Most people have no idea what actually happens to body fat when they lose it. They assume it is sweated out, burned off somehow, or just disappears. The real answer is both surprising and genuinely fascinating, and it changes how you think about fat loss entirely.
This week Leanne and Susie open with the science behind what actually happens to fat cells when you lose weight, why fat cells shrink rather than disappear, and what that means for keeping weight off long term. Then they get into the practical stuff: their best tricks for avoiding that slow winter weight creep that catches so many people out between June and August.
In this episode:
- The surprising science of fat loss: where body fat actually goes when you lose it, why the answer involves your lungs and not your sweat glands, and what happens to fat cells after you lose weight that makes maintaining that loss genuinely harder than most people realise
- Why fat cells shrink rather than disappear, what that means for long-term weight management, and why working with a dietitian to maintain weight loss is often more important than working with one to lose it
- The winter weight gain conversation: why it happens, why exercise drops off before food quality does, and the three practical strategies Leanne and Susie use with clients every winter to come out the other side feeling good in their clothes
- Why a hot lunch makes more difference to afternoon cravings than most people expect, the slow cooker approach to packing in protein and vegetables without giving up comfort food, and the specific swaps that lighten up winter favourites without removing the enjoyment
- The new Moccona Protein Latte Coffee from Woolworths: 10 grams of protein, $10 for eight serves, bovine collagen as the first ingredient. What Leanne and Susie actually think, who it is and is not for, and the important protein quality point about collagen that most people buying this have not considered
Why making your coffee on dairy or soy milk at home gives you a comparable amount of protein with significantly less processing, and why the caffeine content of this product is lower than most people would expect
The oxalate question answered plainly: do oxalates in spinach and leafy greens actually block iron absorption, should you be avoiding them with iron-rich meals, and the only situation where oxalates genuinely warrant attention in your diet
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Have you ever lost weight and wondered where does the
body fat actually go? On today's episode of The Nutrition Couch,
we deep dive the science of fat loss and explain
what happens to the fat when you actually lose it. Hi,
I'm Leanne Ward and I'm Sussie Burrow, and together we
bring you The Nutrition Couch, your weekly podcast that keeps
you up to date on everything that you need to
(00:24):
know in the world of nutrition.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
As well as all things fat loss.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
We chat through our diet tricks for winter, We've got
a new protein coffee in the supermarket, and our listener
question is all about oxalates. But to kick us off today, Susie,
we are chatting a little bit of a fun topic
with a little bit of science behind it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Where does the fat go when you lose it?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And I must admit, for many, many, many many years,
I was like, well, you just like sweat it out,
don't you. And then I went through my degree and
you know, I learned about this science and I thought, well,
this is a very interesting concept because we actually breathe
it out. It's one of the very most fascinating facts
about nutrition. When we lose body fat, we actually breathe
(01:08):
it out. So body fat is broken down into carbon atoms,
which are basically converted into carbon dioxide, and we breathe
or we exhale that carbon dioxide out through our lungs.
So the majority of fat that we lose actually leaves
the body through breathing it out. I guess at some
point I thought, what makes sense if you just kind
of like reabsorb it back into your body. Maybe, but
(01:30):
actually it breaks down into carbon dioxide and we breathe
it out. A small amount does leave the body through
water as well, so we can sweat a small amount out,
we can cry it out through our tears, it can
kind of disappear through other bodily fluids, but the bulk
of what we actually lose when it comes to fat
is actually breathed out. And I did a post about
(01:50):
this on Instagram and it got received quite well. But
then I had a whole bulk of people dming me
afterwards saying, well, okay, if we breathe it out, so
when I do a workout and if I pant heavier
and I breathe really heavy, I'll lose more, right, And
I had to write back and say it, and I
actually no, unfortunately not. Wouldn't that be nice because that
would make that loss a lot easier if we just
panted a little harder, But it actually doesn't work like
(02:12):
that because to actually lose body fat, you have to
be in a calorie deficit. You have to technically undereat
in order to have those fat bells shrink down and disappear,
and then to get rid of that through the body.
The body then breaks that down and you know, we
breathe it out, so it doesn't just magically disappear the
harder you breathe. Unfortunately, you have to decrease the fat
(02:33):
cells through the process that is a calorie deficit, and
then the way that the body actually gets rid of
that is through the carbon dioxide and breathing it out.
So yeah, a little fun fat for the podcast. So,
if you were, on average to lose about ten kilograms
of body fat, around eight and a half kilograms of
that would leave the body through your lungs as carbon
dioxide another roughly kill on a half of that would
(02:55):
leave the body through water, so most of it is
actually exhaled. So yeah, funnily enough, the next time someone
tells you you sweat your fat out, at the gym,
you can tell them, actually.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
No, you breathe it out, which is interesting, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I think the thing that's interesting is the fact the
body works really like a machine and it's a fuel cycle,
because I think we're taught, oh, you're burning fat or
you're burning carbohydrate, and it doesn't work like that either.
It's a complete cycle. So that's why sometimes you can
be eating two little carbohydrate to optimally metabolize fat, because
it's like a cycle.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
You sort of start with carbohydrate.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And then you move on to fat, and it's proportionally
amounts of calories that you're burning. Basically lean the body
is so incredibly smart, like we are just so naive
to think we've got any real control over things. Like
it's out smarts at every given turn. And that's why
I'll describe it to clients that when they're losing body fat,
(03:47):
particularly if they've carried weight for a while, they'll often
notice changes in body shape and size before numbers on
the scales. And what I'll describe to them is that
your body has to mobilize the fat to burn it. Basically,
it's a whole system. And if you've had fat sitting
there for twenty years. It doesn't just move quickly to
be burnt like it doesn't like it. The body likes
to store, not burn, which is why it's so easy
(04:08):
to gain weight. So when you do notice those changes,
it's almost the body is mobilizing old fat stores to
enter these cycles in a cellular level. And of course,
the best thing for all of us to know is
that the more muscle must we have, the more metabolically
efficient we are, because that's what actually burns calories. So yeah,
it just takes us back to physiology one I one
at university, doesn't it, But yeah, it's actually super fascinating.
(04:30):
And as I said, why, sometimes you need that long
period of time to see distinct changes in body composition,
and those changes in measurements are the most pronounced suggestion
that things are changing in the body, sometimes even before
the scales, and that's why you have to look at
a number of different measures. But the best thing at
the gym, of course, is often heart rate as well
to making sure you're getting that burning efficiency. What I
(04:51):
see all the time is clients who are moving a lot,
but not actually training the muscle to burn calories more efficiently.
And the best way you can infer that is from
h heart rate. I'm seeing a lot of women who
are happy to do their walks and happy to lift weights,
but their heart rate never goes much beyond one one twenty.
And really to train the cell to be more efficient
and burn glucose as the first feel more efficiently. It's
(05:12):
about getting the heart rate working harder that good or
cardio of the eighties and nineties. So yeah, the heart
rate will tell you a lot about what's going on
in proportions of calories. And that's why you can be
doing a lot in your head but not seeing any
change in body composition. And it's highly likely your body's
used to what you're doing. But it comes back down
to training the muscle to burn more, and really you've
got to get that heart rate to that one point
(05:33):
that Panting has described, which is indicative of burning more fuel.
You're taking more oxygen in and burning more effectively. So yeah, fascinating,
but yeah, no, we don't just leave the fat behind
on the road when we drop it off, which is disappointing.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I will also make a quick point that I was
talking to one of my clients about this. Like you said,
if you've had, you know, fat hanging around for ten
twenty years. It doesn't just immediately disappear. And what also
happens to fat cells, which I think is surprise this
is a lot of people, But when you really think
about it, it makes sense why losing weight for some
people is actually the easy part. Maintaining it and keeping
it off is the difficult part. Because when you actually
(06:10):
lose weight, your fat cells mostly shrink. They don't just vanish,
they don't just disappear into thin air. They just shrink down.
