Energy in alcohol revealed: 7 tips to lower energy intake while drinking

red wine

We all know that alcohol contributes to dietary energy intake, but to what extent? Let's put the other health consequences of excess alcohol consumption aside for just one moment and focus on the affect that alcohol intake has on energy balance and weight control. It's a fairly simple equation, more energy coming in than energy going out results in a positive energy balance, a positive energy balance results in weight gain. Foods and drinks that are high in energy and low in nutrition provide what is known as 'empty energy' and are detrimental to weight control - this describes the energy in alcohol. If abstaining is not an option looking for ways to lower energy intake from alcohol is the next best thing. Let's take a closer look at how and why.

10 tips for surviving the Christmas party season

Surviving the Christmas and New Years period with no or minimal damage to the waistline is near impossible. With high energy food options available in plenty and a social relaxed atmosphere that encourages drinking and over eating, the 'Christmas and New Years Party' is a dieters worst nightmare. Now, I'm not suggesting that you cancel all Christmas parties or eat only vegetable sticks and drink only water, but there are some easy tips that may help damage control during the party season.

10 easy hydration tips

You could argue that water is the most important nutrient of all. It is essential for so many physiological functions including regulating body temperature, maintaining blood volume, muscle contractions, lubricating joints and removing waste products from the body. Without adequate water intake dehydration can occur. Symptoms of dehydration can be uncomfortable and tiring, interfere with work productivity, decrease training and sport performance and be a potential serious health threat if left untreated. 10 easy hydration tips are identified in this article to help prevent dehydration and its associated symptoms.

How to stay hydrated during exercise?

glass of water

Leading in to some warmer weather the issue of hydration is definitely worth discussing, particularly for those of us who exercise regularly. Just last week I was chatting to someone I train about a triathlon she participated in on the weekend prior. We got on to the topic of heat and hydration which reminded her of an article she had recently read. I asked her to send it through and it prompted me immediately to write about hydration. The article tells the story of someone who ran a 10km event dehydrated in warm weather. In short, he collapsed and fell in to a coma. Fortunately he was revived but unfortunately he lost a leg. His body had overheated to the point that the muscles in the leg were 'cooked' beyond recovery. I have outlined some easy hydration guidelines in this article that will not only help you maintain your training performance in warmer weather but also avoid the dangerous consequences of over heating.

David's 5 favourites: healthy snacks

nestle diet yogurt

For me snacking is a very important part of my training, if I don't snack regularly throughout the day I lack the energy to perform at my best during my training sessions and I don't recover as quickly following exercise. For a snack to work for me it has to meet the following convenience and nutritional requirements:

• easy and quick to prepare and portion
• able to take with me to work or training
• able to store for a couple days
• contains approximately 10g or more of protein
• contains unprocessed or minimally processed carbohydrate
• contains no or minimal saturated fat and sugar

What foods are high in carbohydrate?

bread

One of the first and most important steps in controlling and losing weight is to recognise which foods are high in carbohydrate. If you don't know where the carbohydrate is coming from in your diet it's impossible to control your intake. Anyone who has read my articles or discussed nutrition with me will know and I'm definitely not an advocate of high protein - low carbohydrate diets for a variety of different reasons however I recognise the importance of identifying carbohydrate in foods to avoid excessively high intake. Excessive dietary carbohydrate leads to high energy intake which if not accompanied by an equally high energy expenditure will result in weight gain and obesity. Becoming familiar with the foods in each food group that are high in carbohydrate will help to keep carbohydrate intake under control.

Calculating and achieving daily protein requirements

protein powder

Dietary protein provides the essential building blocks for all body tissues. These building blocks are called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids found in the body, 10 of which are classified as essential amino acids and the other 10 non-essential. Don't misinterpret this classification system, all amino acids are 'essential' for healthy body functioning.The body can manufacture non-essential amino acids however it cannot manufacture essential amino acids meaning that they must be obtained from the diet. Protein intake is absolutely necessary for growth and repair of muscle, bone and connective tissue. Inadequate dietary protein will delay or prevent recovery from exercise, the building and maintenance of muscle mass, inhibit training and sport performance and increase the risk of injury and over training.

Fruit with the lowest sugar content

strawberries

We all know that fruit is an essential part of all healthy diets. Fruit contains fibre, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants all of which are important for many physiological functions. What you also need to be aware of is that fruit contains sugar. The sugar found in whole fruit is natural (not artificially added) however it is sugar none the less and contributes to overall energy intake just like any other sugar found in any other food (natural or artificial). Avoiding fruit altogether because of its sugar content is not the answer but selecting your daily fruit serves wisely can help to lower total daily sugar intake, lose or control body weight and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Consume protein at every meal to promote weight loss and weight control

beef steak

You have probably heard how consuming adequate dietary protein promotes muscle recovery and optimises strength, power, size and fitness gains after exercise (more info about protein intake for muscle recovery here: What should I eat after training?). What you may not have heard is how regular protein intake can help you to lose and control body weight. Consuming small amounts of protein at every meal is a powerful weight loss and weight control strategy that is easy to implement.

Starchy vegetables: a weight loss pitfall

sweet potato

When we think about eating for weight loss or weight control we rarely consider the vegetable food group as one that requires attention. We receive a very general message from most sources recommending that we consume 4-5 servings of vegetables every day but we very rarely hear about starchy vegetables specifically, what they are, how much carbohydrate they contain and how they affect our energy intake and weight.

What should I eat after training?

This is one of the questions I am most frequently asked and often the answer is one of the most difficult for people to understand. It's NOT difficult to understand because it's complicated, it's NOT difficult to understand because it's hard to explain, it's difficult to understand because there is so much misinformation available regarding this topic. The post workout nutrition puzzle has become so confusing that most people give up trying to solve it. It doesn't have to be complicated and it is something that everyone can take control of. To help everyone understand this better I am going to pull the post workout nutrition puzzle to pieces and put it back together in an easy way to follow (skip to the summary at the end if you just want the guidelines).

Metabolism - is it under your control?

When I meet with a new client for the first time to discuss their weight loss goal and our strategy to achieve it the word 'metabolism' is often mentioned. A 'slow metabolism' is blamed in a lot of cases for previous failed weight loss attempts and slow weight loss results. Metabolism in this context is referring to basal metabolic rate (BMR) or its close relative resting metabolic rate (RMR) which is the rate that energy is 'burnt' by the body at rest. Greater the BMR, the more energy is burnt by the body in a resting state, lower the BMR, the less energy is burnt by the body in a resting state. By increasing BMR, the amount of energy being burnt continually across the day is increased. Since weight loss requires a greater energy 'out' than 'in', BMR is of particular significance for all weight loss programs.