The
Skinny on Fat
By
Kristi Abuhl
New
Year. Same old resolution. Only this time you
really mean it. You¹re going to cut down on the
fat in your diet. Or, as Moby Dick would say,
no more blubber.
Rather
than looking at it as a resolution
Jyl
Steinback, a personal trainer and author of four
Fat-Free Living cookbooks, thought she already
was eating low fat and healthy when she decided
six years ago to eliminate the fat in her diet.
Figuring the first step was to determine the amount
of fat in her food, she used a fat-finder wheel
to learn about calories, fat grams and percent
of fat calories. ³All of a sudden,² she says,
³ I found out that a piece of cheese with only
2 grams of fat is actually 55 percent fat. That
changed my life.²
After
earning a degree in education with a minor in
physical education, Steinback managed a health
spa in Arizona. From there she became a fitness
consultant at the Golden Door Spa before starting
the exercise department at Elizabeth Arden¹s Red
Door Spa in Beverly Hills and training clients
one-on-one on the side. She returned to Arizona
to work at Elizabeth Arden¹s Main Chance.
When
her entrepreneurial spirit took over, she founded
Jump For Life, an aerobics workout on a min-trampoline.
With an exercise video, a book and a cassette,
Jump For Life leapt to national attention.
Steinback
took a two-year breather when her daughter was
born, then resumed personal training, and in 1993
wrote her first book, Recipies for Fat Free Living
Cookbook. Steinback doesn¹t have a nutrition degree,
so she works closely with Debra Kohl, M.S., R.D.,
a dietitian and nutritionist. ³I don¹t consider
myself a chef. Just an everyday cook who enjoys
cooking fat free for my family. That¹s why my
books are successful. Regular people can relate
to them because I¹m a regular person, too.²
Before
beginning her first cookbook, Steinback wrote
to dietitians, nutritionists and fitness instructors
around the country for their favorite fat-free
recipes. She included those as well as her own
creations. For her third book, which concentrates
on desserts, Steinback, along with Kohl, composed
a chart for honey and sugar substitutions. There¹s
also a list of diabetic exchanges. All the recipes
in the first cookbook take 10 minutes or less
to prepare, and every dish in all four books contains
less than one gram of fat per serving.
DRINK
UP
Sure,
being fat free
So
how about just cutting back on the amount of fat
in your diet? According to Steinback, many people
think eating fat free isn¹t healthy. Not true.
³It is virtually impossible to eat fat free,²
Smith says. ³However, eating an extremely low-fat
diet has been established to be safe for adults.
Such a diet produces marked improvements in undesireable
blood fat profiles and has a favorable impact
on diabetes and appropriate weight reduction.²
³You
should eat as fat free as you can,² Steinback
says. ³You get plenty of fat accidentally when
you eat, so you should concentrate on taking out
fat where you can.² Almost everything has some
fat in it, she explains.
A
banana, for example has 0.9 gram of fat, and the
vegetables most of us think of as fat free, such
as carrots, celery and broccoli, actually have
a half gram of fat. A good rule to live by, according
to Steinback, is a ratio of no more than two fat
grams per 100 calories. To begin realizing your
resolution, check the labels of foods in your
house against Steinback¹s standard. To help you
check out your refrigerator and cupboards, both
the Arizona Heart Institute (602/266-2200) and
Fat Free Living, Inc. (888/328-3731) have fat-finder
wheels. Toss any offending foods.
After
eliminating temptations, how do you change your
lifelong eating pattern? Start by drinking water
The
same goes for those times when you¹re standing
in front of the refrigerator or pantry looking
for you aren¹t quite sure what. ³If you don¹t
know what you want to eat, then you aren¹t hungry.
Listen to your body,² she says. ³It will tell
you what you need.² If you find you¹re eating
for the wrong reasons
Besides
drinking plenty of water, eat small meals frequently.
