Happy Halloween all! I admit I am very Canadian in that I love Halloween, despite living in London where it is not a traditional holiday. Fortunately I live in the suburbs where there are plenty of children so Halloween is catching on. Ours may be the only house on the street with a Jack o’lantern on the doorstep, but it is by no means the only one in our neighbourhood with Halloween decorations. Of course Halloween also means candy and the biggest trick is to keep enough candy for the kids who are trick or treating, without eating too much before they get here. I was quite proud of myself yesterday that I kept the calorie count low despite having stocked up on mini chocolate bars the day before (and naturally we bought varieties we like, just in case there are leftovers!). Replacing the equivalent of one of my snacks with chocolate meant I was low on protein and high on fat for the day, but not excessively so.
I think only having two mini chocolate bars is a bigger accomplishment than most people acknowledge. You see, when you eat high fat, high sugar foods, it causes the levels of feel-good hormone serotonin to increase. This also lowers levels of stress hormones and can create a positive feedback loop – the more you eat the better you feel, so you eat more and feel even better. This makes it very difficult to stop after just one, especially if you are feeling a bit sad or stressed. This is particularly true for women, who naturally have lower levels of serotonin than men do, which is why women tend to go for the cake calm when stressed while men tend to hit the bottle. Research has also shown that there is a genetic connection between sugar addiction and alcoholism. In fact, a significant number of people who have obesity surgery are recovering alcoholics, who simply switched from alcohol to sugar. If alcoholism runs in the family, odds are several family members are overweight or obese.
So while I’d like to believe I can enjoy my chocolate in small serving sizes, the truth is it’s much easier said than done!
The Score:
Calories: | Protein: | Carbs: | Fat: | Alcohol: | Fibre: |
1674.49 | 83.51g | 198.05g | 63.39g | 0 | 21.07g |
20% | 47% | 34% | | ||
Calories burned through exercise: | Rest Day | |
What I ate:
Time | Item | Amount |
08:45 | Vitamins - Centrum Advance A to Zinc, 400iu of Vitamin E, 1000iu Vitamin D3 and 500mg Glucosamine sulphate | 1 each |
Cold water | 200mL | |
Mattesson’s Turkey rashers | 3 rashers | |
Gluten Free fruit muesli | 70g | |
Alpro Soy milk | 120mL | |
Sainsbury’s pressed apple juice | 200mL | |
09:30 | Black tea | 500mL |
11:00 | Herbal fruit tea | 250mL |
12:45 | John West Mackerel fillets with no added brine | 50g |
with Hellmann's light mayonnaise | 13g | |
and Branston gherkin relish | 10g | |
on Genius brown bread toast | 2 slices | |
Raw Tomatoes | 150g | |
Alpro Soya Original | 200mL | |
500mg Glucosamine sulphate | 1 pill | |
14:00 | Peppermint tea | 200mL |
16:30 | Cashews | 20g |
Pear | 114g | |
Mini Twirl chocolate bar | 22g | |
Mini Crunchie chocolate bar | 18g | |
20:15 | Home-made chicken risotto | 300g |
22:00 | Ellactiva Chocolate Calcium Chew | 1 chew |
500mg Glucosamine sulphate | 1 pill |
Plus 500 to 1500mL of cold water sipped from a water bottle throughout the day.