So that is one of the main reasons why fat
loss is incredibly difficult to maintain, because the body still
has the fat cells available to basically refill if excess
energy is consistently consumed. If you're eating above the amount
of calories that you need, you're having blowouts every weekend.
(06:32):
You've done a really strict diet, you've lost the weight,
then you've gone back to your normal eating, you're going
to put the weight back on again because the fat
cells can shrink down and they can also very easily
refill as well, and that's why so many people are
so prone to putting back on the weight after they've
lost it. So it's not just a good idea to
work with a dietitian to lose the weight. It's actually
a great idea to work with a dietitian to maintain
(06:52):
the weight loss as well, because for a lot of
people it comes on far quicker than it ever came off.
So that's just another important point as well, and just
sort of understanding how the human body actually works as well,
and that's why so many people have such a hard
time keeping it off. It just creeps on so quickly
because those fat cells are just there and the ability
to refill them is pretty easy, particularly if you've had
(07:13):
a few nice, big weekends or something.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Or yes, like you said, eating wealth four days a week,
and then the weekend comes and underes all the work
very quickly. Well, not unrelatedly, and it is winter, and
winter does tend to mean that we are less likely
to press pause or snooze on the alarm, not quite
make it to the gym, skip those afternoon sessions, not
get up early morning and do a walk, then like
(07:37):
to sit on the couch with a lot of Netflix
and comfort food, things that tend to be hiring calories,
And before you know what, we come to spring and
the pants are on, the clothes are all a little
bit snug, and you think, how has this happened to me?
And what we would like to say is the time
to act is now. So if you can't afford a
European holiday where you spend the next month or so
(07:58):
in Europe walking around and eating salads and seafoods, the
time to act is now, is it not the ad
and take control before it is too late. So we
thought it was time to share our best diet tricks
for winter. This is a segment we tend to do
yearly annually, but there's a reason for that because it
is so easy to gain weight. And I would actually
argue it's not the food, because I think the food
(08:19):
there's always heaps nips of food around. It's the lack
of activity. Like I've had so many clients in the
past week say to me, I couldn't go out because it.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Was raining, and I was thinking, well, it didn't rain
all the time, like put a rain coat on.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
And again I think I've said that joke last year too,
Like we do tend to use every excuse under the sun.
So if I was putting energy into anything right now,
it would be to be making sure that you've got
a default or a backup option for working out, particularly
if you work and live in the Southern States Melbourne, Tasmania.
Like it isn't pleasant to go out. It's dark very early.
(08:52):
I'm in Sydney and I have to be honest, it's
so pitched like at six o'clock even with my dog.
I'm a bit like, well, it's not great to be walking.
But you've got to have a back then. So you've
either got to commit to a short term gym membership
somewhere like any time where you can literally go after
work and walk on the treadmill or use the exercise bike,
or if you know you're not going to do that,
either you know, hire an exercise bike or a treadmill.
(09:13):
There's always heaps of them online. People are flogging because
they don't use them. But you've got to get it
and make a commitment because there's no way if you
don't do any exercise through winter, let alone walking, there's
no way you'll get off scott free. When it comes
to weight like, you've got to move just to prevent
weight gain, let alone if you want to lose it.
So my focus would really be making sure that you've
made a plan to move an exercise and walking for
(09:35):
most of us isn't enough.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
You've got to walk on an incline, you've.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Got to get the heart rate up, you've got to
get cycling on a bike. So you know, don't kid
yourself thinking, oh, I'm going to go for a walk
and then it's raining, cold, wet, you're tired. It never
happens like this is the daily decisions that add up.
So yeah, that's the first thing. You've really got to
think of an alternative for the exercise options, particularly if
you're living in a colder climate. The second thing I
(09:59):
would do is that if you know that you do
spend weekends out socializing with alcohol, pub food, indulging in curries, casseroles,
group barbecues where there's so much food around, you've got
to have some lighter meals in the week, and that
is having just a soup, that is having just a
plain grill of fish and roasted veggies. So really making
sure that you have the lighter meals each week and
(10:20):
load up. If you're doing winter comfort foods, most of
them you can make significantly lighter just by loading up
the veggies. So if you're doing stir fry curry, which
is heavier, do it with cauliflower rice. I did the
other day. I've been doing some new recipes and I
did a chicken pie and I wrap them in filo. Now,
it was messy, but it works. They tasted just as
good as the good or puff pastry. You don't need it,
(10:41):
or you know, you buy pies, don't eat all the pastry.
It's so thick on there. You only need a little
bit to get that flavor. So there's definitely alternatives in
most meals that you're cooking that you can have a
lighter version. If you're doing a roast for the family,
stick to the chicken breast, ditch the thigh, ditch the drumstick,
go for the pumpkin over the heavier abohydrates. Like you know,
it's quite easy to make these swaps, but you've got
(11:04):
to make a distinct decision to do so, because otherwise
you just lose June July. Before you know it, it's
August and you're wondering why you're heavier and not feeling
as great in your body. And the third thing I
would say is if you're regularly eating out and uber
eatsing or even cafe breakfast. Just cutting back on those
to once or twice a week at most will make
a massive difference, because even if you're choosing their lighter
(11:27):
options at places like the Mexican or Thie or fish Bowl,
they're double the calories or el Janna like we've got
el Janna near us, Like the meals are like a
thousand calories, you know, and it might be chicken and salad,
it's still high calorie. So you can limit those heavier
meals to just once or twice a week, you're going
to go a long way and keeping the calories under
(11:47):
control through this time of the year when it's easy
to pick up a takeaway and Uber eats.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And I think in this time of year, like we
want the warm and comforting foods. You don't have to
shy away from them and no offense. So like cauliflower
rice is not rice doing that one, but the rest
of them are really good good solutions. But I love
a good solocal give meala. I can find I can
pack so many veggies in.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
And people can eat more cauliflowers that's very negative.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I don't like coliflower. It just in the curries.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
If you even notice, if you even notice, yes you
do notice, Come on, hit us up on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Do you notice of cauliflower rice?
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Is rice starts get canceled online like it's hard enough.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Don't even start that.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Okay, well, let's say brown rice, brown or black rice
A little bit, A little bit anyway.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Where I was going with that is local because I
love my Solcal guy. I've been doing local because for
a month it's such an easy, great way. When I'm
buying meat as well, I'll buy just a bit of
chuck steak. It's a lot cheaper than obviously buying like
an I feel it or something.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
You've got to trim it really well.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So I always buy a bit more because you trim
quite a lot of the fat off.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
And then you just pack that socle with so many veggies.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
And the base is just so simple, like a tin
or two of tomatoes, a bit of you know, a
cup of red wine if you want to, you can
leave it out, a bit of beef broth in there,
and then just onion, garlic, and it just makes such
a great base. You could do so many things in
the slow cooka and soups is Susie mention, it's just
such an easy way to get in the vegetables, Like
it's so hard to sit down to a salad in
the middle of winter, particularly when it's rainy.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Like I get it, Susie gets it. We're only human.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
We don't eat a lot of salad in winter either.
But soup is a really great way, so local good
meals or a really great way to get in that
veggie and get in that protein as well, because obviously,
like a lot of comfort based meals don't have a
super high amount of protein, and we know how important
protein is, particularly starting your day off with a balance
amount twenty thirty grams at breakfast, thirty grams at lunch,
(13:35):
thirty forty grams at dinner. That higher protein amount controls
blood sugar levels, control satiety, helps with metabolic health. There's
just so so many benefits, particularly for women as they age,
where if your goal is to increase your body composition,
like change your body composition, put on some lean muscle mass,
you need to have that higher protein diet. And if
your goal is weight loss as well, so getting in
(13:56):
that protein from great sauces like eggs and cottage cheese
together good combo. You might do eggs and smoke salmon
or avocado cottage. She smoked salmon. Sort of combineding some
of those protein choices to give you that higher amount
can be really really great for hunger because the reality
is a lot of people feel hungrier when it rains,
when it's cold. Susan, you know, I both have clients
(14:16):
who Texas and they go away so hungry today, and
it's like, are you hungry or is it just because
it's raining, or you hungry it's just cold today. So
a lot of the time, those colder, darker, wetter days
make us feel more hungry. So that extra protein bulk,
that extra vegetable bulk can go a really really long way.
