I was recently contacted by James Goode- a vegan Sports Nutritionist based right here in Colchester!
James offered to analyse my diet in return for me sharing the word about his new business venture.
About James
James works at The Gym in Colchester as a self-employed Personal Trainer and also offers diet analysis, as part of his business "NEO Training".
He has a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science and a MSc in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, and is member of the British Dietetic Association.
About the Diet Analysis Service
The service James offers is an analysis of a 3 day food diary.
The diary can be completed either via an electronic copy, or by filling in a printed A5 diary, (which James posts out, along with a self addressed envelope to return it in).
I opted for the printed diary option, as it seemed easier to keep on hand to fill in as and when I ate/cooked a meal.
Pictured: The food diary and sample pages showing how to fill it in
The Consultation
Once I'd completed and returned the diary James analysed my food intake, and got in touch to arrange a consultation to go over the results.
We opted to meet in town (members of The Gym are welcome to have their consultation there instead, or alternatively it can be completed over the phone).
James provided a breakdown of each day's intake of calories, salt, sugar and other nutrients, and an average of the figures over the 3 day period. This was then compared to what is the ideal range, and so showed which areas needed working on.
My breakdown showed -
-I ate too much sugar most days!
-I was a little low on selenium and iodine.
-I was low on Vitamin D on a couple of days, and also vitamins E, K and B12.
James made recommendations on where I could get the vitamins and minerals I was lacking. For example I was reminded that it only takes one or two brazil nuts a day to meet the recommended daily level of selenium!
Other recommendations were:
-to eat more starches and protein for lunch to avoid sugar dips during the day.
-to see desserts as a treat , not a given! (and to not eat whole packets of dates!)
-to eat a wider variety of colourful vegetables.
-to remember to take my supplement each day! (for peace of mind!)
I drink a lot of water, so James advised that I could use this opportunity to get more nutrients, by drinking things like rose hip or herbal tea.
Cost
James's introductory price for this service is £40, which includes the 3 day food diary analysis, and a 30 minute consultation.
(A full list of services, and prices can be seen here:http://www.neotraining.org/?page_id=27)
Who the service is good for:
-Anyone who would like a snapshot of their average nutritional intake, especially vegetarians and vegans who should be mindful of their intake of certain vitamins (ie B12, and Vitamin D).
-People watching their calories.
-People who will actually take on board the information and follow the recommendations!
Who it may not be of interest to:
-People following unconventional diets, such as those not interested in calorie intake (ie high carb/low fat diets which are high in fruit sugar).
-People looking for tailored meal plans.
In conclusion
I found it really interesting and useful to see a snapshot of how I actually eat.
It served as a reminder to keep an eye on certain vitamins and minerals, and was a useful wake up call to eat less sugar!
It was also reassuring to see that I am eating enough protein without even thinking about it (take that, vegan haters!),
James has kindly provided a recipe for his home-brew herbal tea, for an antioxidant boost!
- 900 ml cold water
- 4 heaped tsp fine cut hibiscus (available from www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/)
- 1 cm crushed, fresh root ginger
- Juice of half a lemon
- 4-6 lightly crushed mint leaves
Best made in a cafetiere (so that the plunger can filter out all the bits and pieces!) Otherwise can be made using a tea infuser. Leave in the 'fridge overnight and it's ready to drink! Virtually no calories and packed with antioxidants!
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