The problem with trimming fat when dieting is that you may unwittingly cut out the proteins your body needs at the same time. You'll want staple sources of protein, such as extra-lean meats, grains, beans and fish that have little to no fat, as defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)--especially if you plan to stay on a low-fat diet.
To maintain health and weight, the FDA suggests total daily values (DV) of 65g of fat and 50g of protein. Low fat refers to 3g (5 percent DV fat) or less per serving; no fat means that 0.5g or less. High protein is defined as 10g (20 percent DV protein) or more. Adjusting serving sizes up or down helps you to stay within boundaries for either nutrient.
Animal Protein
You can limit the calories from animal protein in your low-fat diet by eating lean meats and fish a few times a week. Lean cuts (3 oz.) such as skinless, boneless chicken (3g fat), beef eye of round (4g) and roasted ham (5g) all contribute about half your total DV of protein for the day. Deli ham (two slices, 1g) provides 25 percent DV protein.
Among fish sources of protein, any of these high-protein foods (3 oz.) has low fat content when cooked without added fat: cod, haddock, sole, halibut, perch, orange roughy, rockfish, pollock and tuna. Shrimp, lobster and crab are also very low in fat and high in protein. Nonfat and low-fat dairy products offer about 10 percent DV protein per serving.
Vegetable
Cooked beans are the vegetable (legume) sources of protein at the foundation of a low-fat diet. They make nutritious additions to salads, side dishes, soups and entrees, for endless variety in your menus. With about 1g of fat per serving (1 cup), kidney, navy, great northern, black and pinto beans provide 13 to 16g of protein.
Other vegetable protein foods include soy products. Tofu, soy milk (4g fat each) and cooked soybeans (15g), however, have a higher ratio of fat to protein.
Grain
Popcorn, a low-fat diet snack with zero fat content, bumps up your protein DV by 1g per cup consumed---without butter, of course.
Grain sources of protein can be used in baking, such as cornmeal and buckwheat. Barley, bulgar wheat, buckwheat groats and corn are nutritious in soups, sides and entrees. These protein foods (1 cup cooked) will only add 1 to 2g of fat to your total, except for bulgar, which is fat-free.
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