So casseroles, curries, baked dishes. You know, you can do
a pasta bake and reduce down the amount of pasta
(14:38):
and double up the amount of vegetables in there still
have a warming, comforting meal that the macronutrient.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Distribution is a little bit different.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So Susie's mentioned the other big hitters, like the exercise levels,
getting the heart rainar but they're probably the best diet
tricks for winter to ensure that you come out the
other side into spring and you know your genes are
actually doing up properly, you're feeling good in your clothes,
and you haven't put on that, you know, extra two
three kilos over winter, because that's what is really really
difficult to get back off on a lot of people.
They might put on a kilo or turble winter and
(15:07):
it never really comes back off again. And that's where
people can find that you know, they put on you know,
five kilos over the last maybe five six, seven years,
because it's just that very slow creep each winter or
over Christmas and it never really comes back off again either.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
I think the other one that you've reminded me is
having a hot lunch. I find when people are having
to sandwiches or wraps or salads, they don't feel fulfilled.
I think when it's a bit dreary outside, you're not
feeling it at work, and you're likely to need that
hot chocolate in the afternoon.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
I'd say, have leftovers and hot food for lunch.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
So do the curry, then, do the spaghetti bolonnaise then,
because then you feel really nice and satisfied all afternoon
and you don't get that kind of craving that kicks
off in the mid afternoon, so that's another trick that
tends to work really, really well. Speaking of which leanne
some warming foods, there's new protein coffees in the supermarket,
which doesn't surprise me, and I've seen recently Starbucks too
(15:57):
have started a protein range, although there's on my mind
you're a little bit high at thirty five grams and
a drink, you don't really need that. But this will
be a product that you might have seen. This is
the Macona Protein Latte coffee, which I thought was a
fascinating product and I'll be super interested to see if
it survives in supermarket because it's marketed as ten grams
of protein per serve, which is not insignificant, and it
(16:20):
is retailing for ten dollars at Woolley's at time of recording.
And I said to you, what do you think. Let's
have a little look at it now. I've had one
person posts they really like it as well. I think
as a bit of a coffee snow if I'm honest,
I have my daily latte from the coffee shop. I
myself don't buy kind of instant coffee or things like that,
(16:40):
but they can be incredibly cost effective like I know,
particularly people who are rural and who don't have access
to coffee shops or briisters all the time, or who
simply want to be more budget conscious and save some
money because your coffee, My coffee in Sydney is good.
I get a large three quarter skim Laarte at my
local and they use little math in it, A very
(17:00):
nice coffee only for fifty I pay each day. But
Leanne in bris Vegas, which you think could be cheaper,
what do you pay six fifty or something?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Crazy?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yeah, David and I coppee snobs, so we hunt around
for the best coffee and together I get siin milk,
so I get slugged an extra dollar for that. David
gets skim milk and we pay I think fourteen seventy
or something for two medium Yes copies, I know makes me.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Cry, and mine is particularly cheap, like most of them
in the area are not like that, and I can
see how people are just like that is ridiculous. And
then the other thing, actually someone told me the other
day is that they've started to only pay cash because
every time they were putting through their tap the cart
it was costing them fifty cents.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
And I thought, that's that's right.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
There's a lot of surcharges we're paying when we're tapping,
and I thought, oh, that's quite savvy too, just tab
your coins.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Anyway, I digress.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
So it is quite budget friendly if you find a
mix at home that you actually enjoy. So I think
for a lot of people this could be a really
viable option. So let's have a look at the nutritionals.
So the first ingredient is bovine collagen so not marine
collagen and animal based collagen forty seven percent, followed by milk,
solid sugar, instant coffee powder at nine percent, glucose syrup,
(18:09):
sol vegetable oils, flavors, salt, vegetable oil, vegetable gum, stabilizes,
a mulsifier and caking agent. Now, I would say that
this is a very similar kind of mix to those
instant coffee sashets, because to create that texture and mouth
feel with milk that is long life, you have to
add these additives in is it ultra process? Absolutely, you're
(18:30):
not going to get the same as a fresh barwster
coffee with protein in it in a product in a
little sashet or powder. That's just it is going to
be absolutely an ultra processed food, so with added sugars
to make it taste good. So if I look at
the nutritionals, Oh there's a couple of flavors.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Actually did you know that?
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Man?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, there's a caramel one. What's that one?
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Caramel lache? Oh maybe we should look to the one.
I'll look at that sugar in a minute. Can you
read them? Because I can't find them, and I'm going
to look up the caramel one.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
It says eight servings per pack, so ten dollars the tin.
You've got eight servings per pack. Actually I know a
bit about this, Suzi because my friend Keisha. Shout out
to Kisha, she's a nutrition couch, very loyal fan out.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
We love Keisha.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I lovely Kisha.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
She supports us so much, think you.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
So she sent me this and she's like, what do
you think? So I've been down a bit of a
rabbit hole. But the tin makes eight servings. So if
you prepare it as directed in a twenty gram serp,
which is you know, good sort of what teap spoon
or something, you're getting three twenty killer jewels, which is
roughly seventy five calories ten grams of protein. As they advertise,
very low fat, less than a gram of fat, less
(19:32):
than a gram of saturated seven point seven grams of carb,
six point five of that being sugar, minimal dietary FIB
and minimal sodium as expected. So as she said, it
is a ultra processed food. You know, there's vegetable oil,
there's vegetable gum, there's a mulsifiers as stablers. But like
you said, these types of instant sashet coffees do froth
up really well, like they have a really good frost
(19:52):
on it. So I have used some of those when
I used to work at the hospital. I always used
to use like one of those little saschets or something
because I was, you know, didn't wasn't really making good
money back when I first got employers in New Grad
and I couldn't really afford my coffee shop coffee every day,
so I used to use so sachets as a budget
little hack. But they do froth pretty nicely. But when
you think about it, like I get a medium soy
(20:13):
cappuccino that's my order, is it way more expressive than
there's absolutely I'm not debating the costs, but about a
cup of soy milk or a cup of skin or
a cup of fool cream. How's about eight grams of
protein anyway? So would I be having this for an
extra one or two grams of protein? No?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Is it more budget friendly?
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
But also is it way more process Also yes, you're
also not getting the calcium in that you would get
from a normal cup of milk as well, So a
Borista style coffee or making yourself with some normal instant
coffee on a cup of hot milk is in my opinion,
a better choice nutritionally. You are getting also better quality protein.
So bovine collagen is absolutely fine, but the collagen is
(20:52):
not a complete You're lacking some of the essential amino acids.
So if you were using this, as I always say,
collagen protein isn't the best like post workout protein because
you are lacking some of those essential amino acids. It
doesn't contain the loucine in there, which is what's needed
to activate muscle protein synthesis. So if your goal is
like gaining muscle mass, using a collagen protein isn't a
good idea. Using something like a WPI protein powder is
(21:15):
much better. Yes, there is protein in collagen but it's
not the best type of complete protein. It just feeds
into that overall protein intake for the day. So I
don't have a problem with the protein in collagen, but
just be careful.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
What you're using it for.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
If it was tasty and the clients loved it, I
wouldn't take it away, like I'd be fine with them
having it, knowing that it does contain a lot of
extra I guess, like fililsin and mulsifiers and vegetable oil
as well, which is probably not needed. But I guess if,
as you said it, if you're wanting to save a
bit of money, you're looking for a little bit more
than just a standard instant coffee, You're looking for more
of that nice, frothy experience, I would probably recommend it,
(21:53):
but I don't really think the protein is that significant.
I'd rather my clients used to sache and you know,
made that on warm milk or something, because then at
least they're getting into some calcium with their skim milk
as well. That's kind of my thoughts, but it's not
I wouldn't recommend it, but I also would not I
wouldn't personally buy it myself, but I think it's interesting.
