Switch to a lowfat diet to live longer

L osing weight is a tough battle, but with the right diet it’s doable. The good news is that if you learn to eat low-fat and exercise regularly, you’re more likely to keep the excess weight off forever.

FAT FACTS

All fats and oils are very high in calories (about 9 cal/gm). Fats get stored very easily as body fat. This is the kind of fat that we try to lose with diet and exercise.

It is interesting to note that most health-conscious people like to trim the fat off from their meat, and cook it in very little oil. The truth is that while you can remove some of the fat from meat, most of it is interspersed in the muscles. Even if you use a low-fat cooking method like roasting, it will still have more fat than vegetables. So to lose weight, people avoid meats and go for salads. Salads by themselves are fat free, but when you use salad oil or salad dressing, the fat content increases by about 25-30%.

Remember that every gram of excess fat that you consume gets stored as body fat. When you exercise, your body attempts to use carbs for immediate energy and then switches to the fat. So if you eat less fat, your body burns the stored body fat.

LIVING LOW FAT

Avoid cheese toppings and cream soups; go for clear vegetable soup instead Avoid corn soups and white sauce-based soups Avoid deep fried entrees and high-fat diary products Use non-stick cookware Use low fat yogurt dressing for your salads Lime juice and tomato juice can be your best bets for non-fat dressing. Use ready-made low-fat or fat-free dressing Reduce consumption of non-vegetarian foods if you really want to watch your weight A diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses and skimmed milk contains only 10% fat, is high in fibre, good for your waist and heart friendly. Weight loss of 810kg may sound like a big thing, but it is not unusual with a low-fat vegetarian menu.

PHOTO: PRATHAM GOKHALE/HT