Let's face it, many of us have piled on a few pounds during lockdown.

Be it because the biscuit tin is just that bit easier to reach while we work from home or because we now have more time to cook our favourite meals, waistlines have been expanding.

But if you want to shed weight without giving up your favourite foods - or anything at all - Graeme Tomlinson can help.

The man better known to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers as The Fitness Chef has come up with a foolproof plan to make eating fewer calories a piece of cake (excuse the pun).

It turns out with just a few simple changes that you'll barely notice - yes, you can.

Fitness expert Graeme insists that swapping some foods for almost identical ones can make a huge difference.

The 32-year-old from Aberdeen said: "The point of consuming food is to remain alive. The point of controlling our intake of food is to manage our physique and overall health.

"The point of consuming calories is to reduce body fat across our composition. But one constant in all of the above shold be our enjoyment of the food we eat."

But Graeme doesn't want people to give up their favourite foods, simply be aware of how many calories they need - and are eating.

He explains the only way to lose weight is through a calorie deficit - consume fewer calories than you use.

And it doesn't matter where you get those calories from.

But there are some ways you can still have all the taste AND reduce the number of calories you're consuming.

For example, switching two bacon rashers at 108 calories for two bacon medallions at just 45 calories will save you 63 calories.

Can't give up your spag bol? If you use five per cent fat mince beef at 262 calories instead of full fat at 503 calories, you'll save 262 calories.

Love a good steak? Just switch from sirloin at 510 calories to fillet at just 312.

If you're a cheese addict then just swap regular Cheddar at 210 calories for the light version at just 145 calories.

You can even save on your tea simply by switching what milk you use.

Full fat is 198 calories while semi-skimmed, which tastes almost the same is just 150.

And you can slash the calories in your coffee just by taking the milk out, reducing a morning cup from 50 calories to just five.

If you love a bit of fizz in your life, switch full fat coke at 163 calories to diet coke, which has none, or regular Fanta at 63 calories to diet at just 10.

It's summer so we all like a tipple in the sunshine but if you switch from a bottle of Becks at 125 calories to Becks Premium Light you'll save 61 calories.

Meanwhile swapping your tonic for the slimline version in your G&T will save another 60 calories.

And all this adds up - by making these simple changes you can reduce your calorie consumption from 4,295 to just 1,782 - that's a reduction of 2,513 calories.

Graeme, who has now written his own recipe book, said: "When an individual embarks on fat loss, each of the above are important.

"One must enjoy their energy consumption, be aware of energy intake in relation to their energy output, and consistently ensure that they are in a state of caloric deficit.

"To ensure progress, one may have to change and adjust their dietary habits.

"But instead of completely radicalising the diet, adherence to change may be more likely if one makes subtle changes over time.

"Losing fat is not straightforward.

"It requires a change of habits. But if an individual recognizes opportunities to make small changes which reap handsome long term rewards, its seems short sighted not to take them.

Read more from the original source:
Cut 2,500 calories out of your diet instantly - without giving anything up - Mirror Online

Anxiety provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic is causing people to adopt a lot of unhealthy coping mechanisms including stress eating, when people eat in response to feelings or emotions.

Melanie Brede is a registered dietician in the University of Virginias Department of Student Health. Shes been treating a lot of patients who have been stress eating since the country began quarantining in March, and spoke with UVA Today about the phenomenon, why it happens and what people can do to get healthier.

Q. Why has stress eating become prevalent during the coronavirus pandemic?

A. I think commonly, people are feeling stressed and anxious about a lot of unknowns.

Also, the nature of isolation is changing peoples eating patterns, and that can be related to both getting food and trips to the grocery store. Those patterns have changed. Whats in stock and on hand? Finances are [changing] for a lot of people. And then just uncertainties about health, be it food safety or other things like immunity or bigger-picture elements, both personal and community-oriented.

During phase one, a lot of people were really trying to avoid trips out at all, and so people were maybe shopping less frequently or, depending on the household, maybe different people were doing the shopping. Some of that, I think, has evolved a little bit with a little bit more reopening as were now in phase two [in Virginia]. I have not read or looked for anything in particular that compared consumer patterns in that regard. But I think that in the bigger picture, its a combination of changes in frequency of shopping. Also a lot of online ordering.

