Healthy Eating on a Budget

 

 

If you have a tight budget , it can seem hard to maintain a Healthy Balanced diet. However there are lots of ways you can shop, eat and cook smartly instead of reaching for unhealthy meals.

Eat lots of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (5-7 portions per day) , good quality protein, fish, omega 3 rich foods, high fibre carbohydrates, low fat dairy and not too much fat.

 

Top 10 tips to eat Healthy on a budget

 

1. Shop around & Buy own Brand

2. Create weekly menu

3. Pay in cash - to avoid exceeding with card

4. Prepare Shopping lists

5. Be Saturated Fat and Salt Savvy - see signs around Campus

6. Look out for loyalty cards - save on Coffee & Soup

7. Don't shop hungry

8. Club together with Housemates

9. Shop once per week

10. Fill the Freezer

 

When Eating on Campus , see top tips to choose healthy options:

 

Look out for "Eat Well" Leaf

Choose healthy hot options such as stir fries & extra vegetables

Make use of the Salad Bars

Put sauces/gravy's/dressings on the side

Choose options that are baked not fried

Opt for tomato based dishes instead of creamier dishes

Choose vegetarian options - these are packed full of protein & nutrients and can be lower in fat

 

Healthy Meal ideas:

 

Stir Fries, Healthy Rolls/Sandwiches filled with rolls, Pasta & Protein pots, Baked Potato & Beans, Healthy Soups & Cous Cous Salads.

 

All available around campus!!

 

Vitmain D

Vitamin D   How to get the Sunshine Vitamin D in Winter? Most of your vitamin D tends to come from sunshine- your skin makes vitamin D through sunlight exposure. Your ability to produce vitamin D depends on how strong the sunlight is and is only made by skin which is exposed to the UV rays of the sun. However in Ireland and the UK, our exposure to sunlight is limited to the months of April to September. During winter months, your body gets its vitamin D from body stores and also from a limited number of food sources. However body stores have been shown to be insufficient to last for the winter months and the best way to ensure adequate vitamin D levels is by taking a vitamin D supplement (see recommendations below). Vitamin D is an important vitamin for a number of reasons in combination with a calcium rich diet.  It works with calcium and phosphorus to ensure healthy muscles, bones and teeth. Without vitamin D, calcium cannot be absorbed into bones and body cells.   Food sources of vitamin D While certain food contain vitamin D, for most, the amount provided by diet tends to be insufficient as only a limited number of foods contain vitamin D. Food sources of vitamin D include; oily fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna), liver, eggs and fortified foods (e,g cereals, fortified dairy).   Vitamin D deficiency Deficiency can lead to reduced muscle strength, increased risk of falls particularly in older adults, delayed or stunted bone growth and rickets (bone pain, delayed growth and deformities) in children and osteomalacia. It is also though that vitamin D plays a role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. New research published in Ireland has shown Vitamin D deficiency is very common particularly in older adults. One in 8 adults over the age of 50 is deficient in vitamin D in summer (when the body normally produces vitamin D), while this increases to 1 in 4 adults in the winter months. Vitamin D deficiency is also more likely as people age. Other factors which have been shown to increase the likelihood of vitamin D deficiency included: smoking, living alone, physical inactivity and socio-economic background.   Vitamin D intake recommendations In both Ireland and the UK, vitamin D supplements are recommended for infants in the first year of life. In Ireland, it is recommended that a Vitamin D only supplement of 5ug be given to all babies (regardless of whether they are breast fed, formula fed or on solid food). Vitamin D is particularly important during the first year of life for growing babies to help lay down strong bones. In the UK, a 10ug supplement is recommended for infants. For adults, in Ireland, intake recommendations are currently in draft, but it is proposed that everyone in Ireland take a 5ug vitamin D supplement daily. It is likely that older adults require 10ug of vitamin D per day. In the UK, the British Dietetic Association recommend all adults and children take a vitamin D supplement of 10ug/day especially during autumn and winter.

Cutting Down on Alcohol

Cutting down on alcohol for the New Year

 

With the festive season well and truly over, many of us take pledges to ourselves to cut down on alcohol and rethink our approach and attitudes to alcohol intake.

