Here's my quick list of simple food swaps that you can easily take advantage of, starting now.
What's crossed over is your TREATS - they should not be your everyday diet staples.
(There's nothing wrong with having them, but remember moderation. If you go for the crossed over options habitually, you've got some work to do.)
SO:
ONLY AS A TREAT - HAVE THIS INSTEAD
Cereal - nutty muesli (less sugar than fruit muesli), porridge with fruit, low sugar cereal (e.g. Weetabix), or go for a cooked breakfast of eggs, beans and brown toast.
Chocolate - have a glass of water, then eat a piece of fruit. You get natural sugars from fruit, which is far better than refined sugar from sweets and chocolate. If you still find yourself craving sweet, distract yourself by going out for a walk or doing housework.
Creamy sauces - tomato or vegetable based sauces
Fatty red meat like bacon and sausages, chicken thighs and wings - chicken breast, turkey breast, lean red meat. At least trim the fat off your bacon. Fatty fish like salmon and mackerel you should still have!
Flavoured yoghurt - plain yoghurt (natural probiotic yoghurt/Greek yoghurt) with fresh berries/fruit if you want sweetness in it
Main meal at a restaurant - go for a starter or a soup, or ask for a doggy bag if you're going for a main meal. Portion sizes in most restaurants are mahoosive, rarely under 1,000 kcal, so save half of it until later.
Dried fruit - fresh fruit. With dried fruit, you'll quickly have way too much sugar. It's still better than sweets, but the fresh stuff is the real thing.
Juice - water. If you really want a bit of sweetness in your water, infuse it with berries or lime/lemon
100% fruit juice - fresh fruit. Not only does it satisfy you more, you'll end up consuming fewer calories and getting much more fibre from the real thing.
Fizzy pop - sparkling water (infused with fruit, berries, cucumber, fresh mint leaves etc. if you like)
Latte/hot chocolate etc coffee shop high calorie drinks - swap for an espresso or an americano, and add a bit of milk yourself.
You can also consider whether you need to use oil in cooking. If you have a good teflon pan, chances are you don't. Or grill your meats, no added fats needed!
Note! Do not go for advertised diet products. Low fat items are often higher in sugar, low calorie meals won't keep you satisfied and will make you more likely to crave naughties, and just generally bear in mind that the flavour has to come from somewhere. Food manufacturers want to add as much (addictive) flavour to foods as possible so they can make more money when you buy their products again. Also, Artificial sweeteners are added to tons of processed foods, and some research suggests they're even worse for you than pure sugar, so do your best to steer away. Science has also shown that people who consume more artificial sweeteners and 'diet foods' are heavier than people who don't, so
focus on eating real, unprocessed food.
