Sunday, December 13, 2009

Top Tips to Eating during the Christmas Season!

1. Eat before you go to limit the canapes and nibbles you pile into on arrival at a party. Have a slice of toast with peanut butter or mini Babybel cheese. Or grab a handful of almonds (about 23). Because they are good for protein and fibre, they are surprisingly filling and both options only have around 160 calories.

2. At the "do", start with a soft drink. If you dive directly into a glass of wine or a cocktail, you are likely to drink it fast to quench your thirst, stimulating your appetite.

3. Avoid snacks clad in pastry or batter such as spring rolls, vol au vonts and tempura. They can have 80-100 calories each.

4. Retro party food can be a great choice. Tiny slices of pizza, pineapple and cheddar on a stick and a mini cocktail sausage tend to have 40-50 calories each.

5. Sushi is low in fat and is low GI which means it gets digested slowly so it's filling. But most sushi pieces have about 48 calories so although low in fat, you still need to pace yourself.

6. Steer clear of salty snacks like nuts and crisps. These will make you want to drink more and kick off the snack-drink-snack cycle which is hard to break.

7. Spot mustard served with cocktail sausages or the hot green wasabi on a plate of sushi? Have some! Hot sauces slightly raise the number of calories you burn.

8. Drink sparkling water. The bubbles may help give a slight sense of fullness.

9. Eat slowly. It gives your body time to release hormones that tell your brain you are full. Party nibbles are ideal for eating slowly.

10. And finally, find someone interesting and fun to chat with. The more you are absorbed in the conversation, the less likely you are to have your eye on the food.

Enjoy in Moderation over the Christmas period!

Extract from ginews.blogspot.com

Chocolate mud cake (a bought one from Woolworths supermarket): GI 43
Per 100 g serving you'll get 1650 kJ/393 cals, 4 g protein, 21 g fat, 46 g carbs and 2 g fibre

Pavlova (Woolworths Select Classic Pavlova Shell, prepared with whipped cream, sliced strawberries, sliced banana and passionfruit): GI 49
Per 100 g serving you'll get 816 kJ/194 cals, 2 g protein, 9 g fat, 26 g carbs and 2 g fibre

Pavlova

For American readers, pavlova is a light and airy, frothy meringue cake made up of egg whites and sugar that is crunchy on the outside and gooey inside, then piled high with whipped cream and fruit. Traditionally the fruit used is kiwi berries, but any fruit will do. Named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, recipes for pavlova first showed up in written form in the early 1930s.

Christmas cake (Big Sister Christmas Rich Fruit Cake): GI = 53
Per 50 g serving you'll get 766 kJ/183 cal, 2 g protein, 7 g fat, 28 g carbs and 2 g fibre

Rum balls (Christmas Selection by Woolworths Rum Balls, packet of 12): GI = 50
per 25 g serving (1 rum ball) you'll get 363 kJ/87 cal, 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 14 g carbs and 1 g fibre

Mr Kipling Christmas Mince Pies (pastry top and base, deep filled): GI = 58
Per pie (59 g) you'll get 986 kJ/235 cal, 1.5 g protein, 9 g fat, 37 g carbs and 1 g fibre


GI testing by an accredited laboratory

North America

Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
36 Lombard Street, Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2X3 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web www.gilabs.com

New Low GI Recipes

Johanna Burani (author of "Good Carbs, Bad Carbs")has some great Italian recipes to share with us!


http://www.eatgoodcarbs.com/low-gi-recipes.html



Friday, December 11, 2009

Kirsty Tries Again


(Copyright 2009 Anthony Goodrich / Getty Images)

Kirsty Alley is on a mission to lose weight again. It seems some people need the whole world to keep them accountable.
"I urge everyone to weigh in tonight and BEGIN this. 'Let's get our bodies the way we want em.' Game RIGHT NOW ... make it fun."

Good on her, I hope she really loses it and keeps it off this time - Jenny Craig obviously did not work, and neither did many other diets.

This is one of the topics we deal with in our upcoming book on weight loss (out in Jan 2010). Everyone knows what they should do but they don't do it. What is holding us back mentally and emotionally. It will be a great read, but not only that...by following the written exercises in the book, you will discover so much about the reasons why you might be overweight. NGX24XYGJKJF