No soda, more water
For all you soda drinkers, I know that it can be somewhat addicting and hard to let go. Here is the thing, if you have a glass of water when you are thirsty, you will no longer crave the soda because your thirst is now quenched. Soda carries tons of unneeded calories and is very fattening mainly because of all the simple sugars. Replacing your soda intake with water will make a huge difference. If you try it for just a few weeks you will see noticeable changes.

No red meat, more chicken and turkey
When I met my wife, she was not a heavy eater of red meats, but indeed it was a part of her diet. I never asked her to change it, but the more she saw me avoid it, the more she started avoiding it. Eventually it was completely out of her diet. Within weeks her body fat dropped dramatically. Her friends would ask her what kind of program I had her on and she would laugh and reply “no red meat”. She had lost about 10 pounds in a matter of 4 weeks with just replacing her red meat with chicken or turkey. If she craved a burger, she had one, made of turkey that is. Pasta with ground beef was now pasta with ground turkey. Rice and steak was now rice and chicken. It was that simple, and now it does not even cross her mind to have any red meat at all.

Red meat carries too much unnecessary fats. Yes, chicken and turkey are high in fat, but compared to red meats it does not even come close. Chicken and turkey are by far the better choice if you are already on a diet that contains meat.

No whites, more wheat
Bread and pasta are a huge part of a lot of people’s diet. Unfortunately, white bread and regular pasta are very high in simple carbohydrates. The problem with simple carbs is this, when you consume simple carbs, your body will store them as fat much faster than if you were consuming complex carbs. This is why I suggest replacing white bread and pasta with wheat bread and wheat pasta. This will lower your carb intake and at the same time you do not have to eliminate those snacks or dinners that you love so very much. Small price to pay to feel better and lose some unwanted pounds in the process.

No whole milk, more low fat milk
Milk is a very common part of the average Americans diet. If you are a drinker of whole milk, bring it down a notch. Replace your whole milk with 2%, if you drink 2% then bring it down to fat free. I know, I know, fat free is basically water or has no flavor, but just like anything else, you will get used to it with time. I personally went from whole milk to 2% and could not tell the difference, but now when I have no choice but to have whole milk, I can tell that the whole milk is much thicker. Whole milk is very fattening, even 2% is fattening, but the fact is, by dropping from whole to 2%, you are eliminating a huge amount of fat each day.

No fast food, more lean microwave dinners
I understand that most people are so busy that it is hard to stay away from fast food. Fast food is basically the worse, most fattening and unhealthy food you could put in your body. Busy? Grab a “lean cuisine” or “smart ones” microwaveable dinner. Am I saying that these choices are great? No, my point is this, if you are craving pizza, why eat 1000 calories worth from some fast food joint over about 300 calories from a microwaveable dinner? Same with most meals you are purchasing from fast food restaurants. This may very well be the most important item on my list. If you are a fast food eater, there is no reason you can not replace these high calorie meals with something similar that takes half the time to prepare and has less unwanted, unhealthy calories.

No junk food, more healthy snacks
People have snacks on a daily basis; more people choose junk food over healthy snacks. You may say to yourself “It’s just a small bag of chips” but look at it like this, if you were having a small bag of assorted nuts or a nutrigrain bar, would you have to second guess it? Most people that snack have at least 2 snacks a day, what if you replaced just one junk food snack with a healthy snack? Would that kill you? No, in fact it would do the complete opposite. It would help you stay healthier without giving up having your daily snack. If you are so addicted to unhealthy junk food that you cannot possibly replace it with healthy snacks like nuts or fruits, then at least try “weight watcher” snacks. They are basically the same cakes and donuts you are used to with less carbs. Either way, any small change can make a big difference.

These are all small changes you can make in your daily diet choices that can make a big difference in your health and well being. If your goal is to live healthier, or even to lose unwanted pounds without going to the gym, I am sure that anyone can make these small replacements. Once you start making these small changes in your diet, you will feel unbelievable when your friends are asking you what diet you are on.

If you want to take that extra leap into changing your entire diet for the better, click here for a list of some great foods you can eat.