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Small changes in eating habits for huge health benefits!

The New Year is often filled with a promise of adjustments and change. The key to the success of these is to make these adjustments realistic and achievable. If they are too ambitious, they become overwhelming and unattainable resulting in making you feel demoralised.

A simple way of making you feel better with relatively little effort, but with massive health benefits is to work on the amount of fat you consume. Most of us eat too much fat. Fat is very “energy-dense” – each gram of fat contains 9 calories. Weight for weight, that’s much higher in calories than other nutrients such as starchy carbohydrates found in bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. So, it makes sense to start by checking all the fat you eat in a week and watch out for hidden fats:

MOLLY MAID, the domestic professional cleaners, suggest the following top tips may help you to reduce your fat intake:

  • Find low–fat alternatives to the foods you enjoy such as low-fat oven chips, low/reduced fat sausages, lower-fat sandwiches and low-fat or oven baked crisps.
  • Wherever possible, grill your foods. If there is no way around frying, use a spray oil rather than oil.
  • When cooking at home, remove any excess fat or skin from meat as this will instantly cut down your fat intake.
  • Replace all dairy produce with ‘low fat’ content. You will be surprised how much of a difference this can make.
  • Think F.A.T. – the frequency, amount and type of fat you eat. Cut down on fatty snacks and find alternatives such as bread sticks, fruit, and low-fat yoghurts.
  • If eating out, think about having two courses as opposed to three. Savoury dishes as starters tend to have less fat and calories than pudding.
  • If ordering a burger for example, avoid adding cheese to your burger, and why not replace chips with a baked potato or salad even for instance. Ask for your burger without the mayonnaise!
  • When choosing a drink, choose a diet version, or better still squash or mineral water.
  • Ask for any dressings or sauces to be put on the side or in dishes so that you can control the amount you use.

Making some small changes in your eating habits can result in huge health benefits not only with your weight, but also with reducing cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart attacks.