Welcome to your Less Fat Challenge! Your mission is to swap a food that’s high in saturated fat (like whole milk, red meat, etc.) with a lower saturated fat option (like nonfat milk, lean chicken, etc.). Try this once a day for 5 days.
What Is Saturated Fat?
Saturated fats, like the ones found in whole milk and red meat, should be enjoyed in small amounts. It’s not that they’re an enemy to your body, but they can raise your bad LDL cholesterol. When someone often eats too much saturated fat, it can lead to health problems, including a higher risk of heart disease.
Saturated fats should make up about 5-6% of your total daily calorie intake, so you don’t have to cut them out completely.
Low-Fat Options
Cutting down on saturated fat is easier than you might think! You can still satisfy your cravings with the food your body needs. You could swap those skin-on chicken thighs with skinless chicken breast. Or save on saturated fat by ordering a side salad instead of french fries.
Be a Detective
You can use nutrition labels to help see how much saturated fat is in your usual foods. For foods that come with a food label, try to choose those with 1-4 grams or less of saturated fat per serving. Just remember that grams of saturated fat are listed per serving, not per package.