Losing weight is a goal or focus of millions of people’s lives, but did you know that losing weight is easier in stages? One “stage” of the weight loss process is to change your eating habits. Whether this means a whole dietary change, or a few minor adjustments – a very simple method of cutting out the crap in your diet is to switch to low fat foods.

The method of “losing weight” that you’ll hear me talk about the most is moderation, but just for a bit let’s talk about changing WHAT you eat, without changing what you’re eating. Don’t worry, it will make sense!

I’m a working girl who previously had a snack-on-the-run outlook on food. First, let’s look at a typical day in the Gamergirl stomach before changing my diet:

Breakfast:

• · Otis Spunkermyer Muffin – 20 something grams of fat.
• · Mountain Dew (Code Red) – 0g fat!

Lunch:

• · Wildly varying from Taco Bell to pizza buffet. Let’s call it 50g of fat on average.
• · Another Mountain Dew or other soda.

Dinner:

• · You really want to know? Let’s call this one another 50g of fat.
• · You guessed it, more soda. Note the total lack of water consumption.

Dessert:

• · Spread throughout the day, cookies, chocolate, pastries, whenever the sweet tooth strikes. Let’s not count this since it’s more sporadic than anything (but call it 10g for the math factor.)

Synopsis: Total average fat grams consumed in one day (waking time of roughly 18 hours) – 130g!! For those of you who paid attention to your pyramids, FDA messages and nutrition classes in school, that’s more than twice the “recommended daily allowance.”

Taking my own numbers for an example, let’s look at my new daily diet style, and you’ll see pretty clearly the ways you and I both can easily cut fat out of a day without sacrificing meals or flavor.

Breakfast:

• Local bakery’s low fat blueberry muffin – 2g fat (and about 1/3 the calories)
• Water- I carry a water bottle with me at all times now, it holds 18 ounces of water. Keep it full of cold water and that’s my trick!

Lunch:

• Anything from homemade sandwiches on whole wheat bread to Quizno’s subs. Let’s call this 20g fat, but I’ll tell you that is being very plump with the numbers, and really only applies when I eat at Quizno’s because of their sauces.
• Mmmm, water! You really should drink lots of it; your body needs it more than you think.

Dinner:

(Warning: Due to high volumes of jealousy which may occur, individuals without best friends who are chef trained should skip dinner explanation.)

• Meals are prepared by former chef’s apprentice, consisting of smaller portions and smarter ingredient choices. Perhaps 20g of fat max, when meals like home-made chicken alfredo are prepared.
• Iced Coffee from local coffee shop. Treat – totally doesn’t count.

See? Now, does that look like the diet of a person depriving themselves? NO! I would venture to say that I eat about the same amount of food now as I did before, I just eat smart, and that is really the key.

1. Make a comprehensive list of the things you normally buy, including name brand. You’re making a grocery list, so be specific enough that you know what you’re looking for, and then take that list to the grocery store.

2. Without cheating, and when you have the time to devote to your own personal wellbeing and the health of yourself and your family, compare your normal purchase to its ‘low fat’ option. Choosing low sodium options in things like soups will help your goals as well, so keep an eye out.

3. Jot down the numbers for both the regular version and the low fat version of each item on your list.

4. Go home!

5. When you get home, sit down with your list and do some math. Tally up the fat grams in the stuff you normally eat, then tally up the fat grams in the ‘low fat’ options you found in the store.

6. Subtract the low fat’s total from your normal food’s total.

7. GAWK! STARE! Now pick up your jaw!

You have just seen, with your own two eyes, how much of an impact eating low fat foods can have on your diet. Now that you know, keep this last important tip in mind: Eating low fat food is not an excuse to eat more. Control yourself!