EATING IN::
Eating out has become very popular and common. It could be
for the continence, it could be to save time, it could be the best way for us
to socialize with family and friends, or it could be because we don’t enjoy
cooking. This is a pity, because it means that we are handing control over what
we eat to commercial operators whose focus is on controlling costs, not
kilojoules. Bulking up mass-produced meals with cheap ingredients such as fat
and sugar is one way to do that, which is why a typical takeaway meal will set
you back 4200-6720 kilojoules versus 2520-2940 kilojoules for a healthy
home-cooked meal. Ingredients aside, the size of takeaway and restaurant meals
are usually generous to a fault, which can play havoc with your efforts to
control portion sizes.
Make a resolution to cook and eat at home as often as you
can, Start with the most important meal of the day – breakfast. People, who eat
at home, especially breakfast, are the most successful at losing weight and
keeping it off, because they are less likely to binge later in the day. Home
cooking also helps you regain control over your food intake, allowing you to save
hundreds of kilojoules and loads of fat per meal. Cooking for yourself allows
you to prepare food the way you want it – roasted on a rack, for example,
rather than deep-fried. Shopping for ingredients and cooking your own meals
means you can select the best-quality ingredients, and you are more likely to
control your portions sizes and save leftovers for later. In a restaurant you
might feel too shy to ask for a doggie bag, and so you might eat the lot on the
spot.
Low Fat””:
Labelling foods as ‘low fat’. ‘Reduced fat’ or ‘light’ is
another stimulant for buying. If we perceive that food is less ‘fat-tening’, we
respond by eating more. First, these terms can be quite misleading (for
example, low fat could just mean lower in fat than the regular version of the
item in question, not necessarily low in fat in overall terms), Second, eating
more of low-fat item its equal to fat version, results in a greater intake of
fat and kilojoues..
Solution for Low Fat Label:- Always read the information
panel on the packaging for the exact amounts of fat and energy in processed
foods. Do some comparison shopping – are those ‘lite’ items genuine in their
implied promise? Whenever possible, choose fresh foods that you cook yourself
rather than processed or packaged foods. This allos you to control the amount
of fat that you are consuming at every meal.