My own personal anecdotal observation is what seems to be available in stores has changed somewhat. I went to the grocery store last night and I was like, Oh, rice is back. Hooray!

Q. People are doing a lot of cooking, getting carry-out, and there is even this new trend of baking, which has led to a run on flour. Whats your take on the variety of ways people are getting their food?

A. Thats an observation, too. I hadnt thought of that one what were purchasing as far as groceries, but also what are we getting just in general, and where are we getting our food. Is it frozen, ready-to-eat stuff? Is it homemade from scratch stuff? Is it takeout or carry-out?

I think that varies a lot in different contexts. But certainly, my world is with students, who are often starting from a place of relative inexperience with food prep. Ive seen some who are figuring it out more because theyre sort of forced into it, like, Wow, OK. So, Im learning how to cook, and others who are completely overwhelmed by that because it hasnt been their experience.

To some degree, for college students, particularly undergrads, how recent was the experience of living at home and eating with a family versus that independence of being on their own potentially for the first time or a relatively recently? All that stuff is impacted by all of this. It is really interesting to see how things play out.

Q. People talk a lot about how they are getting their days confused and how being in quarantine has muddied their daily patterns, including when and what they eat. As a registered dietician, what are your observations about that?

A. I talk with students a lot about anchor points. Students famously have quite variable schedules compared to 9-to-5 types. And so we often are talking about, How do you have some structure in your day? I think that all of this quarantine has really disrupted that for people, because there is no inherent I have to leave the house at this time to get to this place. You know, for students who are doing classes that are maybe recorded and they can watch them whenever, theres less of a Well, my class is at 11, so I have to be up by this time.

I think generationally people are experiencing that similarly we dont have our normal commute or packing a lunch or things that basically gave us some structure whether it was something we were really conscious of or not thats really been disrupted by everything just happening within our same four walls. Whats there and whats accessible and whats visible.

Q. Can you elaborate on how what is visible impacts the way people eat, as well as the pitfalls of dieting?

A. Traci Mann, from the University of Minnesota, is a professor of psychology who researches human eating behavior. This is a quote from her book Secrets from the Eating Lab:

When you are dieting and hungry, your brain responds differently to tasty-looking food than it does when you are not dieting. The areas of the brain that become unusually active make you more likely to notice food, prompt you to pay more attention to it when you find it, and make it look even more delicious and tempting than usual.

Manns student, Janet Tomiyama, focused her dissertation on exploring stress and dieting.

What Janet found, Mann writes in her book, is that the act of restricting calories led to a physiological stress response. Stress cannot be avoided when you are dieting, because dieting itself causes stress.

Q. People have 24/7 access to their kitchens now. I actually work in my kitchen. How does space impact eating habits?

A. Sometimes, we can influence things by how we set up our space. So, in the office setting, the example is like, OK, move the candy dish. People often talk about this in restaurants that bring you the basket of chips or the bread or whatever at the beginning of the meal and, when its just there, you know, we eat it. If theyd never brought it, we might never have asked for it.

So working at home, Ive got a little designated section of counter thats in my kitchen. Working in your kitchen is a very different experience than going through a whole building, where theres not a refrigerator two steps away.

Q. Can you talk about the unhealthy impact of stress eating?

A. In general, when people talk about stress eating, its an uncomfortable emotion, as a stress emotion that that feels problematic and that were eating to soothe. One of the things thats an interesting perspective that can actually go a long way in addressing it is to recognize that when were eating for comfort, were trying to do something to take care of ourselves, and when we feel the stress, we want to be comforted. Acknowledging that can be really powerful because it identifies that there is some distress.

So we started this conversation talking about how in this pandemic, people are feeling really the distress. That opens up the awareness to say, Well if Im not liking the way my eating is going, what else could be comforting? Is what I need right now to connect to somebody else?

