A fat loss day is not a special day. It looks like an ordinary one with a few quiet changes, and the NHS explains why that works. If you eat or drink more than your body needs, the energy you do not use is stored as fat. If you eat and drink too little, you lose weight. The NHS adds that most adults need to lose weight by eating fewer calories, and that anyone trying should aim to eat less and be more active.
Here is one such day, walked through from breakfast to bedtime, with a small box of dates in the kitchen. It is general information, not medical advice. The NHS says anyone with a medical condition, a special diet for their health, or an eating disorder now or in the past should talk to a GP or a healthcare professional before changing their lifestyle.
The number behind the day
The NHS guide to healthy eating puts it at around 2,000 calories a day for women and around 2,500 for men. A fat loss day sits somewhat under the figure that keeps your own weight steady. The NHS Weight Loss Plan app helps you set a daily calorie target as part of a free 12-week plan, if you would rather not work the number out yourself.
Breakfast, and where the dates go
Some people skip breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight. The NHS lists “do not skip breakfast” among its eight tips, and gives a simple example: a wholegrain lower sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and fruit sliced over the top.
That bowl is the right place for dates. On the NHS 5 A Day page, a 30g portion of dried fruit such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs counts as 1 of your 5 A Day, but it should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth. So the dates go into breakfast, not into a bag by the laptop.
It helps to know what 30g carries. USDA FoodData Central lists Deglet Noor dates (FDC 171726, SR Legacy, last updated 2019) at 282 kcal and 63.4g of total sugars per 100g. A 30g portion therefore comes to about 85 kcal and 19g of sugars. Weigh it once on a kitchen scale, see what it looks like, and the portion stops being a guess. Deglet Noor is the golden, semi-dry date from Tunisia and Algeria, sold in Malaysia as kurma tangkai when it comes on the stem.
Lunch built on starchy food
The NHS says starchy carbohydrates should make up just over a third of the food you eat. Higher fibre or wholegrain kinds, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta or potatoes with their skins on, can help you feel full for longer. A plate of brown rice with vegetables and fish fits that well.
Watch what goes on top. The NHS points to oil on chips, butter on bread and creamy sauces on pasta as the things that raise the calorie count of starchy food.
The afternoon gap
For the hours between meals, the NHS gives one plain change: swap your mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit. The same idea works at four o’clock. A banana or an apple fills the gap, and the dates stay saved for the next meal.
What you drink across the day
The government recommends 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day, according to the NHS. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, lower fat milk and lower sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are the healthier choices. Fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies together should be no more than 150ml a day, which is a small glass. A date smoothie counts towards that limit too.
If the evening includes a drink, the NHS notes that alcohol can be high in calories and that it is easy to lose track of how much you drink.
Moving, then sleeping
The NHS puts it this way: changing what you eat can help you lose weight, but moving more can help you keep the weight off. Getting more active brings other benefits too, even if you only start with 10 minutes of activity at a time. Over a week, adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. Strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week and breaking up long periods of sitting are also part of the guidance.
The day ends in bed, and that counts too. The NHS says poor sleep can make you more likely to choose high-calorie foods, and too tired to exercise or cook healthy meals.
Stocking the kitchen
Every date sold in Malaysia is imported. Date Fruits handles everything from retail buying to wholesale supply and delivers across the country, as our about us page explains, and the contact page has a form for questions. Before buying any packed snack, our guide to reading food labels in a city kitchen shows how to check sugar, fat and salt per 100g.
For more dates to choose from, you can also visit Kedai Kurma Green diamond, a Pembekal Kurma malaysia.