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Session 2

Nourishing your body

Before we think about making any changes to our eating habits, it’s helpful to know what they are. If you’ve been able to keep a record of what you eat and drink, there are several things you may now be aware of. There are lots of reasons why we have our current eating habits, but have you ever considered how these habits contribute to your health? Take a moment now to reflect on this.

Importance of regularity

  • Skipping meals can contribute to low energy levels.
  • Lack of routine may result in high calorie cravings due to the body’s urgent need for energy.
  • We may become focussed on food, overeat or binge eat, often later in the day.

Things you eat

  • We’re often told what we can’t eat and drink to manage our weight… it can be very confusing!
  • It can be helpful to think about foods to add in that give us the nutrients we need, instead of cutting foods out.
  • We need variety from the five different food groups to get all the nutrients our bodies need.

Eatwell Guide

Use the Eatwell Guide to help you get a balance of healthier and more sustainable food. It shows how much of what you eat overall should come from each food group. The interactive version of the Eatwell Guide can help to illustrate this.

The proportions for each group will differ for those who are managing their weight. We will discuss this more later.

Food groups

1. Fruit and vegetables

Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day.

These foods are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and gut friendly fibre. We should aim to have at least 5 different fruits and vegetables every day – tinned, fresh, frozen or dried. The more colours the better! 150mls of pure fruit juice counts as one portion. Some vegetables don’t count towards your five portions e.g. potatoes.

Example of fruit and vegetables

2. Starchy carbohydrates

Choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions with less added fat, salt and sugar.

Foods in this group give us energy. Choose higher fibre varieties such as wholegrain breads, cereals, pasta and brown rice to keep you feeling fuller and your gut healthier.

  • Potatoes
  • Bread
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Porridge
  • Cous cous
  • Bagels
  • Wholegrain cereals
Example of starchy carbohydrates, including bread, potatoes, cereal, porridge and pasta

3. Proteins

Eat more beans and pulses, 2 portions of sustainably sourced fish per week (one of which is oily). Eat less red and processed meat.

These foods are a really good source of protein which helps with growth and repair. They also contain vitamins and minerals (e.g. iron) and can help you feel fuller for longer. Aim to include a portion with every meal. Oily fish is a good source of unsaturated fats, which are beneficial for heart health.

  • Beans
  • Pulses
  • Fish
  • Eggs
  • Meat
  • Chickpeas
  • Lentils
  • Nuts
Example of proteins, including lentils, beans, tuna, nuts, chick peas, mince, fish, lean meat and eggs

4. Dairy and alternatives

Choose lower fat and lower sugar options.

These foods are high in protein and calcium, and will help make stronger bones and teeth. Dairy alternatives to milk, cheese and yogurt are soya, oat or nut varieties.

  • Semi-skimmed milk
  • Low fat soft cheese
  • Soya milk
  • Low fat yoghurt
Example of dairy and alternatives, including cheese, semi-skimmed milk, low fat soft cheese, soya milk and low fat yoghurt

5. Fats and oils

Choose unsaturated oils and use in small amounts.

There are two main types of fat in the diet – saturated (mainly from animal sources) and unsaturated (mainly from plant sources). Choose unsaturated oils and spreads as these are better for our heart health. We don’t need much though, so include small amounts or choose lower fat varieties. All fats whether saturated or unsaturated contain the same amount of fat and calories.

  • Vegetable oil
  • Low fat spread
Example of oil and spreads, including bottle of vegetable oil and a tub of lower fat spread

Eat less often

This group of foods can add extra fat, sugar and salt to your food intake. They don’t offer many nutrients, so it’s usually best to eat these in smaller amounts and less often.

These are foods we often snack on, like chocolate, cakes, crisps and full sugar drinks.

We don’t need to avoid them completely, as snacking is a normal part of our eating pattern. However, understanding why we snack can sometimes be helpful – we’ll cover this in the next session.

If planned ahead, snacks can be an important part of your diet, providing an energy boost for activity or helping to tide you over until dinner. It’s important to think about what we’re snacking on, and we’ll talk about ideas in the programme.

Example of snack foods, including chocolate, cakes, crisps and full sugar drinks

Feeling the need to snack?

Whether you’re at home, on the go, or in the office try choosing snacks from the five food groups. You can prepare these in advance and take them with you. Here are some examples:

  • Fruit or fruit slices with high protein yoghurt or nut butter makes a great snack. Some fruits are already packaged for snacking on the go.
  • Wholegrain crackers or toast, with nut butter / cottage cheese / light cheese spread / hummus
  • Nuts and seeds
  • A hard boiled egg
  • Vegetable sticks or cherry tomatoes with light cheese spread / cottage cheese / hummus

Portion plate

Portion sizes can be difficult to judge, especially with some foods like pasta, rice and other grains, which come in large packs. These carbohydrates expand when cooking and so look small in a pan but can be more than you think.

For a simple portion guide; think of drawing the letter T on your plate:

Things to consider:

  • Aim to fill half the plate with vegetables. Veg has fibre, which keeps us fuller for longer.
  • Ensure the meal has a reasonable portion of protein from meat, fish, or beans and pulses. Protein also helps keep us full.
  • Add a smaller portion of potatoes, rice, pasta or other starchy food.

We will provide you with a booklet called Weight Loss You Can See during the programme. This will give you more information about how many portions you should aim for from each food group.

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