Honesty can be Hard!
Hi and welcome to another weekly instalment of what’s on my plate, health and nutrition updates…
What’s New
…This is the first week where I’ve had to fight the urge to be misleading about my results – I hate admitting that, but I felt that I should own up. Just to clarify, I didn’t end up lying!
“The best measure of a person’s honesty isn’t their income tax return. It’s the zero adjust on their bathroom scale”. Arthur C. Clarke (adapted by me to be gender neutral).
Weight, BMI and Fat Results
My scales did that thing where they look like they’re going to settle on a lower number (169.8 lb – this was what I was tempted to report) and at the last second it switched to 170.2 lb – gutted, no change – my scales are such a tease! But, at least my fat % reduced slightly:
Alcohol
Now, the expectation was I’d lose weight and/or fat, because I’m doing ‘Dry January’[1]: No alcohol = fewer calories = weight-loss. Right? – No! So, what’s going on? Detective time – to help my analysis, I tabulated my consumption and physical activity…
Food and Nutrition
So, what went wrong? 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…
Total and Saturated Fat:
…I’d suspected my issue was chocolate (again) – the stash really is nearly finished! But, my analysis also revealed how much coconut-based cheese I’d eaten. I’d found a chunk left over from Christmas and finished it off in a couple of lunchtime sandwiches. Plus, I had cauliflower and broccoli cheese twice and returned for seconds! Also, more saturated fat – Friday night involved a huge portion of chip shop chips. And, there was a bag of crisps open in the kitchen – I mindlessly grabbed a handful of them several times throughout the week:
Unplanned Indulgency:
Tuesday there was unplanned indulgency. After circuits we decided to stop off at Offbeet for coffee – but we succumbed to its breakfast menu. Truth is my hunger would have been satisfied with one of the Shakshuka waffles, but there were two on my plate and they were delicious, so I happily ate them both:
Mindless Snacking:
Also, on Friday evening I was with friends at our ‘Girls’ night in’ watching 80’s movies – although we mostly picked healthier snacks, I mindlessly worked my way through them. I knew I was eating too much, but I’m embarrassed to admit, I didn’t care at the time:
Meals:
I made hotdogs twice – I hadn’t had a hotdog for about seven years! These hotdogs were high fibre[3], with almost half the recommendation for adults (30g/day[4]) – 6.3g per Heck vegfurter and 8.1g per BFree seeded baguette – definitely having that again! The only concern was the sausage’s high salt content (red traffic-lighted[2]). I enjoyed the Gro porcini ravioli – but ate the whole pack – it was supposed to serve two people – oops! Another tasty ‘go-to’ meal was Mexican rice topped with avocado, tomato and red onion. Both the ravioli and Mexican rice were green or amber traffic lighted:
I had my My Typical Salad a couple of times for lunch – once with the tasty Strong Roots courgette and spinach hash browns. The best dinner (which I had twice) was my Mum’s curry (adapted from my Nana’s recipe): aubergine, pea and potato curry, lentil dhal, rice, poppadum and chutney/pickles – a comforting and nutritional meal, including quality plant-protein and fibre. I know I’m obsessed with fibre! – but it’s so important to our long-term health[4, 5]:
Exercise
I completed around 6½ hours physical activity, which probably helped prevent a weight gain. The breakdown: 2 hours circuit training, 2 hours 40 minutes exercise biking, nearly 2 hours brisk walking – I’d intended to do more walking, but the rain put me off:
Advice to Self:
So, advice to ‘self’ for the week ahead:
– More appropriate portion sizes – that includes not going back for seconds!
– Reduce saturated fat – stay clear of coconut-based cheese this week.
– Eat more mindfully – fully focus on what I’m eating – no researching whilst eating!
– Less chocolate (eek!).
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. Alcohol Change UK, Ca. 2019. Dry January [online]. Available from: https://alcoholchange.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/dry-january.
2. British Nutrition Foundation, 2018. Helping you eat well: Looking at labels. Available from: www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/helpingyoueatwell/324-labels.html?start=3.
3. European Commission, Ca. 2019. Nutrition claims [online]. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/labelling_nutrition/claims/nutrition_claims_en.
4. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, 2015. SACN Press release: Expert nutritionists recommend halving sugar in diet [online]. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/446188/SACN_Carbohydrates_Press_Release_July_2015.PDF.
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What's on Watson's Plate 
Your food and exercise tracking is just amazing! All the best on your journey! 😊
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Thank you Ellen 🙂
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My pleasure. 😊
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