Sticky glazed wings
Wings don’t have to be unhealthy. Give these sticky, glazed chicken wings a go: they’re high in protein, low in sugar, and only 388 calories per serving.
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Add the raw chicken wings to a bowl along with the oil and some salt and pepper to season. Toss until the wings are fully coated.
- Place the tray of wings in the oven to bake for around 25-30 minutes.
- While the wings are cooking, make the sauce. Add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, and Chinese five spice to a bowl and stir to mix well.
- Once the wings are cooked, put them in a bowl and toss with the sauce to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallion and serve.
Tips:
Serve as a snack or turn it into a meal by adding sticky rice and broccoli.
Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes
What’s in a serving:
Calories: 388
Fat: 24g
Saturates: 5.7g
Sugars: 5.6g
Salts: 2.2g
Ingredients:
1lb chicken wings
1 tbsp oil (canola, olive, vegetable or sunflower oils are all good choices)
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp Chinese five spice
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
3 scallions, thinly sliced
How to cut calories without realizing it
When you’re trying to lose weight, calorie counting is a great way to do it. But even so, it can feel daunting to figure out where you can cut cals in your diet. That’s why we like these switches – ways to cut calories without any of the effort.
Skip the butter
It’s delicious, but you don’t need to add butter to everything. Sometimes it’s completely masked by other flavors, and it’s in these cases you should consider skipping it. A tbsp of butter is 100 calories, which is a significant saving if you’re not tasting it.
…Or find an alternative
Ok, so sometimes butter is needed. Sandwiches, for example, are pretty dry without it, but you could use mashed avocado for a creamy alternative.
The calories in avocado can be high depending on how much you use, but avocados have other great things going for them, making them a perfect alternative to butter.
- High in omega 3
- High in monounsaturated fatty acids (that’s the good kind)
- High in potassium
- Shown to lower cholesterol levels
You could also go for hummus, coconut oil, or nut butter, but be sure to check the calories and keep an eye on how much you use.
Change up the takeout coffees
If you’re a Starbucks or Dunkin’ fan, your daily caffeine fix can come with a huge calorie price tag. We’re not saying you should stop grabbing takeout coffees, rather be mindful of what you’re ordering.
A Starbucks grande cinnamon dolce latte is 340 calories. You could lower the calories by switching to a smaller size (a tall is 270 calories), or go for one of Starbucks’ 200 calories or less choices: a tall skinny vanilla latte is 100 calories (and a grande is 190 calories).
…And reduce your liquid calories
Put down the fruit juices and smoothies – they’re full of sugar and high in calories. If you love a glass of OJ, eat an actual orange instead for the added fiber bonus. Cut down on alcohol too, as it’s generally very high in calories.
You know soda isn’t the greatest choice, but sometimes it’s hard to beat. We get it. But one 12oz can of Coca-Cola is 140 calories, so keep them as the occasional treat, or switch to Coke Zero, which is (as you may have guessed), 0 calories. Does it taste the same? No, not really, but it’s still crisp and refreshing, and if you can get used to it as an alternative you could potentially save hundreds of calories a day (depending on how much Coke you drink).
Spray your oil
Oil is very high in calories, so you’re probably already aware that you should use it sparingly. Still, sometimes you do need oil when cooking. Spray oil, also called cooking spray, is really low in calories (Pam is ‘0 calories’ per ¼ second spray, although obviously if you spray more than that the calories are going to go up) and it’s an easy way to control how much oil you use.
Make your own sauces
Jarred sauces are super easy, but they can be high in calories. Prego roasted garlic and herb sauce is 70 calories per ½ cup, which feels like a lot when you could make a simple sauce with the same ingredients (tomato paste, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil) with fewer calories.
Spotlight vegetables
You don’t need to replace spaghetti with zoodles (that’s noodle-shaped zucchini) or to start grating cauliflower to use in place of rice – although if you do want to do that, go for it.
No, we’re just recommending that you start filling half your plate with vegetables before you add anything else. That’s it! This small change can make a big difference to the calories on your plate, as you cut down on the how much starchy carbs you have.
Keep easy-serve bags of vegetables in the freezer which you can use to easily bulk out meals.
Why you should aim to lose 5% of your body weight
You might think that when it comes to weight loss, the more you can lose, the better. But studies show that losing even 5% of your total body weight can bring amazing health benefits.
If you want to lose weight, you probably have some idea of how much you want to lose. And while it’s great to have goals, saying you want to lose hundreds of pounds can feel incredibly daunting.
Short-term goals are just as important as your long-term ones to give you focus and keep your motivation levels high. Aiming to lose 5% of your body weight is a great one to consider: it’s attainable, and it can be built upon if needed.
