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You have a choice… Take the LIGHT road…
If you look in my fridge, or in my shopping cart, you will notice a theme. Light… Low Fat… Fat Free…
If a food item has a lighter, less fat, less calorie, healthier version — I will take it!
So I reach for the light cream cheese, the non-fat Milk, the light salad dressing, even the fat free ice cream, (if I am going to be naughty!)
Sure, I would prefer the taste of the indulgent full fat, full calorie version, but that is like choosing to pay full price when the item on sale is sitting right there!
If you added up in a week the calories and fat you safe from “taking the light road” it would be remarkable. In fact, if you regularly choose the full calorie versions, switching to light and non fat would probably revolutionize your weight loss alone!
So, a challenge for you: Look for the Light!
If you drink low fat milk (1 or 2% milk) try switching to non fat (skim milk.) When you buy a salad dressing, choose the light options. If you are looking for quick meals, go for a “healthier” version.
Thanks to ConAgra, I have been using Healthy Choice meals when I need a quick lunch or dinner. These fast meals taste good AND they really are healthy choices!
Even at fast food restaurants, you have lighter, healthier options! Go for the grilled chicken burger. Have a salad and skip the fries! If you need a treat, choose a small plain ice cream or frozen yogurt versus the candy loaded blends.
When it comes to healthy weight management and weight loss tips, choosing light options really is one of the easiest and most painless things we can do to achieve our weight goals!
Just imagine you are standing in a clothing store with a full priced sweater and a sale priced sweater. They both are great options — which one are you going to choose?
Want to catch up with my previous Winter Weight Off posts?
Winter Weight Off
Weight Loss Tip #1 — No Dieting!
Weight Loss Tip #2 — Fill Up on Fiber
Weight Loss Recipe — Red River w Ground Flax
YOUR TURN:
Are you posting your Winter Weight Off journey too?
If you want to join me for healthy eating tips and healthy weight loss this spring in our “Winter Weight Off,” I have posted a linky for bloggers to link up on my intro post. Feel free to join in and link up there, and find other bloggers who are participating.
As well, I post a new linky here so you can link up with a post you have written this week.
EVERY MONDAY AFTERNOON, starting February 14th, 2011, I post a fresh linky along with my Weight Loss Tip for the week. You can link up your latest Winter Weight Off posts every week in those fresh linkies. (And of course visit previous linkies to find our readers’ own inspiring posts!)
Then, during the week, I publish one or two more Winter Weight Off posts here at 5 Minutes for Mom that relate to my Weight Loss Tip of the Week. Some of those will be written by me, and some weeks, I may feature some of you and link back to YOUR post of the week!
Link Up Your Winter Weight Off posts this week below:
Do you instinctively reach for the Low-Fat or Light versions?
What are your favorite LIGHT options?
Do you have favorite calorie-reduced recipes?
(Feel free to answer in your post or just post whatever you want to share with your readers about your healthy living journey.)
PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT a health professional, nor do I make any health or medical claims or advice here at 5 Minutes for Mom. I am simply sharing my opinions and personal experiences. Please consult your doctor about all medical issues and make sure you follow your doctor and health professional’s instructions regarding your health and diet.
Written by 5 Minutes for Mom co-founder Janice.
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Note: I work with ConAgra on their blogger advisory panel, and the Healthy Choice meals were sent to me as part of their “Better for BlogHer” campaign. However, my opinions about Healthy Choice are 100% my own.
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Nice blog!!!Its good that nowadays people wants to lose weight as fast as possible and they are somehow managing it also…this blog seems to be very informative and can help many people who want to do the same…
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I think I will become a great follower.Just want to say your story is striking. The clarity in your post is simply striking and i can take for granted you are an expert on this subject.
I actually do the opposite thing! I eat full-fat foods…in moderation. Real butter and whipped cream. Whole milk. Etc. I am convinced that the “real” versions of foods in their original state are actually much healthier than many of the skim/light/fat-free alternatives.
When you grab low fat items, especially salad dressing which is fat based, be really careful that you’re not grabbing something higher in HFCS and other sugars, which are much worse for you than fat. Most of the time food processors have to add sugar to make up for the lack of fat or it would taste terrible.
I actually ate the same way two years ago, but like the commenter above who read Michael Pollan, I read books in a similar strain and decided to go full fat everything. I actually add coconut oil, a saturated fat, to my oatmeal on purpose to get more fat. No one in my family has gained any weight whatsoever, and I’ve actually lost cellulite as I approached 30. No kidding. Fat doesn’t make you fat, carbs do… (http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/09/22/a-fat-full-full-introduction/)
🙂 Katie
Oh dear. I hate to be the negative one, but reading this post made me cringe. (Sorry! I do love 5minutesformom!) Low-fat, low-calorie does not equal healthy in my book. Especially after reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. His logic and conclusions make SO much sense to me, and go totally against the traditional ideas of what is nutritious.
Anyway, I won’t touch anything fat-free (that’s supposed to have fat in it) with a 10 foot pole. Just my take on things, so take it or leave it, or research it yourself.
I always buy light, non-fat items too. And I’m really amazed when I look at other people’s shopping carts compared to mine. I might have one or two splurge items, but the rest is healthy.
Good read. Nice tips on keeping oneself lighter, healthier and fat free.
I need your help. I am pretty fatty. I stand 5′ 2″ and weight is 75 kgs. Can you suggest some ways through which I can also enjoy Fat Free Life ?
Your helpful advice shall be appreciated.
Thanks
Pen
I love your posts about this. I wanted to thank you for stopping by my blog last week. I actually ended up posting twice today. Once for my Monday post and one for a challenge I’m facing. Thank you for being real. It helps so much knowing I’m not alone in this.
I reach for high protein (170g /day) about 4 meals with 3.5 ounces of lean protein (fish, bison, chicken breast, turkey) to curb the hunger and 110 g of carb taken mostly in the morning before and after workout. I don’t go over 30g of fat daily. I find that keeping track of my fat, carb and protein intake always gives me low fat meals. Sounds complicated but if your keep a journal for 12 weeks it becomes second nature.
Great tips! 🙂 I’ve been following that policy for years and am sure it’s one of the big reasons I don’t struggle more with weight than I do. My philosophy is I’d rather save the calories for something special like awesome chocolate truffles than waste them on extra fat!
Definitely! And those extra calories add up! Over the years, it can be a LOT of pounds!