This Dietician Highlights How Hidden Calories Can Wreck Your Diet Without You Noticing That

A ¡®diet¡¯ remains to be one of the most misinterpreted word in the health and fitness space is. Although it is often associated with a specific-type of plan, like a weight loss plan, it should ideally be used to indicate the type and the amount of food we feed.

Fortunately, Instagram influencers, such as Amanda Meixner, decipher fact from with their posts. Like this post where Meixner distinguishes between why your diet should be about ¡®fueling¡¯ not ¡®running¡¯ your body with a handful of lightweight food.

Because starving yourself doesn¡¯t work! ?? . Was laughing to myself making this photo lol because mmm gravel for lunch ? . In all seriousness though, skipping meals and starving yourself will only lead to a binge later. That¡¯s why making sure you load up on veggies, protein, fats & the right amount of carbs will leave you feeling satisfied and way less like likely to fall into temptation later. . Whatever program you choose to follow make sure you¡¯re fueling your body right. More info below: . Dieting meal: A gulp of air Handful of vegges Pinch of gravel . Fueling your body: Loads of water 2 cups mixed greens 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup bell peppers 3oz kimchi 1/2 an avocado Saut¨¦ed tempeh Balsamic (not shown) . . . . . #paleo #glutenfree #cleaneating #paleodiet #healthyeating #whole30 #primal #healthyfood #cleaneats #fitfood #nutrition #mealprepmonday #lowcarb #lchf #healthychoices #jerf #paleolifestyle #organic #bbg #mealprepsunday #dairyfree #keto #grainfree #weightloss #realfood #instahealth #getfit #paleofood #sugarfree #healthyliving

A post shared by Amanda Meixner (@meowmeix) on Mar 19, 2018 at 12:16pm PDT

Meixner¡¯s suggestion is not to starve yourself or skip meals to lose weight as that will only lead to binge eating later on.

Australian dietician Paula Norris, another influencer has been making a lot of headway by demonstrating why dieting disasters can be hard to spot through her eye-opening Instagram posts.

Here¡¯s an example of two identical ¡®healthy-looking¡¯ salads; one that contains 535 calories and the other that contains 995 calories.

SNEAKY ¡®SALADS¡¯ ????????? Unfortunately calorie heavy dressings, too much grain and not enough veg can result in a ¡®salad¡¯ with calories closer to that of a risotto. Here¡¯s how easily it can happen, even with ¡®salads¡¯ of similar bulk... ????????? ?On the left ? 1 cup cooked Pearl Barley ? 70g Haloumi ? 1/3 Zucchini ? 2 florets Broccoli ? 1/4 Capsicum ? 50g Eggplant ? 3 Cherry Tomatoes ? 200g Poached Chicken ? 1/2 cup herbs ? Dressing of 2tsp EVOO and 2tsp Balsamic Vinegar ????????? ?On the right ? 1/2 cup cooked Pearl Barley ? 35g Haloumi ? 2/3 Zucchini ? 5 florets Broccoli ? 1/2 Capsicum ? 100g Eggplant ? 5 Cherry Tomatoes ? 100g Poached Chicken ? 1/2 cup herbs ? Dressing of 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar and 2tsp seeded mustard ?????????

A post shared by Paula Norris, Dietitian ?? (@movingdietitian) on Feb 12, 2018 at 11:24am PST

The difference: The calorie heavy dressings, too much grain and not enough vegetables can result in a salad that can hold as many calories as a risotto, says Norris. The ingredient split of both the salads are given in the post below. You¡¯ll realize where the extra calories are coming from when you get through the list.

It¡¯s even harder to spot the differences with some of her other posts, such as this burrito.

Too big a burrito? ????????? Ok so the size of the wrap (which saves about 100cals) makes this one more obvious but the other differences save you an extra 300cals! ????????? ?On the left ? Large wrap ? 1tsp oil for cooking ? 1/2 brown onion ? 160g Regular mince ? Taco seasoning ? 1/2 tin tomatoes ? 1 cup lettuce ? 1/2 tomato ? 50g Avocado ? 40g cheese ????????? ?On the right ? Medium wrap ? 1/2 brown onion ? 100g Extra lean mince ? 50g black beans ? 1/3 Zucchini ? 1/2 medium carrot ? Taco seasoning ? 1/2 tin tomatoes ? 1 cup lettuce ? 1/2 tomato ? 25g Avocado ? 20g Low Fat cheese ?????????

A post shared by Paula Norris, Dietitian ?? (@movingdietitian) on Feb 26, 2018 at 11:16am PST

The difference: Of course, the burrito on the left is much larger in size (adding about a 100 cals), but the other smaller, lesser noticeable elements packs on an additional 300 cals.

Norris does make it clear though that her posts are NOT to encourage calorie counting but are to demonstrate the impact that ingredient manipulation can have on the overall calories in a meal (obviously important for those of you who are trying to lose weight).

PICK YOUR PORTIONS Same bowl, filled differently ______________________________________________________ The calories in the bowl on the left quickly add up because of - Large amount of rice (1 cup cooked) - Half an Avo (even though it is healthy- it is still energy dense) - Extra seeds (same disclaimer as the Avo) - Mayonnaise dressing _______________________________________________________ The bowl on the right has - 1/3 cup cooked rice - 1/4 Avocado ? - 1 tsp seeds - Tahini + lemon juice for dressingl

A post shared by Paula Norris, Dietitian ?? (@movingdietitian) on Oct 9, 2017 at 2:20pm PDT

The lesson to be learnt from this post is that you can enjoy smaller quantities of the food items you love, without sacrificing any of it, at half the caloric cost!