Cholesterol and Weight
7 Smart Choices To Lower Your Cholesterol And Weight
You could lower your cholesterol and weight with some smart changes in your diet. High cholesterol and obesity are very common health conditions these days. You need to cut back on fatty foods and increase fiber filled foods in your diet to lower your cholesterol and overweight. It is not easy to change your diet suddenly or drastically. Besides you would not be able to see good results immediately either. But sincere and serious efforts would definitely help you to fight these conditions.
Licensed dietitians and doctors suggest that total fat consumption should not exceed more than 50 grams a day for women and 60 grams for men. You could try to reach this goal by a few changes in your food habits to reduce fat intake in order to reduce both your cholesterol and weight. Here are 7 smart choices for you to cut down on saturated fat:
1. Cheese is the number one culprit that makes you obese. If you are a cheese eater, make sure you take only 1 ounce of cheese per day instead of 2. You could start saving 5 grams of saturated fat from your intake.
2. Another big trigger of obesity is beef. Instead of regular ground beef, buy 95 percent lean ground beef. This would help you to cut down about 3.5 grams of saturated fat for every 3-ounce portion.
3. Do not buy whole milk but instead buy 1% milk and this saves 3 grams of saturated fat in every 8 ounces you consume.
4. Tub margarine is available in grocery stores and this is better than butter. You could save 5 grams of saturated fat for every tablespoon you eat.
5. If you buy soups go for low fat cream soups. These are better in place of regular cream for your casserole dish. You would have another 6 grams of fat taken away from each serving. If you take a whole can you would consume about 15 grams less fat.
6. It is hard to resist ice creams. If you are an ice cream lover, go ahead and eat it. But be wise and choose a cone over a blizzard or ice cream milk shake. You could easily save about 20 grams of fat this way.
7. What do you normally have at Starbucks - Latte, Mocha or Cappuccino? Take any of these with nonfat milk and they all still taste good. You could save 6 to7 grams of fat for a 16-ounce serving.
Cutting down on fat content alone does not help you to lower cholesterol or weight. An increase in your fiber intake would enhance your heart health while lowering your cholesterol. Oatmeal, flaxseed, whole grain or whole what, beans and fresh fruits and vegetables are some of the best food choices that could help you in this regard.
Just remember to follow these smart choices, increase your fiber intake, drink plenty of water and keep up your exercise regimen and you would be well on your way to losing your cholesterol and weight within a reasonable period of time.