What’s more, studies show that losing 5% of your bodyweight leads to incredible health outcomes if you’re overweight. Hitting 5% lost can lead to:
- Reduced risk of heart attack and stroke. This is because losing weight can elevate HDL (good) cholesterol and lower triglycerides (bad fats). It can lower your blood pressure by an average of 5 mmHg.
- Reduction in insulin resistance, decreasing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Decreased risk of developing certain cancers.
- Better sleep and reduction of sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
- Reduced pressure on your joints.
- Lowered inflammation levels in the body.
- Boosted mood and self-esteem.
- Reducing your risk of fertility problems.
By making small, sustainable changes to what you eat, how much you move, and prioritizing your sleep, you’ll lose weight gradually and consistently – and you’ll be able to keep it off. Every positive decision you make to eat well, move more, and get quality sleep will move you closer to that 5% body weight loss goal – you’ve got this.
Does 10,000 steps work for weight loss?
You’ve probably heard that you should be getting 10k steps a day, but where did this number come from, and does it have any basis in science?
Setting yourself a target to reach 10,000 steps a day started as a marketing effort, created by a Japanese company selling pedometers in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. A genius move if you ask us. The company’s pedometers, called manpo-kei (which means ’10,000 steps meter’ in Japanese), were a huge hit and did a lot to get the Japanese public more active.
But why has this 10k target endured? Well, the original marketing campaign was created because doctors were concerned about low levels of activity among Japanese people, and the push to 10k steps definitely helped improve activity levels.
It’s not so much that 10,000 is a magic number, more that having a goal to work towards helps to get us more active. Even if you don’t manage to get to 10k, something is better than nothing.
How to get 10,000 steps a day
If it feels like a difficult target, start small. Rule number 1? Get up! You could go for a walk around the block before breakfast, explore a local park at the weekend, and if you work at a desk, you could get up for a walk each hour for 5-10 minutes.
Of course, it might not be easy for you to go for a walk, depending on where you live. If your neighborhood isn’t set up for walking (whether it’s unsafe, missing sidewalks, etc.), spending some time on the treadmill is an option.
Walking pads are popular right now because they’re cheaper and tend to be easier to store than treadmills – if you work from home, consider investing in a standing desk and walking pad to really get your step count up.
There are also workout videos on YouTube that help you increase your step count by walking in place at home.
Track your steps using your smartphone (many have a built in pedometer, or you can download dedicated pedometer apps), or consider buying a smartwatch like a Fitbit, Samsung Watch, or Apple Watch.
Don’t forget that every small effort adds up over time. Even just taking the stairs instead of the elevator and parking further away from the store entrance and walking across the parking lot can have an impact on your activity levels.
The benefits of walking
Studies have shown that walking can have a significant impact on your health, including reducing blood pressure and improving glucose levels. Walking outside has also been shown to have a positive effect on mental health.
What if I can’t reach 10,000 steps a day?
If you find it difficult to reach 10,000 steps a day, don’t worry. Like we said, it’s not a magic number and there are many other ways to get active that will burn the same number of calories and have the same impact on your weight loss.
Working out in the summer: what you need to know
The sun’s out and temperatures are rising – sometimes a little too high, so what are you supposed to do about working out?
Should I exercise indoors or outdoors?
That depends on how hot it is. Research shows that exercising outdoors can boost your energy levels, improve stress levels, and increase your body’s levels of vitamin D, which is essential for maintaining healthy bones, boosting your mood, and may even have a part to play in weight loss.
But you’ve got to weigh the benefits up against the downsides of extreme heat. Read our guide to avoiding heat exhaustion and heatstroke for more, but in short, spending time in extreme heat can lead to potentially serious health issues.
Where possible, do your workout indoors and enjoy that sweet, sweet aircon.
Exercising outdoors
If you really want to get some fresh air as part of your workout, do it early in the morning when temperatures aren’t as high as they are later in the day. Avoid being out in the sun when the sun’s at its strongest, which in Florida is between 10am and 2pm.
Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that’s at least SPF30, even if you’re out early in the morning, and wear light-colored, loose clothing. Have water to hand and make sure you drink it throughout your workout.
How do I stop myself from getting too hot?
No one likes being sticky and sweaty, especially if there’s thigh chafing too. As well as wearing light clothing, look for sweat-wicking (also called moisture-wicking) workout clothes, which pull moisture away from the body and can keep you comfortable and dry.
Try ‘pre-cooling’ by having a cool shower before your workout. There’s a point when your body gets so hot that your performance suffers (e.g. you won’t run as fast or lift as much), but studies show that lowering your core temperature with a cool shower first can help your performance stay high for longer.
What’s the best way to stay hydrated?
It might seem like you need a special ‘hydrating’ drink, but it’s not necessary. These drinks are often full of sugar and high in calories, so stick to water. Sip regularly before, during, and after exercise to maintain a healthy level of hydration.
My muscles are hot, so I don’t need to warm up first, right?
