Make your calories count. Limit saturated fat and trans fats, and cut back on food high in added sugar and salt. Whole grains, fruit and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals and many natural ‘phytochemicals’ that function as ‘antioxidants’ to neutralise the free radicals, protecting body cells from damage. Eating plenty of them has a protective effect against heart disease, cancer. Eating healthy can prevent many lifestyle-related diseases (Health Promotion Board Singapore).
Recommendations
Calories
The Calorie Calculator can be used to estimate the calories you need to consume each day for an average person. Calorie calculator [here].
Depending on their height, weight, activity:
A female needs 1500 – 2000 calories a day
A male requires about 1800 – 2500 calories a day on average
Max Sugar Intake
(Source: nhs.uk )
Eating too much sugar can lead to tooth decay and overweight issues that increases your risk of health problems such as heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.
Adults: 30g
Children aged 7-10: 24g
Children aged 4-6: 19g
Children under 4: Recommended to avoid sugar-sweetened drinks/ food
Sodium
Your body needs a small amount of sodium to work properly, but diets too high in sodium are associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a major cause of stroke and heart disease. Recommended sodium intake for adults is less than 2,300 mg (1 teaspoon of table salt) per day (Source: fda).
Nutrition Facts
Here’s a list of food, their calories and other nutrition facts. A plate of Spaghetti Bolognese from different restaurants for instance are cooked differently, they use different ingredients so their nutrition numbers are not the same. There are companies that show the nutrition/ calories/ sodium/ sugar, etc. content info in their websites. After comparing the numbers from a few sources, this page shows the general/ average data (for the foods without a nutrition chart). Don’t eat until you are 100% (or more) full, 80% is good. 80% diet rule can help you live a longer life, says longevity researcher.
Healthy Food
Home cooked food is a good way to control your diet as you can modify the ingredients according to your health needs and preference (healthyfitnessmeals.com)
- Chicken Caesar Wrap – 545 Cal, 1211mg sodium, 8g sugar
- Green Bean Casserole (baked with mushrooms, breadcrumbs and cheese) – 171 Cal, 140mg sodium, 8g sugar
- Chicken Alfredo Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) – 243 Cal, 338mg sodium, 3g sugar
- Fajita-style stuffed chicken breast – 485 Cal, 1033 sodium, 4g sugar
- Oven-Baked Salmon with green beans and tomatoes – 429 Cal, 686mg Sodium, 9g sugar
Subway
Photo: subway.com
One slice of cheese contains about 100 calories. 1 tablespoon of dressing has 60 calories. This is taken from the US site, so the numbers/ menu may vary slightly [source]. Values include 6-inch bread, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions, without cheese and sauces.
Sandwiches Examples:
Veggie Delite – 230 calories and 280 mg of sodium, 6g of sugar
Roasted Chicken – 320 calories, 610 mg of sodium, 23 g of protein
Tuna – 480 calories, 20 g of protein, 580 mg of sodium, 25g of fat, 5g of sugar
Italian B.M.T – 410 calories, 1260 mg of sodium, 16g of fat, 20g of protein
Meatball marinara – 480 calories, 1040 mg of sodium
McDonald’s – Nutrition Calculator
Photo: mcdonalds.com
Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken – 220 Cal, 890 mg of sodium, 0g trans fat, 5g of sugar
Big Mac – 550 Cal and 1040 mg of sodium, 9 g of sugar
Cheeseburger – 400 cal and 750 mg of sodium
Double Quarter Pounder®* with Cheese – 740 Cal and 1380 mg of sodium
Medium fries – 320 cal and 270 mg of sodium
6 Piece Chicken McNuggets® – 250 Cal and 540 mg of sodium
Filet-O-Fish® – 380 Cal and 640 mg of sodium
McChicken ® – 360 Cal and 830 mg of sodium
Deluxe Crispy Chicken Sandwich – 530 Cal
Angus Deluxe – 750 Cal and 1700 mg of sodium
Sausage McMuffin® with Egg – 480 Cal and 920 mg of sodium
Hotcakes (3 piece) – 580 Cal
McFlurry® with OREO® Cookies (12 fl oz cup) – 580 Cal, 73g of sugar
Chocolate McCafé® Shake (12 fl oz cup) – 580 Cal, 77g of sugar
Starbucks
Photo: discountespressomachine
Tip: Get the cappuccino or Americano and add your own sugar and milk if needed. If you feel like a Frappuccino, ask for the light (less sugar) version. No whipped cream.
