Cutting Your Waistline Without The Pain
After over-indulging at Christmas, January is the time to get back into the routine of eating a healthy, balanced diet with fewer calories.
If you’re struggling to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, and the thought of cutting out your favourite foods and existing on lettuce leaves and celery sticks terrifies you, you can simply make a few small changes to reduce your calorie intake and help you shed those extra pounds.
Because you need to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs from all the different food groups, a good way to keep your waistline in-check could simply be to make a few small changes to your usual diet, like switching to low or reduced fat products and changing the way you cook. That way, you can cut calories, without feeling deprived.
In some cases, choosing a lower-fat option could even be healthier than cutting something out all together. For example, by eating low and reduced fat cheeses you’re not only reducing your fat and calorie intake, but you’re also ensuring you are getting the protein, vitamins and minerals (such as calcium) that your body needs.
Ayela Spiro, Senior Nutrition Scientist at the Dairy Council says, milk and dairy products can provide important nutrients.
As well as containing an easily-absorbed form of calcium and good quality protein, we also get other essential minerals for bone health, such as phosphorus and potassium from our dairy intake and, really the best way to ensure we meet our nutrient needs is to eat from all food groups and not to cut whole food groups, such as dairy from our diet."
If you are looking to cut down on your calorie intake here are a few simple changes you could make to your shopping trolley or cooking methods, which could make a big difference to your waistline.
* Swap full fat milk for semi-skimmed which contains less than 2% fat, or go the whole hog with skimmed milk which is fat free! Don’t forget, semi-skimmed milks are only recommended for children over 2 and skimmed milk for children over 5.
* For cooking and sandwiches, change your Cheddar. Cheddar cheese contains about 34% fat. Swap this for reduced fat hard cheese which contains at least 30% less fat than regular cheddar.
* An easy way to reduce your fat and calorie intake is to opt for stronger tasting cheeses in your cooked dishes. You simply need less of an extra mature Cheddar or Blue Stilton to deliver the required flavour. Also if you grate it you'll find you use less.
* Try to go for leaner cuts of meat, always remove the visible fat, and remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
* Don’t want to give up your English breakfast? Grill your bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes as opposed to frying, for a healthier option.
* For dessert, try mixing fruit salad or berries with low-fat yogurt instead of cream.
* Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
Luscious low-fat milk
It is a common misconception that milk is high in fat. Figures from the Milk Marketing Forum state that the fat content of milk is over-estimated by almost 12 times its actual value. All varieties of low fat milk contain less than 2% fat, from semi-skimmed at just 1.8% to skimmed which is fat free.
A glass of milk is high in protein, iodine and vitamins B2 (riboflavin) and B12, as well as being a good source of calcium, potassium and phosphorus, all of which are needed for a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.
Cheese
Hard cheese is a source of protein, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin B12, and can be enjoyed as part of a healthy, balanced diet. With over 700 varieties of high quality British cheese to choose from, there’s sure to be one that tickles your taste buds.
There are more reduced fat cheese options than you might think, from low fat soft cheese to half fat Farmhouse and reduced fat hard cheeses (which have 30% less fat than normal hard cheeses).
The half fat and reduced fat hard cheeses generally have higher levels of protein and calcium than standard hard cheeses. A selection of delicious reduced-fat cheese recipes can be found below.
Nigel White, Secretary of the British Cheese Board says "Eating reduced and low fat hard cheeses is a simple way to cut down on your calorie and fat intake, and they are great for everyday use in sandwiches and cooked dishes. You can buy these brands in the supermarkets".
Tips for a healthy weight
The NHS Eatwell and Change4Life websites have plenty of simple tips on how to be a healthy weight, including cutting down on fat and sugar, eating more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain starchy foods.
If you’re trying to cut down on your fat and calorie intake this January, you don’t need to make earth-shattering changes to your diet.
Switching to low or reduced fat dairy products, choosing lean meat and trimming off any fat and boiling, steaming, grilling or poaching foods rather than frying or roasting, are just some of the easy ways of making sure you’re eating less fat and fewer calories.
By making a few simple changes to your shopping trolley, you can make a big difference to your waistline. And being active every day is a good way of using up extra calories. You don’t need to join a gym; try walking or taking the stairs instead of the lift.
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