Convenient Foods And Inconvenient Results

Convenient calories come from the foods you turn into a meal when you don’t feel like sticking to the plan you had in mind.

It’s the pieces of toast instead of putting together a salad for dinner.

It’s the takeaway burger and fries when you didn’t bring anything for lunch.

Everyone is slightly different, but my convenient foods are yoghurt, bread, cheese and milk.

These commonly turn into quick meals such as yoghurt mixed with fruit; toast; cheese on crackers; and protein powder mixed with milk.

I go for these when I’m short on time, haven’t prepped lunch in advance, or am feeling too tired to prepare something else.

You might be thinking that these aren’t the worst foods you’ve ever seen — at least they aren’t sugary snacks or fast food — and this is often the case with convenient calories.

But issues can arise when these foods become more present in the diet, for several reasons.

What they displace

Convenient calories typically replace vegetables and lean proteins that take longer to prepare.

It’s rare that you plan to eat toast for lunch but end up making a chicken salad — it tends to be the other way around.