Q. What can people do to stop stress eating?

A. I think one of the really interesting and positive pieces of this whole experience is that people are often reaching out to people they might not have regularly made a phone call to because were all feeling disconnected and seeking that connection. And so maybe people are talking to a friend they hadnt talked to in a while with a more intentional step of reaching out, and that thats really a good thing. So whereas the stress eating may be coming from a place of discomfort, recognizing that thats what its about opened up the possibility of, OK, what are some things I can do to comfort myself when eating is not serving me well? Whats another option?

If we were to broaden this topic to emotional eating, we can say, Happiness is an emotion. Fear is an emotion. We eat in celebration. Thats a maybe a happiness-driven emotion. So, the point being [that] making that connection between emotion and eating patterns can be really helpful to see. Is food going fill that need? Or is something else a better fit?

So, when people are feeling isolated and lonely, it may be that a phone call or reaching out to a friend is a better fix, because thats going to help give connection. Food is soothing in the moment, but its not going to actually help you feel heard.

See the original post:
Q&A: Why People Are 'Stress Eating' During the Pandemic, and How to Stop - UVA Today

While the absence of tourists during the coronavirus pandemic may have deprived Naras famous deer of their favourite snack, it has worked wonders for their digestive health.

Before the outbreak, millions of tourists descended on the western Japanese city once the countrys capital to view its shrines and temples, and feed the estimated 1,300 free-roaming deer in the its main park

While their preferred snack of senbei rice crackers are a nutritious combination of flour and rice bran, the deer simply ate too many of them, triggering a raging thirst.

I suspect some deer ended up drinking too much water, Yoshitaka Ashimura, secretary-general of the foundation for the protection of deer in Nara, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

That, he said, took a toll on the animals health, causing gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhoea.

But now, deprived of their regular supply of senbei crackers, the deer have been forced to seek out more of their traditional staple diet of plants and nuts.

The result has been a transformation in their health, evidenced by the piles of perfectly formed pellet-like droppings affectionately referred to as black beans.

Naras deer, which have been known to attack visitors who tease them with food or try to take selfies with them, are believed to be divine messengers and were designated natural treasures in 1957.

The animals have the dramatic plunge in visitor numbers to thank for their improved bowel movements.

An estimated 2.58 million people visited Nara prefecture in 2018 an almost 10-fold increase from 2012 leading to a spate of deaths among animals who swallowed plastic bags and food wrappers discarded by tourists.

In May, however, just 1,700 people visited Japan from overseas a 99.9% drop from the same month last year as a result of travel bans and other restrictions prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the trend has hit businesses in Nara, it has brought an unexpected benefit for residents.

Not only are the animals droppings more compact, said Toshiharu Takaki, a regular visitor to the deer park for 40 years, they also stink less.

View post:
Scat feels better: digestive health of Japan deer improves as tourist snacks dwindle - The Guardian

With the UK on the brink of a deep recession and many households facing increasing financial pressure as a consequence of coronavirus, IGDs Chief Economist James Walton explores the relationship between health and wealth and highlights some key considerations for food businesses.

IGD has created hypotheses describing possible long-term effects of Coronavirus on business, health and sustainability. The six hypotheses connected to health and wellness are, briefly:

(A complete discussion of these can be downloaded here LINK)

A strand that links some of these hypotheses together is economics economic outcomes shape the choices made by shoppers and governments.

Unfortunately, the economy of the UK and other Western nations was not performing strongly before the emergence of Coronavirus, leaving little margin to cope with shock.

Average real household income in the UK was broadly flat between 2010 and 20191, household cash resources are limited2 and some households have spent less on food and drink over time3.

Economic pressure has now been amplified by Coronavirus and consequent lockdown measures; the UK government is predicting an exceptionally deep recession and a rapid increase in unemployment4.

Data from ONS suggests that this is already happening, with economic activity slumping and a deterioration in the labour market, with implications for the income of working age households.

Shoppers themselves seem despondent. IGDs ShopperVista surveys show that confidence in personal financial outcomes fell sharply in March and April 2020 in view of recent events, this view is not unreasonable.

Households that see income reduced will be forced to make new choices across the entire household budget, including food shopping.

