Your body requires moderation in all forms, this includes the fact that your body does need fat – healthy fat. Your heart needs healthy fats. Your brain needs healthy fats. Your joints need healthy fats. This is a month where a lot of people cut out their bad habits and strive to fight for their New Year’s resolutions. One of the biggest mistakes they make though is going cold turkey across the board.
Cutting Out Fat Totally
Cutting the fat out totally sounds like a great option and there are a lot of low-fat and no fat products out there. One of the ways I cut back on fat is that I eat low fat cottage cheese with mixed fruit. It’s about 120 calories with 2 grams of fat. It’s a fantastic breakfast and it keeps me comfortable until lunch. I don’t snack as much and after a week of eating that for breakfast every day with maybe the small addition of whole wheat toast, I’ve already dropped 5 pounds. Moderation is the key.
What Fats Are Healthy?
Healthy fats are good additions to your meals and your snacks. You can cook in olive oil, safflower oil, and peanut and canola oils. These all contain healthy fats and are better choices. A favorite meal in our house is grilled salmon with dill and lemon. Salmon not only provides healthy fats, but also Omega-3 which is great for the memory and the mind. Most seafood falls into the healthy fat category.
You might incorporate seafood into your meals two to three times a week, alternating with chicken and then saving red meat for one meal a week. My mother cut out all red meat save for the occasional hamburger four months ago and she’s dropped from a size 16 to a size 8. I can’t have a better role model than that.
Avocados and nuts are also very healthy and fall into the healthy fat category. Nuts can make a great snack food. Don’t forget, while it’s cold, you can keep snappy veggies like carrots in the car for the munchies that hit when you’re driving or running errands. Fat doesn’t have to be a four letter word and you don’t have to cut them all to meet your goals.
How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions?