Modern diets are often sufficient in nutrition, but there is a frequent risk of excess and imbalance, leading to rising rates of adult obesity, excessive weight gain in pregnant women, and childhood obesity, along with increasing health problems. Therefore, knowing how to eat healthily without gaining weight is essential knowledge for modern people, and here are 12 tips:
1. Make whole grains like rice the main staple: Eat dishes with rice, not rice with dishes.
2. Reduce the fat in milk: When drinking milk, choose skim milk. If you find it bland and cannot switch at once, you can start with low-fat milk, or mix half or one-third of whole milk with skim milk, and gradually increase the proportion of skim milk.
3. Don't eat visible fat: When eating meat or breaded fried foods, remove the skin and choose lean over fatty parts. When eating cake, remove the cream or whipped cream decorations from the outer and inner layers.
4. Don't add extra fat: When eating bread, don't spread butter or peanut butter, or switch to a low-fat jam. When eating noodles, don't add too much sesame oil, chili oil, or satay sauce.
5. Limit pastries and desserts: These foods are typically high in oil, sugar, and calories, so consumption must be moderated. For example: zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings), mooncakes, wedding cookies, mung bean cakes, and salted egg yolk pastries.
6. Choose more plant-based protein foods: Replace some meat with edamame, soybeans, and other soy products. These sources of plant-based protein contain unsaturated fatty acids, no cholesterol, and are higher in fiber.
7. Eat more vegetables: It's best to eat three servings of vegetables daily. They are rich in dietary fiber, which increases satiety, and provide nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
8. Eat fresh fruit: Fresh fruit is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber. If juiced, a large quantity of fruit is usually required—for example, a glass of orange juice might be made from three oranges. This increases the calorie content, and some of the dietary fiber is filtered out, so juice is not a substitute for whole fruit.
9. Eat vegetables before meat: Change your meal order to eat vegetables first, then meat. This not only increases your vegetable intake but also reduces your meat consumption.
10. Skim the fat off soup: When eating soups like pork rib or chicken soup, skim off the floating fat before serving to reduce fat intake.
11. Don't drink all the broth when eating noodle soup: Noodle stall soups often have meat floss and sesame oil added for flavor, so it's best to skim the fat off or not finish the broth to avoid consuming too much oil.
12. Reduce the use of oil packets: When eating commercially prepared foods or instant noodles, use the accompanying oil packets sparingly; you don't have to use them all.