October – Fries on the side?

Let’s face it, we all wouldn’t mind losing a kilo or two from time to time. Recently me included! To complement my training, and really as a test of my willpower, I have decided to eat no hot chips this month. This includes French fries too!

Hot Chips have been quite a staple in my adult life, as many of you know! While I have never kept a ‘food diary’, thinking about it, I probably would have a serve of some sort, on average, about 6-7 of the 14 lunch and dinner meals a week. I hear you say really??? Well, think about it, twice at lunchtime (how can you avoid it in those food courts?) and one fast food meal on a weekend plus anytime I eat out at a restaurant or pub, I always would order a meal with chips on the side.

After some quick research, on average a serve of hot chips is 300 calories. McDonalds fries are much worse, 458 calories for a regular size. Times that by 6 and that is 2000 calories, the equivalent of an average women’s daily recommended calorie intake (ref: http://www.vitalhealthzone.com/nutrition/diets/recommended_calorie_intake.php#1) with very little nutritional value.

I hear Biggest Loser in my head, count what goes in and what you exercise away. For me to exercise 6 servings of hot chips a week =
2h 45m running or
8h walking or
3h swimming
And that’s only to work off what I'm eating, not to lose any of that extra padding.

This doesn’t include any other ‘naughty’ things I eat, I hear you all saying what about the chocolate?? My response – that’s a different topic! One thing at a time ;) king size caramellos still allowed. This month for me it's just NO hot chips.

So far so good…