Statistics say that every ninth person on our planet is overweight. Excess kilograms not only spoil the appearance, but also negatively affect a person’s health. To solve the problem, you have to actively engage in sports, get rid of bad habits and adhere to a certain diet. The basis of a healthy diet is eating balanced and healthy foods.
Doctors consider fish to be one of the most useful foods for a diet, which has a low calorie content, but at the same time contains a huge amount of useful substances: protein, amino acids, zinc, phosphorus, iodine, selenium, calcium. All low-fat varieties of fish are ideal for nutrition during a diet, since during this period the body is in dire need of beneficial microelements and vitamins.
Fish for weight loss
The product is a source of high-quality protein, which belongs to the group of easily digestible components. For example: meat delicacies are completely digested by the body in 4 hours, while fish ones take 2. When creating a diet menu, you can safely include fish in your evening meal.
The beneficial properties of the product are due to its unique composition, which includes:
- Omega-3 fatty amino acids;
- vitamins of group A, D, B;
- phosphorus, zinc and iodine.
The calorie content of a dish directly depends on the method of its preparation. Nutritionists recommend eating boiled or oven-baked fish. There are a lot of dietary recipes for fish dishes, thanks to which you can easily prepare a tasty and healthy lunch or dinner at home. Consume the delicacy 3 times a week to fully satisfy the body’s natural need for nutrients and keep yourself in shape.
By eating seafood, you protect yourself from heart disease, improve immunity and ensure stable brain function.
Methods for preparing fish dishes
Before you start preparing dietary fish dishes, you should familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of consuming certain varieties, since there are some restrictions for those who suffer from diabetes or gastritis. Fish can be fried, boiled, steamed or wrapped in foil in the oven. However, all recipes use a minimum of vegetable oil.
How to cook fish for pancreatitis
A few days after an attack of pancreatitis, doctors allow you to include fish fillet dishes in your diet. The ideal option would be casseroles, soufflés and cutlets. Fish can also be steamed, boiled, stewed or baked in one large piece.
How to properly cook fish for a diet
Boiled fish. An excellent dish for a diet is fish soup without potatoes; the least high-calorie and very aromatic broth will be made from pike meat. Boiled cod fillets will not be overcooked, unlike other types of fish. To keep the pieces intact, you can add a little vinegar to the boiling water.
Steamed fish. Pour lemon juice over the fish slices, add dill or parsley to taste, season with spices for fish dishes, and place in a double boiler. Cooking time is half an hour.
Lightly dry any fish fillet in a napkin or towel, then place it on the grill along with pieces of vegetables. Cooking time is from 20 to 30 minutes. There is no need to salt the food, otherwise the fish will turn out dry. The finished dish can be seasoned with soy sauce to taste.
To steam fish, you can use not only a steamer, but also a regular colander, which is placed on a pan of boiling water.
Baked fish. Fish cooked in the oven has a more pleasant taste than boiled fish. For baking in the oven, use regular foil or a special sleeve that can be opened a few minutes before the end of the cooking time. In this case, the fish pieces will have a tasty crust. For sour cream lovers, we recommend baking fish in yogurt - it’s just as tasty, but lower in calories.
Is it possible to fry fish for a diet? It is forbidden! But if you really want to, you can deviate from the rules and treat yourself to grilled fish or regular fish with a small amount of vegetable oil.
Fish varieties - list
The calorie content of a particular variety directly depends on its fat content level. Popular dietary recipes are based on the preparation of low-fat fish, which is easy to find among river representatives.
Based on fat content, fish products are divided into the following categories:
- Fat. The mass fraction of fat in the product is 8% or more. There are 230 kcal per 100 g, which significantly exceeds the calorie content of pork. These species include halibut, eel, and mackerel.
- Medium fat content. The amount of fat ranges from 4-8%, and the calorie content is 120 kcal. Representatives include pink salmon, perch, and trout.
- Low fat. Indispensable varieties of fish for the diet. The fat content does not exceed 4%, which allows the product to be classified as the so-called “lean” varieties. The calorie content of the finished dish is only 80 kcal. These include blue whiting, roach, carp, rudd, etc.
Table of calorie and fat content of fish
When compiling your daily menu, do not forget to include fish steak or steam cutlet.
You can find out which lean fish is best suited for your diet from the table below.
| Name | Calorie content, kcal. (per 100 g) | Fat content, % (per 100 g) |
| Cod | 69 | 0.6 |
| Blue whiting | 72.3 | 0.9 |
| Pollock | 73.7 | 0.9 |
| Ice fish | 75 | 1.4 |
| Zander | 84 | 1.1 |
| Flounder | 90.5 | 3.0 |
| Halibut | 103 | 3.0 |
| Perch | 117.9 | 3.8 |
| Tuna | 136 | 3.9 |
| Saira | 143.2 | 0.8 |
Representatives of the elite variety of red fish can hardly be classified as low-fat varieties. Nutritionists single out trout and pink salmon as the most dietary of their kind. The fat content in them ranges up to 7%, and the calorie content exceeds 150 kcal.
