Easy Ways to Swap Useless Calories From Your Diet

It seems no matter how hard try to stick to a diet or healthy lifestyle, we always fall back into the same old groove. Maybe it’s because it’s easier to just go about our day-to-day lives not worrying about food or the choices we have to make. There are millions of advice columns, books, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and hacks for losing weight. Everyone’s got the answer, it seems, but as a society, we are heavier than ever. The old science of “calories in and calories out” doesn’t seem to be cutting it for this next generation of dieters and we are having to come up with some really clever ways to make sure we are staying healthy.

As a first line of defence, people cut calories. There’s just really no way around it: if you want to lose weight, you need to cut calories. But the trick is in making sure you are cutting the right calories. Instead of just cutting calories at random, really think about what you want to get out of the calories that you will be left with.

Start by checking the condiments in your refrigerator and pantry: are these just empty calories? How many calories does ketchup have and does it even matter? It matters if you can find a way to swap out ketchup for something else that has the same calories, or less, but that has more nutritional value. The mistake we often make is in cutting out foods altogether but not replacing them with foods that can actually improve our health. If you love condiments, consider using avocado instead of mayo – it’s spreads just like a condiment. And it’s delicious and so good for you.

Have a look at the bread products you are eating. Everyone knows white bread is a sin against life itself, but man is it ever good. Instead of eating white bread, try a 50/50 blend of white and whole wheat. If you are going to eat bread, try to eat the bread that has the most bang for its buck: grain bread. With only a few more calories than white bread, grain bread has much more nutritional value and can stay with you longer.

If you are into drinking diet soda, which has no calories, consider how you can swap it out for a carbonated water with lemon or lime. It’s an easy fix and water is better for you anyway. A lot of people think that because there is no calories in soda that it is okay to drink, but have you read the ingredient label on your soda? There’s no ingredients in water.

Finally, a really easy way to not have to worry about the foods you eat, is to outsource those decisions to a health food company that will deliver your meals to you. It’s actually not much more expensive than preparing meals for yourself each day, and these companies use established shipping companies to send food all over the world. You can learn more about how food packages are moved around and decide for yourself if ordering meals online is right for you.