They just jumped on the protein trend, haven't they, But
(22:14):
they've also forgot that if you make it your coffee
on a cup of milk, you're also getting in a
close to ten grams of protein anyway, if you're using
dairy milk or soy milk.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
That is true. Actually, that's a good point. Yeah, I'm
like you. I think it's super interesting.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
I think that for people who are using sashet coffee
without the calcium, without the protein, this is a way
to get some protein in. I'm actually these sugars are
actually pretty good on it. Like I looked at the
caramel latet one, it's not significantly more sugar for that one.
So I think as a once a day kind of
a little indulgent hit of caffeine that you like that
tastes good and gives you a bit of protein.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
I don't have a problem with it. Would I buy it?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
No, it's not a product for me, but I buy
coffee at the shop, so it's definitely affordable if you
like it as well. So yeah, I think it will
be interesting to see if it survives and see if
there's a mark for this kind of product. Because my
gut feeling with it, just as looking at a sociological
perspective is that I think generations, say forty down would
(23:11):
even fifty down a coffee drinkers. These are the people
who have had Barista coffee in their lives for their
whole life. You know, they've been happy to spend four
five six bucks a day since they are twenty, whereas
my parents, who are in their late seventies, they would never,
very rarely spend five six dollars on a coffee unless
(23:32):
it was something special. And I think that supermarket products
like this suit that boomer generation, and I don't know
if they would pay for protein in their coffee, but
I could be wrong. That's just my gut feeling with
it. It would for me be a market of a fifty
sixty year old who enjoys coffee, who doesn't want to
spend money on a Barristo coffee, who is knowing that
(23:54):
maybe I need more protein, and whether that's enough to
keep it in supermarket will be interesting to see because
my mum and dad wouldn't look twice at this product.
It's just they don't. They use good old incidant with milk.
That's just how they've rolled since the seventies and eighties.
So yeah, I think that's actually they've got a coffee
machine now, I should say, but yeah, that's what I think.
When you look at supermarket, you got to think who
(24:14):
is the target audience for this? And I don't think
that people in their forties and thirties are buying this.
I think they're still they're happy to spend on an
oat laste or whatever. So but we'll see. But I thought, yeah,
it super interesting, and yeah, I wouldn't give it anything specific.
I think if you like it, have it, it's no
real harm. I'd say one a day. I wouldn't be
encouraging someone to have twelve grams of added sugars from
(24:36):
their coffee. But yeah, the only downside, like you described,
is they're not getting any calcium from the milk, which
is a rich source of calcium in the diet of
many people.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I will say, though, I'm interested because when you mentioned
something about this is a good way to have a coffee,
to me, like, these instant coffees don't have a lot
of caffeine, and it's interesting that they don't have to
label the caffeine anywhere, right, And when you look at
the ingredients. The instant coffee powder is only nine percent.
Using this for a good hit of coffee, like, I
have two three coffees a day on a bad day too, mostly,
(25:05):
but this isn't going to even touch the edges if
I'm replacing my you know, nice local coffee shop coffee
with something like this nine percent instant coffee powder, Like
they're not even labeling the amount of caffeine in it,
which tells me that it is pretty low.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Right, Is that a fair assumption?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
And then you're actually getting more of a hit of
the sweetness than you are the caffeine. Well, instant coffee
is what between thirty and fifty milligrams.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
And this only is nine percent instant coffee.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Yah, so you're not getting very much. You're getting less
than a can of cooke.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I think I think it'd be the equivalent of a
cup of tea or something.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
I think it'd be pretty low.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
So if you if you're wanting a bit of a
buzz from your caffeine hit, probably not the product for you.
But if you are someone who wants to keep the
caffeine quite low because you are quite sensitive, perhaps this
could be a nice little treat. So yeah, maybe maybe
for some people, maybe for not just I think an
interesting product overall, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Yeah, just to get a good review, all rightly, And
we'll fair. I find a question of the day. It's
a listener question, and the question was do I need
to avoid oxalates in food if I've got an issue
with my iron? And I thought, oh god, now we're
getting super micro looking at things. So I'm interested in
what I'll start to your segment, but I'll just start
(26:14):
with what I think and then Leand can tell me
what she thinks, because I thought, that's a hard question
to answer. So oxalates are basically naturally occurring compounds found
primarily in vegetables, leafy greens in particular like spinach and kale,
also a little bit in nuts, and they do impact
absorption of different nutrients. So high levels of oxalates do
(26:34):
in theory block not in theory, they do block iron absorption.
So then the argument is should I be eating my
spinach or kale with my piece of steak, because that's
basically what the listener's saying. She's saying if I'm trying
to absorb MI and should I be avoiding oscolates, and
I would say probably not because it's a lot more
(26:54):
complicated than that. So, for example, if you then consume
your steak spinach with a vitamin sea rich food like
red capsicum, it's actually going to optimize the absorption and
basically stop the effect of the oxalate. If you cook
your vegetables, that oxalate amount is significantly reduced. If you
consume oxalates with calcium, it helps bind them and that
(27:18):
helps to reduce the effect on iron absorption. So in
theory your question is correct. Oxalates can impact iron absorption,
but the reality is it's probably not a main issue
in the sense that I would say if you were
cooked having uncooked spinach like spinach bag, you're probably because
you know something else I found out yet, Did you
(27:39):
know that English spinach has got a lot more iron
than silver beat?
Speaker 1 (27:43):
No?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
And I was shocked, right because I would have thought
silver beat, like good I popeye spinach would have had
a lot more iron. But no, actually that English spinach
and the bag's got more than silver beat, which was surprised.
But you actually are much better to have cook spinach
leaves that will help to reduce used to oxolate content
with your steak, then you are to have a spinach
salad because the oxylate in the raw stuff is going
(28:06):
to technically bind it more. But yeah, in answer to
the question, it's not really a big thing to worry
about it. It's not a real thing unless you are
having abnormal amounts of high amounts of any of those things.
It's probably not an issue. The body's actually pretty good
at absorbing what it needs. The only thing I'd say
about leafy greens is you're probably better just to cook
them if you're worried about iron absorption.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I disagree.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
I think the research isn't conclusive, and it's so low,
like the non hem iron from plant foods is so low.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
That if you're a vegetarian, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
There's good hem iron in a steak and you're getting
the bulk of that iron out of the steak. I think,
to me, I've never ever recommended that clients, never have,
you know, spinach with their steak or something. It's never
even really crossed my radar. The evidence is not great.
Oxalates mainly affect the absorption of calcium, not really iron like,
it's a much lesser extent that it actually affects iron,
particularly from plant based foods. So and as I said,
(28:56):
the iron is predominantly coming from your steak, like you're
basically absorbing all of the heat mine from the steak,
and it's absorbed by a very different mechanism that you're
getting the non chin out of the spinach anyway, So
to me, it's not really a concern at all. As
I said, it mainly affects the absorption of calcium. So
the only time I'm really concerned about oxalates in food
(29:16):
is when clients have a history of kidney stones or
are suffering from kidney stones, because it's pretty high, something
around seventy or eighty percent of kidney stones are calcium
oxalate stones. So if you're someone that has recurrent kidney
stones and you've had issues before, or your doctor or
your dieticians recommended moderating oxalate containing foods, that can be
(29:37):
and is very highly recommended in terms of a prevention
strategy for kidney stones. So that's really the only time
I'd be concerned about oxalates. I think there are some,
in my opinion, unqualified people online who talk a lot
about like being worried about the oxalates and naturally occurring foods.
But as you said, Zuzi, the body is very, very clever,
and things don't simply work like, oh, if you eat
(29:57):
an oxalate food, you won't absorb other types food. It's
so much more complicated than that. So to me, I
think we're just not simply eating enough fruits and vegetables
and legumes and nuts and seeds. The last thing we
want people to be concerned about is oxalates. So I've
never once said to a client, be careful about the
oxalates and a food, never ever, unless I mentioned that
they've got an issue with kidney stones. And even then
(30:18):
it's only really under the recommendendation of a doctor if
they are those more specific calcium oxalate stones anyway, So
to me, it's not it's not really a thing that
the average person needs to worry about.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
That's my takeaway.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Good, good answer. I like it.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Excellent. Well is that mano?
Speaker 1 (30:35):
You me?
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Well, that brings us to me into the nutrition catch
for another week. Thank you for your sport on the podcast.
It means the world for us. We love having our
little chit chats with you. Every week and if you're
new to the podcast and you don't know Susie and
I have scientifically formulated a range of supplements.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Because we basically just got the chips with the rest of.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
The supplement industry and thought we can do this so
much better ourselves, and so we did. You can find
the range at designed by dietitians dot com and thank
you for listening.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
Thanks for listening.
Have you ever lost weight and wondered where does the
body fat actually go? On today's episode of The Nutrition Couch,
we deep dive the science of fat loss and explain
what happens to the fat when you actually lose it. Hi,
I'm Leanne Ward and I'm Sussie Burrow, and together we
bring you The Nutrition Couch, your weekly podcast that keeps
you up to date on everything that you need to
(00:24):
know in the world of nutrition.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
As well as all things fat loss.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
We chat through our diet tricks for winter, We've got
a new protein coffee in the supermarket, and our listener
question is all about oxalates. But to kick us off today, Susie,
we are chatting a little bit of a fun topic
with a little bit of science behind it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Where does the fat go when you lose it?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And I must admit, for many, many, many many years,
I was like, well, you just like sweat it out,
don't you. And then I went through my degree and
you know, I learned about this science and I thought, well,
this is a very interesting concept because we actually breathe
it out. It's one of the very most fascinating facts
about nutrition. When we lose body fat, we actually breathe
(01:08):
it out. So body fat is broken down into carbon atoms,
which are basically converted into carbon dioxide, and we breathe
or we exhale that carbon dioxide out through our lungs.
So the majority of fat that we lose actually leaves
the body through breathing it out. I guess at some
point I thought, what makes sense if you just kind
of like reabsorb it back into your body. Maybe, but
(01:30):
actually it breaks down into carbon dioxide and we breathe
it out. A small amount does leave the body through
water as well, so we can sweat a small amount out,
we can cry it out through our tears, it can
kind of disappear through other bodily fluids, but the bulk
of what we actually lose when it comes to fat
is actually breathed out. And I did a post about
(01:50):
this on Instagram and it got received quite well. But
then I had a whole bulk of people dming me
afterwards saying, well, okay, if we breathe it out, so
when I do a workout and if I pant heavier
and I breathe really heavy, I'll lose more, right, And
I had to write back and say it, and I
actually no, unfortunately not. Wouldn't that be nice because that
would make that loss a lot easier if we just
panted a little harder, But it actually doesn't work like
(02:12):
that because to actually lose body fat, you have to
be in a calorie deficit. You have to technically undereat
in order to have those fat bells shrink down and disappear,
and then to get rid of that through the body.
The body then breaks that down and you know, we
breathe it out, so it doesn't just magically disappear the
harder you breathe. Unfortunately, you have to decrease the fat
(02:33):
cells through the process that is a calorie deficit, and
then the way that the body actually gets rid of
that is through the carbon dioxide and breathing it out.
So yeah, a little fun fat for the podcast. So,
if you were, on average to lose about ten kilograms
of body fat, around eight and a half kilograms of
that would leave the body through your lungs as carbon
dioxide another roughly kill on a half of that would
(02:55):
leave the body through water, so most of it is
actually exhaled. So yeah, funnily enough, the next time someone
tells you you sweat your fat out, at the gym,
you can tell them, actually.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
No, you breathe it out, which is interesting, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I think the thing that's interesting is the fact the
body works really like a machine and it's a fuel cycle,
because I think we're taught, oh, you're burning fat or
you're burning carbohydrate, and it doesn't work like that either.
It's a complete cycle. So that's why sometimes you can
be eating two little carbohydrate to optimally metabolize fat, because
it's like a cycle.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
You sort of start with carbohydrate.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And then you move on to fat, and it's proportionally
amounts of calories that you're burning. Basically lean the body
is so incredibly smart, like we are just so naive
to think we've got any real control over things. Like
it's out smarts at every given turn. And that's why
I'll describe it to clients that when they're losing body fat,
(03:47):
particularly if they've carried weight for a while, they'll often
notice changes in body shape and size before numbers on
the scales. And what I'll describe to them is that
your body has to mobilize the fat to burn it. Basically,
it's a whole system. And if you've had fat sitting
there for twenty years. It doesn't just move quickly to
be burnt like it doesn't like it. The body likes
to store, not burn, which is why it's so easy
(04:08):
to gain weight. So when you do notice those changes,
it's almost the body is mobilizing old fat stores to
enter these cycles in a cellular level. And of course,
the best thing for all of us to know is
that the more muscle must we have, the more metabolically
efficient we are, because that's what actually burns calories. So yeah,
it just takes us back to physiology one I one
at university, doesn't it, But yeah, it's actually super fascinating.
(04:30):
And as I said, why, sometimes you need that long
period of time to see distinct changes in body composition,
and those changes in measurements are the most pronounced suggestion
that things are changing in the body, sometimes even before
the scales, and that's why you have to look at
a number of different measures. But the best thing at
the gym, of course, is often heart rate as well
to making sure you're getting that burning efficiency. What I
(04:51):
see all the time is clients who are moving a lot,
but not actually training the muscle to burn calories more efficiently.
And the best way you can infer that is from
h heart rate. I'm seeing a lot of women who
are happy to do their walks and happy to lift weights,
but their heart rate never goes much beyond one one twenty.
And really to train the cell to be more efficient
and burn glucose as the first feel more efficiently. It's
(05:12):
about getting the heart rate working harder that good or
cardio of the eighties and nineties. So yeah, the heart
rate will tell you a lot about what's going on
in proportions of calories. And that's why you can be
doing a lot in your head but not seeing any
change in body composition. And it's highly likely your body's
used to what you're doing. But it comes back down
to training the muscle to burn more, and really you've
got to get that heart rate to that one point
(05:33):
that Panting has described, which is indicative of burning more fuel.
You're taking more oxygen in and burning more effectively. So yeah, fascinating,
but yeah, no, we don't just leave the fat behind
on the road when we drop it off, which is disappointing.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I will also make a quick point that I was
talking to one of my clients about this. Like you said,
if you've had, you know, fat hanging around for ten
twenty years. It doesn't just immediately disappear. And what also
happens to fat cells, which I think is surprise this
is a lot of people, But when you really think
about it, it makes sense why losing weight for some
people is actually the easy part. Maintaining it and keeping
it off is the difficult part. Because when you actually
(06:10):
lose weight, your fat cells mostly shrink. They don't just vanish,
they don't just disappear into thin air. They just shrink down.
So that is one of the main reasons why fat
loss is incredibly difficult to maintain, because the body still
has the fat cells available to basically refill if excess
energy is consistently consumed. If you're eating above the amount
of calories that you need, you're having blowouts every weekend.
(06:32):
You've done a really strict diet, you've lost the weight,
then you've gone back to your normal eating, you're going
to put the weight back on again because the fat
cells can shrink down and they can also very easily
refill as well, and that's why so many people are
so prone to putting back on the weight after they've
lost it. So it's not just a good idea to
work with a dietitian to lose the weight. It's actually
a great idea to work with a dietitian to maintain
(06:52):
the weight loss as well, because for a lot of
people it comes on far quicker than it ever came off.
