First and foremost, to achieve maximum result you need to avoid FAD. If you don’t believe me, ask your doctor about these: negative calorie diets, extremely low calorie diets, low carb diets, and any other type of “fad” diet that is unbalanced.
Changing diet should be a matter of a healthier lifestyle. Learn all you can about different foods and nutrition. The more you know about them, the better for you. It is pertinent you put the following into consideration;
1. Substitute fruit purees for butter or margarine. They are easy to prepare in a food processor and will significantly reduce calories and fat.
2. Cheese is good for you, but the fat is not. Try this: Zap cheese in the microwave and drain off grease or choose lower fat options.
3. Exercising before you eat just makes you hungrier. Exercise AFTER eating when the body has to work harder to digest food.
4. Don’t eat while watching television. You can become so engrossed in your program, that don’t even realize how much you are eating.
5. Too many people skip breakfast. Eat in the morning when the body burns more calories.
6. Water mixed with fructose suppresses appetite better than glucose with water or diet drinks. Drink a glass of orange juice one half to one hour before a meal.
7. Avoid trans fatty acids as much as possible. Use olive or canola oil when cooking. Avoid products that list partially hydrogenated oils, since these are trans fatty acids.
8. Switch from whole to skim milk. All the nutrients are there without the fat. Okay, at least cut back to low fat (1%)!
9. Limit yourself to just four egg yolks a week.
10. Trim all fat from meats before cooking. You’ll be amazed at how much you reduce your fat intake if you take this one small step.
11. Eliminate fried foods. Do we need to say why?
12. Cream sauces like alfredo and hollandaise are loaded with fat. Use tomato-based sauces instead of cream.
13. Use lemon juice or low sodium soy sauce for flavor.
14. Don’t skip meals. When you do, you eat more at your next meal and usually eat the wrong foods.
15. Read labels – check fat, sugar and salt content.
16. Stop buying on impulse. Never shop for groceries without a list.
17. Avoid shopping when you are hungry – eat first!
18. Shop for groceries once a week and only buy from your prepared list.
19. Head directly to the fruit and vegetable aisles when you enter the grocery store. Fill up your basket in these aisles and you’ll be less likely to buy binge food.
20. If you have a local “farmers market” where you can buy your fruits and veggies off the truck, by all means do so. They’ll be fresher, healthier, and tastier.
21. Make sure you buy everything you need for your weekly meal planning. Returning to the grocery store numerous times increases the risk of buying what you shouldn’t. The grocery stores know their business very well and present items that are hard to resist.
22. Vary your foods – introduce something new each week. Menu planning can become boring when you eat the same things. That boredom translates into over eating. Try new healthy recipes each week.
23. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Yes, they are very convenient. They are also loaded with fat and/or sugar, not to mention the chemicals.
24. The ads are so compelling. Cut fast food from your diet!
25. Eat more fish but avoid breading or batters. Fish oil is good for you.
26. Eat more vegetables. Try mixing and matching fresh vegetables for variety.
27. Steam your veggies instead of boiling them. They’ll taste better and you’ll retain more of their nutritional value.
28. Use fat free or low fat salad dressings or make your own using lemon juice, spices and a tiny amount of olive oil.
29. Exchange water for soft drinks – yes, even diet drinks!
30. Slim down with casseroles – just use lean meat and veggies.
31. Go ahead and snack, just snack on good stuff, like raisins, nuts veggies and dried fruit.
32. Never eat while you are standing.
33. Don’t sample when you are cooking. A taste here, a little bite there and before you know it you’ve eaten an entire portions without sitting down at the table!
34. Don’t give up potatoes. A baked potato has 0 grams of fat and only 160 calories. Just don’t eat fries that weigh in at 13 fat grams and 480 calories!
35. Stay away from pastries. They are loaded with fat and sugar.
36. Eat more salads but don’t let salad become boring. Add different ingredients. Throw in a few raisins, nuts, and canned beans like garbanzos and vary your dressings. Leave out the mayo!
37. Limit your intake of meat to just two or three meat choices per week and select more “white” meats than red.
38. You don’t have to give up dessert, just rearrange it. Try mixing fresh fruits with low fat yogurt. Strawberries with banana yogurt are delicious!
39. Add nuts to your yogurt and salads. Chopped nuts such as almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or peanuts make a great alternative to “breaded” style garnishes like croutons and they are much healthier.
40. Replace white bread with whole grain bread. If you can find bread that still contains the “wheat germ,” buy it!
41. When baking, applesauce makes a great substitute for shortening.
42. Prepare foods in different ways. Instead of traditional frying, try stir-fry and use a low fat spray or non-stick pan.
43. Reduce portions at mealtimes. We live in a “jumbo size” world. There’s no reason why the portions we consumer need to be super sized as well.
44. Measure portions one time to get an idea of what a portion of any given food should be. Do it once for each food that you commonly eat. Eventually, you will be able to “eyeball” a proper serving.