You may be tempted to forget the stretch and get stuck in, but don’t fall victim to this way of thinking!
While it may seem like your muscles are warm enough due to the weather, dynamic stretches are still super important to prevent injuries. Properly warmed up muscles are much more coordinated and have fewer unintentional jerky movements, which will help boost your soccer game when you’re out on the field.
Tips for playing soccer in the heat
Playing soccer can make you sweaty at the best of times, but playing when the temperature gets into the 90s can feel impossible. So how can you cope with soccer in the heat?
It’s no secret that our bodies can struggle in higher temperatures. From the mildly inconvenient thigh chafing to potentially serious cases of dehydration and sunburn, higher temperatures can make it hard to last long on the field. The last thing you want is to pass out midway through a good game, so here’s how to manage the heat.
Stay hydrated
One of the most important things to do when it’s hot is to make sure you drink plenty of water. It’s doubly important when you’re active, when it feels like you’re sweating buckets you’ll need to get that water down you to replace all that water you lose through sweat.
While you should keep a water bottle close to hand at your MAN v FAT Soccer session (and take advantage of water breaks), you should also make sure you’re getting enough water the day before your club night, so your body is nice and hydrated before you even step foot onto the field.
Drink water regularly throughout the day instead of drinking gallons at once.
Wear light-coloured clothes
Summer’s not the time to show off your pitch-black kit. You need lightweight, light-coloured clothes for the summer so you’re not baked alive by the sun.
Everybody’s free (to wear sunscreen)
If you’ve never paid much attention to sunscreen, it’s time for that to change. Buy some sunscreen, whether it’s a roll on, spray or lotion, and apply it liberally.
The higher the SPF number, the higher the protection, and when you’re spending a lot of time outdoors (like when you’re playing soccer outside), you’ll need a broad-spectrum sunscreen that’s at least SPF 30.
Apply sunscreen liberally to every exposed part of your body – don’t forget your neck, behind your ears and your head if you’re bald – and reapply every 2 hours.
Take a time out
If you’re in the middle of a game and you start feeling lightheaded, weak or sick because of the heat, don’t push yourself to play on. You can swap out at any time during your MAN v FAT Soccer game.
Take yourself off to the side, find some shade if possible, sit down and drink water until you feel better. Keep an eye out for your teammates too.
Decoding restaurant menus
Eating out can be a minefield when you’re trying to lose weight. Even when you’ve seen the menu beforehand, it can be hard to figure out dishes are a healthy option and what’s going to be deep fried and swimming in grease.
If you learn the lingo, you’ll be much more likely to make better choices. Here are what some common menu terms mean.
Sauces
Sauces that are made with butter and cream are going to be higher in calories than those that are tomato-based. Examples of butter-based sauces include béchamel sauce, béarnaise sauce and hollandaise sauce. Tomato-based sauces include puttanesca sauce, marinara and arrabbiata. If you are going to have a buttery sauce or a dressing, ask for it on the side so you can control exactly how much you have.
Ways of describing dishes
- Basted – food that has had fat or oil poured over it while cooking, typically seen with meat.
- Battered – food that is coated in batter and deep-fried.
- Braised – food that’s cooked slowly, first in oil and then in liquid.
- Breaded – food that’s covered in breadcrumbs and fried. Breaded is usually a better choice than battered, but may still be deep fried.
- Creamed – food that’s cooked with a lot of cream
- Crispy – usually means fried.
- Crunchy – fried, unless it’s vegetables, in which case they’ll be raw.
- Flambéed – food that’s covered with alcohol and then set alight
- Glazed – food that has been brushed with a sticky coating, usually some kind of honey or syrup
- Golden – fried.
- Loaded – topped with loads of extra things, usually cheese, bacon and sauces.
- Marinated – food that is soaked in a liquid seasoning before cooking.
- Pan-fried – fried.
- Refried – usually describes beans, which are mashed and then fried.
- Sautéed – food that is fried lightly and quickly in hot oil.
- Sizzling – fried.
- Seared – food that’s cooked quickly at a high temperature so that the surface forms a crust.
- Smothered – covered in something, usually a heavy sauce or cheese.
- Tempura – deep fried, but Japanese.
Lower calorie choices
Restaurants use a lot of oil and other fats to cook dishes – it’s part of what makes restaurant food so delicious. So while you should be prepared for your meal to involve some high-calorie methods of cooking, there are some things you can look for that indicate a healthier way. Look for dishes that are described in the following ways, as they’ll be more likely to contain less oil:
- Baked
- Boiled
- Broiled
- Grilled
- Poached
- Roasted
- Steamed
If in doubt, ask your waiter for information. You’re the one paying for and eating the meal, so you deserve to know how your food’s made if it’s important to you.
