Losing fat can be hard, and unfortunately, we often make it harder than it needs to be.
We read about the latest diet trend and flip our whole lifestyle upside down. So and so says I need to drink green slime and eat twigs to lose 10 pounds in 7 days? I WILL DO IT!
Sure, this may work for some – but let’s be honest, it doesn’t work for many.
Going from a standard American diet to the latest green smoothie, gluten free, dairy free trend is like trying to go from 0 to 100 in your grandmas 79′ Oldsmobile. It’s going to be a struggle, and that much change at once is hard to stick with.
To lose body fat, you need to be eating fewer calories than you burn – and here are 10 simple swaps you can make to save you calories over the course of the day. If you currently eat these foods, you don’t need to stop, just make these small adjustments and you will be golden.
1 – Bread – are you a sandwich person? There is nothing inherently bad about sandwiches, they really get a bad rep. Look at your bread. How many calories per slice? How many grams of carbs and fiber per slice? I really like to keep it in the 15 carbs per slice and 2+ grams of fiber per slice range. 50 calories.
2 – Milk – if you can handle milk, lucky you. Switching from 2% to skim, or even from whole to 2% can shave off some calories over the course of a day. 40 calories.
3- Soda – yes, in a perfect world we would all drink water. But even by switching from regular to diet, you can REALLY cut off some calories especially if you are a big soda drinker. And no, you don’t need to worry about the artificial sweeteners unless you are drinking over 23 cans per day…then we should talk. 150+ calories.
4 – Cheese – do you REALLY taste the cheese on your sandwich or burger? If not, cut it out. That alone can save you 80-120 calories.
5 – Breading – breaded chicken or fish may taste great, but between the breading and the grease that is trapped in the breading, there can be a whole lot of calories that can be cut. Go with baked, grilled or broiled and you will still get all the protein and none of the grease. 200 calories.
6 – Mixers – just like the soda, switching from regular soda or tonic water in cocktails to water or club soda (different than tonic) will cut out unnecessary calories from your drinks. Or just relive your glory days and rip some shots (kidding, sort of) 150+ calories
7 – Lean meats – switching from 80/20 beef to 93/7 or leaner is a big calorie saver. And be aware of ground turkey. Just because it is turkey, it can still be 80/20 – so leaner red meats are still fewer calories. One of my favorites is using 99% lean ground chicken for tacos – because once all the seasonings and other stuff is added, you can’t tell the difference. 200 calories.
8 – Eggs – if you are big egg eater, try switching out even one egg per day for some whites. You can still get all the protein but cut calories from the yolk (fat). Yolks are not as bad as once thought, but even cutting back from 3 to 2 eggs will shave off 80 cals.
9 – Carb swap – if 1/3 or 1/2 of your plate is usually carbs (rice, pasta, potato) – try dropping it to 1/4th of your plate and fill the void with more veggies. This will make sure that you are still getting enough volume in your meal, without as many calories. 150 calories
10 – Coffee dessert drinks – switching a latte for a cafe Americano will save you 200 calories. If you still need creamer at home, I suggest Walden Farm’s creamers. They are zero cals and still taste awesome. 200+ calories
There you have it! 1340 calories of savings – without much of a change!
10 swaps you can make right now, without completely revamping your diet.
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Stay healthy my friends,