Calories Count [source] (Grande size 16 fl oz) :
Caffè Americano – 15 Cal, 0g sugar
Caffe Latte – 190 Cal, 18g sugar (Hot) | 130 Cal, 11g sugar (Iced)
Starbucks® Blonde Vanilla Latte – 250 Cal, 35g sugar
Cappuccino – 140 Cal, 12g sugar
Caffe Mocha – 370 Cal, 35g sugar (Hot) | 350 Cal, 30g sugar (Iced)
Hot Chocolate – 370 Cal, 37g sugar
Mocha Frappuccino – 370 Cal, 51g sugar
Java Chip Frappuccino Blended Beverage – 440 Cal, 60g sugar
Whipped cream: 60 Cal
Chatime
Photo: chatime.com.au
1 kJ = 0.239 Cal
Size: 500mL (source: chatime.com.au)
Premium Pearl Milky Iced Tea (no sugar) – 215 Cal, 8g sugar
Premium Pearl Milky Iced Tea – 374 Cal, 39.5g of sugar
Premium Milky Iced Tea – 301 Cal, 39.5g of sugar
Chocolate Cream Mousse Fros-Tea – 455 Cal
Fresh Oolong Tea – 118 Cal
Strawberry Lightly Sparkled Black Tea – 214 Cal
Chocolate Milky Hot Tea (no sugar) – 316 Cal, 30.7g of sugar
Passionfruit Fros-Tea – 209 Cal, 51g of sugar
Apple Fruity Iced Black Tea (no sugar) – 132 Cal, 28.5g of sugar
Hazelnut Milky Iced Tea (no sugar) – 185 Cal, 15g of sugar
Toppings
Pearls – 140 Cal
Herbal Jelly/ Aloe Vera – 37 Cal
Red beans – 103 Cal
Snack and Others
- One scoop (4oz/ 113g) of Baskin-Robbins ice cream has 240-340 calories depending on type
- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts – 200 Cal (Original Glazed) to 400 Cal (Apple Fritter – Cinnamon and chunks of apple)
- 4 cookies – 26 g of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip & Pecan cookies has 150 calories
- One slice of New York cheesecake contains 380 cal
- One (1/6) piece (59g) of Chocolate Swiss Roll: 217 calories
- Gardenia bread – 1 slice of original wholemeal bread: 92. white bread: 75
- Egg tart (70g) – 217 calories
- Super Essenso (microground coffee) 2in1 – 75 calories per serving (16g)
- OldTown white coffee 3 in 1 Mocha – 160 calories per serving
- curry puff – 130 cal
- 1 Teaspoon:
- butter, margarine, mayonnaise – 45 cal
- peanut butter – 33 cal
- kaya – 39 cal
- fruit jam 20 Cal
- Mexican bun (coffee butter bun) – a whopping 424 calories!
- Polo (pineapple) bun Hong Kong style – 235 Cal
Chinese Food
- Egg Fried Rice (365g) – Fried rice, egg, seafood, meat – 678 Cal
- Chicken Rice (380g) – Hainanese Chicken, with skin, oil rice, cucumber and chilli sauce – 630cal
- Duck Rice – Roasted (410g) – roasted duck, rice, sauce, veggies – 673cal
- Char Siu Rice (327g) – barbeque pork, rice, sauce – 605 cal
- Fishball Noodle – Soup (798g) – yellow egg noodles, with fish balls, bean sprouts – 551cal
- Wantan noodles soup (Hong Kong style 749g) – 631 cal | wonton – 311 cal
- Fried Kway Teow/ Hor Fun (384g) – Flat rice noodles with meat/ prawns, sweet sauce – 744cal
- Porridge With Minced Pork & Century Egg (512g) – Rice porridge with century egg and minced pork – 224 cal
- Chicken Soup With Chinese Herbs (534g) – Soup with chicken and Chinese herbs – 145c
- Minced Pork Noodle (dry) – noodles, minced pork, sauce – 383cal
- Bak Chang/ dumpling (132g) – Glutinous rice with meat, chestnut, mushroom, steamed – 276 cal
- Ban Mee (528g) – Flat noodles, anchovies, minced pork meat, green vegetables – 475 cal
Dim Sum
- Har Gao (18g) – Minced prawns and fish meat, wrapped in a flour skin, steamed – 27 cal
- Siew Mai (16g) – Minced pork, shrimp and fish meat, flour skin, steamed – 29 cal
- Spring Roll, Deep Fried (22g) – Vegetables, shrimp, chicken wrapped in flour skin, fried – 70 cal
- Pan-fried carrot cake 1 piece – 123 cal
Indian/ Malaysian Food
Tip: Opt for chapati or thosai instead of roti canai.
Tandoori Chicken – it is baked so the fat drips off. Tandoori chicken leg and thigh has about 300 calories.
Examples (in Calories):
- Chapati – made of whole wheat flour which is absorbed slower into your blood compared to polished white flour – 100 cal
- Thosai – made of fermented pulses including dhal beans, rice flour and fenugreek – 80 cal
- Roti canai/ paratha – 300cal
- Half boiled egg – each egg (large 50g) has about 80 cal
- Fried chicken per piece – 240cal
- Curry chicken (drumstick): 159cal
- Sambal squid (sotong) – 170 cal
- Nasi lemak – 644 cal (coconut milk rice + sambal + boiled egg + ikan bilis (fried anchovies) + peanuts)
- Fried rice – 630 cal
- mamak mee goreng (fried noodles) – 660 cal
- Teh tarik/ pulled tea – 90cal
- Gravy – 60cal
- White rice (1 cup, 132g) – 199 cal
Kenny Rogers Roasters
One set of quarter chicken + muffin + 3 side dishes can easily go up to 800 calories! Tip: Take the quarter chicken + 1 side dish set (go with the salad/ fruits) and take away the muffin for snack later.
Source: KRR Calories Calculator
Examples (in Calories):
Quarter chicken: 554 cal (wing). 382c (drumstick).
Gravy: 21cal (original). 32 Cal (black pepper).
Muffin: 225cal (choc). 192cal (banana). 229 cal (vanila)
Side Dish:
- Mashed potato & gravy: 61cal
- Aromatic rice: 212cal
- Coleslaw: 87cal
- Crisp garden salad: 55 Cal
Other Sources
myfitnesspal.com, yahoo.com, healthxchange.sg, nutritionix.com