The low-fat varieties presented are easily digestible. In addition, they contain large amounts of iodine, vitamin B, and phosphorus. The caloric content table for dietary varieties is designed as an auxiliary guide to the correct preparation of a dietary menu.
When choosing a product for your diet, try to give preference to varieties with white meat. They are considered the most dietary and low-calorie. These include perch, cod and haddock.
Best Recipes
There are thousands of ways to cook fish. But the simplest and most effective way to lose weight is to simply boil it and eat it with fresh or stewed vegetables. In this form, it is best absorbed, and the dishes themselves are very low in calories and satisfy hunger for a long time. By the way, when cooking, carcinogens are not formed, as when frying in a frying pan.
You will have to exclude from your diet all fish dishes seasoned with mayonnaise, with the addition of sour cream, and a combination of fish and potatoes. But the most harmful and high-calorie dish is fish fried in batter and breading. Its calorie content increases significantly and you definitely won’t be able to lose weight on such a diet.
Here are some recipes for simple, tasty and low-calorie fish dishes that are easy to prepare at home:
- Baked cod with vegetables. A recipe that can be applied in principle to any lean and medium-fat fish. To prepare you will need: a fish carcass, cut into pieces, a small onion, 1 tomato and 1 sweet pepper, a slice of lemon, herbs. Place chopped onions and peppers on parchment paper, pieces of cod on them, lightly add salt, and top with tomatoes and chopped herbs. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cover with parchment on top. Bake at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Delicious hot or cold.
- Stewed with carrots. Almost any type of sea fish will do. There are too many bones in the river one - it will also be tasty, but it will be inconvenient to eat. Pour half a glass of water into a small saucepan and throw in the fish carcass cut into pieces and onion rings, a little salt and black pepper. Cover with a lid and leave on low heat. Grate a large carrot on a coarse grater and after 5-10 minutes cover the fish with it. Top with chopped greens. Cover again and simmer until done. If desired, you can add a little ketchup to the sauce.
- Boiled pike perch. When preparing it, you get a delicious broth that can be used as a first course. Rinse the pike perch pieces, add salt and leave for 5 minutes. Peel a small carrot and celery root, cut into strips and place on the bottom of the saucepan. Place the fish on top and pour a glass of cold water. At the end of cooking, add chopped parsley and/or dill. You can divide it into several meals and have a completely fish day.
Seafood dishes are no less healthy: scallops, shrimp, mussels, octopus, rapana. Of course, it’s difficult to call them dietary, and their price is quite high. But in order to diversify the menu, it is quite advisable to periodically include them in the diet.
When purchasing frozen seafood, you need to be sure that it has not been repeatedly frozen, otherwise you can easily get poisoned.
Is it possible to replace fish
Seafood is a storehouse of unique vitamins and minerals that are difficult to find an alternative to. Fish is often called a meat substitute, especially for dietary purposes. There are times when you become allergic to delicacies, then you have to think about an alternative.
On a diet, you can replace fish with products of plant origin. These include soybeans, tofu cheese and some types of legumes. For example, in terms of amino acid content, one serving of lentils is in no way inferior to the same amount of fish delicacy. On the negative side, amino acids of plant origin are absorbed much worse.
You can replace fish in your diet with mushrooms and nuts. If you choose cashew nuts, then in addition to proteins and amino acids, the body will be enriched with phosphorus. When choosing nuts or mushrooms for your diet, remember that the daily portion should not exceed 50 g.
An excellent alternative to dietary fish delicacies is flaxseed. In addition to fatty acids, they contain zinc, iron and calcium. Flax seeds can be ground into flour, consumed with kefir for breakfast or as an independent dish instead of porridge. You can replace fish with seaweed, which makes nutritious dietary salads.
Experts in proper and healthy nutrition advise paying attention to dairy products, since they can largely replace animal protein. Milk, kefir and natural yogurt contain calcium, proteins and vitamins that are necessary for the normal functioning of the body.
Other sources
An alternative to the most valuable source of amino acids is buckwheat. Healthy porridge forms the basis of even the most strict diets. The diet of an athlete and a patient with diseases of the intestines, liver and stomach cannot do without it.
It is not for nothing that this composition of this porridge is considered extremely nutritious. Coming to Russia from Ancient Greece (where the name buckwheat came from), all Slavs rightfully appreciated its benefits. Buckwheat porridge is an original Russian dish that people ate to replenish their strength.
