Calorie Swaps

The “same” foods or meals can be very different calorically as I just spoke about. Which is why tracking every ingredient you use is so important to make sure you are tracking accurately.

Another reason why it is so important to track every ingredient you use, is because it is doing this that actually enables you to start making some changes to create a calorie deficit.

Now, a big part of this process is creating something that is sustainable and enjoyable.

If something isn’t enjoyable then at some point it will stop and the progress you have made will go too.

One of the most important things that will create sustainability is being able to include your favourite foods.

There are countless different ways of making these foods, and calorically they will all be very different from one another, depending on the ingredients you use to make them.

When you track every ingredient you use, you can see which contain the most calories, you can start to look at potential swaps you can make to decrease the overall calorie content of your food.

And in some cases, there may be certain things you can leave out completely, that will have a big impact as well.

When you start looking at meals in this way, you will realise that by just altering a couple of ingredients, you can still eat the foods you enjoy for much fewer calories

Which is why you don’t have to restrict or remove the foods you love from your diet,

Instead you can just make more intelligent choices, and in doing so create enough of calorie deficit to make progress

For example – if you make lasagne but change the mince from 20% fat mince to 5% fat mince and cook it in a non-stick pan or with 1 kcal spray, rather than using oil – you can easily save 300/400 calories there.

By just changing a few of the ingredients you use to make your favourite meals, you can create the deficit you need to lose fat without changing the foods or even portion sizes that you eat!

But the only way you can recognise how and where you can make these simple alterations, is by tracking all the ingredients you use properly in the first place, so you can decide which ones you can change and improve on.

Which in my opinion is much less of a chore than feeling like you can’t eat and enjoy all the foods you love.