Cooking For Weight Loss
There is no single reason people gain extra weight and there is no one-size-fits-all fix. But small, simple changes can lead to healthier weight over time. Home cooking puts you in control of what goes into your food and body.
Here are some guidelines to get you into the kitchen and cooking healthy!
- Put vegetables at the top of your shopping list and plan your meals around them instead of around meat. Formula: more veggies, less meat. Beans are a vegetable, so have tacos with beans instead of hamburger, and add plenty of freshly chopped salsa, tomatoes and lettuce. The same goes for your lunch. Make sandwiches with less meat and pile on the veggies. Go beyond lettuce and tomato! Add cucumbers, sprouts, spinach and sweet bell pepper strips. Hold the mayo or use the low-fat or fat-free kind.
- Skip the sugary stuff. Sugar has calories, but no other nutritional value. Some sugar occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables, milk and grains. One culprit in undermining weight loss is often “added sugar” — the kind added to food and drinks during processing, as well as the obvious sugar bowl on the table. If you’re cooking at home, you probably won’t be adding sugar to your minestrone soup, but manufacturers might. Also, rethink your drink to get rid of added sugar.
When it comes to grains, go for the whole kind. Choose whole-grain breads, crackers and cereals that include all parts of the grain. Refined grains have had the outer layer, called the bran, removed, which lowers their nutrient and fiber content. Whole grains help with feeling full, making it easier to maintain a healthy weight. For example, brown rice is a whole grain, while white rice is not. The same idea applies to fruits and vegetables. Removing the skin takes away some of the fiber, which is why eating a whole apple is a healthier choice than drinking apple juice.
