If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to start eating more healthily or shed extra pounds to improve your heart health, this post might be what you need to not give up on your goals just two months into the year. According to a new global study, just over half (52% globally) of people who want to lose weight would exercise more but would not diet. So diet really is what hinders weight loss goals for many people. However, not many realize that just a few easy healthy food substitutions can make a massive difference on the scale and improve quality of life.
Eating more healthily doesn’t mean you have to wave goodbye to all your favorite meals and snacks. However, finding healthy food substitutes for some of your diet staples can painlessly save you tons of calories without you wanting to throw in the towel. We are not speaking of drastic healthy substitutes for unhealthy foods and drinks, like always opting for water instead of fizzy drinks. When choosing healthier food substitutes, you must evaluate how implementable and realistic they are for YOU. Because if you don’t see yourself implementing these new healthy habits in the long run, what’s the point? Essentially, healthy food swaps shouldn’t make you feel miserable about what you eat (or have you smiling at the salad). However, healthy swaps for junk food or low-calorie alternatives can really make a difference both in your health or weight-loss journey without taking extra measures, such as extreme dieting, which, more often than not, leads to eating disorders and poor relationships with food. Taking the wrong measures to deal with a problem will only lead to more problems.
To help with the latter, below, we’ve compiled a list of food substitutions for healthy eating and food swaps for weight loss that can add up to a major difference on the scale without taking extreme or undesirable measures. What are some diet tweaks that you use daily? Let us know in the comments! Also, found the entry on the list helpful? Make sure to give it an upvote!