In general, nutritionists do not recommend completely giving up healthy seafood. It is quite difficult to compensate for the lack of fatty acids and microelements in the body using plant components. Eat fish delicacies at least a couple of times a week to maintain your health and figure.
Sample diet for one day
| Eating | What is? |
| Early morning (6:00) | 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds, left overnight in a glass of water |
| Breakfast (7:15) | Oatmeal + glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice Or 2 egg omelette + glass of milk + 4 almonds |
| Mid morning (10:15) | Cup of green tea |
| Lunch (12:30) | Tuna salad with light dressing + 1 yogurt Or Boiled herring with vegetables + 1 yogurt |
| Afternoon (15:30) | A glass of freshly squeezed juice Or carrots and hummus |
| Dinner (18:30) | Grilled salmon/cod/hilsa with vegetables Or Steamed fish + small portion of brown rice |
| Pausin (22:00) | A glass of warm milk with a pinch of turmeric |
This sample gives you a good idea of what to eat, when to eat and how much to eat. Follow this example and you will lose weight effectively and correctly. But also don't forget about physical activity. Their work is much more effective in symbiosis.
Fish for medicinal purposes
Therapists declare the benefits of the product for the body and prescribe it as the basis of therapeutic nutrition. With the 5 table diet, the product is used to treat:
- liver cirrhosis;
- cholecystitis;
- hepatitis A;
- gallstone disease.
Table No. 5 has a varied menu, but its origins lie in the obligatory consumption of seafood. It is best to boil a piece in a double boiler or bake in the oven, but only after preliminary heat treatment. You can find recipes for fish dishes in books on healthy eating or ask your doctor.
During the diet, you are allowed to cook jellied fish, soufflés or broths. You can stick to the 5 table diet for 1.5-2 years.
For medicinal purposes, it is recommended to use low-fat varieties of fish, the list of which is given above. If you are a fan of herring, then before eating it you need to soak it in a mixture of milk and water. Ready-made delicacies are served as cold appetizers.
Tender pike perch soufflé
Fish soufflé is an excellent option for those who, while on a diet, want to diversify the menu with an exquisite and delicate dish. For this recipe you will need a couple of cloves of roasted garlic; it is better to prepare it in advance.
Required ingredients:
- Fresh pike perch – 350 gr.
- White of two eggs.
- Low-fat cream – 100 ml.
- Baked garlic.
- Ground pepper.
- Salt.
Cooking method:
Cut and rinse the pike perch carcass, separate the bones and skin. Cut the resulting fillet into small pieces and place in a blender.
Do you want to lose weight? Then these articles are for you
At what heart rate does fat burn?
Recipe for fish in sour cream in the oven
Massage by Rene Koch
Salted and smoked fish
It's no secret that proper nutrition is based on eating fresh food. Nutritionists do not prohibit adding salted fish to the diet. The only exceptions to salted varieties are ram and fatty herring, which are cooked with a lot of salt.
There is even a popular food system - the salty diet. It is based on the consumption of salty foods and fasting days using them. Adding salted fish is not prohibited, but you must adhere to the recommended portion (100 g). You are allowed to eat the delicacy only in the first half of the day to avoid swelling of the face in the morning.
Eating smoked fish has its disadvantages:
- All smoked foods contain substances that cause cancer.
- Due to the increased amount of salt, the liver and stomach suffer.
- The calorie content of a smoked product is much higher than that of a salted product. This is due to a special cooking technology.
Based on research, nutritionists claim that the fat content of smoked fish is several times higher than that of a fresh product.
Smoked meat lovers don't need to worry. As you know, the product can be hot or cold smoked. So, smoked fish that has been heat-treated is definitely not worth purchasing and consuming. Cold smoked fish has less calories, so it may appear on your table occasionally.
Main conclusions
During a weight loss diet, fish will be very useful, even if we are talking about fatty varieties. The bottom line is that the fats contained in fish are healthy in their structure, unlike fats from other animal sources.
You don’t have to limit yourself at all in the amount of fresh fish, while it’s better to exclude salted, smoked and most canned fish from your diet altogether. Spices contained in such dishes will only negatively affect metabolic processes, and this will slow down weight loss. In addition, eating such fish for a number of reasons can negatively affect your health.
You may also be interested in: Burning calories during exercise (tables and calculations)
What to remember
- This product is very useful for weight loss.
- If you choose between fish and meat, then preference should be given to fish - it is much better absorbed and digested faster, it has less fat, bad cholesterol and calories. But there are a lot of useful substances.
- In order to avoid poisoning from heavy metals and mercury, be careful what types of fish you eat - some are more dangerous, others are practically harmless.
- Any variety is equally needed. It’s just that in the case of fatty people, you don’t need to abuse them.
Well, that’s all I have for today, friends. I look forward to your feedback in the comments. Until next time.
