British TV ads strike again!

I was actually trying to find a clip of the new McVities 'Breakfast Biscuits' ad, which I think is ludicrous, but these ones also make me snort my coffee when they come on. I just wish these manufacturers were not allowed to pretend like their food is healthy when it blatantly isn't! These biscuits (I suppose you yanks* would call them all cookies!) are very easy to munch on without thinking, even I could easily get through an entire pack in one sitting if I didn't care about myself too much. Now, I suppose that wouldn't be too bad if the biscuits were relatively healthy or low in calories, but oh no, they're not. Check out the stats:

Calories 86
Protein 1.2
Carbohydrate 11.2
Fat 4.1
Fibre 0.4

That is the content per biscuit. Given that 1 biscuit is about the same size as the palm of a toddler's hand, I'd say that's a pretty unhealthy thing to put in your mouth. Now there are the stats for 100g of these biscuits:

Calories 505

Protein 6.8
Carbohydrate 65.8
Fat 23.9
Fibre 2.3

Pretty ridiculous right? Now say you ate the whole pack (400g) in one go (easily done):

Calories 2020
Protein 27.2
Carbohydrate 263.2
Fat 95.6
Fibre 9.2

And there you have it, barely any nutritional value for about double my own daily calorie intake and over 5 times my carbohydrate consumption. Now check out the ad, which boasts whole-heartedly about containing wholegrain. Big Whoop.




*don't take offense, my mother is American, which makes me half American, and I'm also an official American citizen :)

I can't BELIEVE they're trying to make these look healthy!

OK so probably only British readers will fully appreciate this, but this TV ad keeps coming on in between parts of 90210 and I am just flabbergasted by it!

Mr. Kipling is a company that makes cakes, such as Fondant Fancies, Battonburgs, Cherry Bakewells, and a load of others, all very tasty as I recall (most probably way too sweet for my newly trained primal tastebuds now) and all very very unhealthy.

In this new TV ad, they make their Oatibakes out to be a healthfood! The sad thing is that I can imagine a lot of people falling for this feeble attempt at claiming cake is good for you. And the people that don't fall for it? They'll probably use it as an excuse not to feel guilty about eating them. Pfftt!

Weekend survival

A lot of us seem to struggle a lot more with keeping up our good healthy habits when the weekend rolls around. I am definitely one of these people. For the last few months or more, as soon as I'd get home from work on a Friday night, I'd completely forget my healthy eating habits and reach for the pizza and chips. Why is that?

 

I think it has a lot to do with wanting to relax on the weekend, those precious days away from the office to spend time doing things we want to do. Like eating things that comfort us. Hmmm. I think emotions heavily influence this type of destructive behaviour. I have, as I mentioned in my very first post here, vowed to ditch my bad food ways and become a real Primal girl once and for all. So, I managed my first weekend in a really really long time without non Primal, non healthy food, and I still had a good weekend! Here are my tips for a healthy, on-track weekend:

 

1. Listen to your body. Notice when you are really hungry (stomach growling etc.) and only eat when you get to that point. It's not enough to simply eat healthy, Primal foods. If you're eating for the sake of eating, or to try and quell an emotion, such as boredom, you're still engaging in unhealthy habits. Cut it out! Be aware of whether you are actually hungry or not, and eat accordingly.
2. If you're craving something, reach for a healthy, Primal alternative. Really want a bowl full of sugary-sweet cereal for breakfast? Grab a piece of fruit or a bowl of berries. Need something salty? How about some sauteed spinach. Really want something starchy? If you simply must, go for better healthier options like parsnips or sweet potato - very satisfying. It may be that you've got a hankering for these things because your body is trying to tell you that you're lacking something (nutrients, not sugar and processing!) so try to give what it actually wants.
3. Get out of the house and have some fun! If it's a nice day out, go for a long walk with your other half or kids, and enjoy the weather. Maybe take a football with you and get in some extra exercise and even more fun. This not only will make you feel more energized, it will also take your mind off the food that you would usually be indulging in.
4. Indulge in something you don't put in your mouth. Try treating yourself with something that will definitely not do any damage to your waistline, such as a bubble bath, facial, a good book, a new computer game or whatever it is that you're into. You need to reprogram your brain to realise that there is a lot more to life than food, and a lot more things to enjoy and experience.

Have you got anything to add to this list of tips for weekend survival? Slap it in the comments section! If you thought this was helpful and you'd like more similar posts in the future let me know! I'm all about the feedback :)