You can enjoy eating and lose weight by focusing on low-fat, nutritious foods. Concentrating only on avoiding certain foods can frustrate you, eventually causing you to fall off your diet. Instead, add plenty of healthy foods to your meals so your new diet becomes routine. Getting regular physical activity burns calories while you eat the best food to help lose weight.
Fruit
Fruits have high fiber content and offer a taste that helps you avoid high-fat foods. Their low-calorie, low-fat content assists your weight-loss goals. Keep fresh fruit available to snack on or add as side dishes to your meals. Add fruit to your cereal or fruit slices on whole-wheat toast with a small amount of peanut butter for breakfast or lunch. Choose frozen and canned fruit without added sugar or syrup. Avoid fruit juices and dried fruit, which have high concentrations of natural sugar and more calories, MayoClinic.com advises.
Vegetables
Vegetables also contain low amounts of fat and calories and are high in fiber to satisfy your hunger without adding on pounds. Add more vegetables to your meals and eat smaller portions of meat or poultry, which contain high saturated fat. Top salads or pasta dishes with salad greens, green beans, broccoli and zucchini. Steam or sauté vegetables instead of frying them. Keep fresh celery or carrot sticks in the refrigerator for snacking. Buy frozen or canned vegetables without creamy sauces or other fatty additives.
Grains
Grains include bread, pasta, cereal and rice. As with fruits and vegetables, high-fiber grains also fill you up so you are less tempted to eat high-fat foods. Whole grains have more fiber and nutrients than processed grains. Choose whole-grain or whole-wheat bread, pasta and cereal, brown rice and oatmeal for healthier options.
Low-Fat Options
Eating smaller portions of meat and poultry helps reduce your fat intake. You can also choose lean meats with all visible fat trimmed off and chicken or turkey without skin. Enjoy fish more often during your meals. Fish usually has less saturated fat than meat and poultry. Dairy products are also high in saturated fat. Select low-fat or nonfat dairy products. Low-fat yogurt with fresh fruit slices provides a healthy snack or dessert. Snack on fruit, vegetable sticks or nuts instead of high-fat sweets. You may find it difficult to avoid your favorite sweets all the time. Choose low-fat or fat-free cookies or cake on occasion. Add fresh fruit slices to angel food cake. Consume any low-fat food in moderation. Even low-fat products contain calories that convert to fat in the body when you eat too much.
Member Comments