Reading food labels can be confusing and time consuming! By the time we weigh up health concerns, whether our family will eat the food we buy, and the cost of food, we can all get overwhelmed when grocery shopping!
Here's my top five tips for reading food labels to make the whole process easier.

1. There are two columns on a food label- per serve and per 100g.  Use the per 100g column initially. This means you can compare foods as all the amounts are the same. Often the serve definition will change between brands and this makes it hard to compare them.
2. Aim to buy food with less than 10 g of fat per 100g (or less than 10%)
3. Aim to buy a food with less than 10g sugar per 100g (or less than 10%). In the Weetbix label below, we see it is both below 10% for fat and sugar.
4. Choose food with the least salt possible.
5. Check out the Health stars- the more stars the healthier the food. 

There are other words listed below for fat, sugar and salt to watch out for on the Ingredient list as well, and some targets for what to aim for in your total fat, saturated fat and sugar intake. 

In the last blog post we looked at the how of eating, now we'll look at the where to eat. Leading such busy lives means we often eat on the run- in the car, while getting dressed or even standing in front of the open fridge door.
It is difficult to focus on enjoying food and eating more slowly when we are rushing around. Eating while sitting down at a dining table or breakfast bar not only helps us eat less but is better for our digestion!
Avoid eating

• at your desk
• when walking
• on the lounge in front of the TV
• in bed

If you have to eat in an office, try to eat away from your actual desk and computer in a separate area.
All of these tips help us to be more mindful of what and how much we are eating. This, in turn, helps us enjoy our food, stop eating when we are full and eat less.

Often weight loss information focuses on what we should be eating. But looking at How, When and Where can really transform someone's eating for the better.
So, how should we eat?

• We should eat slowly- it takes 20 minutes for our brain to register that we are full. Eating slowly gives or brain time to catch up with our stomach. If we eat quickly we might not feel full and then over-eat, and then feel really full later!
• Try chewing 5 times before swallowing.
• Eat with cutlery not your fingers. We take smaller mouthfuls when we cut up our food with cutlery.
• Avoid distractions when eating so you can focus on your food. Switch off your phone and TV to eat.
• Sit down to eat and look at your food- what are the colours on your plate?
• What does your food smell like?
• Notice the texture of your food- is it crunchy or creamy?
• Taste your food- is it tangy? Spicy? Salty? Sweet?

Our family are quite experienced in travelling for sport particularly for athletics. Here is the food I packed for our regional athletics trip for the weekend for two of our kids, who were competing in Wollongong last month. With state athletics coming up this weekend in Sydney, it is a good time to plan the food you will take with you.

Most food groups are covered here. The protein is in the quiche (eggs), the nut bars and the tuna with crackers. Protein helps muscles repair after exercise and should be eaten 1-2 hours after exercise for the greatest benefit.
The carbs are in the cereal, wraps and hot cross buns and of course, the snakes for the car trip. Carbs provide energy for active kids and are a good source of fibre.
And then there's the ultimate training and competition food for energy- bananas.
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Planning the food you will pack for travelling helps your athletes to perform at their best! It is less likely to be high in fat or salt than take-aways. High fat foods cause tummy upsets and salty foods make us more thirsty.
Make sure the food you pack is food they like and have tried before. There's nothing worse than them feeling sick in the stomach after eating something new just before competing, especially remembering the nervous energy that might be present.
​Packing food also saves money as well- you don't need to depend quite so much on the junk food available on the highway!
Our hope is that our kids enjoy their sporting events and do their best!

One in 70 people have coeliac disease but 80% of people remain undiagnosed. The symptoms vary and you can use the assessment tool below to work out if you may be at risk. It only takes a few minutes.
Bread makers, gluten free hampers and cookbooks are available for some great competitions through Coeliac Australia to celebrate Coeliac Australia Week. Check out their website or follow them on social media!

Planning meals often helps someone achieve their healthy eating goals. Planning meals helps people eat more of the food groups like fruit and vegies, lean meat and grains. It saves time and money by directing grocery shopping. It is a help to avoid impulse purchases which are usually high energy and low in nutrition.
Here's the meal planning sheet I give to clients to help them achieve this. I hope it helps you too!

Smart Eating Week is here! This is a week run by Accredited Practising Dietitans. What does smart eating mean to you?
My first thought on eating smarter means eating more vegies. Vegies help us avoid diabetes, heart disease and cancer. And the best part is that most vegies don't contain calories, sugar or fat.
Vegies can be in form of cooked vegies with our main meal, salad in sandwiches, wraps or rolls or cut up into sticks for snacks. They can be added to soups and stews, in stir fries or in risotto. Side salads are always important with a pasta meal to reduce pasta and meat portions. Rarely do I find that my clients are eating enough vegies.
Here's my latest favourite way to include vegies at a barbeque- a roast veg salad. Delicious with that Persian feta!

Portion plates have been used for some time to help people lose weight. They remind people to increase their serves of low carb vegies and reduce the meat and carb portions when serving dinner. Research has now been done to document how people found using them.
A UK study used crockery and serving spoon sets for people in a weight loss program. People in the study were happy to use both but the plates were used more often. The research showed that the plates reduced self- servings of chips and potato and increased serves of low carb vegies and salad. 
By reminding people to reduce their carb serves, these portion plates have "the potential to induce modest loss" and are simple and inexpensive.

These are the plates used in the study from the USA (Precise Portions) and include a drinking glass. The Australian plates I stock are below. They look quite different but the principle is the same. It would be good to have feedback from people who have used any of these before and if they have helped them. I certainly find they help all my clients who use them! 

Here's the link to the research-
​https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/acceptability-and-potential-effectiveness-of-commercial-portion-control-tools-amongst-people-with-obesity/1EE7393072C13C96CB8B66B90D61AEC4/core-reader 

Many of my clients tell me that they eat good food, but that they eat too much of it. This is why I bought my plastic food models. Love them or hate them, they do show clearly how much to eat. 
Many people are eating too much meat and carbs (potato, sweet potato, corn, pasta, rice or bread) with their meals and not enough low carb vegies. Adults need 5 serves of vegetables or salad a day.  Low carb vegies give us next to no carbs or calories but plenty of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
One serve of vegetables= 1/2 cup of cooked vegies. The pictures below show 1 serve of each vegetable, with the carbs at the top of the picture (corn and mashed potato) and the low carb vegies below.

Below are three meals. They include 3 serves of low carb vegies, 1 serve of carbohydrate (pasta, mash or corn) and 1 serve of meat or chicken using a Portion Perfection plate.