I hope everyone is having a great day and happy week!
If you are new to the weight loss or healthy living world, welcome! This is an exciting step to bettering your life and becoming the you, YOU feel you deserve to be! If you are new to this, then odds are that you might be overwhelmed with how much information there is out there in regard to healthy eating and weight loss! You are probably wondering, "What SHOULD I eat? What SHOULDN'T I eat? What is considered healthy?" There is SO much good information out there, and some bad that it can be hard to identify what is what? It can be intimidating to start but luckily you have me! HA!
When I started my weight loss journey I ate SO many types of food that I assumed weren't "that bad" in smaller portions. As I grew in my journey I soon started switching WHAT on top of HOW much I ate and that is when I saw a real difference. BUT I didn't change my eating habits overnight. Lasting CHANGE is a gradual one! Don't scare yourself out of your healthy eating challenges, face them head on with HEALTHY SWAPS!
Here are five EASY swaps for foods you are most likely eating everyday!
1. Regular whole fat milk SWAPPED for unsweetened Almond Milk.
There is a debate in the health community as to
what really is the healthiest milk! I am not here to solve that debate, only here to tell you a few reasons why I chose Almond milk versus whole fat Cow's Milk.
Almond milk is much lower in calories at about 35 calories per 8oz versus 150 in 8oz of whole cow's milk. It is also low in fat, free of lactose, gluten, cholesterol, and saturated fats. It is full of vitamins and minerals your body needs! And did I mention it taste DELICIOUS?!
2. White rice SWAPPED for Brown rice.
Did you know that white rice is just brown rice that has been MUCH more processed and basically striped of it's beneficial nutrients? There are really no health benefits to consuming white rice. On the contrary consuming Brown rice has many known health benefits.
Brown rice is full of nutrients the body needs, may help regulate blood glucose levels due to it's slow releasing sugars, it is considered a whole grain meaning it is minimally processed with almost all of it's nutritional value kept in tact. It can promote weight loss, it is easily digested and much more! And did I mention it taste DELICIOUS?!
3. Milk or White chocolate SWAPPED or Dark chocolate.
What?? CHOCOLATE! Yes, I said the word chocolate!
Although not white or milk chocolate. Even though yes it is still a form of chocolate processed from the cocoa bean it is heavily processed removing most of it 's beneficial nutrients.
Actually dark chocolate has been shown to be very good for you in providing many health benefits. It is a good source of bioflavonoids which are essentially just a super antioxidant. Antioxidants may help counteract essentially the effects of aging that take toll on your body. It doesn't eliminate them but may help keep you stronger longer. And did I mention it taste DELICIOUS??!
4. Iceburg lettuce SWAPPED for Spinach
There is nothing wrong with Iceburg lettuce it is a good choice for some toppings and some salads but the reason why I choose Spinach over Iceburg is because it is a superfood; a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being, is the definition of a superfood. It has so many health benefits it deserves it's own article but on the short it is full of those antioxidants we spoke about already, so many vitamins, low on calories, full of iron! Make a it into a salad, add it to your omelet, pop it in your smoothie. And did I mention it taste DELICIOUS??!
5. Coffee SWAPPED for Tea
The next one is a toss up! BOTH coffee and tea have antioxidants about the same amount of caffeine and are low in calories? So why choose tea?? The reason that I choose tea versus coffee is because it taste good on it's own as it's natural source. I like my coffee light and sweet! Causing me to add an unnecessary amount of artificial sugars and creamers into it, to make it taste, in my opionion, delicious. With most teas there really is no need to add so many fillers due to taste. Making it my drink of choice! Now don't get me wrong! I still have my coffee but have yet to love it black... I drink my tea straight up! And did I mention it taste DELICIOUS?!
I am not a food professional and there is so much debate on what is good and what isn't but this list is based off of the healthy and happy body changes I have experienced by switching out the not so healthy foods with healthier versions!
Before 2010 During 2014
TOTAL LOST 140LBS
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Love you for reading,
