How to Cut Down on Fat in Your Diet

If you've noticed a few extra inches around your waist or just are trying to get ready for the summer swimsuit season, cutting down on the fat in your diet can be a great way to reach your goals. The best part is that it's not that hard to reduce fat in your diet.

Use Healthy Baking Substitutes for Refined Sugars and Fats

Cutting down fat doesn't mean no fun when you're cooking. Try using healthy substitutes for unhealthy ingredients. Applesauce, mashed avocado, and pureed bananas are great substitutes for fatty butter. Replace half the butter with applesauce in cake recipes for less fat while keeping the yummy taste. Use half the amount of butter when you use avocado - this works well with cookies.

Also, Greek yogurt helps keep down the fat when you replace butter with it in a recipe. You can replace half the amount of butter with half the amount of full-fat Greek yogurt for a yummy taste, but less fat.

Refined sugars also are going to help you pile on the fat so use natural substitutes for white sugar when you cook. Honey and maple syrup are both wonderful substitutes for sugar in recipes.

Know What Foods To Pick When Eating Out

When you must eat out, know ahead of time the best choices for you. Salads and anything with lots of fiber are going to be great options. Even most fast food places now have healthy salad options for you. Just make sure to leave the dressing on the side and only put as much as you need. Avoid greasy, fatty foods like the plague. Sure, french fries might make your mouth salivate, but you'll be feeling them the next day. Pick a salad or other veggies as a side instead of french fries.

Go For Strong Flavors

With strong flavors, you're less likely to put a lot on. Use mustard, cranberry sauce, pesto, yogurt with herbs, or even horseradish as spreads for your sandwiches. You'll not only be spicing up a boring, old sandwich, but you'll also get a lot less fat.

Salads can be tricky. While they are vegetables, people tend to dump dressing on to them to make them more appealing. Don't fall into this trap by instead using stronger flavored oils for your dressing. You won't need to put as much on.

Another trick you can use to cut down the fat in your meals is to use sharp cheese, such as sharp cheddar. You won't want to use as much and therefore, cut your fat intake down by a lot.

Eat Fresh

If you get more fruit and vegetables in your diet, you'll feel more full so you'll eat less fat. You'll also be getting lots of healthy nutrients and fiber, which are great for losing weight. To get more fruit in your diet, ditch those sugary fruit juices. Squeeze real fruit instead. Or make sure to keep plenty of real fruit on hand for snacks.

In general, try to replace your carbohydrate intake with fruits and veggies. That's one of the best ways to cut down unwanted fat in your diet.

Amanda Maynes is an aspiring writer with a wealth of knowledge in the areas of health and fitness. She enjoys researching and writing about different topics with the aim of benefiting her readers.

To see more of Amanda's writing, check out the following website: http://calorize.com/food-and-health/healthy-snacks.html

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