30 Tips for a Low-Fat Lifestyle

FOOD

1.      Use skim milk in place of full cream milk.

2.      Substitute low fat yoghurt for sour cream in recipes or ricotta cheese for desserts.

3.      Consider fish over red meat or chicken – it has generally less fat.

4.      When choosing tinned fish, opt for it in brine/water versus oil.

5.      If you are having chicken, avoid the skin - the breast is best & leanest.

6.      If you’re having meat, ensure you trim any excess fat & opt for lean cuts.

7.      Avoid all sausage meats – generally they’re very high in fat.

8.      Nuts & seeds, while nutritious are very high in fat. Avoid them as snacks.

9.      Eat rice crackers in place of chips – you still get the crunch but not the fat.

10.   When making omelettes, use several egg whites & only 1 yolk. The yolk contains most of the fat.

11.   Try gelato or low fat frozen yoghurt in place of ice cream.

12.   Use lemon juice in place of salad dressings.

13.   Baste meats with vegetable stock instead of oil.

14.   Skim the fat when making soup.

15.   Don’t butter toast. Through it’s heat, it can absorb up to 3 times the fat that a regular piece of bread might.

HABITS

16.   Look for high fibre foods that will fill you better & give your inside a workout.

17.   When cooking, consider grilling or dry roasting versus frying your food.

18.   Graze & don’t gorge. Eating smaller meals more frequently helps reduce hunger as well as keeping your metabolic rate more consistently higher.

19.   Begin reading food labels. Select foods that show a less than 10 grams of fat component per 100 grams - that means less than 10% of it will be fat.

20.   Invest in a pocket-sized fat & fibre counter. Get familiar with what the fat content of your favourite foods is & look for lesser fat options generally.

21.   Reduce your overall food intake when you are trying to lose weight. Even with good food choices, if you eat enough volume and don’t use it, your body will store it as fat.

22.   Develop a kitty of low fat snacks and plan to keep them at hand. It’s when snacking that we often end up going for the high fat convenience nibblies.

23.   Eat slowly. This is not only great for your digestion but also means you usually eat less than when you try to break records. Aim to chew each mouthful 20 or more times.

24.  When you feel hungry, start by taking a few deep belly breaths and drinking a glass of fresh water. Notice if you still feel hungry. Often, our body will confuse its need for more oxygen or water with a hunger signal and if we respond each time, we may be eating more than we need.

25.  Consult a dietician to establish your specific energy requirements and nutrient needs. This will take into account your activity levels and stage of life etc

26.   Don’t do anything you can’t do for a lifetime – so avoid diets. The very notion of restriction leads us to want to break free from it. Think about balance and moderation for long term success.

27.   If you have an event coming up that may have you indulging a little bit more – seek to balance it out by upping your activity levels to use up the additional energy and consider having a plan going into it, eg, asking for smaller portions, choosing vegetables instead of fattier foods, skip the dessert etc.

28.   If you ‘fall off the wagon’ of balance from time to time & haven’t prepared best for it – DON”T BEAT YOURSELF UP! If you’re kinder to you, you’ll be more likely to get right back on track & see it for what it really is, a one-off event. Beating up helps you to stick in that place & can set off a cycle of comfort eating etc to deal with the negative feelings & so a negative spiral ensues.

29.   Learn optimism. See yourself easily succeeding at living a low-fat lifestyle AND enjoying it. Focus on what’s great about it & all that you stand to gain from it. Celebrate your success. Acknowledge all that you’re doing right & keep that momentum going.

30.   Recruit support by way of books, courses, professionals where you feel you could learn or understand more & really set yourself up with all the information you need.