Calories. What's Your Daily Intake?

                                              Myself and the girls enjoying afternoon tea

Yesterday morning as per usual I sat down with my first cup of tea of the day to watch BBC breakfast. The team were interviewing the chair of the royal society of public health regarding the calorie content in alcohol.

To run with the interview one of the presenters had surveyed members of the public by placing a large glass of red wine, a doughnut, a pint of lager and a pint of guinness on a table, people were asked to put them in order of highest calories to lowest calories.

What would you say contains the most calories? I didn't actually know but I had an immediate sinking feeling and of course my worst fears were confirmed, a large glass of red wine contains the most calories!

A doughnut contains 180 calories, a large red wine 200 calories. Now, I like doughnuts but rarely buy them and wouldn't consider eating more than one, yet I'll happily drink a couple of large glasses of red wine several times a week.

Having just returned from Spain where I ate healthily, mostly fish and salad and swam daily, I knew before I even hit the scales that I'd gained half a stone. When in Spain I tend to have a glass of red wine with both my lunch and my dinner - more than three doughnuts worth of calories before I've even eaten anything!

It makes you think doesn't it, I mean it's no wonder Gwyneth Paltrow advocates eating little more than a few organic lettuce leaves and Victoria Beckham apparently survives on corn soup.

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion a bit of what you fancy does you good. Take Mary Berry, she bakes no end of delicious scrumptiousnesses yet she's as thin as a reed, her philosophy being to enjoy all things in moderation.

I grew up in a household where we ate big hearty meals, however, snacks, cakes and sweets were treats, consequently none of us were overweight.

Dieting has become a common practice in todays society but often diets teach us nothing about healthy eating or eating in moderation. Around 95% of 'dieters' boomerang back to the very eating patterns which caused the weight gain in the first place.

Overly restrictive and faddy diets take all the pleasure out of eating. I knew a woman on a fad diet which consisted of shakes and pills, who denied herself Christmas dinner. Within months of stopping the diet she regained all of her weight. This put me in mind of the quote: 'Sieze the moment, remember all those women on the titanic who waved off the dessert cart.'

NHS guidelines state the average female needs 2,000 calories a day. To lose a pound of fat, we need a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories each week, that means cutting down 400 to 500 calories a day.

There are no quick fixes, like Mary Berry we can have our cake and eat it, but we need to eat less of it, less frequently.

Easy chocolate cake

Recipe
225g plain flour
350g caster sugar
85g cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
2 free range eggs
250ml milk
125ml vegetable oil
250ml boiling water

For the icing
200g plain chocolate
200ml double cream

Preheat oven 180c/gas mark 4
Line a loaf tin
Place all cake ingredients (except boiling water) into a large bowl and beat until smooth
Add boiling water a little at a time, the mixture will now be very liquid
Pour batter into loaf tin and bake for 25-30 minutes
Remove from oven and allow to cool
For the icing, heat chocolate and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until chocolate melts
Remove from heat and whisk until smooth, thick and glossy
Set aside to cool for 1-2 hours
Spread icing over cake

                                           Glenn will have to put that bottle back on the shelf!

'I'm not going to miss 95% of life to weigh 5% less.'
- Dan Pearce

'I finally figured out the big, elusive secret to weight loss. Don't eat!'
- Richelle E Goodrich

Love Donna xxxxxxxxxx