Welcome to LCCH Taunton

Welcome to the LCCH Taunton blog.

Friday 9 March 2012

February & March 2012

Looking forward.

The months are passing quickly, and soon it will be April. The CPPD starts on the 14th, so there is still time to book your place on line at at the college web page just click this link to go and find our courses.

This could be the start of something amazing for you.





The growing problems of health and weight.


With the growing worldwide increase in obesity here are some simple tips for healthy eating.

A few words on the importance of healthy eating and what it means.

Healthy eating means eating a variety of foods that give you the nutrients you need to maintain your health, and to feel good, and have the energy you need to be active. These nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals.
Good nutrition is important for everyone. When combined with being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight, eating well is an excellent way to help your body stay strong and healthy.
What you eat can affect your immune system, your mood, and your energy levels, and your cognitive process.
The two keys essentials to a healthy eating are:

Eating the right number of calories for how active you are, so that you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use. If you eat or drink too much, you’ll put on weight. If you eat too little you’ll lose weight. The average man needs around 2,500 calories a day. The average woman needs 2,000 calories. It is now realized that most adults are eating more calories than they need, and should eat fewer calories, and exercise more (please see www.nhs.uk for more information).

Eating a wide range of foods to ensure that you’re getting a balanced diet, (diet - Comes from Greek diaita, "a way of life, mode of living." and is what we mean here in this artical) and that your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs, for a healthy active life.
The daily recommendations include eating 3 to 4 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish as part of a healthy meal.  That's about the size of a standard pack of playing cards. This applies to meat eaters, for the pure vegetarians the complex protein groups replacing the meat and fish, are a combination of pulses seeds nuts and beans, or for those who stand in the middle this can also include eggs and cheese.
Fish is a good source of protein and contains vitamins and minerals. Eating two portions a week is great, including at least one portion of oily fish, which is high in omega-3 fats, this has in the past been suggested to help to prevent heart disease. 
Portion size
One American study found that a typical portion size in the USA is at least twice as large as this, and some were found to be 8 times as large! So reducing portion size is a good step toward a healthy diet, an idea of suggested portion sizes are listed below.
This portion size
is the size of
3 ounces of poultry or meat (the recommended size for a meal)
a standard pack of playing cards
3 ounces of fish
a cheque book
1 ounce of cheese
four oxo cubes
A medium potato (it should fit into the cup of your hand)
a standard computer mouse
1 cup of pasta (cooked)
a tennis ball

A quick easy guide (this is not an accurate measure but is a way to keep over eating to a minimum) to give you an idea, is to consider, could you hold it in your cupped hand? If the answer is no, then you have too much of it, for one portion/serving.

So where do all these healthy nutrients vitamins and foods come from, well to my mind the best source is fresh and as natural as possible is best, but in what ever way works for you, mix up your fruits and veg’, and try not to over cook them as this cooks out the nutrients that are good for you.   Raw is wonderful but wash it first many of our crops and fruits are sprayed or treated before they hit the shops wash apples in warm water to rinse off the wax. It is recommended that we eat at least five portions of different types of fruit and veg’ a day. It’s easier than it sounds. A glass of unsweetened fruit juice can count as one portion, and vegetables cooked into soups and other dishes also count.

Current thinking supports the idea that starchy foods should make up around one third of the foods you eat. 
 Most of us should eat more starchy foods: and should try to include at least one starchy food with each main meal. Although some people think starchy foods are fattening, for more information visit www.nhs.uk but gram for gram they contain fewer than half the calories of fat.

The need to reduce saturated fat and sugar for a healthy life style may seem obvious, but we all need some fat to stay healthy, but the amount and type of fat we’re eating needs to be considered and understood.

There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease. Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as hard cheese, cakes, biscuits, sausages, cream, butter, lard and pies. Cutting down on these and choosing foods that contain unsaturated rather than saturated fats, such as vegetable oils, oily fish and avocados makes for a healthier choice, use a just a small amount of vegetable oil or reduced fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee. When you're having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat. 

It is suggested that in the UK most people eat and drink too much sugar. Sugary foods and drinks, are often high in calories, contributing to weight gain, and the world wide epidemic of obesity.  Cutting down on sugary carbonated drinks, alcohol, cakes, biscuits and pastries, and sweets and chocolate is an important step to take towards a healthier lifestyle. Remember to read the labels, more than 15g of sugar per 100g means that the food you have is high in sugar.


Don’t forget your fluids.

It is also important to remember to drink. The NHS website advise, drinking about 1.2 litres or 2 1/4 pints of fluid every day to stop dehydration, that really isn’t very much, the equivalent of 4 tumblers of tap water or 4 mugs of tea (of course it counts). All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, milk and fruit juices are considered the most healthy according to www.nhs.uk  avoiding sugary soft & carbonated drinks, high in sugars and can be high in calories and are also bad for teeth, some of which also have high caffeine levels which can affect mood motivation and energy levels.

Of course it is also important to remember when the weather is warm, or when we exercise or are busy, we will need more water to rehydrate. Water not only helps the body to function properly but also the mind.

We know that Clinical and Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy offers tools and techniques to help with motivation, habit changing, goal setting, improving performance focus and confidence, it can help build self esteem/acceptance all of which can aid you, as you commit to a healthy fitter leaner new you.

Michelle Hague


No comments:

Post a Comment