The Top 10 Diet Substitutions

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Written by: Brian Willett

Let’s be honest – if losing fat were easy, there wouldn’t be new fad diets popping up every day, promising incredible results with only a minimum amount of effort. But with bizarre rules and arbitrary food selections (The Cabbage Soup Diet? No thanks.), these diets are ineffective and often devoid of nutrition. Worse, a lot of them completely cut you off from the foods you love.

At ALLMAX, we recognize that moderation is a much smarter route, and all-or-nothing never works. Below are a few simple substitutions that can make your fat loss efforts a lot easier. And best of all – no cabbage soup.

1. Diet Soda for Soda – Ok, this one should be pretty obvious. Even if you’re not trying to drop fat, you should still drop soda – no one needs a beverage that is little more than liquid syrup. A 20-oz bottle packs 240 calories from sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is terrible for your teeth as well as your torso. Studies have also shown that caloric-dense beverages such as these do not trigger satiety cues, so you’ll still be hungry even after your liquid meal (1).

2. Regular Peanut Butter for Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter – Yes, you’re reading that correctly – keep the full-fat peanut butter and skip the ‘skim’ version. Reduced-fat peanut butter strips out the healthy fats and protein that make peanut butter such a power food and replace them with sugar, which can spike your insulin and lead to cravings for sweets. The unsaturated fats in peanut butter are essential for a number of bodily functions and help keep you full, even while dieting.

3. Frozen Yogurt for Ice Cream – The worst part about dieting down for that beach body is that as the weather heats up, so do the cravings for cool treats such as ice cream. Unfortunately, this dessert is more cream than ice and can spell disaster for your diet. Opt for the lower calorie, sugar and fat of frozen yogurt, which comes in just as many delicious flavors. And if you really want to go guilt-free but still have a gourmet taste, grab some ISOFLEX and whip up some home-made Protein Popsicles.

4. Spaghetti Squash for Pasta – Eating food that has a lot of volume is usually a great way to fill up, but if you’re on a diet, you probably can’t afford the calories, especially with something as hefty as pasta. A great alternative that is far less likely to put you into a carb-coma is spaghetti squash. Simply cut the squash in half and cook in the oven, and the insides will become stringy. Add a splash of your favorite sauce and you’ll never know the difference.

5. Salad for Soup – If you’re going to have an appetizer before a meal, make sure that it isn’t so high in calories that it might as well be a meal in itself! Research has shown that soup doesn’t seem to trigger fullness cues – in one study, people whose bowls of soup were secretly refilled ate 73 percent more soup yet did not report feeling more full (2). Reach for a leafy salad with lean protein instead, and you’ll save yourself calories and feel fuller.

6. Stevia for Sugar – Of course, some things are more difficult to give up than others. And when your sweet tooth kicks in, it can be hard to deny. Even with many low-calorie sweeteners available, nothing safely provides the sweetness of sugar with zero calories – except for stevia extract. The sweetener is all-natural, calorie-free, and has been used safely for centuries by those in Paraguay.

7. Protein Pancakes for Pancakes – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why fill yourself up with carbohydrates that will only make you crash and feel hungry again in an hour or two? Make sure those calories count with some protein pancakes – simply add one cup of ground oats or whole wheat flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, two scoops of your favorite flavor of ISOFLEX, one cup of low-fat cottage cheese, ¼ cup of water and two whites to a blender until well mixed, then pour onto a skillet and cook as normal. You’ll never eat regular flapjacks again.

8. Egg Whites for Eggs – Speaking of breakfast, there are few foods that are more synonymous with mornings than eggs. But they do pack a lot of calories into a small space, so if you’re restricting calories, you may think you have to cut them out of your diet. But by just dropping the yolks, you can save about 5 grams of fat and yet still have a protein-packed breakfast. And while dietary fat is important (see number 2), it is calorically-dense, and you don’t want to blow all of your calories at breakfast.

9. Whole Wheat for White – There are so many benefits of whole grains, there’s really no reason to stick with white breads and pastas. Whole grains have more fiber and will keep you fuller longer, and also reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, strong predictors of diabetes. Whole wheat also provides a high level of betaine, which reduces chronic inflammation.

10. RAPIDCUTS Crystal Powder Packets for Coffee – Some days, it can be tough getting out of bed in the morning, whether you’re trying to get in shape or not. A lot of us need a little kick of caffeine to get things going, but sugary lattes and frozen cappuccinos often provide more energy from their added sugars than anything else. If you need that caffeine fix, try some RAPIDCUTS powder packets instead – they taste great, have only 12 calories, yet also contain an incredible fat incineration matrix to give you energy and help you control your appetite and sculpt the body of your dreams.

SOURCES
1. Tieken, S.M. et al. Effects of Solid versus Liquid Meal-replacement Products of Similar Energy Content on Hunger, Satiety, and Appetite-regulating Hormones in Older Adults. Journal of Hormone and Metabolic Research, 2007; 39: 389-394.

2. Wansink, B, et al. “Bottomless Bowls: Why Visual Cues of Portion Size May Influence Intake,” Obesity Research, 2005; (13:1): 93-100.