Whether you need to lose weight to improve your health or just your physical condition, cutting calories is easy if you approach it by making simple exchanges for calorie-dense foods that are currently in your diet. There are three categories of foods to concentrate on: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. If you focus on making small changes in all three categories, you should be able to comfortably lose the weight you need to lose.
Step 1
Write down everything you eat for one week in a food journal, focusing on foods that contain fat. Some of these will be easy to identify, such as marbled meat, sausages, cold cuts and full-fat dairy products. Others could be hidden fat. In another column, write down the estimated number of servings and serving sizes you eat. This will be the first area on which to focus. Be sure to include all of your snacks, and above all, be honest. This will serve as your baseline list.
Step 2
Estimate what percentage of your diet is fat, protein and carbohydrate. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 50 percent of your diet should be carbohydrate, 30 percent protein and 20 percent fat. Of the fat you consume, less than 7 percent should be in the form of saturated fat and trans fats.
Step 3
Click on the link below, "Low Calorie, Lower Fat Alternatives," produced by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and look at the foods in the left-hand column of the chart labeled, "Higher Fat Foods." Put a check mark in each of the foods you commonly eat. Look in the right hand column for healthier alternatives and make a decision to switch to a healthier choice. For instance, if you typically use whole milk on your breakfast in the morning, try replacing it with 1 or 2 percent fat milk.
Step 4
Move down to the Meat, Fish and Poultry section of the table and identify which of the foods in the left column you'd be willing to exchange for something in the right column. For instance, instead of eating traditional cold cuts in your sandwiches, try leaner cuts of meat such as low-fat cold cuts, lean ground turkey, water-packed tuna or turkey sausage. You don't have to make a complete conversion at once. Try making better replacements several times a week and work your way up to a daily regimen.
Step 5
Eliminate baked goods such as croissants, doughnuts, muffins and cookies from your daily diet. Replace them with English muffins, low-fat crackers, angel food cake and reduced-fat graham crackers. Or better yet, try replacing some of the baked goods with fresh fruits. They're loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber that can help lower your risk for certain types of colon cancer.
Step 6
Eliminate or replace high fat salad dressings with their lower-fat counterparts. This includes mayonnaise, butter and margarine you put on your sandwiches. Instead, choose some of the healthier alternatives from the right column such as light spreads, mustard, reduced-calorie salad dressings, and no-sugar jellies and jams, and use non-stick cooking sprays instead of butter or lard when you cook.
Tips and Warnings
- Begin slowly and identify the foods that will be easy to replace. Make your choices life-long commitments. Be adventurous. Don't be afraid to try new things
- Weigh your food in the beginning to learn about accurate serving sizes. Stay away from fad diets. Use natural foods.
Things You'll Need
- Food-weighing scale
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Access to the Internet
- Food journal
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