Losing weight can feel like a big job with lots of major changes that need making in your life but in reality, there are lots of little and easy healthy swaps you can make every day that in time, will help you slowly and steadily lose weight.
We’re going to be sharing with you some of our top healthy swaps that we can all make every day to help us achieve our weight loss goals with ease!
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Swap Crisps for Popcorn
Who said healthy swaps had to be less delicious? Everyone loves popcorn and luckily for anyone watching their waistline, popcorn really is a dieting dream!
A low fat, low calorie snacking option, popcorn pretty much always contains a fraction of the calories and fat that potato, corn or maize crisps do yet it still gives you a sweet or salty treat to curb your hunger!
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Swap Coffee for Hot Water with Lemon
It might not sound like a fair swap but ditching the coffee out of your diet really can only improve how you feel.
If you’re a big coffee drinker, you may feel the effects of a caffeine withdrawal at first but that will subside. Coffee provides a temporary energy spike which eventually leads to an energy crash which isn’t healthy or sustainable for the body. Coffee also actually dehydrates you, so there’s very little benefit to drinking it. If you take your coffee with milk and/or sugar, you’ll also be consuming extra calories with every coffee.
Hot water with a couple of slices of fresh lemon is refreshing, awakening, amazing for sore throats or chests but you’ll also be getting a boost of vitamin C which is not only great for your insides but your skin too!
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Swap Sugar on Your Cereal for Fruit
Most of us pop a sprinkle of sugar on our breakfast cereal to sweeten things up if it is a little plain but the best healthy swap you can make at breakfast time is to ditch the caster sugar and swap it for fresh or dried fruit!
Berries, bananas, dried apricots, dates, etc all have a natural sweetness that is delicious paired with cornflakes, bran flakes, rice pops or another simple cereal.
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Swap Processed Meats for Freshly Cooked Meats
Pre-cooked, processed meats such as wafer-thin ham, cocktail sausages, sliced chicken, etc all contain added sugars and preservatives and therefore, aren’t as clean and healthy for you as cooking meat yourself from raw.
You can save calorie, fat, salt and sugar by buying uncooked joints of meat such as chickens and hams and cooking and slicing yourself at home. These will last a few days in the fridge sliced or can be frozen once cooked and used in dishes at a later date.
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Swap Whole or Semi-Skimmed Milk for Skimmed
There’s a big belief nowadays that the healthiest way to consume milk is to swap cow’s milk for a dairy-free alternative but if you have no issue with consuming dairy, a simple swap to skimmed can save calories and fat.
200ml of whole milk contains 132 calories and 7.4g of fat, whereas 200ml of skimmed milk contains just 74 calories and 0.6g fat, so it really is an obvious, naturally healthier swap.
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Swap Some White Potatoes for Sweet Potatoes
The reason we’ve specified to swap just some of your white potatoes for sweet potatoes is that they do both have health benefits and the type you favour will depend on which nutrients matter most to you.
Sweet potatoes are lower in carbohydrates and calories, whilst white potatoes have higher contents of protein and fibre so depending on the nutrients you’re most focused on in your diet, will dictate which type of potato you need more of.
Sweet potatoes do contain more vitamin A and C and count as one of your 5 a day, so if you’re cooking your evening meal and have had enough carbohydrates for the day but are low on your vegetables, this would be a perfect time to make the swap.
So, making healthy swaps in your day to day diet doesn’t have to be anything major but could make a huge difference to your nutritional intake and over time, your weight loss.
What healthy swaps have you made that have made noticeable changes? Let us know!