 

Most of the food and drink we consume (e.g. cereals, dairy, fruit and vegetables, meat/pulses) provide us with nutritional value- calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals. However, calories from alcohol are described as empty calories as they have no nutritional value.

 

Calories count!

Remember that alcohol is high in liquid calories and very easy to overconsume.

1g of protein= 4kcals

1g of carbohydrate= 4kcals

1g of fat= 9kcals

 

Remember that pure alcohol contains 7kcals/gram but that many drinks will also have added sugar, cream and fruit juice/mixers which will add even more calories.

 

Facts about alcohol

•           Alcohol will also interfere with your sleeping patterns, particularly the deep sleep phases of the sleeping cycle.

•           Using alcohol to cope with difficult feelings and thoughts will lead to more issues including- weakened coping skills, negative effects on relationships and tiredness. Alcohol can also make symptoms of depression and anxiety much worse.

•           Binge drinking means drinking more than 4 units of alcohol at any one sitting.

•           Alcohol is an appetite stimulant, this leads to overeating at mealtimes, late at night after a night of heavy alcohol consumption and also the next day, making it difficult to balance with a healthy eating diet if you are trying to lose weight.

•           Alcohol is also a diuretic, meaning you lose more body water than normal.

 

The physical effects of alcohol overconsumption

The risk of developing negative physical health problems such as weight gain, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and liver disease increase with any amount of alcohol consumed.

•           Those who regularly drink more than the recommended intake of alcohol, are greater than three times more likely to develop mouth cancer and are three times more likely to have a stroke

•           Women who regularly drink two large glasses of 13% wine or more a day are two times as likely to develop high blood pressure and have a 50% increased risk of breast cancer

•           By keeping within the recommended levels, you can reduce this risk

 

Safe alcohol intake

If you do wish to drink alcohol, try not to exceed the recommended safe limits.

In Ireland the recommended safe limit is no more than 11 standard drinks spread out over the week for women and 17 standard drinks spread out over the week for men.

A standard drink equates to a small glass of wine (100mls), 1/2 pint of beer or lager (284mls) or 1 single measure of a spirit (35.5mls).

 

In the UK the recommendation is for both men and women not to regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week.

 

A pint of beer is approximately 2.3 units, a glass of wine (175ml) 4.6 units and a measure of spirit (25ml) is 3.3 units.

 

For more information on alcohol and tips to help you reduce your intake visit:

Ireland: www.askaboutalcohol.ie UK: www.drinkaware.co.uk

 

Other tips to cut down

•           Use low calorie or diet mixers with spirits- low kcal tonic or soda water and diet cola/7up.

•           Set yourself a limit on how much you will drink and set aside a budget for a night out

•           Eat before you start drinking alcohol and avoid salty snacks of treats during the night as these make you thirstier!

•           Have a glass or bottle of water with out to sip on throughout the night to prevent dehydration. Bring a glass of water to bed with you and drink a glass when you come home from a night out.

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating for January

 

With the silly season well and truly over, it is now time to get back on track with eating habits and get back into healthy lifestyle patterns that can last a lifetime.

The first step to a healthy balanced diet is become more mindful of your diet and lifestyle.  Mindful eating means paying attention to what you are eating, recognising when and how you are making food choices, as well as triggers such as stress or emotional eating.

Although recommendations vary from country to country, worldwide we know that a healthy eating diet is the most recognised and fundamental way of achieving sustainable health and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

 

Many people commence on weight loss diets which are largely restrictive dieting. Restrictive eating or undereating is difficult to sustain, as the body’s appetite hormones continue to rise and intensify, often meaning that a person may end up binging or eating beyond their physical needs. This can then cycle into feelings of guilt and emotional overeating- which isn’t healthy!

 

How could mindful eating help me towards a healthier diet?

 

Mindfulness stems from Buddhism and means being in the present. Mindful eating can often help people to resolve some common challenges that they may have surrounding food and eating such as increasing your control of what and how you eat- for example recognising emotional or binge eating. Research suggests that mindful eating can help support the regulation of body weight as it supports people to make healthy choices which support their own best interests.

 

This means listening to and responding appropriately to feelings of hunger and being fully aware of the food choices you are making and what exactly you are eating. It means enjoying your food, yet reducing portion sizes and being aware of what you are eating, compared to what you should be eating based on healthy eating recommendations.

