Low-Fat Diet Meal Plans

While a low-fat diet can have many health benefits, the type of fat you eat has a greater affect than the amount of fat on your heart health, according to Dr. David Caruso, a family practitioner in St. Marys, Pennsylvania. To ensure you get as many benefits from a low-fat diet as possible, you need to learn how to follow a low-fat meal plan.

Low-Fat Definition

Low-fat diet meal plans emphasize lower-fat alternatives to high-fat foods so that you can keep your fat intake less to than 30 percent of your total calories, which is the recommendation of the American Heart Association, or AHA. The AHA also recommends that you keep your transfat intake to less than 1 percent of your total calories and your saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of your total calories.

Types of Fat

The three main types of fat are transfat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, are healthier for you because they do not increase your levels of LDL, or "bad," cholesterol. Transfats and saturated fats can cause an increase in LDL cholesterol levels and lead to clogged arteries.

Benefits

Following a low-fat meal plan will provide you with a number of health benefits. In addition to possible weight loss, a low-fat meal plan can help decrease your blood cholesterol levels and lower your blood pressure, explains Caruso. A low-fat diet also might decrease your risk of certain types of cancer.

Considerations

When you reduce your fat intake too far, you might cause various health problems. Your body need fats for vitamin absorption, bone marrow production, hormone production, temperature regulation, blood pressure regulation and organ protection, explains Caruso. Most adults need to consume at least 15 percent of their calories from fat to keep the body functioning correctly, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. However, women of childbearing age require at least 20 percent of calories to come from fat.

Sample Meal Plan

A low-fat meal plan works best if you choose low-calorie, high-fiber foods that will allow you to feel fuller longer, says Karen Collins, a dietitian and nutritionist in Jamestown, New York. For example, start your day with oatmeal, 1 cup of low-fat or fat-free milk and a small orange. For lunch, have a grilled chicken salad made with 2 cups mixed dark leafy greens, 3 ounces of grilled chicken breast, 2 tablespoons of fat-free salad dressing, a whole wheat roll with reduced-fat margarine and a cup of fresh fruit. Dinner can include 4 ounces grilled halibut, 1 cup steamed broccoli, 1 cup steamed carrots and 1/2 cup of roasted potatoes. For a snack, you can have 1 cup of low-fat yogurt with four vanilla wafers.

Food Choices

To maintain a low-fat diet, find ways to reduce your fat intake and replace unhealthy fats with healthier fats. Lower your fat intake by choosing low-fat or fat-free dairy products, selecting very lean red meats or poultry without skin, and avoiding fried foods and snack foods such as cake, cookies and chips. Upgrade your fats by selecting plant-based protein sources like nuts and seeds, using olive oil in place of butter when sauteing, and using egg white in place of some eggs in recipes. Avoid food sources high in saturated fats and transfats, including most animal-based products and partially hydrogenated oils used in frying and baking.