you're monitoring the weight of your handfuls as they are calorific and can add a dent in your calorie allowance.
Plant-Based
It's great that there's so much variety for those opting for a vegan or plant based diet. Now, just because you've opted for a plant-based milk alternative doesn't mean it has less calories. Make sure you're accounting for any extra calories in plant based alternatives, it may not appear much different but they are still calories.
On the flip side, why not explore plant-based alternatives to what you normally have to see if there is anything on the menu (plant based burgers, sausages, cheeses) that could help you reduce calories in your meals.
Salad Dressings
This one kills me. You're already 70% of the way piling your plate with leafy greens and proteins, so why destroy your plate with a high fat or high sugar salad dressing? Avoid squirting full fat salad creams onto your plate - it's difficult to measure this so try and weigh you condiments.
Drinks
Sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola and Fanta can be full of sugar - something you want to avoid. Make sure if you're eating out you ask for the low sugar option, or add a lemon wedge in some water so you're getting a sweet tasting drink with a significantly less amount of calories.
Educate on alcohol also, ciders and beers can be extremely calorific so if you do fancy a weekend tipple opt for low sugar mixers and spirits as they have less calories.
Get to know your macros
Say hello to your new best friends - macronutrients. You can get more familiar with macros and nutrition in my biog post here.
Macros are broken down into: protein, carbohydrates and fats. Make sure you're looking at the quality of your calories rather than quantity.
The more you familiarise yourself with macronutrients the easier it will become. You'll probably find that lean meats like chicken and turkey are high in protein, whereas carbohydrates can be calorific if not measured carefully.
Apps such as myfitnesspal are really great for tracking your macronutrients and calorie intake. Overtime this will just become a second nature to you - don't be afraid to scan bar-codes too while you're shopping too, myfitnesspal can tell you the amount of calories and macronutrients in that cereal you were about to add to your shopping basket!
If you find counting calories and macros time consuming, then why not batch cook your meals ahead of the week, you can save these meals down and make track of your meals all at the same time.
My hidden calories cheat sheet
I do have a handful of snacks and tips that aren't packed with hidden calories. I know I can eat or snack on these foods without there being any hidden or artificial sugars added in.
Boiled eggs - high in protein and low calories. A couple of boiled eggs make a great snack compared to a cereal bar or a smoothie.
Quark - this soft cheese is another go to of mine. Quark is high in protein and very low in sugars and fats also - if I am feeling a bit fruity (no pun intended!) I'll add a handful of berries to help keep me fuller for longer.
Leafy greens - I add spinach or kale to whatever meals I can just to help me hit my vegetable intake and bulk out my meals.
Lean meats are a lot less calorific than meats that you may find covered in breadcrumbs or batter, you can always add seasoning to help get a great tasting meal without the calories.
I hope you have enjoyed this week's blog post and hope you have had an eye opening read when if you've learned you've been overdoing it on some of the foods listed at the start of this article.
I would love to hear your thoughts or any tips you may have! Please feel free to reach out to me @thecurvecoach or use the button below!
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