Instead of ___, I eat ___

There was a period of time where I had ice cream every night and, although it was really yummy, I always felt nauseous and guilty afterwards (I'm lactose intolerant).
Now, I eat sugar free pudding (french vanilla, pistachio, chocolate) made with rice or soy milk and a few chocolate chips sprinkled over it, and I feel great!

instead of pasta, zucchini "zoodles". Love them!
Instead of rice, cauliflower "rice". Unless it's chinese food, then I eat just enough white rice to scoop the sauce.
instead of pizza, meatza. Unless it's at one of my favorite places, then I just go for it.
instead of soda, kombucha (except diet coke still calls my name!)
instead of boxed broth, homemade broth
instead of low fat, full fat everything
instead of canola or vegetable oil, coconut oil
instead of soy sauce, coconut aminos
instead of peanut butter, fresh ground almond butter
instead of candy, dark dark dark dark chocolate
instead of crunchy snacks, sprouted trail mix
instead of bread/rice/pasta/beans at dinner, double serving of veggies

instead of ice cream, there is none. I treat with a kid-size cone.

I was a completely addicted to Pepsi before I started losing weight.
So, instead of drinking diet soda to substitute for it, I drink WATER.

Instead of sourcream... I use plain greek yogurt
Instead of creamy ranch dips... I use hummus or red pepper spread
Instead of vegetable oil...I use coconut oil
Instead of milk...I use almond milk
Instead of bread...I use rice thin cakes for my almond butter
Instead of pop, iced tea and juice...I drink LOTS of water, and herbal/green tea - I think this change has had the most impact on my weight loss, I used to drink 3+ sugary drinks a day. Also, my skin is so clear and vibrant now!

instead of a massive bowl of ice cream, I eat a smaller bowl of ice cream. unless I killed it at the gym that day. then all bets are off.

(point is, there's no reason to rid your diet of a food you love. just remember moderation.)

YES! When I had a bowl of ice cream, I had a BOWL of ice cream. Now I weigh it to fit my remaining calories for the day.

Instead of white bread, I eat Healthy Life's 35 calorie/5 carb whole grain bread.
Instead of whole milk, I drink 1% or skim. Not a huge difference per cup, but since I used to drink an average of about 14 cups of milk/day (yeah, dairy "addict" - but I'm under half of that now), it would make a 140-420 calorie difference (depending on 1%/skim).


EDIT - instead of massive amounts of junk, I eat a small junky snack, and more fruit and veggies.

PS What is spaghetti squash? Is it just butternut squash cut like regular (pasta) spaghetti and quickly boiled?? I love pasta so this would be a great swap

That seems really difficult to pull off! Spaghetti squash is the actually name of the squash. You halve it, clean it out, then roast it, just as you would any other squash. Once it is cooked, you pull it out if the skin with your fork, and comes out in spaghetti-like strands. Definitely a calorie-wise alternative--I've had it before and it tastes good. That being said, it tastes like squash, not like spaghetti.

Instead of a massive bowl of ice cream, I eat it in a cone
Instead of eating out, I pack my lunch
Instead of peanut butter, I have laughing cow cheese on my celery

Instead of butter, I eat coconut oil.

Instead of 4 slices of bacon, I eat 2 slices of bacon

Instead of an 8 oz burger, I eat a 6 oz burger

Instead of 2 Tbsp of butter, I eat 1 Tbsp of butter

Instead of 2 or 3 ounces of Tillamook sharp cheddar, I eat 1 Oz of Tillamook sharp cheddar....

And so on and so forth.

Sounds a lot like me! Don't want to replace anything I like eating, just control the quantities I eat. :drinker: