Nutrition 101 with Tracy

[FitbitCommunity]

Hi everyone, we would like to introduce Fitbit's Nutritionist, @TracyFitbit!

Tracy has a Masters degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, is an Australian Accredited Practicing Dietitian, and is an international member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the US. The last Friday of every month, we'll open up this discussion thread for your questions about nutrition. Don't forget to vote on the questions you most want answered and Tracy will respond to the top questions throughout the month.

We're excited about this new initiative and getting healthier together 🙂

[TracyFitbit]

Hi @Devonk310,

Thank you for all that great detail, it's really helpful to understand the challenge you're facing. It would be great to also know how many calories you're eating on average each day?

First up, rest assured your BMI is only just outside of the healthy weight range. And the fact that your blood results are all normal, is proof that your exercise and eating efforts are in fact paying off on the inside. Also, take a moment to consider where you're carrying the extra weight: If it's mostly around your bum and thighs (pear body shape) rather than your waist (apple body shape), then this extra weight comes with a much lower health risk. 

Saying that, I totally recognize that you want to feel good in your clothes and want to shift a few extra pounds of fat tissue.

Sometimes, if dieting and exercising don't seem to be working, eating more might be just what your body needs. Sounds kinda crazy I know, but I wrote about this in an article so you can read more here:  Eat More to Lose Weight? Yes, It Can Be a  Successful Strategy.

Basically, what might be happening is that your exercise is draining a big chunk of the calories you're eating and there aren't enough left to fuel your body's day-to-day processes, so your body goes into an energy conservation mode and slows your metabolism.

If the gap between your calories burned and calories eaten is more than a 500-calorie difference, and you've been in this state for a long time, you may need to kickstart your metabolism in order to lose body fat. You can do this by slowly starting to eat more—aim for about 100 extra calories a day for a couple of weeks.

If this doesn't apply to you, it may be a simple matter of mixing up your workout and eating routine to "challenge" when your body has grown accustomed to burning/consuming calories. For example, if you have always been a morning exerciser, move your workout to later in the day. Also, switch up when you eat the most calories—instead of your usual big dinner, try having your main meal as breakfast, and eating fewer calories  for dinner. Doing this can sometimes help to fire up your metabolism again and burn fat. You can read more here: What to Do When Weight Loss Stops

Let me know if you've found this info helpful! 

[DanOstin]

Thanks for sharing

[AmandaGeorge]

Good afternoon everyone

Just a quick question for @TracyFitbit - I've been slowly and gradually dieting for the last 17 years after spending almost 3 months in hospital on the Neurology ward because I couldn't stop being sick.  I went in with a UK size 6 skirt being held up by my hip bones and came out at a UK size 36.  I've been very slowly losing weight ever since and as of Wednesday I'm slap bang in the middle of the ideal weight range for my height and I've been told not to lose any more weight.

Brilliant, says me.

Thing is though, I need to significantly increase my calories that I eat now but can't seem to find a way to do it.  Since getting my Fitbit back in September I've lost 10kg and I was only just managing to turn the graph green 3-4 days a week, the rest of the time it was blue and now that I've gotta maintain my weight, it's even harder to turn the graph green.

According to my Fitbit app I need to eat another 1114 calories today.  I've eaten 979 calories and burned 1614 calories so far, but I'm nicely full now and genuinely don't feel I need to eat anything else for the rest of the day.  Literally the only way I can think of to increase my calorie count is to start eating breakfast biscuits because I don't have breakfast, but what else can I do please.

I'm semi-vegan for medical reasons and it's dangerous for me to get near the oven so all meals are made by the hubby.  We rarely have vegetables because there's no room to store or prepare them, so most of our meals are either pasta or rice-based.

What sort of easy to prepare (as in literally open a packet, bung it in the oven for half an hour then serve it up) could we start eating pretty please?  The most complicated meals that the hubby is willing to prepare is things like pasta and sauce or vegan pasta bolognese or pre-prepared lasagne or pizza etc.  We occasionally have curry and rice, but that always comes out of a jar with Quorn pieces added.  We are willing to try most things, but they have to be quick and easy to prepare with very little room available.

I can take a photo of how little space we have in our kitchen if that would help?  Steve literally only has the hob (when it's not on) and a very small gap at the front of the kitchen sink to work on to prepare our meals.

Any ideas pretty please?

Thank you so so much!

[TracyFitbit]

Hi @AmandaGeorge,

It’s great to hear you’ve had success in losing weight. Your consistent hard work has clearly paid off!

If you haven’t already, I’d suggest adjusting your Weight Goal in the Fitbit app. Tap on your profile picture > Nutrition & Body Goals and update your Weight Goal to Maintain Weight. This will ensure your Calorie In goal is the same as your Calorie Burn goal each day.

Break your Calories Burned into smaller achievable Calorie Intake goals per meal/snack. So if you’re burning around 1,600 calories a day, aim for about 400 calories per meal plus 2 x 200 calorie snacks.

Not having much kitchen space can make healthy eating more challenging, but it’s not impossible! Here are some tips to help you eat well with a limited kitchen: 

• Eat breakfast every day. Overnight oats are one of the quickest and healthiest make ahead breakfasts. In a container with a lid, soak 3 cups rolled oats in 3 cups milk (soy if you avoid dairy), stir in 3 chopped apples, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate. Breakfast for the entire week is done! You can vary the types of fruit you add each week. A low-sugar granola bar + a piece of fruit + a milky coffee or tub of unsweetened yoghurt is a good grab-and-go option.
• Plan your meals so you only buy what you need.
• Fruit and vegetables are jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and other disease-fighting phytochemicals (plant chemicals), and are Mother Nature’s way of looking after us, so try to include at least 1 piece of fruit and 2 cups of veggies (1 cup at lunch and 1 cup at dinner) most days.
• Use a cupboard shelf in another room to store veggies and fruit that don’t need refrigeration or much preparation. Fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas don’t need to be kept in the fridge and require no prep work, and are great on-the-go snacks! Cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumbers, potatoes/sweet potatoes, bell peppers/capsicum also don’t need to be kept in the cold and need little prep.
• Buy pre-prepared vegetables like grated carrots or frozen spinach which can simply be added to your readymade pasta or curry sauces. A big handful of pre-washed leafy greens served alongside lasagna, or a cup of readymade vegetable soup are other ways to boost your veggie intake. I found this great infographic with lots of ideas for zero-prep and quick-prep veggies.

Here are a few quick-and-easy lunch or dinner ideas:

• Vegetable and barley soup: Packet of dried soup mix + bag mixed frozen veg + veg stock
• Simple Nicoise salad: Canned tuna + boiled eggs + bag of pre-washed leafy greens + boiled baby potatoes + vinegar olive oil dressing
• Readymade BBQ chicken + bag of pre-washed leafy greens + tinned corn
• Pasta Napoletana: Pasta + readymade tomato sauce + frozen peas/spinach/pre-grated carrots added to sauce
• Spud: Baked/microwaved potato + baked beans + low-fat grated cheese
• Omelette: Cheese, tomato, onion omelette with a slice of whole-wheat toast
• Curry: Chicken strips + readymade butter chicken sauce + green beans (added to sauce) + brown rice
• Chickpea salad: Canned chickpeas + cherry tomatoes + cucumber + avocado + vinegar olive oil dressing

Stay well,

Tracy

[AmandaGeorge]

Thank you so so much @TracyFitbit!  I've already adjusted my FitBit app - it's one of the first things I did when I got home to celebrate lol  It's why I'm struggling more than before to turn the graph green lol I'm burning on average 2,200 calories a day thanks to walking our senior puppy twice a day and doing laps of our back yard and downstairs every hour so that I can get more active minutes in the bank and turn the hourly graph green too.

We'll definitely try the vegan things, especially the omlette when we next get our eggs from the small, local farmer!  The rolled oats one is awesome too and will hopefully increase my calories more than the breakfast biscuits are (70 calories a day which is less than a third of what I was hoping lol).  Do the oats need to be cooked though, or can they be eaten straight from the fridge please?

Bananas are a staple food item for us... the apples we got with yesterdays shop look gorgeous, but the bananas are still green so we won't be able to have them for a few days yet lol  They are still only 100-ish calories each though, so I'd have to eat 20 a day to get my full calories from them  😉  lol

Jacket tatties are a firm favourite of ours, I just need to find a way to make them more moist so that they don't make me throw up is all.  Butternut squash is also yummy in Autumn and Winter!

Thank you so so much!  I really appreciate your suggestions and we'll definitely try them out!

[TracyFitbit]

Hi @AmandaGeorge you don't need to cook the oats, soaking them in the milk means you can eat them straight from the fridge within a couple of hours 🙂 

[AmandaGeorge]

Oh right!  OK, cool!  Thank you so so much!

[AmandaGeorge]

Hello again @TracyFitbit 

Just been weighed by the nurse again and I've lost another 3kg in almost exactly a month, so she's not at all happy with me and has said that if I lose any more she'll refer me to a dietician.  As of tomorrow I'm gonna have toast and soya (because I'm allergic to dairy) spread and reduce my hourly laps of the house and yard (to get my blobs and active minutes) from 15 - 20 minutes to 10.  She said that most people want to lose weight, but I need to put that lost 3kg back on then maintain that weight.

I'm seeing her again at the start of September and I don't want to disappoint her again... I also don't want to waste a dietician's time or appointment slot either.

So what can I do to quickly increase then maintain my weight in 7 weeks please?

Thank you!

[TracyFitbit]

Hi @AmandaGeorge 

Seeing a dietitian one-on-one is probably a good idea. That way he/she can work with you to personalise your eating plan and follow up with you until you've reached your goal to gain and then maintain your weight.

In the meantime, here are some tips that can help get your started...

To gain weight you need to be eating more calories than you're burning. So, update your Nutrition & Body goals in the Fitbit app to "Gain Weight". You should aim to eat about 500 calories MORE than you are burning each day. So if you're still burning on average 2,200 calories a day, aim to eat 2,700 calories a day.

The key steps to gaining weight are:

- Eat more food (500 calories more than you are burning every day)

- Eat more often (aim to eat every 2 hours or 6 to 8 meals+snacks a day)

- Eat more efficiently (choose foods and drinks that are concentrated in calories)  

- Eat more consistently (avoid skipping meals or snacks)

I wrote a blog article on this topic that may be helpful in providing more detail: How to Eat to Gain Weight in a Healthy Way 

Here is what a roughly 2,700-calorie meal plan may look like:

Breakfast: ~ 500 calories

• 2 slices of thick toast + peanut butter/avocado/soy butter + boiled egg + 250ml glass of fruit juice OR
• 1.5 cups of overnight oats (soaked in soya milk+1 Tbsp pure protein powder) + 1 Tbsp nuts/seeds + 1/4 cup raisins

Morning Snack: ~ 300 calories

• 2 pieces of fruit/handful dried fruit + oat/granola bar

Lunch: ~ 500 calories

• Sandwich with thick sliced wholewheat bread + spread avocado/hummus/soy butter + 100 g lean meat + salad + 250ml glass of fruit juice OR
• Leftovers from dinner

Afternoon Snack: ~ 300 calories

• A big handful of nuts OR 2 Weetabix+1 cup soya milk

Dinner: ~ 500 calories

• Big bowl vegetable and barley soup: Packet of dried soup mix + bag mixed frozen veg + veg stock + slice of crusty bread
• Simple Nicoise salad: Canned tuna + boiled eggs + bag of pre-washed leafy greens + boiled baby potatoes + vinegar olive oil dressing
• Readymade BBQ chicken + bag of pre-washed leafy greens + tinned corn
• Pasta Napoletana: 2 cups cooked Pasta + readymade tomato sauce + frozen peas/spinach/pre-grated carrots added to sauce
• Spud: Large baked/microwaved potato + baked beans + low-fat grated cheese
• Omelette: Cheese, tomato, onion omelette with 2 slices of whole-wheat toast + soya butter
• Curry: Chicken strips + readymade butter chicken sauce + green beans (added to sauce) + 2 cups cooked brown rice
• Chickpea salad: Canned chickpeas + cherry tomatoes + cucumber + avocado + vinegar olive oil dressing

Post-Dinner: ~ 300 calories

• mug of hot chocolate made with 300ml soya milk 3 Tbsp chocolate powder like Milo

Drinks throughout the day: ~ 300 calories

• 1 litre Lucozade Energy Drink OR Sports drink like Powerade or Energade

Hopefully that'll give you a good head start leading up to September.

Stay well 🙂

Tracy

[AmandaGeorge]

😮

I haven't eaten that much since I was in hospital (on the Neurology ward) for 3 months in 2003!!

Steve's currently making me a couple of slices of toast and soya spread now, then we're having vegan lasagne or vegan pizza for lunch and I can pretty much guarantee that I'll be bloated by then!!

[AmandaGeorge]

Ooooh!  I've just put my toast and dairy free spread into my app, and just my breakfast alone is significantly more calories than I've eaten for the last two days, so maybe we won't have to change our diet that much after all!  The dairy free spread alone was over 1,000 calories and I'm well into the red already lol

[catoat1888]

How much spread did u use??

Sent from my iPhone

[AmandaGeorge]

A serving on each round of toast lol  I looked at the traffic light bits and 3 of the 5 of 'em were red, but it's mostly oil instead of dairy, so that's understandable... it was 530 calories per serving lol  Our lunch will take me nicely into the green though, and it means I can continue to do 15 minutes instead of 10 when I lap the house and back yard each hour too 👍

[AmandaGeorge]

This is what we use

[AmandaGeorge]

Had porridge made with water (because I'm allergic to dairy and couldn't afford to get soya/coconut milk with the shopping this week) for breakfast and home-made curry for lunch which has meant I've eaten 1037 calories today and not even one lap of the house so zero active minutes and only 2 hours with over 250 steps so if I do that every day before I go into hospital in exactly 14 days then hopefully that'll mean I've put on enough weight for the nurse to be happy with my weight again.  🤞

[TracyFitbit]

Hi @AmandaGeorge 🤞

Make sure you're adding calories to your porridge with affordable options like sugar/honey and sliced banana. Buying a dairy-free protein powder in bulk can make it more affordable, too. Particularly because you only need a scoop or two: pea or soya protein. 

Tracy

[AmandaGeorge]

Thank you so much @TracyFitbit I'll definitely add sugar to it next time I have it (hopefully this morning) and I've just checked the graph and I was in the red yesterday, even though it was green before I went to bed lol

[AmandaGeorge]

I'm not risking having breakfast tomorrow 'cos I don't want to throw up when I have my pre-surgery Covid swab in the morning so we're either gonna have curry "as long as we've got Quorn bits" or spaghetti and vegan meatballs for lunch, so hopefully that'll boost my calorie count 'cos I won't be doing so many laps of the house and back yard tomorrow, especially if the Covid test does make me throw up.

I just hope that I've put on enough weight by the time I've come out of hospital and recovered from the anaesthetic 'cos I'll be walking our dog every day again then!

[AmandaGeorge]

I got weighed just before I was taken through for the anaesthetic and I was the same weight as I was when the nurse weighed me, so at least I haven't lost any more weight.  I've been working on eating high calorie foods and the only exercise I've been doing since Tuesday is walking our dog twice a day for about an hour a day total... I've only been getting 3 or 4 blobs out of the 14 for the 250 steps an hour too, but needs must I suppose  😞

[AmandaGeorge]

Got weighed this morning and I've put on 1kg since I got weighed in hospital and she didn't mention the dietician but wants me to put on 6kg by January before she'll be happy with my weight.  My blood pressure is stable so I only need to go back every 6-12 months to have it checked now, so I need to concentrate on upping my weight now which is about 300-350g a week so I'll keep aiming to turn my Fitbit graph red every day again, and still no more laps of the back yard and house until I've got her blessing in January.

What other sort of easy to prepare but high calorie foods can I try eating please?