THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

Combating fat is not a fun battle, but it can be won. Fatty foods are similar to sugary foods in that they both seem to have this addictive affect - the more of those types of foods you have, the more you want to have. But in this case of addiction, going cold turkey (and no pun intended ) is not the best way to fight being a fataholic. To get your taste buds and body ready for the transition to a lower calorie, lower fat, but not less flavorful permanent change in diet, you will have to slowly adjust your fat intake. Imagine that you drink your coffee with cream and sugar then suddenly try to drinking it black. Yuck! Or another like comparison would be deciding to run a five mile road race with no training.

So how do we get off the fat bus and on the low fat wagon? Just like a well designed exercise program, you need to start out slowly making gradual adjustments, slowly weaning yourself off fatty foods. And to get started, trimming off that fat, here are some suggestions.
You should:

• Buy just the turkey breast to roast. White meat turkey has less than half the fat of dark meat turkey.
• Remove the skin or buy skinless poultry. Most of the fat in poultry is in the skin.
• Cook stuffing outside the "bird," instead of inside, so it doesn't absorb the fat.
• Use water, wine, or clear chicken broth to sauté vegetables instead of butter or oil.
• Substitute non-fat yogurt for sour cream, mayonnaise, or whipped cream in recipes.
• Start using low fat condiments (margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, etc.), then eventually switch to fat-free condiments (you can't tell the difference on most products, especially salad dressings).
• Substitute in your baking recipes - apple sauce, prune puree, liquid butter buds, or corn syrup for oil, butter, or margarine.
• Use two egg whites for one egg, or egg beaters instead of whole eggs.
• Have gourmet frozen low fat or fat free yogurt, instead of having a dish of gourmet ice cream.
• Limit the portion of a fatty food if you must have it. Like the ice cream for example - have one scoop instead of two.
• Discover that vatiety is the spice of life, meaning a variety of spices will add life and flavor, but not fat, to your dishes. Plus, eating spicy foods has been proven to boost your metabolism.
• Use the 3 to 1 rule. If you're having one fatty dish, balance it off with two other dishes that are low fat or fat free.
• Trade in those chips for pretzels, baked tortilla chips, fat free crackers or whole grain breads.
• Make your dips out of fat free or low fat sour cream/cream cheese - with all the spices added in, no one will notice the difference!
• Serve plenty of fresh fruit, instead of candies. Fresh whole strawberries, served with a dip made from mixing brown sugar, cinnamon, fat-free cream cheese, and fat free sour cream, will be a sure hit at any party.
• Read food labels looking for the fat content. If a food has more than 2.5 grams of fat per 100 calories, that means more than 25 percent of the calories are coming from fat.
• Get familiar with the "Who's Who in the Fat Hall of Fame." This would include fatty cuts of beef and pork, hot dogs, most lunch meats, cheeses, fried foods, nuts, pastries, cream soups and gravies (just to mention a few). Most of these items listed have low fat or non fat versions.

You may fall off the low fat wagon occasionally. Don't be in denial, but don't get off the low fat wagon and get back on that the fat bus. It's not the healthy way to travel.