45. Keep a food diary of everything you eat. This is the first step to acquiring a new, healthier life style.
46. Wait no more than five hours between meals or snacks. This will help to stabilize your metabolism.
47. Specific food combinations can help to burn calories by enhancing your metabolism. Eat carbohydrates that are rich in fiber such as fruits and vegetables. They take longer to digest and you will feel “fuller” for longer periods of time.
48. Use fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Canned veggies are okay in a pinch, but generally include more salt than you need. By the time they are canned and processed, they have lost much of their nutritive value.
49. Eat more yogurts. Yogurt is a protein as well as a carbohydrate therefore giving you the small amount of energy needed to burn the protein.
50. Add more tuna to your diet. You can grill it, broil it, steam it and poach it, all without any added fat. Just be aware that tuna may contain trace amounts of mercury, so limit the amount you eat each week, especially if you are pregnant.
51. Try different varieties of beans rather than sticking to the same old type you are accustomed to. Beans are a fantastic great source of energy, protein, minerals, and fiber.
52. Beware of misleading claims. Reduced fat merely means that the item has 25% less fat. Use common sense. If something “normally” contains 300 fat grams, then reduced fat means it still has over 200 grams of fat!
53. Salads to avoid are tuna, chicken and egg. It isn’t the meat or egg that’s the problem. It’s the mayonnaise. Try making them with plain yogurt and spices to dress it up and you’ll have a healthy combination.
54. If you absolutely must have your fatty salad dressing, try this. Have the dressing on the side and dip your fork into the dressing before you spear the salad ingredient. You’ll have your taste but without dredging your salad in fat.
55. Love avocado? Go ahead and indulge a quarter cup but don’t mix it with sour cream!
56. Roasted, flavored almonds make a great snack.
57. Make your own potato chips. It’s simple. Thinly slice a large baking potato and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet sprayed with low fat aerosol spray. Spray the slices lightly as well. Sprinkle with paprika and any other spice of your choice. Bake in a 400 degree oven for thirty minutes making sure to turn once. ‘Voila! Your own home baked potato chips and a great snack.
58. Switch from cream of wheat cereal to oatmeal. The whole grain in oatmeal is much better for you and won’t leave you hungry an hour later like the cream of wheat.
59. If you plan on eating out at a buffet, eat something before you go. Don’t skip a meal and plan on chowing down at the buffet.
60. Grab a table as far from the buffet as possible. You’ll lessen the temptation to graze or go back for seconds.
61. Go through the buffet line one time only.
62. Load up at the salad bar. Gelatin or plan green salads should be abundant.
63. Pile on the grilled food looking for baked roasted or grilled entrees like fish or lean roast beef.
64. Avoid the breaded fish or fried chicken.
65. Select soups that you can see through. If you can see through them, they are broths with less fat and calories.
66. Eat slowly. Savor each bite. Take your time and enjoy eating. If you eat too fast, your stomach will be full long before the message to stop chowing down reaches your brain.
67. Ask yourself if you really tasted and enjoyed that last bite of food. If your answer is no, it’s time to slow down.
68. To help downsize your portions, use a smaller plate. Instead of a dinner plate, use a salad plate for your entire meal.
69. When eating in a restaurant ask for a child’s portion or ask to have the entrée split and have the second half packaged as takeout.
70. As an assist to making certain you are getting the right nutrition from your vegetables, alternate the colors from day to day. One day eat fresh yellow and orange vegetables like squash, pumpkin, and carrots then switch to green the next day, like spinach, or dark leafy lettuces.
71. Pass up peanuts for snacking. Two ounces of salted peanuts has 328 calories. Nibble on pretzels instead. 20 of the small ones have as little as 80 calories and most are fat free.
72. Skip fried shrimp. A three ounce serving has 206 calories while the same sizes boiled are only 84 calories.
73. If you love pie, stick with the fruit pies. Pumpkin and other fruit pies are lower in calories. Pecan pie has about 430 calories while the same slice of pumpkin pie is only 240. You can drop another 100 calories if you don’t eat the crust!
74. Try Canadian bacon instead of regular bacon. One ounce of regular bacon is about four medium cooked slices and carries 163 calories. A one ounce slice of Canadian bacon is much leaner and only has about 57 calories.
75. Avoid the high fat temptations when dining out. Call ahead. Many high quality restaurants will accommodate your needs if you give them sufficient time beforehand. Explain that you are on a low fat diet and ask if they can prepare your food without frying.
76. If you frequent a specific restaurant, ask to take a menu home so you can study what they offer and learn how to plan your meals out.
77. Steer Clear of fast food restaurants. Most of their food is 40 to 50 percent fat. Many are finally wising up, however, and you can get salads, plain hamburgers or grilled chicken. You can also ask for the restaurant’s nutritional information. Many now offer that.
78. Stay away from the appetizers unless you request crackers, pretzels or fresh vegetables like carrots or celery with a honey-mustard dressing (not ranch).
