It's all about the SUBSTITUTES

Hey guys!
I recently have been speaking with a few people about their eating habits and the topic of substitutes has come up alot. You see... a lot of you out there know the basics of whats good for you and whats not. I mean our parents teach us in elementary school not to eat cookies and try and force us to eat our veggies. I am not here to teach you what you already know yet rather educate you on what you might not know.. yet.

The basic "rule" to weight gain and loss is straight forward: Calories in - Calories out... right? Of course we have to acknowledge the way this equation changes based on our normal metabolic rate of calorie use and the amount of excercise we do daily. What this post is about is the power of substitues and how they can keep the "Calories In" part of this equation minimized.

The person I spoke with on this issue recently said to me, "Why would you tell me to use peanut butter.. isnt is full of fat and has sugar in it?"... Yes, peanut butter is full of fat, correct. It also has some added sugar **You can buy all natural peanut butter that doesnt have any added sugar, however** What I was trying to convey to this person was not to just eat peanut butter on top of their normal eating habits.. but rather use it as a substitute. Anyone who knows me knows I am a peanut butter junkie. I could live off the stuff. But what I use it for is to substitute a feeling of satisfaction that would normally come with eating something sweet like chocolate or cookies. I am one of those people who always gets a "late night sweet tooth"... leading me to crave unhealthy foods late at night. Now instead of grabbing a candy bar or some ice cream, I stick my spoon into my extra crunchy peanut butter and take one bite of this spoonful of sweet gooeyness.

If this concept of substitutes is used throughout your day with every meal, you can save yourself on upwards of 1000 calories. See the point is not to completely deprive yourself.. this will only intensify your cravings and leave you to wanting something more (we all want what we cant have). The point is to find healthy substitutes to the foods we know we like and crave.

Here is a list of substitutes that might help you shed a few pounds:

1. Substitute skim milk in your latte.
2. Substitute sugar free flavoring in your coffee.
3. Use protein shakes like muscle milk as coffee creamer, or use soy creamer in place of 1/2&1/2
4. Use vanilla extract in your oatmeal to sweeten it, or splenda.
5. Substitute egg whites and one whole egg in place of normal eggs.
6. Substitute turkey bacon for real bacon.
7. Substitute whole wheat toast for white toast or BAGELS<---(1bagel=6 pieces of bread!).
8. Substitute cottage cheese for salad dressing (you can mix in a tiny bit of ranch or blue chz to flavor)
9. Substitute grilled chicken for fried chicken.
10. Substitute brown rice or quinoa for white rice.
11. Substitute lean ground turkey for anywhere you use ground beef (great in tacos/lasagna!)
12. Substitute laughing cow 30 calorie cheese for cream cheese.
13. Substitute yogurt (greek plain) in the place of sour cream (tastes the same-same texture!)
14. Substitute olive oil mayonaise (Kraft makes it) in the place of regular mayo.
15. Substitute Bumble & Brown yogurt butter in the place of butter.
16. Substitute whole wheat pastas in place of regular pasta.
17. Substitute one spoonful of peanut butter for your sweet late night dessert!

There are so many ways you can cut calories out of your everyday diet. Small changes in each choice you make throughout the day will lead to huge changes in the future. You will see a difference in your weight over a period of time just by substituting aka.. making healthier choices but not completely giving up the things you love.