Avoiding heat exhaustion and heatstroke
Did you know that excessive heat can make you ill? With temperatures rising, it’s important to know how to protect yourself from heat exhaustion and heatstroke, especially if you’re planning on spending more time outdoors.
Spending time in the sun is good for you in many ways, with sunlight boosting vitamin D levels, helping you sleep better and improving mood. As long as you’re applying sunscreen, a bit of sunshine can do a lot of good.
But staying in the sun for too long puts us at risk. Here’s what you should know.
Signs of heat exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is less serious than heatstroke, but you should still take it seriously
Signs of heat exhaustion include:
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Excessive sweating
- Pale, clammy skin
- Faster breathing and an increased pulse
- A high temperature (101 degrees F or above)
The treatment for heat exhaustion is to cool down. Head inside if you can or move to a cooler place. Lie down, raise your feet and drink plenty of water.
If you still feel unwell after 30 minutes of resting and drinking water, you should seek medical help.
Signs of heat stroke
Heat stroke should be treated as an emergency. Call 911 if:
- your temperature is higher than 40 degrees C,
- you’re not sweating even if you feel hot
- you feel confused
- you have a seizure
How to prevent heat exhaustion or heatstroke
The best thing you can do is actively work to prevent heat exhaustion. It’s easy to dismiss the problems overheating can bring, but you should always do the following:
- Drink water throughout the day. Put a bottle of water in the refrigerator so it’s cold, or add ice.
- If you’re working out in the heat, it’s especially important to stay hydrated, so make a conscious effort to drink more water before, during and after your workout.
- Don’t do extremely high intensity exercise in the sun. If you’re set on doing an intense workout, do it indoors, preferably somewhere that has aircon.
- Make sure you never burn. It happens quicker than you may think, so make applying sunscreen a priority before leaving the house. Get a broad-spectrum SPF that’s at least SPF 30. Apply it to every bit of skin that’s exposed (don’t forget about your neck and behind your ears) and reapply it every 2 hours.
- Wear a hat and sunglasses and wear light-colored, loose clothing that’ll keep you cool.
MAN v FAT UK’s top tips for new MAN v FAT Soccer players
Starting something new is always daunting, and you might be wondering what your time at MAN v FAT Soccer is going to be like. We get it, and while it’s easy for us to tell you ‘it’ll all be fine!’, it’s much better to hear it from people who’ve been in your shoes.
So we asked our MAN v FAT Soccer players in the UK for the advice they’d give to guys just starting out, and this is what they said.
You get what you put in
“MAN v FAT is a journey you’re in control of” says Lee, who thrived on how good it feels to be improving your health. “Choices will be hard, but the feel-good factor when you achieve your targets and people start to notice your change is something you won’t experience anywhere else.”
Similarly, Nathan is keen to point out the importance of prioritizing weight loss. He’s been a MAN v FAT player for over 7 years but didn’t take it seriously at first. “I prioritized the soccer first, so I yo-yoed in weight, never really getting anywhere. But then I finally started to focus on weight loss.”
He’s now lost over 70lbs, and knows a lot about the challenges of staying consistent. “It’s not a race, it’s not about who loses it the quickest. You will fall off the wagon at some point, it’s just about getting back on. You’ve got to keep going, make it a lifestyle change”.
Support Each other
One thing that makes MAN v FAT Soccer so successful in the UK is the community the clubs create. Making the most of it is key to your long-term success, says Alan. “Build a good community within your club, not only with your own team but with everyone. Support each other with weight loss, meal ideas, mental health, everything. When there’s an excellent support network available, weight loss will be easier.”
Ryan agrees and credits his MAN v FAT community with being a big part of his weight loss success. “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s a great community, the team spirit you build is second to none.”
Go at your own pace
“Once I had lost 10% of my starting weight, I slowly introduced extra physical activities which then helped push me to losing 15% of my body weight” says Andrew.
But remember to listen to your body, and don’t push yourself if you’re not ready. If you’ve not worked out since you were in high school, you’re not going to suddenly be a pro soccer star. Anthony stresses the importance of remembering this: “Stretch those hamstrings, you’re no longer a teenager!”
Alan agrees, and says “You’ll remember that you’re not a kid anymore and you’ll be tired out after 5-10 minutes at your first game. Enjoy yourself but remember to listen to your body. We’ve all been there pushing through it trying to look good!”
Enjoy it!
MAN v FAT Soccer is a great way of losing weight and improving your health, and one of the best things about it is that it’s actually fun! Above all, we hope you have a great time getting to know your teammates and getting out there on the field.
We’ll leave it to Nathan to sum it all up:
My advice is to do it now, take the risk, feel uncomfortable at your first weigh in but after that if you’re driven and committed and are consistent with your efforts, enjoy your soccer and the rest will come.
And of course, if you ever want a friendly game, we’ve had loads of offers to swap rainy old England for Florida.