Social welfare implications are concerning, since many UK households were food-stressed before Coronavirus, relying on food banks and school meals to supplement their diets.

Charities have reported a steep increase in demand the Trussell Trust distributed 81% more food parcels in March 2020 and 89% more in April 2020, when compared with the same months in 2019.

Looking ahead, it is hard to find cause for optimism. With Coronavirus still present and the challenge of EU exit approaching, a quick return to economic growth and better outcomes for households seems unlikely.

It is quite likely that the economic position of many households will worsen before getting better. This may happen rapidly and on a large scale, impacting shoppers at all income levels.

The association between low income and poor health is well-understood. Dietary choices differ markedly between the poorest and richest households in the UK.

Source: Family Food Survey 2017-18, ONS, February 2020

ONS data shows that UK households in the bottom income decile (ie: the lowest 10%) tend to consume far less fruit and veg than those in the top decile, for example5.

Differing diets are reflected in differing health outcomes. NHS data shows that adults are more likely to be overweight and obese when they report multiple indicators of deprivation.

Source: Health Survey for England 2018, NHS, 2019

If, as anticipated, the consequences of Coronavirus and EU exit cause citizens to become less well-off, then they may be expected to make new choices across all aspect of the household budget, including food.

This may mean that the dietary quality of much of the population may decline in the months and years ahead, rolling-back progress made over recent years.

This creates a daunting challenge for government and for public services, but it means challenges for food businesses also:

Amid the economic and biological gloom, it is hard to find much cheer, but there may be room for optimism in certain aspects of diet and health:

These points offer food businesses the chance to open new fronts in communication with shoppers and, more importantly, a chance to present positive messages in hard times.

Sources

More:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): impacts on health and wealth - IGD

From Men's Health

Ryan Murphy is no stranger to an intense workout. As a gold medal Olympic swimmer, he often endures nine water practices, three weight training sessions, and two dry-land sessions within the course of a typical week. While the Olympics are currently postponed, Murphy ensures his diet complements his training, as Mens Health discovered when he spoke to the magazine about what he eats on a typical training day.

Murphys philosophy to his diet? Keep it simple. I want to be able to refuel from my training, and use my diet to complement [it], he says.

Although Murphy is not a morning person, he wakes up at 5:20 a.m. in order to get himself to practice. Because he doesnt like to make a meal before working out, he usually grabs a banana. After completing his first workout of the day, Murphy makes an egg omelet with salmon, spinach, onions, and mushrooms. He also loves a bowl of yogurt with berries and granola.

At lunch time, the Olympic swimmer eats chicken, salmon, or turkey right before his afternoon practice. A typical lunch for Murphy includes some type of protein, a solid grainsuch as rice or quinoaand a veggie.

I dont want to just have protein, because then Im not able to perform at a high level, Murphy says. But I dont want to just have carbs, because my muscles get broken down a lot through weight sessions."

Murphys biggest meal of the day is usually dinnertime, which is similar to lunch. When he has a sweet tooth, he reaches for his favorite snack: a bowl of yogurt, berries, and granola.

While Murphys diet stays relatively consistent, the athlete adjusts meals depending on how he feels. Murphy eats more carbs when he's tired and additional protein when he's sore.

"I try to keep it relatively simple so that its easy for me to follow, but my diet is a huge part of my performance, he says. Ive invested a lot of time and energy into finding what works for me.

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See original here:
Olympic Swimmer Ryan Murphy Swears by This Breakfast Every Day - Yahoo Lifestyle

What intersection do you avoid for fear of serious bodily harm? asked The Spokesman-Review in 1999.

The answer from readers, resoundingly, by a 4-to-1 margin, in the admittedly unscientific survey was Mission Avenue and Hamilton Street.

At the heart of their complaints was the difficulty of making left turns, and they urged the city to add left-turn lights, saying their absence encourages the running of red lights, the papers reporter wrote at the time.

After delaying action for more than 20 years, today the city will at last grant those concerned drivers their wish, breaking ground on a five-month project to add dedicated left-turn pockets and signals along the Hamilton Street corridor from Desmet Avenue to North Foothills Drive.

