The Shape Up Challenge - Week 8

By Dr Wynnie Chan

Welcome to week 8 of The Shape Up Challenge Healthy Eating Plan. Well done for making it this far and sticking with the programme. Hopefully you will have reached the goals you set when you started the Challenge, whether they were to lose weight or just to eat healthier and be fitter. If you haven’t met your exact goals, don’t worry. Instead, be proud of the achievements you have made and continue following a low fat, high fibre diet, exercise regularly and you will make it.

Since you should already feel confident in choosing foods that are healthy, this week let’s concentrate on topping up your diet with functional foods. Functional foods have added nutrients that play a specific role in preventing a disease or promoting your health. Examples include probiotic yoghurts, prebiotic yoghurts, fortified bread, and breakfast cereals and margarines enriched with plant sterols (naturally-occurring compounds that help lower cholesterol) such as Benecol or Flora Proactive.

Probiotic yoghurts contain live bacteria that help balance other bacteria we have in our gut and so increase resistance to diseases. Prebiotic yoghurts contain functional ingredients such as oligosaccharides and inulin. They are not digested in the body but stimulate the growth of certain bacteria in our gut to make us healthy. Try to include some pre- and probiotic yoghurts in your diet this week instead of your usual low fat ones, and remember that yoghurts are great sources of calcium as well.

Other functional foods you might like to build in to your diet this week are fortified breakfast cereals which contain added folic acid – essential if you’re planning to have a baby or are already pregnant. Calcium-fortified orange juice will will maintain strong bones and Benecol or Flora Proactive margarines, although a bit pricey, may be beneficial if you have high blood cholesterol.

Hope you’ve enjoyed following the healthy eating plan for the last 8 weeks. Remember, just because the Challenge is over your healthy eating plan should continue. Feel free to mix and match any of the menus during a given week.

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Breakfast

Choose one of the following meals (all are under or around 350 calories) and include a glass of fruit juice with your choice:

2 Pancakes made with wholewheat flour, topped with 2 handfuls of chopped strawberries, 60g low-fat Greek yoghurt. Glass of fruit smoothie (made with 1 small banana, 125g pot low fat yoghurt, handful raspberries, 50ml skimmed milk, blitz and serve with lots of ice). Scrambled egg tortillas. Mixed fruit salad (handful raspberries, handful strawberries, handful blueberries, juice from ½ lime, handful chopped mint). Bowl of porridge (boil 40g rolled oats, 125mls water, 125mls skimmed milk, large pinch of cinnamon, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, top with 1 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds, 1 tbsp dried cherries or raisins before serving). 45g unsweetened muesli, topped with 1 tbsp shredded coconut, 1 tbsp wheatgerm, 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, 1 tbsp dried cherries topped with 125ml skimmed milk. 1 grapefruit. 1 large slice wholegrain toast, topped with 1 heaped tbsp low-fat peanut butter, 1 sliced small banana. 2 kiwi fruits. 1 bran muffin. 125g pot low-fat yoghurt, topped with 1 tbsp toasted walnuts, small can mandarin oranges. 2 wheat biscuits, topped with 1 tbsp toasted hazelnuts, 1 sliced mango, 125ml skimmed milk. 1 grapefruit.