So that's just another important point as well, and just
sort of understanding how the human body actually works as well,
and that's why so many people have such a hard
time keeping it off. It just creeps on so quickly
because those fat cells are just there and the ability
to refill them is pretty easy, particularly if you've had
(07:13):
a few nice, big weekends or something.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Or yes, like you said, eating wealth four days a week,
and then the weekend comes and underes all the work
very quickly. Well, not unrelatedly, and it is winter, and
winter does tend to mean that we are less likely
to press pause or snooze on the alarm, not quite
make it to the gym, skip those afternoon sessions, not
get up early morning and do a walk, then like
(07:37):
to sit on the couch with a lot of Netflix
and comfort food, things that tend to be hiring calories,
And before you know what, we come to spring and
the pants are on, the clothes are all a little
bit snug, and you think, how has this happened to me?
And what we would like to say is the time
to act is now. So if you can't afford a
European holiday where you spend the next month or so
(07:58):
in Europe walking around and eating salads and seafoods, the
time to act is now, is it not the ad
and take control before it is too late. So we
thought it was time to share our best diet tricks
for winter. This is a segment we tend to do
yearly annually, but there's a reason for that because it
is so easy to gain weight. And I would actually
argue it's not the food, because I think the food
(08:19):
there's always heaps nips of food around. It's the lack
of activity. Like I've had so many clients in the
past week say to me, I couldn't go out because it.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Was raining, and I was thinking, well, it didn't rain
all the time, like put a rain coat on.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
And again I think I've said that joke last year too,
Like we do tend to use every excuse under the sun.
So if I was putting energy into anything right now,
it would be to be making sure that you've got
a default or a backup option for working out, particularly
if you work and live in the Southern States Melbourne, Tasmania.
Like it isn't pleasant to go out. It's dark very early.
(08:52):
I'm in Sydney and I have to be honest, it's
so pitched like at six o'clock even with my dog.
I'm a bit like, well, it's not great to be walking.
But you've got to have a back then. So you've
either got to commit to a short term gym membership
somewhere like any time where you can literally go after
work and walk on the treadmill or use the exercise bike,
or if you know you're not going to do that,
either you know, hire an exercise bike or a treadmill.
(09:13):
There's always heaps of them online. People are flogging because
they don't use them. But you've got to get it
and make a commitment because there's no way if you
don't do any exercise through winter, let alone walking, there's
no way you'll get off scott free. When it comes
to weight like, you've got to move just to prevent
weight gain, let alone if you want to lose it.
So my focus would really be making sure that you've
made a plan to move an exercise and walking for
(09:35):
most of us isn't enough.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
You've got to walk on an incline, you've.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Got to get the heart rate up, you've got to
get cycling on a bike. So you know, don't kid
yourself thinking, oh, I'm going to go for a walk
and then it's raining, cold, wet, you're tired. It never
happens like this is the daily decisions that add up.
So yeah, that's the first thing. You've really got to
think of an alternative for the exercise options, particularly if
you're living in a colder climate. The second thing I
(09:59):
would do is that if you know that you do
spend weekends out socializing with alcohol, pub food, indulging in curries, casseroles,
group barbecues where there's so much food around, you've got
to have some lighter meals in the week, and that
is having just a soup, that is having just a
plain grill of fish and roasted veggies. So really making
sure that you have the lighter meals each week and
(10:20):
load up. If you're doing winter comfort foods, most of
them you can make significantly lighter just by loading up
the veggies. So if you're doing stir fry curry, which
is heavier, do it with cauliflower rice. I did the
other day. I've been doing some new recipes and I
did a chicken pie and I wrap them in filo. Now,
it was messy, but it works. They tasted just as
good as the good or puff pastry. You don't need it,
(10:41):
or you know, you buy pies, don't eat all the pastry.
It's so thick on there. You only need a little
bit to get that flavor. So there's definitely alternatives in
most meals that you're cooking that you can have a
lighter version. If you're doing a roast for the family,
stick to the chicken breast, ditch the thigh, ditch the drumstick,
go for the pumpkin over the heavier abohydrates. Like you know,
it's quite easy to make these swaps, but you've got
(11:04):
to make a distinct decision to do so, because otherwise
you just lose June July. Before you know it, it's
August and you're wondering why you're heavier and not feeling
as great in your body. And the third thing I
would say is if you're regularly eating out and uber
eatsing or even cafe breakfast. Just cutting back on those
to once or twice a week at most will make
a massive difference, because even if you're choosing their lighter
(11:27):
options at places like the Mexican or Thie or fish Bowl,
they're double the calories or el Janna like we've got
el Janna near us, Like the meals are like a
thousand calories, you know, and it might be chicken and salad,
it's still high calorie. So you can limit those heavier
meals to just once or twice a week, you're going
to go a long way and keeping the calories under
(11:47):
control through this time of the year when it's easy
to pick up a takeaway and Uber eats.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And I think in this time of year, like we
want the warm and comforting foods. You don't have to
shy away from them and no offense. So like cauliflower
rice is not rice doing that one, but the rest
of them are really good good solutions. But I love
a good solocal give meala. I can find I can
pack so many veggies in.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
And people can eat more cauliflowers that's very negative.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I don't like coliflower. It just in the curries.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
If you even notice, if you even notice, yes you
do notice, Come on, hit us up on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Do you notice of cauliflower rice?
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Is rice starts get canceled online like it's hard enough.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Don't even start that.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Okay, well, let's say brown rice, brown or black rice
A little bit, A little bit anyway.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Where I was going with that is local because I
love my Solcal guy. I've been doing local because for
a month it's such an easy, great way. When I'm
buying meat as well, I'll buy just a bit of
chuck steak. It's a lot cheaper than obviously buying like
an I feel it or something.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
You've got to trim it really well.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
So I always buy a bit more because you trim
quite a lot of the fat off.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
And then you just pack that socle with so many veggies.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
And the base is just so simple, like a tin
or two of tomatoes, a bit of you know, a
cup of red wine if you want to, you can
leave it out, a bit of beef broth in there,
and then just onion, garlic, and it just makes such
a great base. You could do so many things in
the slow cooka and soups is Susie mention, it's just
such an easy way to get in the vegetables, Like
it's so hard to sit down to a salad in
the middle of winter, particularly when it's rainy.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Like I get it, Susie gets it. We're only human.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
We don't eat a lot of salad in winter either.
But soup is a really great way, so local good
meals or a really great way to get in that
veggie and get in that protein as well, because obviously,
like a lot of comfort based meals don't have a
super high amount of protein, and we know how important
protein is, particularly starting your day off with a balance
amount twenty thirty grams at breakfast, thirty grams at lunch,
(13:35):
thirty forty grams at dinner. That higher protein amount controls
blood sugar levels, control satiety, helps with metabolic health. There's
just so so many benefits, particularly for women as they age,
where if your goal is to increase your body composition,
like change your body composition, put on some lean muscle mass,
you need to have that higher protein diet. And if
your goal is weight loss as well, so getting in
(13:56):
that protein from great sauces like eggs and cottage cheese
together good combo. You might do eggs and smoke salmon
or avocado cottage. She smoked salmon. Sort of combineding some
of those protein choices to give you that higher amount
can be really really great for hunger because the reality
is a lot of people feel hungrier when it rains,
when it's cold. Susan, you know, I both have clients
(14:16):
who Texas and they go away so hungry today, and
it's like, are you hungry or is it just because
it's raining, or you hungry it's just cold today. So
a lot of the time, those colder, darker, wetter days
make us feel more hungry. So that extra protein bulk,
that extra vegetable bulk can go a really really long way.
So casseroles, curries, baked dishes. You know, you can do
a pasta bake and reduce down the amount of pasta
(14:38):
and double up the amount of vegetables in there still
have a warming, comforting meal that the macronutrient.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Distribution is a little bit different.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
So Susie's mentioned the other big hitters, like the exercise levels,
getting the heart rainar but they're probably the best diet
tricks for winter to ensure that you come out the
other side into spring and you know your genes are
actually doing up properly, you're feeling good in your clothes,
and you haven't put on that, you know, extra two
three kilos over winter, because that's what is really really
difficult to get back off on a lot of people.
