What is a low fat diet?

It's true that a diet high in fat can lead to gain. But it takes more than just eating low-fat foods to lose weight. You must also watch how many calories you eat.

Remember, your body stores extra calories as fat, even if they come from fat-free, -free, and low-fat foods. If you replace high-fat foods with high-calorie foods, like sweets, you’ll likely gain weight rather than lose weight.

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To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat. You can do that by more and by eating less fat and fewer calories.

How Much Fat Should I Eat?

Experts recommend that most adults get 20%-35% of their from fat. That's about 44 to 77 grams of fat a day if you eat 2, 000 calories a day.

Read labels on food packages. labels show the number of grams of fat per serving and calories per serving. Eat a variety of lower-fat foods to get all the you need.

Eat plenty of plant foods (such as whole-grain products, fruits, and vegetables) and a moderate amount of lean and low-fat, animal-based food (meat and dairy products) to help control your fat, , carbs, and calories.

When you're shopping, choose lean meats, fish, and poultry. Limit these to 5-7 ounces per day.

Other good low-fat sources of protein include dried beans and peas, tofu, low-fat yogurt, low-fat or skim milk, low-fat cheese, and tuna packed in water.

Choose foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, , and walnuts for . The American Association recommends eating fatty fish such as salmon twice weekly for the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

5 Tips for Low-Fat Cooking

1. Trim all visible fat and remove the from poultry.
2. Refrigerate soups, gravies, and stews, and remove the hardened fat on top before eating.
3. Bake, broil, or grill meats on a rack that allows fat to drip from the meat. Don’t fry foods.
4. Sprinkle lemon juice, herbs, and spices on cooked vegetables instead of using cheese, butter, or cream-based sauces.