How To Eat Cheeseburgers And Lose Weight!

It’s Cheeseburger Day & who doesn’t love a cheeky burger? At equ we sure do and we enjoy them without any guilt too! When it comes to indulging in food that many see as ‘bad’ or off limits, there is definitely a way to tackle it where you can have that cake and eat it too and we’re here to show you how! First off, remove the perception that food is seen as ‘good or ‘bad’, or this meal is a cheat meal. You can enjoy each bit without this mindset; you just have to look at it in the context of your WHOLE day. We preach a 80% whole food 20% soul food approach to dieting, so for the day your 20% soul food would be a burger, even with a side of fries and nothing better than to wash it down with diet soft-drink if you’d like! There are two ways you can approach the dinner but they all involve pre planning your day – it really is your best friend when it comes to staying on track. Firstly, you want to leave a generous calorie allowance to cover the meal without exceeding your intake for the day. 1000 calories is quite generous but anywhere from about 600 is advised. Alternatively, we encourage breaking down the meal itself within the equ app, for the most accurate tracking; For example a beef burger can be tracked via deconstruction as per what the meal contains;

• Burger Bun
• Beef Mince 150g (full fat)
• Cheese Slice (full fat)
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Onion
• Sauce 20g (full fat)

Add in your ‘Regular Chips’ at around 300 calories and a Diet Coke containing 0 calories you’ve got your delicious burger tracked in as accurately as you can. Next, you want to ensure that the remaining calories throughout your day are full of WHOLE FOODS, and high in protein, high in volume and fibre for satiety and micronutrients, but are also low in calories, so you can maximise your bang for your calorie buck. Hitting within 30g of your protein target and over 20g in fibre is ideal. For example, if you’re craving the burger for dinner, you could opt for:

• Breakfast = egg white omelette loaded with veggies.
• Lunch = Chicken or Tuna salad with lots of low calorie veggies.
• Snacks = protein bars, protein smoothie, fruit, high protein yoghurt or vegetable sticks.

If your calories are a little on the lower side, you could just go for the burger itself, and forgo the chips. Remember too, we’re wanting to make smart food choices still. Opting for a single patty beef or grilled chicken burger over a buttermilk fried chicken or double beef and bacon burger is going to reduce the calories. So, always think smart when it comes to your dine out choices! Nothing sweeter than enjoying a burger and knowing you’re still on track with your fat loss goals! Written by Caillin Bursill  equ nutritionist