FAT LOSS TIPS
- Include more fiber to feel full. Eat lentils, dry beans, peas, vegetables, fruits, brown rice, and whole grains.
- Instead of regular sodas, drink diet drinks or water. The sugar in regular sodas turns to fat in your body.
- Cut back on foods with hidden sugar like ketchup, white bread, canned fruit, and salad dressing.
- Drink 1% milk or skim milk instead of whole milk. This saves you 6 grams of fat or more per glass.
- Avoid buttery, fattening croissant bread. Eat any other kind of bread to save 9 grams of fat or more.
- Instead of fatty croutons, add more texture to your salad by including pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
- No carbs after 9 p.m. Eat no bread, cereal, or pasta until morning. Extra carbs eaten at night often convert to fat.
- For dessert, pick fat-free, sugar-free ice cream or frozen yogurt. Top with fat-free, non-dairy whip topping.
- Eating fish instead of red meat saves you 90 calories per serving.
- Chill soups, gravies, and stews in the refrigerator, then skim the fat off the top.
- Chew each bite 12 times. This prevents overeating by giving your stomach time to realize what you have eaten.
- Drink 8 glasses of ice water every day. Cold water speeds up your metabolism while keeping you hydrated.
- Some people don't like them but soy nuts are a good snack food. Just 3 tbsp makes a whole serving of protein. This is a great source of protein for those who don't like meat. A little at-home project is to buy plain boring soynuts and make yummy honey-roasted soynuts. It's really easy too! Mix the soy beans, honey, and nuts, and a pinch of salt or two. Then lay it all out on a pan on top of parchment paper. Bake around 200 for about 10 min. You can't eat them right away, they're too hot. Put them in the fridge and eat them later!
- Grate your cheese rather than slicing it. You will use a lot less cheese and save fat grams.
- When grilling bacon or sausage, allow the fat to drain away by placing it on a wire rack during cooking.
- For a great low-fat, low-sugar snack, try no-butter, low-salt popcorn. Two cups only has 60 calories!
- Use light mayonnaise or the fat-free variety instead of regular mayo to save several grams of fat per serving.
- Cook with canola oil or other healthy vegetable oils (like Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the best). Avoid processed polyunsaturated and hydrogenated oils.
- For a midnight snack, eat a little protein but no carbs. Try protein powder in water or a spoon of peanut butter.
- Go lean on meat. Buy extra-lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey. Trim the meat fat and remove the chicken skin.
- The egg yolk contains most of the fat and cholesterol in the egg. Use egg substitutes or only eat the egg white.
- Instead of frying, prepare foods by dry roasting, grilling, oven cooking, or steaming.
- Read the label on "fat-free" foods carefully. Often the fat has been replaced by sugar, which makes you fat!
- When baking, use applesauce instead of butter to save 90 calories.
- Drink coffee? Switching two creamers in two cups for 2% milk saves 6 grams of fat. Creamers are high in fat.
- One or two meals a week, substitute beans or legumes for meat in salads, soups, or in the main dish.
- Try meatless products like imitation hot dogs, bacon, and burgers. Many have good taste and are low in fat.
- Eat several small meals each day instead of three big meals. Your metabolism will stay high and burn more fat.
- Cut meat portions from 6 oz to 3 oz. This saves you 9g of fat for beef, pork, and lamb, and 5g of fat for chicken.
- At restaurants, only eat half your meal. Ask for a "to-go" box when ordering, and place half your meal in the box.
- Removing the skin from chicken saves you 5 grams of fat every time.
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