These Healthy Swap-Outs Are the Key To a Sustainable Diet

So many of us try out every fad diet under the sun to try and melt away that excess fat, but it just doesn’t seem to work out. Sure, the results may seem good on the first day or two (usually water weight), but then reality kicks in and the unsustainability of the juice diet, or cabbage soup diet or whatever it is you’re trying out just kicks in. We know that there’s no way around it – good health takes commitment to better eating habits and regular exercise. There are no short-cuts and no cheating about it. So, with that in mind, let’s give restrictive diets the boot and use a more sustainable approach to a healthy diet! Here are some swap-outs that can get you on your way to a leaner you and a healthier body!

White Pasta – Whole Wheat Pasta

If you love your pasta, there’s no need to ditch it completely! Don’t chuck out your bolognese and favorite meatball recipe! Just swap out your white, highly refined, and bad-for-you pasta for a better alternative – whole wheat, high-fiber, and more nutritious!

Whole wheat pasta is chock full of vitamins and antioxidants, while white is almost like empty calories by comparison. You could also try spiralizing courgette or zucchini as a spaghetti alternative, or even butternut squash. But carbs are important, so don’t villainize them!

White Potatoes – Sweet Potatoes

If you love baked potatoes, mashed potatoes or chips, wedges or roasted potatoes, then you can still enjoy a delicious starch, but a healthier one! Try substituting regular starchy potatoes, choose sweet potatoes, which are more nutritious and less starchy. Try to consume them skin-on to maximize their nutritional value and ramp up the fiber content!

White Rice – Cauliflower Rice or Brown Rice

White rice has less fiber and vitamin content than its brown counterpart. Brown rice is healthier and will even take a little longer to chew, perhaps making you eat less as a result. To further reduce calorie intake, you could even substitute rice with riced cauliflower. While it is certainly really easy to rice your cauliflower, you can easily purchase bags of ready-riced cauliflower form your supermarket for added convenience.

White Bread – Rye or Wholemeal Bread

Did you think you would have to say goodbye to your sandwiches for good if you wanted to be healthier? Not true! You can keep your bread and still be healthy, as long as you are eating rye, wholemeal or seeded bread instead of white bread. These healthier options digest differently and are better for your body. Also, they are higher in fiber, so they do their share in keeping your colon happy!

Sugary Sodas – Coffee

If you generally sip on sodas or sugary drinks throughout the day, you will benefit from this swap immensely! You don’t quite realize how much sugar is in the sugary drink. By making a coffee for yourself and having that instead, you will be reducing your sugar intake a lot. Don’t use premixed sachets either, as these are full of sugar and creamers. Find out a way to make a delicious coffee from scratch, and it will surely beat the sugary drinks you are used to! Have a small cup and no more than 3 or 4 per day.

Low-Fat Yoghurt – Greek Yoghurt

Ditch the low-fat yogurt, please – most especially if it is flavored and sweetened! You don’t realize it,  ut heaps of sugar and flavoring go into low-fat yogurts to make them more appetizing. A regular, plain Greek yogurt can taste so much more flavorful and delicious eventually. It is way healthier, with healthy cultures.

Also, you can pair a serving of Greek yogurt with some nuts and fruits and even a drizzle of honey if you prefer a bit of sweetness. The higher protein content in Greek yogurt is sure to keep you satiated for longer than other flavored, sweetened low-fat varieties, too.

Eating healthier isn’t too hard if you change your diet one step at a time. Even if you swap out one food at a time and embrace it, you’ll be doing yourself a world of good. Remember, sustainability is key here. If you fail to manage your diet, you will probably ditch all tose efforts and go back to unhealthy eating. We don’t want this to happen! Slow and steady is the way to go!

These diet tweaks may seem simple, but that is because they are. But you underestimate the effect that these simple tweaks to your diet can have on your wellbeing. It won’t be overnight, or even over a week or two, but if you commit to these changes to your diet, you will see results after some time. Weight loss is a slow process which gives desirable results when done sustainably!