Eat Right, Live Strong

Eat well to live well

DKIT Sport – Nutrition

Our fully qualified fitness instructors can provide you with advice and guidance on your nutrition as well as your fitness!

Nutrition is a key element to achieving some of our goals therefore here at DKIT Sport we will always advise and support our members with nutritional advice. It is important to get your balance right and enjoy foods in moderation. You may want to lose weight, gain muscle, or stay healthy, so whatever your goals, we will guide you through a simple eating plan. Not all calories are created equal. Different foods go through different metabolic pathways in the body. They can have vastly different effects on hunger, hormones and how many calories we burn. Check out some foods below that will help you lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.

Whole Eggs

Once feared for being high in cholesterol, whole eggs have been making a comeback.
New studies show that they don’t adversely affect blood cholesterol and don’t cause heart attacks. They are among the best foods you can eat if you need to lose weight. They’re high in protein, healthy fats, and can make you feel full with a very low amount of calories. Eggs are also incredibly nutrient dense and can help you get all the nutrients you need on a calorie restricted diet. Almost all the nutrients are found in the yolks.

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens include kale, spinach and cabbage to name but a few. They have several properties that make them perfect for a weight loss diet. They are low in both calories and carbohydrates, but loaded with fibre. Eating leafy greens is a great way to increase the volume of your meals, without increasing the calories. Leafy greens are also incredibly nutritious and very high in all sorts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This includes calcium, which has been shown to aid fat burning.

Salmon

Oily fish like salmon is incredibly healthy. It is also very satisfying, keeping you full for many hours with relatively few calories. Salmon is loaded with high quality protein, healthy fats and also contains all sorts of important nutrients. Fish, and seafood in general, supplies a significant amount of iodine. This nutrient is necessary for proper function of the thyroid, which is important to keep the metabolism running optimally. Salmon is also loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to help reduce inflammation, which is known to play a major role in obesity and metabolic disease. Mackerel, trout, sardines, herring and other types of oily fish are also excellent.

Green Vegetables

Vegetable’s include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussel sprouts. Like other vegetables, they are high in fibre and tend to be incredibly fulfilling. These types of veggies also tend to contain decent amounts of protein. They’re not as high in protein as animal foods or legumes, but they’re high compared to most vegetables. A combination of protein, fibre and low energy density makes cruciferous vegetables the perfect foods to include in your meals if you need to lose weight. They are also highly nutritious, and contain cancer fighting substances.

Lean Beef and Chicken Breast

Meat is a weight loss friendly food, because it’s high in protein. Protein is the most fulfilling nutrient, by far, and eating a high protein diet can make you burn up to 80 to 100 more calories per day. If you’re on a low-carb diet, then feel free to eat fatty meats. But if you’re on a moderate- to high carbohydrate diet, then choosing lean meats may be more appropriate.

Boiled Potatoes

Potatoes yes Potatoes! They have several properties that make them a perfect food, both for weight loss and optimal health. They contain an incredibly diverse range of nutrients, a little bit of almost everything we need. There have even been accounts of people living on nothing but potatoes alone for extended periods of time. They are particularly high in potassium, a nutrient that most people don’t get enough of and plays an important role in blood pressure control. If you boil the potatoes, then allow them to cool for a while, then they will form large amounts of resistant starch, a fibre-like substance that has been shown to have all sorts of health benefits including weight loss. Sweet potatoes, turnips and other root vegetables are also excellent.

Tuna

Tuna is another low-calorie, high protein food. It is lean fish so there isn’t much fat in it. Tuna is popular among bodybuilders and fitness models who are on a cut, because it’s a great way to keep protein high, with total calories and fat low. If you’re trying to emphasize protein intake, then make sure to choose tuna canned in water, but not oil.

Beans

And NOT the ones in the tins that are covered in sugar! Some beans can be beneficial for weight loss.
This includes lentils, black beans, kidney beans and some others. These foods tend to be high in protein and fibre, which are two nutrients that have been shown to lead to satiety. They also tend to contain some resistant starch.

Soups

There are many ways to get nutrients into you and soup is a great way. There is nothing better than on a cold day to warm you up with soup. Make it yourself. Most restaurants or soups sold in tubs at the super market contain butter or cream, sometimes both! Check out our homemade vegetable soup recipe that is great for weight loss but tastes good too!

Cottage Cheese

Dairy products tend to be high in protein. One of the best ones is cottage cheese, calorie for calorie, it is mostly just protein with very little carbohydrate and fat. Eating plenty of cottage cheese is a great way to boost your protein intake. It is also very satiating, making you feel full with a relatively low amount of calories.

Avocados

Avocados are a unique type of fruit. Whereas most fruit is high in carbs, avocados are loaded with healthy fats. They are particularly high in monounsaturated oleic acid, the same type of fat found in olive oil. Avocados are perfect as additions to salad, they also contain many important nutrients, including fibre and potassium.

Nuts

Despite being high in fat, nuts are not inherently fattening. They’re an excellent snack, containing balanced amounts of protein, fibre and healthy fats. Just make sure not to go overboard, as they are still pretty high in calories. If you tend to binge and eat massive amounts of nuts, then it may be best to avoid them. Nut butters are also hugely popular in the fitness world. Make sure when you by it is a healthy one that just contain pure nuts and again go easy on this

Whole Grains

Despite grains having gotten a bad reputation in recent years, there are some types that are definitely healthy. This includes whole grains that are loaded with fiber and contain a decent amount of protein as well. Examples include oats, brown rice and quinoa. Keep in mind that refined grains are a disaster, and sometimes foods that have “whole grains” on the label are highly processed junk foods that are both harmful and fattening. If you’re on a very low-carb diet then you’ll want to avoid grains, because they are high in carbohydrates. But there’s nothing wrong with eating some of the healthier grains if you can tolerate them and are not on a low-carb diet.

Fruit

Even though fruit contains sugar, they have a low energy density and take a while to chew. Plus, the fibre helps prevent the sugar from being released too quickly into the bloodstream. The only people who may want to avoid or minimize fruit are those who are on a very low-carb diet, or have some sort of intolerance to fructose. For the rest of us, fruits can be an effective (and delicious) addition to a weight loss diet while also may it easier to snack.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They do contain 12 grams of carbohydrate per ounce, which is pretty high, but 11 of those grams are fibre. This makes chia seeds a low-carb friendly food, and one of the best sources of fiber in the world. Add them to your breakfast or to your smoothies.

Coconut Oil

Not all fats are created equal. Coconut oil is high in fatty acids Coconut oil still contains calories, so adding it on top of what you’re already eating is a bad idea. Try replacing some of your other cooking fats with coconut oil. Extra virgin olive oil is also great because it is probably the healthiest fat on the planet. Good for also making healthy treats like below

Full-fat Yoghurt

Another excellent dairy food is yoghurt. Yoghurt contains probiotic bacteria that can improve the function of your gut. Having a healthy gut may potentially help protect against inflammation and leptin resistance, which is the main hormonal driver of obesity. Just make sure to choose full-fat yoghurt. Greek yogurt is high in protein also. Low-fat yoghurt is usually loaded with sugar, so it is best to avoid that stuff like the plague.