Constantly Hungry Consequences!
Hi and welcome to another weekly instalment of what’s on my plate, health and nutrition updates and some positive smile-provoking experiences…
What’s New
…I’m mostly winning against the household cold this week, but I haven’t been as successful in the battle against this cold virus induced hunger.
Food and Nutrition
So, let’s have a look at what food was on my plate, the healthy and not so healthy choices and identify any tweaks I could make to improve my nutrition…
Snacks:
I know I ate a lot between meals, so I reviewed my week’s snacking – lots of chocolates and crisps – basically a high sugar and saturated fat fest! Something I should be keeping to a minimum if I want to progress with improving my health and losing weight/fat. A small snack a couple of times a day is okay, but I should be reaching for the healthier options, like low-fat hummus and rice crackers[1]:
(Searching for these images triggered food cravings!)
Meals:
Despite the snacking incidents, I had some tasty nutritious meals this week, including my My Typical Salad (five times!), spaghetti bolognaise, mixed bean chilli with brown rice, tofu and quinoa satay salad, lentil-based pasta with olives and sundried tomatoes and a Shawarma (Soya-based) Kebab:
Alcohol
Also, I celebrated my MSc Graduation, which included a meal out and plenty of bubbly. I calculated that over the weekend I had a bottle plus one glass (about 875 ml) – that’s over 600 extra calories![2] Thankfully I didn’t reach my booze allowance for the week (14 units) [2, 3]. I think it’s probably become clear that I enjoy social eating and drinking! However, I’m also very conscious that excessive alcohol is detrimental to long-term health – increasing risk of heart disease and several cancers[2]:
Exercise
My level of exercise was reduced this week, as I didn’t do any circuit training, although I used my exercise bike five times.
Weight, BMI and Fat Results
Okay, now that I’ve provided the context, I think it’s time to reveal my results…
…It could have been worse. My weight increased slightly by 0.2 lb and my fat percentage rose by 0.5%. Thankfully despite this setback, I’ve still made a little progress overall compared to the starting point, so it’s not a complete disaster:
Staying Positive
Cold viruses always set me back a bit, even if I don’t get full symptoms but, I’m not going to let this backwards step de-motivate me. I’m feeling healthier now and I’m ready for next week. Bring it on!…
I hope you enjoyed this week’s ‘What’s on Watson’s Plate’. Please feel free to follow my bite-sized updates on Instagram or Facebook. See you next Wednesday for another catch up.
References
1. British Nutrition Foundation, 2017. Healthy snacking [online]. Available from: www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/helpingyoueatwell/snacking.html?limitstart=
2. Drinkaware, 2019. Units and calories in prosecco. Available from: www.drinkaware.co.uk/alcohol-facts/alcoholic-drinks-units/units-and-calories-in-prosecco/.
3. Department of Health England, Llywodraeth Cymru Welsh Government, Department of Health Northern Ireland and Scottish Government, 2016. UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines 2016 [online]. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545937/UK_CMOs__report.pdf
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