By eating six times a day, Steinback says your
metabolism will stay on an even keel so you won¹t
have surges and dips in your energy level. Remember
last Thanksgiving? More than likely after dinner
you fell asleep watching the defending Super Bowl
Champion Cowboys defeat the Redskins. According
to Steinback, the average Thanksgiving meal contains
more than 100 grams of fat. Why do we get so sleepy
after eating a big meal? ³Fat takes longer to
metabolize,² Smith explains.
If
you fight to stay awake after a big business lunch,
you probably ate too many high-fat foods. ³The
metabolizing process saps your energy,² Steinback
says. ³That¹s why eating fat free will give you
more energy.²
Do
you have to throw away your old cookbooks and
cook from scratch? No. Simply replace fatty products
with healthy, low-fat alternatives. Substitute
applesauce for oil and apple butter for butter
or margarine in an amount equal to what the recipe
called for. Also try egg substitute and fat-free
sour cream or yogurt. This is a matter of personal
taste and trial and error. Have fun experimenting;
there are plenty of options. If you don¹t like
one brand of fat-free cheese, try another. You¹ll
find one if you keep looking. Steinback lists
her favorites in her first book.
For
quick and easy low-fat meals, get out your wok
and grill. Throw in fat-free chicken broth, wine,
water, teriyaki, shrimp, scallops or chicken breast
with veggies and add rice for a stir-fry meal.
Eating fat free doesn¹t sentence you to eating
bland. Barbecue sauce normally is fat free, or
you can add lemon pepper or teriyaki to meat you¹re
grilling.
If
you crave mashed potatoes, mix in fat-free gravy,
sour cream or yogurt with skim milk.
TAKING
THE FAT OUT ON THE TOWN
As
a traveler, you¹re not out of the woods just because
you¹ve removed the temptations from the kitchen
and you¹re enjoying the fat-free dishes you prepare.
If clients come to town and you need to take them
to dinner, don¹t panic. Steinback advises, ³Tell
the waiter you are on a fat-free program. He doesn¹t
need to know why. Ask him what the chef can make
for you, and tell him to be creative.² Often you¹ll
find such delectables as fresh fruit salad with
sherbet or steamed veggies on a bed of brown rice.
Don¹t be timid. If you order fish
Once
Steinback was presented with steamed vegetables
coated in butter after she had specified none.
She politely asked the waiter to take it back
and request the chef make a new dish steamed in
water. No problem.
Other
ways to make your restaurant meal fat free? ³Always
carry something with you. I always have Butter
Buds and fat-free dressing,² Steinback says. ³Then
you can order a plain baked potato and a salad
even if the restaurant doesn¹t carry fat-free
dressing.² If you don¹t have these staples or
feel awkward using them in front of a client,
ask for a small salad with lemon or a baked potato
with salsa or fat free honey Dijon.
Fresh
sourdough bread such as you get in a restaurant
is fat free. (At the store, be sure to check the
label because preservatives contain fat.) And
yes, you can order dessert
Because
it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell you
brain it¹s full, divide your meal in half. Steinback
suggests you eat only half of what you¹re served
and give yourself permission to eat the rest a
soon as you¹re hungry later. Ask for a doggy bag
and take leftovers with you. You¹ll find you won¹t
leave the table stuffed. Another way to achieve
the same goal is to ask the waiter to remove your
plate as soon as you¹ve eaten what you¹re going
to, so you won¹t pick at the rest of the food
while you wait for everyone else to finish. Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, and other famous dieters who
often eat in public, perfected the technique of
nibbling slowly at their food to take advantage
of the 20-minute rule. They feel full without
consuming too much.
