In order to lose weight you need to take in fewer calories than your body burns. A calorie is a measure of energy. Gram for gram, fat provides twice as many calories as carbohydrate or protein. Reducing how much fat you eat will help you to reduce your calories. Here are a few ways of doing this:
| Replace this... |
with this... |
and save this... (calories) |
| Full cream milk |
Semi-skimmed milk |
50 per half pint |
| Double cream |
Half fat fromage frais |
40 per tbsp |
| Digestive biscuits |
Gingernut biscuit |
40 per biscuit |
| Crisps |
Fruit |
100 per bag |
| Chicken breast with skin |
Chicken breast without skin |
45 per portion |
| Full fat cheddar cheese |
Reduced fat cheddar cheese |
60 per 40g/1.5oz |
| Margarine/butter |
Low fat spread |
50 per 10g/0.35oz pat |
This may not seem like a lot of calories but they soon add up. For example by substituting a piece of fruit for a packet of crisps on five days of the week you can save 500 calories.
Practical tips for cutting down 
- Mince or meat – dry fry and drain off any excess fat before adding the remaining ingredients (eg for casseroles or stir fry).
- Pulses, such as beans and lentils – use as an alternative to meat in some recipes, eg curry.
- Butter or margarine. Unsaturated fats, eg olive, rapeseed or sunflower spread contain fewer calories than butter.
- Sauces – use cornflower or wheat flour to make a paste instead of blending flour and fat for a roux.
- Cheese – use a reduced fat variety. Grated cheese also goes further.
- Grill, bake, poach, steam or dry roast rather than frying or adding fat to foods.
Information updated December 2008