79. Put your waiter through his or her paces. Ask lots of questions and don’t stop until you are satisfied. How is the fish grilled? If it is in butter, ask for it dry. If a fried entrée is offered on the menu, ask if the chef can bake it, broil it, grill it or steam it to cut down on the fat. Make sure they follow up. It’s your meal and your money paying for it and within reason you should be able to get it the way you want it.
80. If a restaurant won’t split a portion in half for you, preparing half of it “to go,” request a doggie bag or box be delivered with your meal and split it yourself immediately before you begin to eat.
81. You can also carry a “survival kit.” Use a small plastic sandwich bag and carry packets of low fat dressings, herbal teas, spices or other essentials that may not be readily available at a restaurant.
82. Split a meal with a friend. Order soup or salad a’ la carte with one entrée and ask the waiter for an extra plate. It will save you money AND reduce the fat in each meal.
83. Visit pizzerias that offer salads and pizza by the slice. Don’t order pizza with meat. Stick with vegetable toppings and, if possible, wheat crust. Some pizza places do offer that option.
84. Eliminate tartar sauce. If you order a fish fillet sandwich ask that the tartar sauce be left off the bun.
85. Bake with cocoa instead of chocolate. For each ounce of unsweetened chocolate called for in a recipe, substitute 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder.
86. Use evaporated skim milk for sauces and soups. It has the texture and the flavor of cream but without the fat. Each cup contains 80 grams less of fat and 600 few calories than heavy cream.
87. Plain nonfat or low fat yogurt is a great replacement for sour cream. Use it to make salad dressings. It’s also good as an add on to breakfast cereals and desserts.
88. Low fat foods may seem less flavorful when you first try them because fat adds flavor to some foods and you are used to that. Add zip with lots of herbs and spices like basil, garlic, ginger, onion powder tarragon and oregano. Vary the spices and come up with your own combinations.
89. Yogurt can help you lose weight while protecting muscle. A recent study of overweight people who at three servings of yogurt daily for 12 weeks lost 22% more weight, 61% more body fat and 81%more abdominal fat than people who ate a similar number of calories but no dairy products.
90. Spicy foods can curb your appetite as evidenced in a recent study. People who ate a sauce containing capsaicin (the compound that makes hot pepper spicy) consumed an average of 200 fewer calories over the next three hours than those who didn’t eat the sauce. Consider eating more spicy foods.
91. A 12 ounce cola has 150 calories, two tablespoons of full fat salad dressing 150, a glazed doughnut 250 and a 4 ounce bagel, 300. Just eliminating these items will help you to lose weight.
92. Another recent study shows that calcium from diary foods is more effective for weight loss than supplements. Why? Food is a complex mixture of known and unknown components that can’t be reproduced in a nutritional supplement. Dairy contains calcium and a host of other biologically active components including the amino acid Lucien. Recent research reveals that Lucien may increase the ability of muscle to use fat. Drink low-fat or skim milk before a meal. Studies show that getting a liquid form of dairy before eating helps you feel fuller sooner at that meal and eat less at the next meal. If you are lactose intolerant, try yogurt with live culture (it has very little lactose) or take a lactose supplement when consuming dairy.
93. Eat fish at least twice a week. The omega 3 fatty acids in fish have been shown to reduce heart attack and stroke risk in addition to helping you maintain a nutritional diet.
94. Sometimes you can go with fast food. Burger Kings BI Veggie Burger with reduced fat mayonnaise contains 340 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat. It’s better than just about any burger at any other food chain.
95. McDonald’s Fruit and Yogurt Parfait is low fat vanilla yogurt layered with berries and topped with granola. It’s a nutrient rich bargain at only 380 calories.
96. Subway’s 7 subs with 6 grams of fat or less include ham, roast beef, chicken and turkey and range from 200 to 300 calories for a six inch sub.
97. Wendy’s Mandarin Chicken Garden Sensation Salad is a creative salad alternative of mixed greens, chicken and mandarin orange sections, roasted almonds and a half packet of Oriental sesame dressing is a great alternative at just 470 calories.
98. A veggie sandwich may not always be the ideal choice. The two ounces of cheese added to these popular lunchtime meals contain three quarters of a full day’s allowance for saturated fat. Tuna salad (because of the mayonnaise), has 720 calories and chicken salad is 550 calories. Stick with turkey, roast beef, chick breast or veggie sandwich without the cheese.
99. All salads are not created equal. A taco salad is served in a fried taco shell filled with ground beef, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. It contains 1,100 calories a full day’s quota of saturated fat!
100. Not only is a single order of Fettuccine Alfredo an artery cloggier, it also weighs in at a whopping 1,500 calories! When eating Italian food, opt for pasta topped with marinara or meat sauce (skip the meatballs), red or white clam sauce or chicken Marsala. The application of the above points will ensure you burn those calories. In the next article, we will discuss in details how you can burn calories through proper exercise.
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