Weight loss stalled? Beware of invisible fat and wrong cooking methods

Control your staple food, stay away from fat, and keep exercising, but your weight loss is still stagnant? The problem isn't necessarily how much you eat, but it may be that unnoticed fat. They are not greasy, inconspicuous, and are often accompanied by labels such as healthy, light, and natural, but they quietly increase daily calories.

At the same time, some seemingly safe cooking methods may turn low-fat ingredients into a caloric burden. The bottleneck in weight loss sometimes lies not in willpower but in cognitive blind spots.

During weight loss, many people will strictly calculate the intake of staple food and meat, but often ignore two types of "calorie assassins": one is the invisible fat hidden in processed, seasoned and so-called healthy foods, and the other is the oil that is actively added due to incorrect cooking methods.

1 gram of fat produces approximately 9 kilocalories, and 10 grams of invisible fat is equivalent to approximately 90 kilocalories. They don't take up much bulk and don't appear greasy, but they allow you to overrun your calories without even realizing it. Really effective weight loss is not about extreme dieting, but about seeing these traps first and then learning to cook and mix them smartly.

Don’t be fooled by “health illusions”

When it comes to fat, most people think of fried foods and fatty meats, but many foods in life that are labeled as "healthy" are actually the hardest hit areas of invisible fat. With their low-calorie, natural camouflage, they quietly increase the body's caloric burden.

The first is the seemingly refreshing "high-fat staple food".

Many people use multigrain rice and multigrain cakes instead of white rice when losing weight, but they ignore the "oil storage" operation of some staple foods. For example, in order to improve the taste of multigrain rice balls sold in the market, salad dressing and meat floss are added during production; multigrain pancakes on the street are also made with shortbread and sweet noodle sauce, and the shortbread is a calorie bomb. Even home-made staple foods can be messed up. For example, when making vegetable pancakes, too much cooking oil is added to make the crust crispy; when making steamed buns and dumplings, if the proportion of fat in the filling is too high, or a large amount of sesame oil is added to enhance the flavor, the fat content will also increase.

The second is processed food shrouded in a "health halo".

Many people choose ready-to-eat healthy foods when losing weight, but little do they know that these foods are often "gathering places" for invisible fat. For example, flavored yogurt adds a lot of butterfat to neutralize the sour taste, and some thick flavored yogurts have a higher fat content than whole milk. Commercially available nut cereals often add sugar and fat for taste. A 30-gram bag of nut cereals may have more than 10 grams of fat. In addition, sauces such as salad dressing, Thousand Island dressing, etc. are also the hardest hit areas of invisible fat. The fat content of every 100 grams of salad dressing is as high as 70 to 80 grams. Eating 10 grams of salad dressing is equivalent to consuming 7 grams of fat. It should also be noted that "0 sucrose" does not equal "0 fat", and "non-fried" does not equal "low-fat". When buying packaged food, don’t just read the front-side advertisement. It’s more reliable to turn to the back to read the ingredient list and nutritional information.

Finally, beware of fat traps in natural foods.

Some natural foods have a high fat content, and if consumed in large amounts, may lead to excess calories. For example, avocado, although rich in unsaturated fatty acids, has a fat content of about 15 grams per 100 grams and a calorie of 170 kcal; durian has a fat content of 3.3 grams/100g and a calorie of up to 150 kcal/100g. Nuts, coconut meat, etc. are also high-fat natural foods. When eating, control the amount and include it into the total calories throughout the day. For example, a small handful of nuts every day, about 10 grams is enough; a quarter to half of an avocado can be eaten at a time; a few small pieces of durian can satisfy your cravings.

Wrong cooking methods turn weight loss meals into fattening meals

If invisible fat is passive intake, then wrong cooking methods are active fat gain. When cooking, many people unknowingly add a large amount of fat due to habit or pursuit of taste, turning a weight loss meal into a weight gain meal.

Eating more vegetables is an important way to increase satiety during weight loss, but many people cook vegetables mostly by stir-frying, but ignore the amount of oil used in stir-fry. A stir-fry dish is about 250 grams, which may use 20 to 30 grams of vegetable oil. The calories of oil alone are as high as 180 to 270 kcal. Eggplants, beans, mushrooms, etc. are also easy to absorb oil. What looks like a dish may actually contain a lot of oil.

Many people think that steaming is a healthy way of cooking, but they ignore the fattening effect of dipping sauces. For example, when making steamed fish or boiled shrimp, they will be paired with dipping sauces made of light soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili oil. The fat content of every 10 grams of dip is about 3 to 5 grams. A portion of steamed fish is about 200 grams. If you pair it with 20 grams of dip, you will consume 6 to 10 grams more fat, which is equivalent to eating about 1 tablespoon more cooking oil. A better approach is to use light soy sauce with vinegar, a small amount of minced garlic, spicy millet, and lemon juice instead of seasoning oil; when you need flavor, use black pepper, herbs, etc. to enhance the flavor.

Learn to "cooperate" with food to lose weight more efficiently

To get rid of the trouble of invisible fat, the key is to "learn to see, change habits, and mix wisely." Through simple adjustments, you can not only ensure the taste of food, but also reduce fat intake, making weight loss twice the result with half the effort.

First, learn to read labels and avoid hidden fats in processed foods. When purchasing packaged foods, be sure to read the nutrition facts label, focusing on fat content and trans fatty acids. According to the "General Principles for Nutritional Labeling of Prepackaged Foods", foods with a fat content of ≤3 grams per 100 grams are considered low-fat foods, and foods with a trans fatty acid content of ≤0.3 grams can be labeled as 0 trans fatty acids. If you see that the fat content exceeds 10 grams/100 grams, or there are ingredients such as "non-dairy creamer, shortening, hydrogenated vegetable oil" in the ingredient list, try to buy as little or as little as possible.

For example, when choosing yogurt, give priority to original sugar-free yogurt, which has a fat content of usually 3-5g/100g; when choosing oatmeal, choose pure oatmeal, with only oats in the ingredient list, and avoid flavored oatmeal with added chopped nuts, dried fruits, and syrup; use "light soy sauce + vinegar + a small amount of minced garlic" instead of salad dressing to reduce fat intake.

Second, adjust your cooking habits and use "less oil techniques" instead of more oil operations.

Control the amount of oil used: Use an oil-control bottle or oil spray can to add oil quantitatively, or use a non-stick pan, which can reduce the amount of oil used by 20% to 30%. The non-stick coating of non-stick pans prevents food from sticking and does not require excessive oil lubrication.

Alternative high-oil cooking methods: Use "steaming, boiling, stewing" methods instead of braising, or use an air fryer instead of deep-frying. For example, when frying chicken wings, the air fryer does not require additional oil, and only relies on the fat of the chicken wings to achieve a crispy texture.

Reduce the amount of seasoning oil used: When making dipping sauces, use "lemon juice, black pepper, vanilla" instead of sesame oil and chili oil, which can not only enhance the flavor, but also reduce fat intake.

Losing weight isn't about extreme dieting, it's about eating smart. Avoid the invisible fat hidden in food and change your oily cooking habits. You can not only enjoy delicious food, but also easily control calories, making weight loss a sustainable thing. After all, truly effective weight loss is never about fighting against food, but about learning to "cooperate" with food.

(Li Li, the author is a registered dietitian in the Department of Nutrition, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University)