A low-carb, low-fat and high-protein diet has been overwhelmingly popular in the past few years. The results of such a diet: hormone imbalance and chronic fatigue, which will hinder weight loss because you will have no energy to work out and/or spend time in the fresh air. Besides, your body needs fats and carbs in your diet to keep your hormones in check and to fuel the metabolic processes necessary to convert fats and especially proteins.
Takeaway message: Get around 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight and fill up the rest of your calorie allowance with carbs and fats as displayed on the picture above.
The left option doesn’t look unhealthy, doesn’t it? The truth is, however, that cereals and granola are often very high in added sugar, and orange juice lacks the fiber content of the fruit.
A less sugary, more filling and much healthier version of breakfast is on the right. The egg is a great source of protein, avocado contains healthy fats, and the fruit and veggies are rich in vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. Plus, the breakfast on the right has twice as little calories.
A truly-sustainable diet is one that has space for some indulgence. Sadly, most store-bought sweets, like these brownies on the left, are nothing but sugar and use low-quality cheap ingredients to bring down the cost of the product.
The vegetarian high-fiber version on the right, however, will not only satisfy your sweet tooth, but it will also help your health and weight loss because it replaces regular flour with coconut flour, which contains more fiber. It also doesn't contain sugar and uses naturally-sweet products as sweeteners.
For a bonus recipe of these brownies, scroll to the bottom of this article.
This is an excellent example of how preparing your favorite food yourself will not only save you calories, but it will also give you control of the quality of the ingredients, will let you eat a lot more and control the preparation process completely.
Also note the difference of the nutrition value: the homemade version contains twice the amount of fiber, 3 times less fat and twice the amount of protein than the restaurant-bought one.
The point in this food swap is in the nutritious value of vegetables. Though proteins are essential, as we have written above, we need much less of them than we might think. Plants, on the other hand, contain not only protein, but also a booming variety of essentials for our health: micronutrients, antioxidants, fiber, phytochemicals, and polyphenols.
One of the worst things you can do to your health and sustainable weight loss is under-eating. Instead, include a lot of different wholesome and natural foods in your diet: vegetables, greens, healthy fats, protein, and fermented foods.
This combination will not only make you lose weight without feeling like you’re depriving yourself of food, but it will clear up your skin and promote a healthy gut, too, thanks to the healthy fats and fermented foods.
A common “healthy eating” misconception is that healthy foods taste terrible, which is very wrong in its very root, as a positive attitude towards eating is essential for a sustainable diet and weight loss.
Incorporate different vegetables into your salads, mix and match and get creative with it. And when you are craving something sweet, try kombucha or eat some good quality dark chocolate. Kombucha contains fermented ingredients, so it's very beneficial for digestion and skin, and dark chocolate contains antioxidants and caffeine, which will help with alertness.
This a great illustration of how it’s way too easy to gain a lot of weight. The meal on your left will barely keep you full for a few hours, while the food on the right has 2 full meals and snacks, too, all for the same amount of calories.
Don’t fall into the trap of eating fast food, at least not frequently, as you’re depriving yourself of the essential nutrients. As a result, you will be hungry, tired, and disappointed with yourself for eating the fast food, and your body and waistline will not thank you for it either.
A plateful of grass will fill up no one and this sad salad on the left has no place in a healthy diet. Don’t get me wrong, eating leafy greens is absolutely essential to everyone’s diet because they contain so much fiber and vitamins. However, a meal that doesn’t contain a variety of foods and isn’t satisfying to look at will not fill you up.
An hour after a meal, you will be reaching for that donut or biscuit. Instead, add fats, proteins, and different vegetables to your salad to make it more satisfying and nutritious.
If you're interested in these kinds of food swaps, we recommend you to take a look at 10 Easy Food Swaps to Help You Lose Weight and 25 Dietary Swaps to Make Without Starving as well.
Servings: 8 servings.
Difficulty: Easy.
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
Dry ingredients
Procedure
1. Preheat your oven to 225°C. Take your sweet potato and poke holes into it with a fork and bake for 25-35 minutes until soft. Then pull it out of the oven and set to cool. Turn your oven down to 175 degrees.
2. When cooled, peel off the skin of the sweet potato. In a medium bowl, mash it with a fork until it forms a smooth puree.
3. Gradually add honey, coconut oil and eggs into the bowl and blend into a smooth mixture.
4. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Pour the mixture into a lined 20x20cm baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes.
6. Set to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. Cut into cubes and enjoy!
Image Source: Amanda Meixner
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5 Ways to Turn Every Recipe Vegan
A Guide To the Health Effects of Soy Products
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