A Nutritionist Suggests 20 Food Swaps That Can Help You Lose Weight Without Starving

All of us have gone through our Keto days, or worse, binge eating phases after we were done starving ourselves. However, for Amanda Meixner, a nutrition blogger, that’s not the way to healthy eating. She came up with a weight loss regimen that consists of swapping processed, calorie-dense foods with whole, natural foods.

Bright Side has fished out some super easy and affordable food swaps that will help you change the way you eat your food without having to go through a miserable diet regimen. Her informative and super cool diet plans will fit right into your life and you won’t even have to give up your favorite foods.

1. Dieting vs Healthy eating

Dieting doesn’t necessarily mean starving yourself to death. This will only make you constantly think about eating and eventually binging, and stuffing yourself! Instead, fuel your body with veggies, protein, fats, and the right amount of carbs that will leave you full.

2. Fast food vs Homemade food

Guilty of eating frozen meals or wraps from food trucks? Change your lunch break routine and start preparing your own meals. Homemade meals are healthier and a lot more budget friendly than your nearest fast food restaurant.

3. Flavored yogurt vs Greek yogurt + fruits

Making little changes in your meals can make huge differences. While flavored yogurt adds a good 28 g of sugar with 6 g of protein, switch to Greek yogurt topped with fresh fruits and you have consumed only 9 g of sugar with 21 g protein.

4. Store bought Jam vs Mashed berries

Jam bought straight off the grocery shelf is a not just a jar full of sugar, but a jar full of high fructose corn syrup and other preservatives. Swap this one with freshly mashed berries and there is zero change in taste with infinite savings on the sugar consumed.

5. Agave vs Maple syrup/honey

Fructose is a damaging form of sugar. Agave syrup is highly refined and contains the highest amount of fructose found in any of the commercial sweeteners. Organic, pure maple syrup is less processed and also gives you 24 antioxidants that help to strengthen your metabolism.

6. Chips vs Popcorn

You’d think that swapping your bag of chips or Doritos with a full bowl of popcorn would make no difference to your movie night, but guess what? One handful of chips contains 50 calories, 9 g fat, 16 g carbs, and is highly processed. Popcorn instead has just 93 calories and is nothing but popcorn!

7. Frappuccino vs Coffee + Coconut milk

Every grande mocha you gulp down to wake yourself up has 400 calories with 61 g of sugar, which was recently reduced to around to 49 g. However, worry not! You can still have your coffee, but this time use coconut milk with just 25 calories and 2 g of sugar to save your day.

8. Burger vs Burger with no bun

It is perfectly okay to go for a burger. Just skip the bun and have a lettuce wrap instead and you have saved 18 g of carbs.

9. Correct meal portions vs Instagram worthy portions

By all means go ahead and take the picture of your beautifully designed bowl of oats and fruits. However, make sure you are eating the right portions, even if it’s super healthy.

10. Weight loss diet vs Healthy diet

Losing weight doesn’t mean you eat less or treat yourself to peanuts. Here’s a small portion of a low calorie diet that is boring, tasteless, and will probably tempt you binge a few months later, compared to an equally appealing, healthier, sustainable meal.

11. Fresh food vs Frozen food

Studies prove that there is a negligible nutritional difference between fresh food and frozen food. Frozen veggies are cheaper and might have more nutritional value as they are plucked when ripe and frozen immediately.

12. Store bought brownies vs Homemade brownies

Staying on a weight loss regimen doesn’t mean you miss out on all the sweet stuff. Replace white flour with coconut flour and your homemade brownies are a winner with a higher fiber and lower sugar content.

13. Calorie dense food vs Volume food

You shouldn’t calculate calories by the look of your meals. Bananas might look like you’ve had nothing and yet these little ones have calories equal to 400 g of watermelon.

14. Candy bars vs Dark chocolate

Take care of your midnight food cravings by replacing your candy bars with dark chocolate. You just saved yourself from 20 g of sugar that your body would have to try to burn while you sleep.

15. Chocolate vs Real cacao

The chocolate that you sprinkle liberally on your cappuccino only contains 20% cacao and 75 g of sugar. Real cacao is actually the healthiest part of chocolate adding only .5 g of sugar to your drink.

16. Protein balls vs Eggs

You would have to eat 5 commercial protein balls to match up to just one egg, nature’s very own protein ball. And guess what, the egg only has 78 calories!

17. Cookies vs Homemade cookie dough

Choose your treats wisely. Packed cookie dough or cookies have multiple ingredients and processed sugar. On the other hand, homemade cookie dough only has 50 calories and requires just 5 ingredients.

18. Random snack vs Actual meal

Filling up your tummy with a handful of nuts would add a lot more calories than an actual well-prepared meal. Choose your meal by its holistic values, not just by its calories.

19. Cereal vs Filling breakfast

Take your breakfast seriously, even if you’re late! Swap your usual fruit loops or cereal routine with a low calorie, high-fiber, cooked meal. Adding some fruit, a low-sugar protein shake, or Greek yogurt will keep you filled up and ready for the day.

20. Bulletproof coffee vs Proper breakfast

Bulletproof coffee adds 2 tbsp of grass-fed butter and 1 tbsp coconut oil right into your morning routine. Instead, make yourself a good breakfast with some spinach, hard-boiled eggs, and avocado and you have a wholesome meal without hurting your diet.

Are you excited about trying these food swaps right away? Do you have your own ways of replacing your favorite unhealthy snacks? Share with us in the comments below!