Weight Loss Diet: The Complete Guide to Choosing Quality Meats and Healthy Oils

What meat should one consume during fat loss?
At least half of one's protein intake should derive from high-quality sources. Fish, prawns, eggs, dairy, lean meats, and legumes are key providers of such protein. Therefore, whilst dairy and legumes are essential, meat should not be entirely excluded during fat loss.

Currently, most Chinese residents consume predominantly livestock meat, namely pork, beef, and lamb, with pork being particularly prevalent. In 2018, China accounted for 50% of global pork consumption, indicating that meat intake among Chinese individuals is already relatively high.

However, while meat remains essential during fat reduction, it is advisable to reduce intake of red meats like pork, beef, and lamb. Pork, in particular, has a notably high fat content averaging around 18%, followed by lamb, with beef being the leanest. Protein content in beef and lamb typically hovers around 20%, compared to approximately 13% in pork. Consequently, opting for beef or lamb over pork is preferable within the category of livestock meats.

Seafood such as fish and prawns possess lower fat content. Grass carp contains 5.2g fat per 100g, while prawns contain merely 1.4g per 100g. Deep-sea fish are particularly rich in unsaturated fatty acids, aiding in the prevention of dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular diseases, making them the preferred choice.

Fresh cuts are always preferable for all these meats. Processed meats should be minimised, particularly smoked cured meats and sausages, which are high in fat and salt and contain carcinogens. Processed meats are now classified as Group 1 carcinogens, posing significant health risks.
In summary, during fat-reduction periods, prioritise lean fresh meats. Good choices include fish, prawns, chicken breast, pork tenderloin, and skinless chicken thighs.

How should meat be consumed during fat loss?
Lastly, pay close attention to cooking methods. It would be a shame to select the right meats and control portions only to undo all your efforts with poor preparation.

Therefore, opt for skinless poultry and lean cuts of meat with minimal fat content, prepared using light, low-oil methods. Pork belly and fatty beef cuts are best avoided. For vegans, it's crucial to consume ample legumes and various soy products to meet the minimum requirement of 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.

Oil:
Consume less oil, but choose wisely
During fat loss, some individuals resort to eating only boiled foods and rejecting oil entirely. This is entirely unnecessary. Since we cannot sustain such a diet indefinitely, learning how to use oil is essential.

Oil is essentially liquid fat. Let me elaborate on fats, which broadly fall into three categories: saturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, and trans fatty acids. Unsaturated fats further divide into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, each with beneficial and detrimental types.

Let's first address the ‘bad fats’. Both saturated and trans fatty acids fall into the category of unhealthy fats. Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature and are commonly found in animal fats such as lard, butter, mutton tallow, processed meats, and the white fatty parts within cuts like pork belly, fatty beef, fatty lamb, and marbled meat. These can be consumed in moderation.

Products labelled with ‘vegetable’ in their names may evoke a sense of natural wholesomeness, yet they are profoundly unhealthy. These components must be strictly limited in daily diets. Always scrutinise ingredient lists when purchasing items; reject any containing terms like ‘hydrogenated oils, vegetable fats, cocoa butter substitutes, vegetable creams, or vegetable shortening’. These ‘bad fats’ cause blood platelets to become more viscous, increasing the risk of blood clots and conditions like heart disease.

What about ‘good fats’? These are unsaturated fatty acids, whose unstable molecular structure, once ingested, not only lowers ‘bad cholesterol’ (LDL, low-density lipoprotein) levels but also increases ‘good cholesterol’ (HDL, high-density lipoprotein) levels, thereby regulating cholesterol levels.

Unsaturated fatty acids are abundant in many plant seeds and deep-sea fish. Commonly consumed sources include soybean oil, corn oil, hairtail, cod, salmon, and tuna, which contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, while olive oil, camellia oil, and nuts provide monounsaturated fatty acids.

Currently, most Chinese households consume excessive saturated fats, predominantly using oils rich in polyunsaturated fats while rarely incorporating monounsaturated fats – a point requiring attention. Oils like corn and soybean oil contain significant amounts of polyunsaturated linoleic acid, whereas olive oil, camellia oil, flaxseed oil, and grape seed oil are richer in monounsaturated fats.

Therefore, when cooking at home, we should first avoid using lard for stir-frying. Our daily cooking oils should primarily be plant-based, and we should rotate between different types periodically to ensure adequate intake of monounsaturated fatty acids.

Choosing the right fats and consuming good oils is the first step. Reducing oil consumption is the second step. You can keep a graduated oil bottle in the kitchen to control daily per-person oil intake within 25–30 grams.