Eat This, Not That
Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to mean upending your life. Sometimes it’s as simple as making small substitutions to better options and letting the power of compounding take effect. Saving 100 calories here or there while getting additional protein without feeling like you are sacrificing anything is how you put your health on autopilot.
Here’s a list of 35 examples where you can upgrade your nutrition with simple substitutions.
Oranges, Not Orange Juice:
A serving of orange has around 60 calories, your daily dose of vitamin C and 3 grams of fiber. While OJ still provides you with plenty of vitamin C, it has double the calories and none of the fiber. Additionally, it’s much easier to quickly drink way more than 8 oz of juice compared to consuming the entire fruit and you’ll get practically no satiety from the juice itself.
Banza Pasta Versus Wheat Pasta:
Is Banza pasta perfect? No. But for a similar amount of calories you’ll get more fiber, more protein and fewer net carbs. They are both fairly calories dense at 180-190 calories for a 2 oz serving so portion control is always a priority no matter which one you choose.
Quest/Pure Protein Bars Versus Others: There are a million different protein bars out there. Quest and Pure protein both offer good options at over 20 grams of protein for a 200 calorie bar. Many others fall closer to half of this protein to calorie ratio and are glorified candy bars.
Plain Greek Yogurt versus Flavored: Plain greek yogurt is an acquired taste, but you can always add your own natural sweetener early on. Using your own fruit or a little honey compared to the added sugar in flavored versions is going to save you calories and add fiber and satiety to the meal.
Oikos Triple Zero versus other flavored options: While plain is best, the convenience of Oikos Triple Zero yogurt is hard to beat. And the protein to calorie ratio is fantastic at 15 grams of protein for 90 calories. For a flavored (artifically) option this is significantly better than the added sugar options you often find.
90%+ Beef versus fattier cuts: 90% ground beef has 200 calories and 23 grams of protein in a 4 oz, raw serving. The 80% version is going to have an additional 90 calories all coming from fat. And the numbers continue to get worse the lower the %. Choosing a leaner cut of beef will save you 100s of calories each meal which adds up to pounds of fat compounded over time. Plus it means you can eat larger portions for the same calories which will mean better satiety if you are trying to lose weight.
Olive or avocado oil versus canola oil: While these oils all have a similar number of calories, the fat profile is completely different. Monounsaturated fats are more stable under heat than polyunsaturated fats. This means less inflammation on the body with regular consumption.
Cooking spray versus open pour: Using a spray bottle for your oils is a simple way to grease the pan with say 10-20 calories of oil versus 100-200 by relying on an open pour. You can buy a mister for your own oil if you prefer. Saving 100 calories from oil at dinner time alone will save you nearly 2 lbs of fat over the course of a month without making any other adjustments to your meals.
Diet soda versus soda: This one gets people charged up, but the data is clear. Heart disease is the leading cause of death. And insulin resistance is the cause of heart disease. While diet soda isn’t great for you, it doesn’t spike insulin or blood sugar like traditional soda does. This is a simple switch to make if you are currently drinking soda everyday. And the negative health effects of diet soda aren’t shown to be consistent unless the dosage is well above normal daily intake (equivalent to 17 diet sodas per day)
Sparkling water versus diet soda: As mentioned above, diet soda isn’t great so the goal is to keep weaning off of it. Sparkling water can provide a similar fizzy fix during that transition. Is it great for your teeth? No. But either is soda or diet soda. You can only fight one battle at a time.
Berries versus bananas: Are bananas the worst thing you can eat? Absolutely not. But there are better options. Berries (blackberries, blueberries raspberries) have considerably more fiber per serving and nearly half the calories. Plus antioxidative properties that help reduce inflammation.
Fruit, not dried fruit: Dried fruit has removed the water content (hydration) much of the fiber and concentrated the sugar. 1 cup of dried mango has over 300 calories compared to just 100 for the fresh fruit. A piece here or there is a fine option but dried fruit is easy to overconsume and is basically candy with more vitamins and minerals.
Whey Protein not Pea/Soy: Whey protein is actually the most bioavailable protein source ranking even better than eggs, beef or other commonly used proteins This means it’s better absorbed, provides all the amino acids in better quantities and contains higher amounts of leucine (amino acid) responsible for muscle protein synthesis than it’s pea or soy protein alternatives. It’s also a more naturally occurring food as it’s separated from the curd during the cheesemaking process.
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