The amount of calories in meat and fish can vary widely depending on the type, the cut, even how you cook it.
The good thing for those watching their weight is that if you make the smart choices, most of the calories come from protein, which is the most sustaining of the macronutrients - better than either carbs or fat.
The trick to keeping the calories in meat and fish as low as possible is to choose the leanest portions, remove all visible fat, and choose cooking methods such as roasting, grilling, boiling or stewing that don't add any extra fat. Grilling machines are also good.
Finally, don't forget that the sauces that you add will make a huge difference to the fat and total calories, so avoid heavy or fatty dressings and sauces.
Looking at the different choices, white fish is better than 'oily' fish (e.g. mackerel, salmon, tuna) if you are primarily concerned with weight loss, but remember that the oil in these fish is the good type (omega 3) that your body needs.
To help you compare better, here are some selected choices:
- 8 oz Beef Fillet Steak, Fried - 316 calories (kcal)
- 8 oz Beef, Extra Lean, Stewed - 216 kcal
- 8 oz battered cod, fried in oil - 445 kcal
- 8 oz roasted leg of lamb - 380 kcal
- 8 oz lean grilled pork chop - 330 kcal
- 8 oz grilled salmon - 360 kcal
- 8 oz grilled pork sausages - 500 kcal
Just remember that you shoudl always grill to minimise the amount of fat on the meat or fish that you choose. Some obviously more have natural fats than others.
