Eat this. Not that!!

Have you tried making extreme changes to your eating habits and found yourself failing over and over again?? The truth is making drastic changes and expecting results is very difficult and will give you short term results. So by changing just a few eating habits you can make a big difference to your diet. It is the healthiest and most achievable way to lose weight and stay healthy.

Instead of granola eat oats

Instead of having granola for breakfast, opt for oatmeal. ½ cup granola contains 300calories and it’s high in oil, sugar and fats. Instead eat oats which gives just 144 cals for ½ cup.

Lose soda

Swap cola, soft drinks and diet sodas for water or fresh fruit juice without added sugar.

Swap sodas for sparkling glass of water. You will still get the fizz of can of soda without chemicals, colorings, artificial sweeteners that can lead to weight gain. Drink at least 2L of water daily.

Snack smartly

1 packet (30g) of chips contains 170cals. They are high in saturated fats and salt. Instead go for air popped popcorn which can be easily made at home. You can munch on it guilt free as 1cup contains just 31cals and is filled with lot of antioxidants and fiber.

Swap creamy soup for homemade broth soup

1cup of creamy mushroom soup contains about 220cals and 17g of fat. So swap it for homemade vegetable or chicken broth which will be 18cals and 85cals respectively.

Go for fish

Red meat is rich in protein and iron but is high in saturated fat.  Eating too much red meat can cause high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases. Limit red meat to once a week and swap it for fish. Fish is rich source of protein and omega-3- fatty acids and quite low in calories and also saturated fats.

Swap a coffee for black coffee or green tea

Latte made with whole milk consists of 200 cals which is nearly 10% of your total calorie recommendation. Swap it with black coffee or make "skinny" coffee with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. You can also go for green tea as a better option. 

Instead of milk chocolate go for dark chocolate

Beat your sugar cravings with good quality dark chocolate containing at least 70% cocoa. Dark chocolate has several health benefits and contain a relatively small amount of sugar.

Eat tandoori chicken

Fried chicken is covered with sodium-filled soy sauce and is deep fried while tandoori chicken is cooked with just drizzle of oil. Thus you will save lot of calories by swapping fried chicken for tandoori or grilled chicken.

Instead of cooking with butter, choose extra virgin olive oil

Both contain fats, but all fats are not made equally. Butter is a rich source of saturated fat leading to artery-clogging while extra-virgin olive oil has healthy unsaturated fats.

Substitute yogurt for mayo

Mayonnaise is commonly used in dips and as toppings, however, it is has 10g fat and 94cals per tbsp. Substituting yogurt (1tbsp=14cals) significantly reduces calories and increases protein while providing great flavor.

Almond butter instead of peanut butter

Most commercial peanut butter contains added sugars and oils. An organic almond butter can give the creamy texture you crave without the excess sugar and fat.

Swap sugar for stevia

Sugar is one of the top causes of obesity all around the globe. 1tsp of sugar contains 15cals and no nutrients. Swap it for stevia which is a natural sweetener and contains no calories. It’s a great sweet alternative for those with diabetes. 

All these food swaps can reduce huge calorie intake and these small changes will give big results. Start practicing it in your daily life and you will notice the difference to your body and also how you feel. What are the food swaps you have tried? Let me know in the comments below.

All the best! Keep it healthy!

References:

1.      www.nhs.uk

2.      www.bbcgoodfood.com

3.      www.dailymail.co.uk

4.      www.health.com

5.      www.rd.com

Popular Health myths busted

Sugar free and fat free foods lead to fat-free bodies

When you read the words 'sugar free' or 'fat free' across a box of chocolate it's you feel probably  less guilty about eating the entire box in one time. "Fat free and sugar free do not mean foods are calorie free. It doesn't matter what type of food you are eating, if you are consuming more calories than you're expending, you will gain weight. When sugar or fat are removed from food, artificial ingredients may be added back to the food to enhance its taste which will give you the extra calories!

 

Carbs make you fat

Carbs alone do not cause weight gain but it is important to choose the carbs wisely. Carbs are the body's main source of fuel so you need to consume a balanced diet higher in complex carbs and lower in simple or processed carbs. It is advisable to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and less processed foods, refined carbohydrates and white flour products.

You Need a Daily Multivitamin

Have you heard about taking multivitamins to makeup the nutrient needs of our body which are not fulfilled by diet? Researchers don’t agree on that point. But if your doctor advices you to take vitamin, go for it. And if you’re pregnant, you need to take folic acid to lower the risk of birth defects. But still it is good to eat a balanced diet filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and healthy oils to fulfill the nutritional requirements of your body rather than depending on pills. 

Skipping sleep CAN cause weight gain.

It is found in study that who people who sleep less than seven hours were more likely to gain weight; other research has shown that even partial sleep deprivation ups production of the hormone cortisol, which triggers hunger and can lead you to overeating. The increased levels of the hormone also help cause higher insulin levels, your blood sugar drops and you crave sugary, fatty foods.

Exercise can wipe away all my bad eating habits.

This one is unescapable and unluckily a myth. You can’t out-exercise a crappy diet. It’s a calorie game, and people often overestimate the amount of food they burn in an hour-long session. If you do five workouts each week it doesn’t mean that you can eat whatever you want. You can easily out-eat your exercising. It’s essential to both work out and eat right for successful weight loss and to maintain good health.

Eat only egg whites and not the yolks.

Egg yolks have got had a bad crack, supposedly being terrible for your cholesterol. Conversely, eggs won’t affect your cholesterol balance unless they’re fried in butter and served with bacon. In fact, one study by the University of Connecticut found that the fat in the yolks helped to reduce LDL, or the bad cholesterol. In fact, eggs are an inexpensive source of many nutrients, including zinc and iron, antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, vitamin D, and the brain-boosting chemical choline. Keep cholesterol in check by monitoring saturated fat in your diet. 

 

Drinking water helps you lose weight.

Drinking water won’t specifically prompt weight loss, but it can support in the process. Water replaces other calorie-laden beverages in the diet, initiating you to reduce your overall number of calories. Also it keeps you feel fuller, so you may eat less at each meal. 

Coffee causes cancer

Coffee has been linked to cancer on over the past several years. However after 1980’s the scientists looked for links between coffee and these cancers, using superior research methods and studying larger groups of people. They found none. For instance, a review of 17 studies conducted from 1990 to 2003 found a 24 percent reduced risk of colon cancer among people who regularly sipped coffee and tea. Studies have also shown in recent years that drinking coffee appears to offer some protection against other conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes.

Radiation from microwaves creates dangerous compounds in your food.

Microwaves, radio waves and the energy waves that we perceive as visual light all are forms of radiation. So, too, are X-rays and gamma rays—which do pose health concerns. Only a few types of radiation cause cancer and these depend on the dose. But the microwaves used to cook foods are many, many times weaker than X-rays and gamma rays and the types of changes that occur in microwaved food as it cooks are “from heat generated inside the food, not the microwaves themselves.  Radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer, for example, but just enough helps your body make Vitamin D, too. Microwaving in some plastics may leach compounds into your food, so take care to use only microwave-safe containers. 

Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar.

In fact, brown sugar is mostly white sugar with some molasses — so refining it further would give you white table sugar. As far as your body is concerned, white and brown sugar are one-in-the-same.

References:

1. www.sciencedaily.com
2. http://www.webmd.com
3. http://www.health.com
4. www.forbes.com
5. Cancer Research UK
6. www.besthealthmag.ca
7. Business Insider,"The dispensatory of the United States of America," Self Nutrition Data