To have success on a fat loss diet, creating a calorie deficit through your food intake, exercise program or a combination of both is essential.
If you want to see fat loss, you have to give the body a reason to start using up its body-fat stores as fuel. If you don't, be prepared to struggle along, seeing only modest results at best.
One of the simplest ways to create a calorie deficit is to trim off some of the fat from your diet because, gram for gram, fat contains the most calories. If you can shave off even 25 grams of fat each day, that's the equivalent of 225 calories, which would have you seeing almost half a pound of pure body fat loss each week.
Think eliminating 25 grams of fat will be quite the challenge? Think again. The following are some of the best ways to instantly cut fat from your diet and see great fat loss results quickly by swapping out bad fats for good fats — or not fat at all.
Fat swap: Choose skim milk instead of cream
The first simple change you can make to help shave off fat is to swap the cream you use in your morning cup of coffee for skim milk. Skim milk is virtually fat-free, thus, this move will save about 4 grams of fat per cup (based on a 30 ml cream serving).
If you find that milk doesn't add enough flavor to your coffee, try some vanilla protein powder or one of the fat-free flavored creamers available — just make sure that it doesn't contain too much added sugar.
Fat swap: Choose cottage cheese instead of cream cheese
Cream cheese is one of the most popular bagel spreads men use. Instead, try cottage cheese. You'll save about 15 grams of fat in the process, assuming you use low-fat cottage cheese, and significantly boost the protein content of this meal.
If you need more flavor, try drizzling on some low-sugar maple syrup or sprinkling cinnamon over the top.
Fat swap: Choose ham on your pizza instead of pepperoni
Pizza can be a very high-fat choice if you're not careful. By simply choosing ham as your meat source over pepperoni, you can save as much as 9 grams of fat per ounce of meat used.
Another great way to lighten the amount of fat with this meal is to ask for reduced-fat cheese or, if that's not available, ask for less cheese than what they would normally put on.
Fat swap: Choose an egg white omelet instead of a regular egg omelet
A home-cooked omelet is a great way to start your Saturday morning off right, but make sure you prepare it without the yolk. By simply doubling the egg whites used and tossing the yolks, you'll save 15 grams of fat per 3-whole egg omelet.
Be sure to add plenty of chopped vegetables as well to boost the nutritional value.
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Fat swap: Choose a grilled chicken burger instead of a hamburger
When the summer months hit and you're in the mood for a grilled sandwich, make it a grilled chicken burger to save on fat instantly. On average, frozen burger patties contain 22 grams of fat, while if you opt for a chicken breast you'll only take in a mere 3 grams of fat.
This swap alone is almost enough to reduce your total daily fat content by the 25 gram goal mentioned above.
Fat swap: Choose a baked potato instead of French fries
Exchanging a baked potato for your usual fries on the side of that burger will really help cut fat. The typical small (2.5 oz) serving of French fries contains at least 10 grams of fat, and most don't stop there. It's not uncommon to eat 5 or more ounces in a sitting, so you'll want to double those numbers.
A baked potato topped with salsa or some fat-free sour cream and fresh chives is virtually fat-free and will provide a great source of carbohydrates to help provide fuel for your muscles to get you through your workouts.
Fat swap: Choose turkey bacon instead of regular bacon
Finally, if bacon is what you're craving, swap in turkey bacon and swap out regular bacon. This switch will save you 7 grams of fat per 1-ounce serving. This will also help you save a number of calories as well, furthering your fat loss progress.
Swapping Success
So, don't be so quick to think adopting a fat loss diet needs to be difficult. With a few quick switches you can create the calorie deficit needed to see the results you're looking for.
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