Why cereal is still the best breakfast

I heard on the news this morning that it has been recognised that some breakfast cereals contain a lot of salt. By ‘a lot’ I think they are meaning ‘more than you would imagine’ rather than a ‘salt-pot-full’. The majority of breakfast cereals offer less than 1 gram of salt per serving and we are recommended to restrict our daily salt intake to around 6 grams a day. So what’s the fuss?

We are consistently told that we should eat breakfast. Cereal is a low fat, quick and mostly healthy way to start the day, AND it gives us the opportunity to consume almost 190ml ( 1/3 pint) of milk which is full of calcium, protein and lots more. Cereal is often high in fibre, and all cereals are fortified with vitamins so offer a really great meal at the beginning of the day when the body is crying out for nourishment.

We know that skipping breakfast will result in our not only lacking concentration at school or work, research has shown that breakfast-skippers are likely to be fatter than those who do eat it.

So, we hear on the news that cereal may not be as good for us as we thought. What are the alternatives? Toast with butter and marmalade? There’s salt in bread and the butter/margarine/spread. Sausages, eggs etc.? There’s salt in sausages. Bacon contains salt.

Recently I was with a group or children talking to them about healthy eating. I asked each of them what they had for breakfast and the answers were alarming, varying from ‘nothing’, ‘crisps on the way to school’, ‘chocolate bar’ to ‘my mum and I eat biscuits for our breakfast’! Some did eat cereal, thankfully!

Eating cereal is one of the most nutritious ways to start off our day. It is my breakfast of choice and I use my own branded Portion Pots* to ensure I don’t eat too much as I want to stay slim.

Whoever is behind this latest report, I hope they realise that the media are only looking for a story. They are quick to spread the news which just leaves the consumer confused when we are all - including the government - trying so hard to educate the general population to eat healthily.

*Rosemary Conley Portion Pots are available from our website or given to members free when they join Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs, see www.rosemaryconley.com for details.

The Five Key Steps To Losing Weight

Yesterday, a lot of folk will have embarked on a diet in a desperate attempt to lose weight because they are simply fed up with carrying around their excess bulk, feeling unnecessarily tired, and having a very low self-esteem. Monday is the most popular day for starting a diet as it signifies the start of a fresh week and most of us have a pretty predictable work pattern and that helps us stock to our diet.

To be successful on any weight-loss campaign we need to understand that we have to cut down on the calories we eat and we need to step up the number of calories we spend. We can have very good intentions of eating more healthily and doing more exercise but when reality takes over, often we make some effort but not enough to give us the quick weight loss we need to spur us on to our ultimate goal.

So here are my top tips to keep you on track to quick results.

• To lose weight you need to stick to a reduced calorie diet and the easiest way to do that is to eat low fat foods which should contain significantly fewer calories that their high-fat equivalent. Check out the food labels and buy foods with 5% fat or less, and check out the calories per portion that you are going to eat. Cut right back on alcohol as alcohol just causes you to gain weight.



• Next, reduce your portion size. This is, in my opinion, the biggest reason why so many people are overweight. We are just getting used to eating too much. Find yourself a smaller plate and cereal bowl and cut back your portions. If you have a set of my Portion Pots, use them. (find them on our website www.rosemaryconley.com)



• Stop snacking between meals. That’s a tough one if you’re used to munching your way through a packet of crisps and a Mars bar every day but if you are serious about getting back into shape, then you do need to cut back on the high fat treats that do nothing for you except make you fat. If you feel really hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon, have a small piece of fruit – just one!



• Exercise burns extra calories and any activity that uses your heart and lungs – in other words makes you out of breath – also burns fat. We need to do 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 – 5 times a week to be healthy, but while we are trying to lose weight, our exercise time is crucial. It will speed up your progress significantly. Also do some toning exercises which will strengthen your muscles and give you a better shape. (Try our diet and fitness classes as the exercises we teach in them will burn fat and tone you up- find out where your local Rosemary Conley Diet & Fitness classes are held here).



• Last, but by no means least, write down everything you eat and drink, every day. By doing so research has proven that you double your rate of progress. It just makes you more accountable than eating something and thinking ‘just one won’t hurt’ – but unfortunately, every little extra adds up.

Remember, we don’t become overweight overnight so be patient but when you do reach your goal, you will feel like a new person and every bit of effort will have been worth it.

Have a good day!

So drinking wine will make you live longer?

In the news today is the announcement that if you drink half a glass of wine a day, you could live five years longer. Is this good news, I wonder, or is it just going to make us feel guilty if we drink a whole glass or worry if we don’t like wine?

The body has an interesting relationship with alcohol. On the one hand we are told it is good for our health, and on the other, the body treats alcohol as a toxin and works very hard to burn it off. In fact, in the pecking order of how the body burns the food and drink we consume, alcohol goes straight to the top of the queue, followed by carbohydrate and protein. Fat in our diet is the last food group to be used as fuel for energy as it is designed to be stored on our body in case we find ourselves in a famine. Fat provides us with an emergency energy supply and keeps us alive when other food sources run out.

Overall, despite often conflicting reports being published in the press, alcohol in moderation is good news for our health. I include a small amount of alcohol in my diets and I do not want to exclude any food group completely, but it should be treated as a treat and should be measured carefully otherwise you may be very surprised at how little, if any, weight you are losing.

Last year we launched a clever little product called Portion Pots® to help dieters quickly and easily measure their servings of foods such as cereal, rice, pasta and wine. The yellow Portion Pot® is the wine measure – a 125 ml measure. Whilst the food ‘portions’ were commented upon favourable, not so for the wine. ‘Is that it?’ people asked worryingly as they eyed up the size of the yellow pot. Why the surprise? It represents a standard pub measure of wine yet we would not dream of pouring such a measure for a friend or we would be thought we were being mean. With larger wine glasses becoming fashionable, we are used to having a much larger measure.

Like so many other foods we consume, we have become used to eating and drinking larger portions. If we are to look after our body, drinking moderately and eating smaller portions will help our weight and our health. Nobody can make us do it. We have to make the choice ourselves and we have to develop a new habit of moderation if we are going to stay healthy.

If you are interested in our Portion Pots®, just check out our website.