Is Food Swapping Really Worth All the Hype?
Everyone diets differently. For some people, losing weight is best done cold turkey- throwing out every scrap of junk food and strictly abiding by the terms of whatever diet has been chosen. For others, they need to give themselves a little more wiggle room by allowing a cheat day every week or letting themselves still have a small dessert after being good all day.
Whatever the diet, the truth is that even if it helps you initially drop the weight, it’s not possible to maintain that type of discipline for an extended length of time. Most likely, soon after stopping the diet, the weight will creep back on.
If you want to keep the weight off long term it is better to make small changes that you can maintain, rather than try to stick to a strict diet plan. One effective way is by swapping out supposedly unhealthy foods for more nutritious, lower calorie food options. Food swapping won’t necessarily cause the pounds to instantly drop off, but it will create a long term habit of eating that will slowly allow you to lose weight and keep it off.
Nutritionists recommend making around five 100-calorie food swaps a day. By doing this, most people can anticipate losing between one half and one full pound of weight every week. That may not sound like much, especially if you are someone who is trying to lose a large amount of weight, but losing a pound a week for a year can add up to roughly 50 pounds a year by just food swapping alone.
Now that you are all jazzed to try this new way of eating food, it would be good to know which food swaps are the most beneficial. Below are some the best ways to cut back on your calories. That way you know that you are nixing the bad stuff and adding back in the good ones. You would be surprised how easy swapping can be.
Swap out pre-sweetened coffee for black coffee
Sweetening your own coffee instead of buying those sugary coffee drinks can save you five pounds a year. It can also reduce spikes of blood sugar, improve your energy and stop mood swings.
Swap out granola for blueberries on your yogurt
Granola may sound like diet food, but unless you are making it yourself, the store bought kind is usually packed with sugar, preservatives and fat. Using berries instead of the crunchy calorie bomb can save you over 250 calories a day.
Swap out a bagel for an english muffin
The density of a bagel is the same as eating five pieces of bread, which is never good for any diet. English muffins will keep your carbs in check and save you 160 calories a day.
Swap out ranch dressing for balsamic vinegar
Salad dressings are always a killer of a potentially healthy meal. Ranch is especially bad for a diet since it is off the charts in calories and bad fat. Using balsamic vinegar with a drizzle of olive oil will save you almost 100 calories, but even more importantly, it will stabilize your blood sugar.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of nathanmac87