any good low fat tips?

[chubby]

I need to lose weight and I know I eat too much fat in my diet.  Has anyone got any good tips for lowering the fat content in food when at home and eating out or any recipes or websites that they could share? 

I do most of my own cooking and don't rely on convenience food too much at home so it might just be a case of changing a few of my ingredients and methods, but I do eat out a few times a week and I'm the kind of person who will go for fries over veggies so I know I need to change that bad habit!

What's spray oil like?  It's expensive and I usually don't buy it because I feel as though it is a bit of a fad - but is there any mileage in changing to that?

[Spray]

You don't need to buy spray oil.  Just buy a spray and fill with good quality olive oil or whatever oil you like to use.  A very good spray is not cheap but is well worth it.

Cut out butter and cream.  If you like pasta order tomato based sauces rather than cream.  Don't be tempted by the bread rolls, french bread etc at restaurants and stop the waiters before they add the second spoonful of rice to your plate.

And remember you dont really need dessert.

[10 tips]

1. Learn to cook home style Chinese food. Lots of local greens, tofu, lean pork, lean chicken and fish.  Very fast way of cooking too.
2. Limit meat portion size to the size of your palm, or a deck of cards.
3. Eat more fruit and vegetables. Eat salads.
4. Consume less sugar, salt and oil/fat. Use herbs, onions, garlic to add flavour. Read the labels of prepared sauces.
5. Use a good anodised pan. Heat up the pan, then lower heat before putting in marinated meat.  Often times, you will need only maybe one to 2 teaspoons of oil to quickly fry the meat or veg.
6. Learn to steam food instead of deep frying or even pan frying.
7. Do not be tempted by dessert/candy/chocolates/snacks of any sort.
8. Drink water instead of soft drinks, beer or alcohol.
9. Exercise at least 20 minutes a day. Sweat it out.
10.Do not eat after 7 pm.

Best of luck.

[$Pripps]

here's another tip: even though its not necessarily an exact science count your calories limit saturated fat <7% sodium  etc in what you eat during the day, write down everything you eat during the day. It makes you more conscience of what you eat and how much you eat. There are many sites that have food calories so its easy to do. Start weighing yourself every morning, write it down even though its not fun in the beginning. In my experience gaining weight comes when you stop thinking about how much and what you eat and drink so awareness is a good thing. Also a  thumb rule is 35 cal / kg so if you want to weigh say 70 kg you should only eat max 35*70 calories per day.

[11 tips]

10 Tips are fab, apart from tip 9. Replace that one with bikram yoga, google it, and you'll be a lean, healthy, superfocussed shadow of your current self in 6 months. Ta!

[soupy]

  Read product labels for the percentage of fat calories of total calories for one serving of the product. Stick to 15 pct or less if you can ( below 10 pct is even better) and avoid anything over that levels (apart from oils of course). Save the butter and cream for special occasions.

[it's not hard]

For starters:

- Cut out sugar.
Take your coffee and tea with cream or milk only. Allow yourself some desserts (but only the must-haves you crave)

 - Even oil is redundant. Steam or boil, instead of frying. Microwave a tablespoonful of olive oil with minutely-sliced garlic for 20sec. Scatter some of this garlicy-oil mixture with salt over your veggies.

 - Grill meat and fish, no oil (or just coat lightly with that microwaved tablespoonful of oil, if neccessary)

 - Eat only a handful of carbs. Especially cut down on crabs and size of meal postions after 7pm. You can actually gradually 'train' your stomach to expect less.
Keep your dinners small, and breakfasts bigger. Lunch can be in-between. Whatever you need to indulge in, do it in the daytime when you're more mobile.

 - Snack on yogurt, and a mix of grain, dried fruit + nuts, if you must snack. Do not keep chips or unhealthy oil snacks in the house. Ditto pop, ice cream etc

 - Exercise at least 3x a wk. Choose something you enjoy, and make this a habit.


You do NOT have to deprive yourself. This only leads to craving and binge-ing.
Moderation is key. If you must have that cake, so you must. Shave down the portion of cake, or take something else out of the next meal, to compensate.

Good Luck.

[chubby]

Thanks everyone - all useful tips   

[L1ch3ng]

thanks everyone for the useful tips

[Low carb]

I started on low carb diet two weeks ago and have lost 3 kg. I am not hungry or graving for anything - to my surprise. I am not starving - to be honest I am not really hungry! Low carb diet helps your blood sugar stay more stabile and thus you are not as hungry as you used to be before meal-time.

I eat bread for breakfast but not after that. I do not eat rice, pasta, potatoes, carrots, corn (or if I eat I eat only a small amount). I eat veggies, avocados, nuts and almonds (without salt and not roasted) and beef/chicken/fish/pork. I do not avoid butter or extra virgin olive oil.

Anyway, I found this to be easier than I thought it would be.

[$Pripps]

I started on low carb diet two weeks ago and have lost 3 kg. I am not hungry or graving for anything - to my surprise. I am not starving - to be honest I am not really hungry! Low carb diet helps your blood sugar stay more stabile and thus you are not as hungry as you used to be before meal-time.

I eat bread for breakfast but not after that. I do not eat rice, pasta, potatoes, carrots, corn (or if I eat I eat only a small amount). I eat veggies, avocados, nuts and almonds (without salt and not roasted) and beef/chicken/fish/pork. I do not avoid butter or extra virgin olive oil.

Anyway, I found this to be easier than I thought it would be.

I did that too one time when I was younger and it worked good (15kg), the only problem with low carb diet is that you need to be careful with what you eat in terms of cholesterol, its easy to go overboard with protein so its important - as you already pointed out - to mix the diet.

[della]

A few basic changes can convert a heavy menu to a healthy menu, whether what kind of food it is.
 

    * Substitute olive, canola, and corn oil for highly saturated oils such as palm and cocoanut oils and solid shortenings.
    * Reduce salt (sodium). Use herbs, pepper, and salt-free seasonings instead. Consume fewer processed foods like sauces and soups, most of which are high in sodium.
    * Fried, au gratin, crispy, pan-fried, sautéed, stuffed, or escalloped foods tend to be high in fat and calories. Steam, bake, broil, grill, poach, or roast food for less fat and fewer calories.

Hope this could help you.....


singapore restaurants

[jalanperak]

One other small tip for reducing fat - if you make your own salad dressings (i.e., vinaigrettes), substitute chicken stock for 1/2~2/3 of the oil.

[watchit]

I find people who eat very little carbo somewhat of a saddo. They lead unhappy lives and are often grouchy. No more wood cooked pizzas, no more crabmeat fried rice, no more clam linguine. What's there to live for? They didn't coin the phrase a bellyful of laughter for nothing, you know? A rake thin weed of laughter just doesn't cut it.

[10 tips]

I eat everything that "watchit" eats, but moderately.  I have put on 5 pounds (about 2 kg) since my teen years.  I am 66 now. Most times, I followw the 10 tips dished out earlier. And I am not unhappy about life. Shows the 10 tips do work.