When
you¹re in town you can select the restaurant and
reheat your food at home, but what happens when
you travel? Then you find yourself at the mercy
of your local host or unaware of what lurks on
an unknown menu. First, according to Steinback,
never get into a situation where you are so hungry
you have to eat whatever¹s available. If you have
an appointment for a breakfast meeting at the
office, eat a little something before you get
there. Then, if there are no fat-free choices,
you won¹t find yourself gorging on donuts and
drowning your bagel in cream cheese because you¹re
starving. Some good choices that travel well are
Powerbars or other energy bars, fruit and bagels
If
you want to pack a meal for a road trip, take
fat-free yogurt, a fat-free turkey sandwich, fat-free
chips and an apple or banana. An insulated lunch
bag with an ice pack to keep the food cool is
a good investment so your meal won¹t leak onto
your presentation.
There
are times, however, when the situation is completely
out of your control. Say you have a dinner meeting
representatives from the beef industry. Go ahead
and enjoy your steak. Just remember to eat in
moderation. Because prime rib is full of fat,
if you can order off the menu, opt instead for
sirloin with its much lower fat content. And trim
away the fatty pieces. Again, don¹t eat the entire
thing. Three-and-one-half ounces are plenty. For
seafood entrees, three-and-one-half ounces of
fish, except salmon and swordfish, contain less
than one gram of fat. Go with the cod, flounder,
sole, perch, haddock or shrimp, if they are boiled
or baked without oil or butter.
In
Europe and Asia, you maybe unfamiliar with the
fat content of certain foods. In Paris, choose
hard breads over croissants, which are more than
50 percent fat. Smoked eel, although a delicacy
in Amsterdam, is extremely high in fat. If you
want an exotic dish, go with wild game
At
your hotel, if you notice a fruit basket at the
registration desk, grab an apple or banana, even
if you aren¹t hungry. That way at night, should
your willpower droop or you have the munchies,
you can eat fruit instead of raiding cashews from
your minibar, which besides being expensive cost
7.8 grams of fat per handful. When ordering from
room service, if you don¹t see any fat-free items
to your taste, ask. Often the chef can substitute
an egg product
PARTY
SMART
Receptions
and cocktail parties provide their own challenges.
Eat something before you go, so you aren¹t famished.
Drinks present a different problem. According
to Steinback, alcohol contains seven calories
per gram but no fat. Gin, scotch and wine are
better choices than kaluhas and other flavored
drinks. She recommends a wine spritzer
As
with other areas of your new eating lifestyle,
moderation is key. If you can, offer to bring
something, so there¹s at least one thing you¹ll
know you can eat. Healthy options include a veggie
plate, fat-free bread or a fat-free ice cream
cake.
But
what if you must work through dinner on a crash-and-burn
project, and the group decides to order pizza
to celebrate a job well done? What¹s the best
choice? ³None,² says Steinback. ³If you can eat
it without cheese, it¹s good. The cheese makes
the pizza 30 percent fat per slice.² Pepperoni
ups the ante to 60 percent per slice. Avocados
and olives are even higher in fat than pepperoni.
If you can¹t get out of it, eat one slice of pizza
and have a salad topped with a fat-free dressing.
FAT
FREE FOREVER
One
gram of fat contains nine calories versus four-and-one-half
for proteins and carbohydrates, so when you cut
out fat, you automatically cut calories. ³But
that doesn¹t mean you can substitute more food
for the fat you¹ve cut,² says Steinback. ³Weight
loss often is a side benefit to giving up fat,
but extra weight isn¹t necessarily going to come
off.²
Remember,
this isn¹t a diet to reduce weight. It¹s a way
of life. As you start on the path to fat-free
eating, here are six suggestions from Steinback
to follow for total body fitness: 1) exercise
aerobically at least 20 minutes three times a
week, 2) do anaerobic exercises for 20 minutes
three times a week, 3) eat less fat and sugar
and more fruit and vegetables, 4) stretch every
day, 5) meditate for five minutes daily and 6)
commit to your program.
³It
takes 21 days to make a habit, 30 to make a lifestyle,²
Steinback says. To survive the first month, she
recommends:
As
with any major change in your diet, get your doctor¹s
approval first. For further information on fat
reduction, consult the American Heart Association¹s
new book, 6 Weeks to Get Off the Fat ($4.99, Times
Books, 1996).
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