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This week let's focus on one of my favorite tools "Go Lean" and yes, we can even apply this tool for
Thanksgiving, and this holiday season
(remember, it's not about perfection
and little things do add up to less calories!). When we choose
to go lean by lowering our fat intake, we reduce our calories significantly
while actually allowing us to eat a bit more food! This does lead to weight
loss over time (this is a nice
reward!). We also get a bonus, improved health from less
dietary fat and even if we don't lose during this season well, we can
prevent a gain. Now I'm not suggesting we lose all the fat in our diet
since some dietary fat is necessary (remember our omega'
3's?) for our health, for our pleasure and for the good flavor it gives
our food. But we can "Go Lean" without a lot of pain if we
give ourselves and our taste buds a chance.
How do we go lean? We go lean by reducing
some of the hidden fats in our diet. So here are
(I know we've heard these before, but have we done any of
them?) a few suggestions for Thanksgiving but more
importantly, beyond. Let's:
- Ask how is our food prepared?
Let's ask our waiter how the entree is prepared. I have ordered
grilled entree's to have them show up drowning in sauce or butter. Let's
request no sauce and then ask for a separate gravy boat of sauce on the side. We can then add a little bit ourselves
for flavor. This alone can save us a few hundred
fat calories!
- Ask what does this entree come
with? This is another favorite question of mine to ask a waiter.
I have seen many things come on a plate that were not listed on the menu. And,
most of us know what happens once the French fries are in front of us.
- Make special requests.
Let's order all our foods grilled, broiled, steamed, and/or
poached and again with all sauce on a separate dish on the side.
Let's ask for our sautéed veggies to be made with chicken
stock instead of butter (it's tasty, I promise).
Let's order our eggs poached rather than fried or scrambled
(this can save about 200 fat calories alone!).
- Make
substitutions! Let's order a baked potato instead of French fries
for example (think about the fiber we're getting instead of the
good greasy taste we're giving up along with those carcinogenic chemical
compounds that are formed during deep frying). Let's try a non fat creamy cottage cheese with a touch of butter
spray as a topping for our baked potato (here we not only go
lean, but we swap fat calories for high protein calories!). We can also substitute a
baked sweet potato for sweet potato pie this holiday. Cooking for the holiday?
Let's try non fat chicken broth as a replacement for oil, butter spray instead
of butter, low fat evaporated milk instead of heavy cream. We can also order
club soda instead of tonic for our mixed drinks, and we can choose to
drink wine instead of hard liquor.
- Think fish, fish,
fish! Even the highest fatty fish is healthier and mostly still
lower in total fat (not to mention lower in saturated fat).
Thanksgiving is turkey day of course, so if we remove the
skin and choose the breast we're almost as lean as eating
fish!
- Add our own salad
dressing! Okay, shoot me for this one.
Most of us don't like showing up at a restaurant with our own bottled
dressing, but we can try balsamic vinegar with a drop of shaved parmesan
instead of oil and vinegar. (1 tsp. of grated cheese is less than
half the calories of 1 tsp. of oil, and it goes a long
way). Add
some mustard and we're almost gourmet.
- Let's start the day with
a nutrient dense breakfast! Let's start our day
with oatmeal, high fiber cereal, yogurt and fruit, etc. instead of
muffins, bagels and those "white flour buttered rolls with
fried eggs"! When we start the day feeding our body with premium
fuel, it can make a big difference in how we feel and what we eat
the rest of the day. Lastly, this applies to turkey day too, because if we
save our calories for the big meal, we're more likely to eat even more (and I'm not referring to eating more turkey!).
Going lean and losing some fat may sound simple,
but it's not. It means we need to stop and think before we order our food; we
need to make special requests; and in essence, it means we need
to make new habits. But we can become choosy about the fat we do eat, and
become lean and healthy in the process. Isn't it worth it?
Which one will we choose to lose some fat? Go Lean
by choosing even one!
Here's to our health throughout the upcoming
holidays!
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As founder and director of The Nutrition at E.K.C. in New York City, June provides counseling in several specialized areas including Health & Fitness Assessments, weight loss, and sports nutrition for the active.
June's background includes her educational and practical experience which spans Exercise Science, Nutrition, and Behavioral Science. She is certified as a Lifestyle Counselor by the A
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