They might put on a kilo or turble winter and
(15:07):
it never really comes back off again. And that's where
people can find that you know, they put on you know,
five kilos over the last maybe five six, seven years,
because it's just that very slow creep each winter or
over Christmas and it never really comes back off again either.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
I think the other one that you've reminded me is
having a hot lunch. I find when people are having
to sandwiches or wraps or salads, they don't feel fulfilled.
I think when it's a bit dreary outside, you're not
feeling it at work, and you're likely to need that
hot chocolate in the afternoon.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
I'd say, have leftovers and hot food for lunch.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
So do the curry, then, do the spaghetti bolonnaise then,
because then you feel really nice and satisfied all afternoon
and you don't get that kind of craving that kicks
off in the mid afternoon, so that's another trick that
tends to work really, really well. Speaking of which leanne
some warming foods, there's new protein coffees in the supermarket,
which doesn't surprise me, and I've seen recently Starbucks too
(15:57):
have started a protein range, although there's on my mind
you're a little bit high at thirty five grams and
a drink, you don't really need that. But this will
be a product that you might have seen. This is
the Macona Protein Latte coffee, which I thought was a
fascinating product and I'll be super interested to see if
it survives in supermarket because it's marketed as ten grams
of protein per serve, which is not insignificant, and it
(16:20):
is retailing for ten dollars at Woolley's at time of recording.
And I said to you, what do you think. Let's
have a little look at it now. I've had one
person posts they really like it as well. I think
as a bit of a coffee snow if I'm honest,
I have my daily latte from the coffee shop. I
myself don't buy kind of instant coffee or things like that,
(16:40):
but they can be incredibly cost effective like I know,
particularly people who are rural and who don't have access
to coffee shops or briisters all the time, or who
simply want to be more budget conscious and save some
money because your coffee, My coffee in Sydney is good.
I get a large three quarter skim Laarte at my
local and they use little math in it, A very
(17:00):
nice coffee only for fifty I pay each day. But
Leanne in bris Vegas, which you think could be cheaper,
what do you pay six fifty or something?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Crazy?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yeah, David and I coppee snobs, so we hunt around
for the best coffee and together I get siin milk,
so I get slugged an extra dollar for that. David
gets skim milk and we pay I think fourteen seventy
or something for two medium Yes copies, I know makes me.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Cry, and mine is particularly cheap, like most of them
in the area are not like that, and I can
see how people are just like that is ridiculous. And
then the other thing, actually someone told me the other
day is that they've started to only pay cash because
every time they were putting through their tap the cart
it was costing them fifty cents.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
And I thought, that's that's right.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
There's a lot of surcharges we're paying when we're tapping,
and I thought, oh, that's quite savvy too, just tab
your coins.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Anyway, I digress.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
So it is quite budget friendly if you find a
mix at home that you actually enjoy. So I think
for a lot of people this could be a really
viable option. So let's have a look at the nutritionals.
So the first ingredient is bovine collagen so not marine
collagen and animal based collagen forty seven percent, followed by milk,
solid sugar, instant coffee powder at nine percent, glucose syrup,
(18:09):
sol vegetable oils, flavors, salt, vegetable oil, vegetable gum, stabilizes,
a mulsifier and caking agent. Now, I would say that
this is a very similar kind of mix to those
instant coffee sashets, because to create that texture and mouth
feel with milk that is long life, you have to
add these additives in is it ultra process? Absolutely, you're
(18:30):
not going to get the same as a fresh barwster
coffee with protein in it in a product in a
little sashet or powder. That's just it is going to
be absolutely an ultra processed food, so with added sugars
to make it taste good. So if I look at
the nutritionals, Oh there's a couple of flavors.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Actually did you know that?
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Man?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
Yeah, there's a caramel one. What's that one?
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Caramel lache? Oh maybe we should look to the one.
I'll look at that sugar in a minute. Can you
read them? Because I can't find them, and I'm going
to look up the caramel one.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
It says eight servings per pack, so ten dollars the tin.
You've got eight servings per pack. Actually I know a
bit about this, Suzi because my friend Keisha. Shout out
to Kisha, she's a nutrition couch, very loyal fan out.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
We love Keisha.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
I lovely Kisha.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
She supports us so much, think you.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
So she sent me this and she's like, what do
you think? So I've been down a bit of a
rabbit hole. But the tin makes eight servings. So if
you prepare it as directed in a twenty gram serp,
which is you know, good sort of what teap spoon
or something, you're getting three twenty killer jewels, which is
roughly seventy five calories ten grams of protein. As they advertise,
very low fat, less than a gram of fat, less
(19:32):
than a gram of saturated seven point seven grams of carb,
six point five of that being sugar, minimal dietary FIB
and minimal sodium as expected. So as she said, it
is a ultra processed food. You know, there's vegetable oil,
there's vegetable gum, there's a mulsifiers as stablers. But like
you said, these types of instant sashet coffees do froth
up really well, like they have a really good frost
(19:52):
on it. So I have used some of those when
I used to work at the hospital. I always used
to use like one of those little saschets or something
because I was, you know, didn't wasn't really making good
money back when I first got employers in New Grad
and I couldn't really afford my coffee shop coffee every day,
so I used to use so sachets as a budget
little hack. But they do froth pretty nicely. But when
you think about it, like I get a medium soy
(20:13):
cappuccino that's my order, is it way more expressive than
there's absolutely I'm not debating the costs, but about a
cup of soy milk or a cup of skin or
a cup of fool cream. How's about eight grams of
protein anyway? So would I be having this for an
extra one or two grams of protein? No?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Is it more budget friendly?
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
But also is it way more process Also yes, you're
also not getting the calcium in that you would get
from a normal cup of milk as well, So a
Borista style coffee or making yourself with some normal instant
coffee on a cup of hot milk is in my opinion,
a better choice nutritionally. You are getting also better quality protein.
So bovine collagen is absolutely fine, but the collagen is
(20:52):
not a complete You're lacking some of the essential amino acids.
So if you were using this, as I always say,
collagen protein isn't the best like post workout protein because
you are lacking some of those essential amino acids. It
doesn't contain the loucine in there, which is what's needed
to activate muscle protein synthesis. So if your goal is
like gaining muscle mass, using a collagen protein isn't a
good idea. Using something like a WPI protein powder is
(21:15):
much better. Yes, there is protein in collagen but it's
not the best type of complete protein. It just feeds
into that overall protein intake for the day. So I
don't have a problem with the protein in collagen, but
just be careful.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
What you're using it for.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
If it was tasty and the clients loved it, I
wouldn't take it away, like I'd be fine with them
having it, knowing that it does contain a lot of
extra I guess, like fililsin and mulsifiers and vegetable oil
as well, which is probably not needed. But I guess if,
as you said it, if you're wanting to save a
bit of money, you're looking for a little bit more
than just a standard instant coffee, You're looking for more
of that nice, frothy experience, I would probably recommend it,
(21:53):
but I don't really think the protein is that significant.
I'd rather my clients used to sache and you know,
made that on warm milk or something, because then at
least they're getting into some calcium with their skim milk
as well. That's kind of my thoughts, but it's not
I wouldn't recommend it, but I also would not I
wouldn't personally buy it myself, but I think it's interesting.
They just jumped on the protein trend, haven't they, But
(22:14):
they've also forgot that if you make it your coffee
on a cup of milk, you're also getting in a
close to ten grams of protein anyway, if you're using
dairy milk or soy milk.
Speaker 4 (22:21):
That is true. Actually, that's a good point. Yeah, I'm
like you. I think it's super interesting.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
I think that for people who are using sashet coffee
without the calcium, without the protein, this is a way
to get some protein in. I'm actually these sugars are
actually pretty good on it. Like I looked at the
caramel latet one, it's not significantly more sugar for that one.
