Simple food swaps for healthy weight loss
I’m a Dietitian who works with busy mamas wanting to pursue weight loss and here are my top easy food swaps for healthy weight loss!
It’s no surprise that fad diets and quick fixes don’t lead to long term weight loss. So, if weight loss is a goal of yours and you’re a busy mama try these simple food swaps to cut calories, trim the fat and not feel overly restricted!
Easy food swaps for healthy weight loss
When thinking about what makes a healthy swap for weight loss I think about cutting calories, added sugar, unhealthy fats and increase the protein in foods. This is going to help you feel full while decreasing overall calories. Here are a few ideas:
1. Replace your liquid calories with fun, lower calorie options.
For example, replacing your soda like Mt. Dew, A&W, Pepsi or Coke with a Poppi, Ollipop or an unsweetened sparkling water.
2. Replace your morning sugar-sweetened coffee with a either black coffee or simply swap your go-to coffee minus 1-2 pumps of sweetener when ordering out.
3. Choosing higher protein, lower sugar options for your favorite foods. For example, replacing a “traditional” style yogurt (like Yoplait) with a lower sugar greek yogurt, like Siggis yogurt.
4. Swap out your evening ice cream with a high protein ninja creami ice cream sweetened with protein powder. Ger more high protein snacks for weight loss.
5. Swap out high fat sauces for lighter ones. For example replace your sour cream with plain greek yogurt on tacos or burritos.
6. Swap out traditional ranch with yogurt ranch dressing on salads or homemade greek yogurt (plain) ranch dip with raw cut veggies as a snack.
healthy alternatives to junk food
Whether you enjoy chips, cookies, ice cream or burgers, there are healthy alternatives to “junk food” that will be more nutrient dense and help with weight loss! Here are some ideas:
1. Opting for Ollipop root beer flavor instead of traditional root beer saves you 135 calories, 44 grams of added sugar and 31 grams of carbohydrates.
2. One serving of Doritos is 11 chips for 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbohydrates, <1 gram of fiber and 2 grams of protein. Compared with Siete fuego chips we get 14 chips, 7 grams of fat, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein.
3. One serving of cheetos is only 13 puffs for 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbohydrates, <1 gram of fiber and 2 grams protein. Compare this to 1 serving of hippeas: you get 20 puffs for only 130 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.
4. 1 serving of Mediterranean mint gelato has 290 calories, 14 grams of fat, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 28 grams of added sugar and 5 grams of protein. Compared with a Yasso Mint bar, which has 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbohydrates, only 9 grams of added sugar and 5 grams of protein.
Why make these swaps? You get more volume for all of the serving sizes for less calories and more protein and fiber! These are aspects of weight loss that i teach in my course Healthy Mama, healthy family weight loss which is going to help keep you full for longer, supporting weight loss.
Food swaps for diabetes
Managing your carbohydrates when you have type II diabetes, insulin resistance or PCOS is essential for successful weight loss. This is because high insulin levels makes you hold onto weight and store fat. Here are some simple carbohydrate food swaps for insulin resistance.
Why it works?
When we’re talking about making swaps for weight loss, we want to focus on increasing protein content, fiber content and reducing unhealthy fats. Why?
This helps to keep you full for longer, leading to less snacking and cravings. It also helps to support balanced blood sugar levels and reduces calories without feeling deprived or starving all the time. Balancing blood sugar levels is especially important for my ladies who have PCOS or insulin resistance. So, try making these simple swaps for healthy weight loss!
Want to learn more tips for weight loss?
Losing weight doesn’t have to be time consuming, overly restrictive or all or nothing. We can enjoy all foods in moderation, feel full and support our bodies with the nutrients they need with simple weight loss strategies just like the ones provided in this article.
I am Dietitian who helps busy mamas lose weight and keep it off in my course: Healthy mama, healthy family weight loss course. 🙂 Learn more here.
