This month we've pulled together some amazing tips, tricks and secrets from nzgirls all over, to bring you the very best in tried & true recipes for success. Click here to find out more...
Welcome to the nzgirl Healtheries Q&A page where nutritionist and naturopath Vicki Martin answers your questions. Got something you want to ask? Hit the button below to submit it.
An intolerance? I was wondering if I may have some sort of intolerance to something... it's just that today for lunch I had a bowl of chicken fettuccine and a milkshake, then after I finished eating and had just over half of my milkshake my stomach bloated so much that I seriously could hardly hold it in, and if I had let it fully out you would swear I was about 5-6 months pregnant! I also burped a lot for a while after that too! Is this due to what I ate?
Is this a one off episode, or has this happened several times? If it is a one off episode then you just had a meal too large for your digestive system to cope with. Pasta dishes and whole milk drinks are both high fat foods that would have completely overloaded your digestive system. Try being more selective with your food when you eat out next time – your eyes may be bigger than your stomach! Listening to your inner ‘fill level’ as I call it is helpful too.
Alternatively if this is a frequent occurrence then you may have an intolerance to milk and cheese. The only way to really check this is to avoid these foods in your diet for at least six weeks. If you have been feeling better without them during this time, you may not wish to revisit them.
However, to be sure you have a problem have several meals containing these foods after the six weeks is up and see what your digestive system says then. If all is quiet, then this is not your problem, if you get the same problem back then you have an intolerance.
How many calories? I am a 22-year-old female, 183cm tall and weigh 63 kg, and I exercise daily. I want to find out about how many calories I should be looking at consuming daily.
I estimate about 2900 kcalories, however it depends on how much exercise you do. I calculated for one hour of moderate activity and one hour of heavy activity. Moderate activity includes walking 3.5 to 4 mph, weeding and hoeing, carrying a load, cycling, skiing, tennis, and dancing; heavy activity includes walking with a load uphill, tree felling, heavy manual digging, basketball, climbing, football, and soccer. If you only do one hour of moderate then 2600 kcalories is all you will require.
Do be aware that food is more than calories. You will also have to take into account the recommended daily allowances of nutrients required. You can find this information on the Healtheries website at www.healtheries.co.nz and click on the Recommended Daily Intake box at the top of the page.
Bulimic Cravings I have been bulimic for the last four months. I have just started seeing a counsellor, and I have successfully cut down on the amount of purging I’m doing. But after about two weeks of being relatively good, and not binging/purging I’m desperate to binge. I’ve got really bad cravings. Do you have any advice on how to stop cravings? I’ve tried to distract myself, go for walks etc, but the craving always remains. I really want to beat the bulimia.
Now that you have beaten the quantity of food you eat, you will now need to look at the quality of the food you eat. Cravings indicate that you are deficient in some nutrient factors. Get your counsellor or doctor to refer to you to a Registered Dietitian straight away. They will help you to balance your diet so that you are getting all the right nutrition and stop the cravings which will get you back into hot water again.
In the meantime I do recommend increasing your protein intake. Protein foods include yoghurt, cheese, meat, eggs, fish, and chicken. Protein seems to help keep appetite at bay and energy levels up. Also make sure that any grains you eat are wholegrain – such as wholegrain muesli, wholegrain bread, brown rice – and again have a serving of each at each meal.
To contact a Registered Dietitian for dietary advice go to www.dietitians.org.nz and click on Find a Dietitian.
Tinned Fish I’ve read a lot about the benefits of oily fish, and salmon in particular. I just want to know if tinned salmon is still good nutritionally. I eat a small can of smoked salmon for my lunch at least three times a week.
Yes, you are on the right track. The canned version will still give you benefits and you are eating the recommended amount.
LSA I'm curious about LSA (ground mixture of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds, I’ve been told) - is it more beneficial than eating nuts and seeds whole? For breakfast I often make a mixture of rye oats with linseeds, sesame/sunflower/pumpkin seeds and some almonds and walnuts, however, would I be better to use LSA?
You can’t go wrong either way. LSA is purely a convenience for those who can’t be bothered putting in the bits and pieces individually. Your breakfast as it is sounds great. Be sure to use ground linseed (such as Healtheries Ground Linseed) as whole linseed tends to pass straight through the body and not get used. Almonds and walnuts are definitely the nuts that have the most beneficial effects for health – so do continue with these.
Love Handles Just wondering what kind of fitness exercises I could do to get rid of my stomach and love handles. I’ve been doing running for a couple of months but haven't lost much weight.
You will have to see how much fat you are consuming in your diet. Aim for only 30 gms per day and keep your sugar intake to a couple of times per week and then you will notice some changes. (Excess sugar gets converted to fats in the body).
For exercise you will need to get some focussed hip and abdomen exercises going to tone up the muscle in the area, otherwise as you lose weight your bulgy bits will turn to flab. You may want to contact a personal trainer for a suggested workout, or consider going to specific classes for abdominal workouts at the gym. A fun thing to do is join a belly dancing class.
BMI How do you work out your body mass index? I want to know if I'm overweight or not, and seeing as I'm very tall I think this is the easiest way. I'm 17 and 5'10
Go to www.healthydiet.co.nz and click on Games. This will give you a calculator to work out your Body Mass Index.
Got a nutrition or exercise related question that’s been rumbling around your head? Ask the expert, just click the button below:
.jpg)
