Low-calorie/low-fat diets
This is a traditional approach to weight loss as it is based on the Eatwell guide with a focus on reducing fat intake. Fat contains more calories than any other nutrient so by reducing your fat intake, you will reduce your calorie intake too.
As a guide, active men need around 2,500kcal a day to maintain healthy body weight and active women need around 2,000kcal a day:
Reducing your intake of fat can also help lower your cholesterol levels, which if increased, can be a risk factor for developing heart disease.
The role of fat in our diet
A small amount of fat is essential as it provides us with energy and helps with the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat contains essential fatty acids such as omega 3 which are important for heart and brain health. Excess fat that is not used by your body is converted into fat stores.
Type of Fat
Saturated
Swap these for unsaturated fats. Eating too much saturated fat increases the amount of cholesterol in your blood.
Trans
Avoid where possible. They can increase cholesterol in your blood. Foods with hydrogenated oils or fats in them likely contain trans fats.
Monounsaturated
Have these in small amounts. They can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Unsaturated
Have it in small amounts. Polyunsaturated fats help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels and are a source of essential fatty acids.
Found in
Processed meats like sausages, ham, burgers and fatty meat; hard cheese such as cheddar; whole milk and cream; butter, lard, ghee, suet, palm & coconut oil
Fried foods, takeaways, hard margarine, snacks like biscuits, cakes or pastries
Avocado, olives, olive oil, rapeseed oil, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios and spreads made from these nuts
Oily fish, corn oil, sesame oil, soya oil and spreads made from these oils, flaxseed, pine nuts, sesame seeds and walnuts
What does a low-fat diet involve?
A low-fat diet will typically include foods such as:
- Wholegrain foods: These release their energy slowly and are an important source of fibre, vitamins and minerals
- Fish: A lean source of protein, including white fish such as haddock or cod and oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines contains omega 3 fatty acids which are important for heart health
- Fruit & vegetables: Try to eat at least 5 portions a day. They are full of vitamins, minerals and fibre
- Lean meats: Choose meats such as skinless chicken and turkey. They are low in fat and high in protein which is important for the growth and repair of tissues and muscles in the body
- Lentils, beans & pulses: These are low in fat and a good plant source of protein as well as fibre, vitamins and minerals
- Dairy: Opt for low-fat varieties of yoghurt and cheese and milk, or you could swap cow’s milk for nut milk
What foods should I avoid?
If you want to follow a low-fat diet, then you should avoid foods such as:
- Animal fats: Foods that contain animal fats such as butter, cheese, cream, dripping and lard should be avoided on a low-fat diet as they are high in saturated fat.
- Red & Processed meat: Processed meat such as bacon and sausages contain a lot of saturated fat. Stick to lean meats and cut any visible fats off meat.
- Processed foods: Processed foods are defined as any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. These include cakes, pastries, biscuits, fast food, pies, crisps and convenience foods. They are generally high in calories due to the amount of saturated fat and added sugar.
- Deep-fried foods: Foods that have been deep-fried such as fish and chips, chicken strips or tempura are very high in calories and saturated and trans fats.
Food labelling
It’s important to understand what’s in the food you eat so that you can control your intake of calories, fat and saturated fat. Nutrition labels on food can often be difficult to understand, however, interpreting these labels properly can help to make healthier food choices simpler and easier.
Nutritional information can be found on the back or side of the packaging, and more increasingly in the form of a traffic light system on the front of the packaging.
This labelling contains information about the amount of energy the food contains (measured in kJ or kcal), as well as the fat and saturated fat content. This information can either be displayed per pack, serving or per 100 grams of the food.
What do the numbers mean?
The numbers on the packaging let us know if the food we are looking at is high in calories, fat and saturated fat or low or somewhere in between. Have a look below for some reference ranges to help you understand food labels in future:
To help with food shopping, Public Health England has developed the Change4Life Food Scanner app that is free to download on both the App Store and Google Play. The app allows you to scan barcodes of packaged food and drinks to tell you how much sugar, saturated fat, salt and calories are in foods to help you make better food choices.
Tips to reduce your fat intake
We’ve included some tips below on how you can reduce your fat intake when cooking at home or when you eat out:
At home:
- Grill, bake or steam food rather than frying or roasting
- Measure oil with a teaspoon to control the amount you use
- Trim any visible fat from meat and take the skin off poultry before cooking
- Reduce your meat intake by increasing the number of vegetables or adding beans or pulses to bulk out dishes
- Use reduced-fat spreads based on olive or sunflower oils instead of butter
- Instead of beef mince, use turkey or Quorn mince
Eating out
- Ask for any dressings or sauces on the side so you can control how much you eat
- Avoid anything described as ‘fried, sauteed, roasted or crispy’ as it usually means they have been fried in oil
- Choose tomato-based sauces over creamy or cheesy sauces
- Look at the menu online beforehand so you can plan what to eat ahead of time
To download a low-fat/low-calorie guide click here.
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