8 nutrition mistakes even SMART women make

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Think you know a thing or two about nutrition and healthy eating? Here Sarah Russell takes us through some common errors that even smart girls make.

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1. Cutting out dairy foods

Women cut out dairy foods for many reasons - perhaps they have a lactose intolerance, they’re following a vegan diet, because they feel they are ‘fattening’ or because it’s the current trend for weight loss. Dairy foods contain the best source of calcium - essential for our bone health and avoidance of osteoporosis, and by cutting them out you are putting yourself at risk of not getting enough of this vital mineral (700mg per day for women 18-60yrs).

Calcium is also found in dark green leafy vegetables dried fruit and fish bones such as tinned salmon, but not anywhere nearly as abundantly as in dairy foods and it’s very difficult to get enough. Think carefully about your reasons for cutting out dairy and aim to include low fat options such as skimmed milk. If you prefer soya or rice milk, look for calcium enriched brands. Ideally we should have 2-3 portions of dairy a day - a matchbox size piece of cheese, one yoghurt and 1/3 pint of milk would meet your calcium requirements for one day. If you have any concerns about your calcium intake, contact a dietician or nutritional therapist.

2. Eating out? – don’t blow out

We all love to go out for dinner and not just on special occasions. Eating out with family or friends is a great way to relax and socialise. If you eat out a lot though, it pays to be more thoughtful about your choices – or you’ll find yourself piling on the pounds. Food served in restaurants is generally higher in fat and portion sizes tend to be much bigger too – making it easy to eat too much.

Try to have light regular meals during the day, so you’re not ravenous when you get to the restaurant – you’ll feel more in control and be less likely to overeat. Try to avoid the ‘treat myself or ‘I deserve it’ mentality as an excuse for over indulgence. By all means go for 3 courses, but consider sharing a starter or pudding. Order a smaller portion in the first place and always ask for dressing and sauce on the side. By making ‘smart’ choices when you eat out, you can still enjoy your meal, not feel deprived yet still maintain balanced healthy eating - all without piling on the pounds.

3. Not drinking enough water

Most of us know all about the importance of drinking enough water to stay healthy. But 75% of us in the UK are still walking around chronically dehydrated. Once you are dehydrated by only 1% (about 1lb if you weigh 9 stone) your physical performance, ability to concentrate and mental function will have decreased by 10%. If you were running a half marathon for example, being only mildly dehydrated could slow you down by 12 minutes! In the winter months it can be even more difficult as our inclination to drink cold water declines and our fluid intake decreases as a consequence. Don’t rely on thirst as a prompt to drink, by then you’ll already be dehydrated. Try to drink little and often and aim for clear plentiful urine. Going to the loo every 2-3 hours is a good sign you’re drinking enough.

4. Getting caught out by hunger

Even the most nutrition savvy amongst us get caught out from time to time. It might be after the gym, when you’re out shopping or when you’ve been stuck in meetings all day but you know the feeling – your blood sugar takes a nose dive, you’re ravenous, shaky, have a headache and there’s nothing healthy to eat in sight!

Planning ahead is the answer - easier said than done, but pre-empting ‘real’ hunger is the key to long term weight management. Eat small meals regularly, and have pre-packaged snacks in your gym bag, handbag, desk drawer and at home which are filling and healthy. Don’t just rely on fruit and tiny snacks to tide you over - if you’re active you need more calories, simple as that. There’s nothing worse than trying to exercise when you’re hungry, so plan ahead and fuel up beforehand. Exercise will increase your appetite and requirements for more calories – so accept that you’ll need to eat more, plan it in and take it with you.

5. Not fuelling after exercise

When you exercise, you use glycogen for fuel. Glycogen is stored in the body ready and waiting to give you energy for your training, and comes from eating foods containing carbohydrate. If you don’t re-stock your glycogen stores after exercise you’ll feel fatigued and won’t have enough energy for your next session – one the most common mistakes even experienced athletes make. It’s rather like driving your car, using up the petrol, putting it back in the garage then expecting it to go the next day… it might go, but it’ll be running on empty and be more likely to breakdown.

After an exercise session – especially a long or intensive one – you have a window of about 30-60 minutes when your body is most receptive to re-fuelling those all important glycogen stores. Make sure you eat or drink something containing about 50g of carbohydrate and some protein with it as soon as you can after your session. A fruit smoothie made with yoghurt, a commercial recovery drink, peanut butter and jam on toast, breakfast cereal with milk and banana are all great choices.

6. Labelling foods as ‘bad’

Once you think about a food being ‘bad’ you’re heading for the ‘naughty but nice’ syndrome and a lifetime of see-saw dieting and guilt. Remember this motto ‘there is no such thing as a bad food, just a bad diet - it’s the balance that counts’. If you think of a food – chocolate for instance – as being ‘bad’ you start to crave it and then feel guilty if you indulge. Don’t deny yourself any food, but allow yourself to have it from time to time as part of a healthy balanced diet – and without guilt.

7. Cutting out red meat

Rather like dairy foods, many women cut out red meat in the mistaken belief that it is high in saturated fat and bad for them. Modern farming has significantly reduced the fat content in red meat and it is now bred to be much more lean - in fact some chickens can have more fat than beef. Government guidelines now recommend we eat 2-3 portions of red meat each week. A portion is the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand. Red meat is one of the best sources of iron and the most easily absorbed by the body, especially if eaten with vitamin C rich food at the same time.

Many women – especially endurance athletes – suffer from anaemia resulting in tiredness and fatigue. If you menstruate heavily, your iron requirements will be higher still, so by cutting out red meat in an attempt to reduce fat intake, you’re also eliminating your best source of iron. Having suffered from anaemia in the past, Paula Radcliffe is now renowned for eating ostrich steak which is very high in iron but low in saturated fat. If ostrich steak isn’t quite your thing however, try to include lean beef and lamb in your diet 2 or 3 times a week.

8. ‘I exercise, therefore I can eat whatever I like’

Many of us fall into this mindset and to a certain extent it has some truth. Exercise does mean we burn more calories and need to eat more food to fuel our training. However, most of us tend to overestimate how many calories we burn and underestimate how many calories we eat – leading to a tendency to take in more food than we need. We may struggle to lose weight or find we even gain weight despite being very active.

Many women who go to the gym undo all their good work with a coffee and donut afterwards – they are likely to be eating more calories than they just burned! Making good nutrition choices will have a big impact on your recovery from training, energy levels for exercise and your health in general. Try to change your mindset – and think about fuelling for exercise, rather than it giving you an excuse to eat whatever you like.

Sarah Russell, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

Read more nutrition advice on Sportsister
Running and weight loss
Isotonic Drinks: the low-down
What to eat before a race
Healthy snacking

Sarah Russell MSc is a weight management coach specialising in weight loss, behaviour change and nutrition. She runs a nutrition and lifestyle coaching company in East Sussex (near Tunbridge Wells) and offers 1:1 or group sessions for weight loss, weight management, nutrition and lifestyle change. Her philosophy is to ‘ditch the diet’ and start living!

She is also a journalist, qualified coach, competitive tri-athlete and trainer with a Masters degree and 17 years experience in the fitness and nutrition industry.

*20% DISCOUNT ON WEIGHT MANAGEMENT COACHING FOR SPORTSISTER READERS *
Sarah is offering a discount of 20% on coaching sessions at the practice in East Sussex for any Sportsister reader mentioning this article. See www.lifestyle-matters.co.uk for more information. Contact her on [email protected]

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