As well as that, it means that you are not on a ‘diet’- rather you have adopted healthy eating behaviours which are sustainable and will contribute to overall health and a reduction in diet related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

 

Often though, it can seem like we are constantly surrounded by food and eating mindfully can seem like a real struggle despite best efforts. So how can you be more mindful about what you eat?

 

1)    Before you eat or go to look for food, take 10 seconds to think and ask yourself: Are you hungry? Are you just thirsty? Are you bored? When did you last eat and should you be hungry again?

2)    Think about what you are going to eat. You know that you need to include 5-7 portions of fruit/vegetables in the day for example- does what you are about to eat fit in with healthy eating guidelines?

3)    How much are you going to eat? Think about standard portion sizes for food. Think about how much you need and what is a regular portion

4)    Enjoy your meal. Take your time and try to avoid rushing your food. Eating slowly will help you to recognise when you are full

5)    Stop when you are feeling full or know that you have eaten a sufficient portion. After every few mouthfuls, put your knife and fork down and take a few seconds to assess if you are full! You don’t have to finish meals- leftovers can be stored in the fridge at home

Ditch New Years Resolutions for SMART Goals.

The New Year is upon us! So now is the time to refocus on your Health and Lifestyle and think about how to eat smart after the Festive Season of overindulging. Research has shown that 2 in 3 people fail their New Years Resolutions - so make sure to set your goals realistically with S.M.A.R.T Goals.

SPECIFIC

If you want to lose weight by eating a balanced diet the

specific goal may be to eat extra fruit and vegetables, exercise

for 30 minutes every day or reduce the amount of times you

eat take away. Think about when you want to achieve the goal

by and how can you do it.

MEASUREABLE

Set a numerical target. Decide how much weight loss you want

to achieve e.g. 6kg. This should be measurable on a weighing

scales. If you’re increasing your fruit and vegetables to 5

portions, do a mental tally or write down the number of

portions you eat each day. If you’re aiming to exercise for 30

minutes a day you could have a daily exercise sheet and a

timer to monitor your success.

ACHIEVABLE

Weight loss of 5-10% body weight has been shown to be

achievable for most people, or a loss of 0.5-1kg per week.

Therefore, if you are 76kg, an achievable weight loss goal is

5-10% of that e.g. 3.8-7.6kg weight loss.

REALISTIC

Weight loss is realistic if you aim for 0.5-1kg per week over a

period of 3 months. For example, it’s not realistic to say you

will never eat dessert again, but it is realistic to say you will

only eat dessert once a week. You could also set a goal of

running 5km in 40 minutes by week 12.

TIMELY

Set a deadline or period of time in which you must achieve

your goal. This means you are more likely to be motivated to

get there. For example ‘I want to lose weight in 3 months’.

Irish Heart Foundation

The Irish Heart Foundation’s Dietitian Sarah Noone Tells Us How to Eat Your Way to a Healthier Heart in the New Year

 

After all the indulgence of the party season, January is the month of New Year’s resolutions. Many of these focus on weight and nutrition, which is good news for heart health, as increased physical activity and achieving a healthy weight can cut your chances of developing heart disease and stroke. So here’s our top three tips to eat your way to a healthier heart:

 

1.            The best place to start is often reviewing portion sizes. Our perception of what is a ‘healthy’ or ‘normal’ portion can be quite different from what’s recommended. Compare your portions to the Food Pyramid. What changes can you make?

 

2.            Swap bad fats for good fats. In practice this means choosing less butter, processed meats and full fat products and swapping for heart-healthy fats like nuts, seeds and oily fish. These changes will mean a healthier cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.

 

3.            Cut down on Salt. There is a proven link between a high salt diet and high blood pressure. To cut your risk of stroke and heart disease swap salt for black pepper, lemon juice, herbs and spices.

 

Overall it‘s not about any one food or nutrient. Rather a heart-healthy diet contains plenty of vegetables, fruit, salads, wholegrains and oily fish, modest intakes of oils, low fat dairy and meat and low intakes of foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

 

Making changes isn’t always easy. Having a plan based on a desirable achievable goal can be hugely effective for those wishing to make a change. Start today and make one change!