To lose weight, watching what you eat is definitely a must.
However, there are so many things to watch out for like cutting down on carbs, adding more fibre in the form of vegetables and getting enough protein.
While doing that most people tend to overlook the little things they put in their mouths which at the end of the day might not help them lose weight after all.
According to nutritionist Nicholas Alvin George, here are three basic things you need to reduce in your daily meals to lose weight:
1. Fat
Eating a lot of fatty and oily food will increase the risk of obesity and other problems including heart disease and strokes.
Try to steam, grill or boil your food instead of frying to reduce fat content.
Even if you have to stir-fry your dishes, use oil sparingly in your cooking.
Remember to remove all the fat from your meat or chicken while preparing them.
2. Salt
Salt will stall weight loss because it makes your body retain more water.
When you reduce your salt intake, you’ll lose some water retention in your body.
Remember that just because it doesn’t taste salty doesn’t mean the salt content is low.
There are plenty of foods which are high in salt content such as ketchup, processed food such as sausages, nuggets as well as canned food.
Traditional Malaysian fermented food such as budu, belacan and kasam are also high in salt content.
Opt for natural flavouring such as herbs instead of seasoning powder which also has monosodium glutamate (MSG).
We only need less than 5 grams of salt everyday which equals to only one teaspoon.
3. Sugar
Cutting out sugar will decrease your risk of obesity and diabetes.
The best way to reduce sugar is to avoid all sugary and bicarbonate drinks.
A can of soda has an average of 8 teaspoons of sugar. A canned isotonic drink and a small packet drink (250ml) may contain 5 teaspoons of sugar each.
Your one cup of 3 in 1 coffee mix contains about 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Malaysians love their condensed milk in their drinks. But condensed milk is not ‘milk’, it is just sugar and fat.
So the best drink out there is just the most inexpensive one, which is a glass of plain water.
If you really need to satisfy your sweet tooth, have some fruit and vegetables instead of cakes and snacks.