So I think as a once a day kind of
a little indulgent hit of caffeine that you like that
tastes good and gives you a bit of protein.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
I don't have a problem with it. Would I buy it?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
No, it's not a product for me, but I buy
coffee at the shop, so it's definitely affordable if you
like it as well. So yeah, I think it will
be interesting to see if it survives and see if
there's a mark for this kind of product. Because my
gut feeling with it, just as looking at a sociological
perspective is that I think generations, say forty down would
(23:11):
even fifty down a coffee drinkers. These are the people
who have had Barista coffee in their lives for their
whole life. You know, they've been happy to spend four
five six bucks a day since they are twenty, whereas
my parents, who are in their late seventies, they would never,
very rarely spend five six dollars on a coffee unless
(23:32):
it was something special. And I think that supermarket products
like this suit that boomer generation, and I don't know
if they would pay for protein in their coffee, but
I could be wrong. That's just my gut feeling with
it. It would for me be a market of a fifty
sixty year old who enjoys coffee, who doesn't want to
spend money on a Barristo coffee, who is knowing that
(23:54):
maybe I need more protein, and whether that's enough to
keep it in supermarket will be interesting to see because
my mum and dad wouldn't look twice at this product.
It's just they don't. They use good old incidant with milk.
That's just how they've rolled since the seventies and eighties.
So yeah, I think that's actually they've got a coffee
machine now, I should say, but yeah, that's what I think.
When you look at supermarket, you got to think who
(24:14):
is the target audience for this? And I don't think
that people in their forties and thirties are buying this.
I think they're still they're happy to spend on an
oat laste or whatever. So but we'll see. But I thought, yeah,
it super interesting, and yeah, I wouldn't give it anything specific.
I think if you like it, have it, it's no
real harm. I'd say one a day. I wouldn't be
encouraging someone to have twelve grams of added sugars from
(24:36):
their coffee. But yeah, the only downside, like you described,
is they're not getting any calcium from the milk, which
is a rich source of calcium in the diet of
many people.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I will say, though, I'm interested because when you mentioned
something about this is a good way to have a coffee,
to me, like, these instant coffees don't have a lot
of caffeine, and it's interesting that they don't have to
label the caffeine anywhere, right, And when you look at
the ingredients. The instant coffee powder is only nine percent.
Using this for a good hit of coffee, like, I
have two three coffees a day on a bad day too, mostly,
(25:05):
but this isn't going to even touch the edges if
I'm replacing my you know, nice local coffee shop coffee
with something like this nine percent instant coffee powder, Like
they're not even labeling the amount of caffeine in it,
which tells me that it is pretty low.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Right, Is that a fair assumption?
Speaker 4 (25:19):
Yeah, one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
And then you're actually getting more of a hit of
the sweetness than you are the caffeine. Well, instant coffee
is what between thirty and fifty milligrams.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
And this only is nine percent instant coffee.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Yah, so you're not getting very much. You're getting less
than a can of cooke.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I think I think it'd be the equivalent of a
cup of tea or something.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
I think it'd be pretty low.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
So if you if you're wanting a bit of a
buzz from your caffeine hit, probably not the product for you.
But if you are someone who wants to keep the
caffeine quite low because you are quite sensitive, perhaps this
could be a nice little treat. So yeah, maybe maybe
for some people, maybe for not just I think an
interesting product overall, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Yeah, just to get a good review, all rightly, And
we'll fair. I find a question of the day. It's
a listener question, and the question was do I need
to avoid oxalates in food if I've got an issue
with my iron? And I thought, oh god, now we're
getting super micro looking at things. So I'm interested in
what I'll start to your segment, but I'll just start
(26:14):
with what I think and then Leand can tell me
what she thinks, because I thought, that's a hard question
to answer. So oxalates are basically naturally occurring compounds found
primarily in vegetables, leafy greens in particular like spinach and kale,
also a little bit in nuts, and they do impact
absorption of different nutrients. So high levels of oxalates do
(26:34):
in theory block not in theory, they do block iron absorption.
So then the argument is should I be eating my
spinach or kale with my piece of steak, because that's
basically what the listener's saying. She's saying if I'm trying
to absorb MI and should I be avoiding oscolates, and
I would say probably not because it's a lot more
(26:54):
complicated than that. So, for example, if you then consume
your steak spinach with a vitamin sea rich food like
red capsicum, it's actually going to optimize the absorption and
basically stop the effect of the oxalate. If you cook
your vegetables, that oxalate amount is significantly reduced. If you
consume oxalates with calcium, it helps bind them and that
(27:18):
helps to reduce the effect on iron absorption. So in
theory your question is correct. Oxalates can impact iron absorption,
but the reality is it's probably not a main issue
in the sense that I would say if you were
cooked having uncooked spinach like spinach bag, you're probably because
you know something else I found out yet, Did you
(27:39):
know that English spinach has got a lot more iron
than silver beat?
Speaker 1 (27:43):
No?
Speaker 3 (27:44):
And I was shocked, right because I would have thought
silver beat, like good I popeye spinach would have had
a lot more iron. But no, actually that English spinach
and the bag's got more than silver beat, which was surprised.
But you actually are much better to have cook spinach
leaves that will help to reduce used to oxolate content
with your steak, then you are to have a spinach
salad because the oxylate in the raw stuff is going
(28:06):
to technically bind it more. But yeah, in answer to
the question, it's not really a big thing to worry
about it. It's not a real thing unless you are
having abnormal amounts of high amounts of any of those things.
It's probably not an issue. The body's actually pretty good
at absorbing what it needs. The only thing I'd say
about leafy greens is you're probably better just to cook
them if you're worried about iron absorption.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I disagree.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
I think the research isn't conclusive, and it's so low,
like the non hem iron from plant foods is so low.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
That if you're a vegetarian, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
There's good hem iron in a steak and you're getting
the bulk of that iron out of the steak. I think,
to me, I've never ever recommended that clients, never have,
you know, spinach with their steak or something. It's never
even really crossed my radar. The evidence is not great.
Oxalates mainly affect the absorption of calcium, not really iron like,
it's a much lesser extent that it actually affects iron,
particularly from plant based foods. So and as I said,
(28:56):
the iron is predominantly coming from your steak, like you're
basically absorbing all of the heat mine from the steak,
and it's absorbed by a very different mechanism that you're
getting the non chin out of the spinach anyway, So
to me, it's not really a concern at all. As
I said, it mainly affects the absorption of calcium. So
the only time I'm really concerned about oxalates in food
(29:16):
is when clients have a history of kidney stones or
are suffering from kidney stones, because it's pretty high, something
around seventy or eighty percent of kidney stones are calcium
oxalate stones. So if you're someone that has recurrent kidney
stones and you've had issues before, or your doctor or
your dieticians recommended moderating oxalate containing foods, that can be
(29:37):
and is very highly recommended in terms of a prevention
strategy for kidney stones. So that's really the only time
I'd be concerned about oxalates. I think there are some,
in my opinion, unqualified people online who talk a lot
about like being worried about the oxalates and naturally occurring foods.
But as you said, Zuzi, the body is very, very clever,
and things don't simply work like, oh, if you eat
(29:57):
an oxalate food, you won't absorb other types food. It's
so much more complicated than that. So to me, I
think we're just not simply eating enough fruits and vegetables
and legumes and nuts and seeds. The last thing we
want people to be concerned about is oxalates. So I've
never once said to a client, be careful about the
oxalates and a food, never ever, unless I mentioned that
they've got an issue with kidney stones. And even then
(30:18):
it's only really under the recommendendation of a doctor if
they are those more specific calcium oxalate stones anyway, So
to me, it's not it's not really a thing that
the average person needs to worry about.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
That's my takeaway.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Good, good answer. I like it.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Excellent. Well is that mano?
Speaker 1 (30:35):
You me?
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (30:36):
Well, that brings us to me into the nutrition catch
for another week. Thank you for your sport on the podcast.
It means the world for us. We love having our
little chit chats with you. Every week and if you're
new to the podcast and you don't know Susie and
I have scientifically formulated a range of supplements.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Because we basically just got the chips with the rest of.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
The supplement industry and thought we can do this so
much better ourselves, and so we did. You can find
the range at designed by dietitians dot com and thank
you for listening.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
Thanks for listening.
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