Heres what the project will include:

When the $3.3 million project is completed, the approximately 30,000 cars that travel through the corridor each day will move more freely, easily and safely, said Marlene Feist, director of strategic development for the Public Works Department.

But between now and the end of November, when the work is scheduled to be finished, drivers can expect the opposite: delays and detours.

While one lane heading in each direction will remain open on Hamilton throughout the project, closures of the cross streets will be required, Feist said.

For the next two weeks, Mission, from Hamilton to Columbus, and Desmet, from Cincinnati to Columbus, will be closed, while Hamilton will be reduced to one lane in each direction at the Mission and Desmet intersections.

Crews will aim to complete work at the Mission and Desmet intersections in August. They will then move to Sharp and Illinois, before tackling Indiana and North Foothills.

Meanwhile, two other projects are underway one block to the west, on Cincinnati Avenue, where the city has been building its first greenway and the Spokane Transit Authority recently kicked off work on the coming bus rapid transit City Line.

As part of that work, crews will be paving the intersection of North Foothills and Cincinnati this week, so drivers should expect lane closures there, too.

Feist said those projects, while distinct from the coming Hamilton corridor improvement, are part of a broader effort to improve safety and amenities not only for cars but also for bicyclists, pedestrians, bus riders and others in the area around Gonzaga University.

The greenway a street thats open to cars and, in this case, public transit, but that prioritizes non-motorized modes of transportation is key to maintaining Hamilton as a north-south corridor for traffic, while also improving safety in an area that probably has more pedestrians than anywhere in the city, Feist said.

While the transit infrastructure in the area just north of Gonzaga will be transformed over the next couple of years with the completion of the corridor project, the greenway and the City Line, which will cross Hamilton at Mission beginning in 2022, Feist said there are no existing plans to put the street on the kind of road diet that North Monroe Street recently underwent.

In part, Feist said, that has to do with the very different conditions on the two streets, including Hamiltons greater width and nearly twice as heavy traffic volumes. But she didnt rule out an eventual, more drastic change.

The only time it might be feasible is when the North Spokane Corridor is finished, she said.

When that happens, she noted, some of Hamiltons traffic will likely move to the long-awaited and oft-delayed freeway, perhaps freeing up the street for a more drastic makeover. Soon, though, drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists will be able to reap the benefits of the citys less drastic but still significant and long-awaited changes to the area.

Crews got to work last week on what will be a three-year project to expand Idaho Highway 41 from two lanes to four lanes between Post Falls and Rathdrum.

Expansion will better serve the drivers who use this route every day, which in some sections is nearly 20,000 motorists, Ryan Hawkins, resident engineer with the Idaho Transportation Department, said in a news release. The existing highway will essentially become the southbound lanes of the new highway, allowing much of the work to be constructed with minimal impact.

New lanes will be added east of the existing lanes, along with a wide path for bicyclists and pedestrians. Outside of city limits, the lanes will be divided by a grassy median.

An overpass will be built to carry traffic safely over the railroad tracks that cross the highway just north of Hayden Avenue. The other crossing, south of Hayden, will be removed.

Construction of the overpass will be the first step in expanding the highway, with the northbound bridge to be completed in spring 2021 and the southbound bridge to be finished in early 2022.

The project is one of a number in the works to expand the transportation capacity of booming Kootenai County.

The Washington State Department of Transportation will continue work this week on I-90s Medical Lake/S.R. 902 interchange, which is in the midst of a major expansion and where crews are at work on a new roundabout at the tops of the eastbound ramps.

Spokane County will also continue work on a nearby and related Geiger Boulevard project from Hayford Road to Soda Road. Drivers can expect the road to be open this week, though with flaggers possibly present as crews continue work.

The intersection of Rowan Avenue and Market Street will be closed starting today for a $3.5 million sewer-relocation project being completed to make way for the North Spokane Corridor.

Northbound Market Street traffic will be detoured to Haven Street via Diamond Avenue. During this work, Haven Street will serve both southbound and northbound traffic.

Read more here:
Getting There: Hamilton corridor to get long-awaited but disruptive update - The Spokesman-Review