For someone who is working towards consistently eating healthier, it is important to focus on being reasonable and realistic. In order to do this, ask yourself "What is going to be realistic for me in the long run?"
Unfortunately, the word "diet" has been associated with a negative connotation. The term "Yo-yo dieting" refers to repetitive cycles of changes in eating and exercise for a short period of time. This often leads to fluctuations in weight and very rarely offers long term benefits to health. Hence, the importance of making eating well a lifestyle choice with realistic nutritional expectations and not just a 6 week detox diet.
I am a big believer in balance when it comes to food. I believe that cutting foods out of a diet does not help anybody achieve long term results. It is important to continue to include foods that you enjoy, but at the same time understand that some flexibility in your choices is required.
Here are some examples of popular foods that people enjoy and some suggestions of foods that could make long term weight loss more realistic for you.
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Less Appropriate |
More Appropriate |
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Fruit juices (e.g. orange or apple) |
Freshly squeezed juice or water with a squeeze of lemon |
|
Ice-cream |
Plain, Greek yoghurt (mix in berries, ½ scoop of your favourite Vision protein powder and top with desiccated coconut) |
|
Spaghetti |
Zoodles (Zucchini noodles… you can actually by these ready made from Woollies or you can make them yourself!) You can also purchase edamame noodles from the health aisle in Woollies/Coles |
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Mashed potato |
A low carb option perfect for dinner is cauliflower mash or carrot mash |
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Hot chips |
Homemade, baked potato or sweet potato chips or for a lower carb option, try homemade baked carrot chips! |
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Salted nuts |
Unsalted nuts - but be sure to control portion size to 10 nuts per serve. |
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Rice cakes |
Vita Weat or Ryvita |
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Sugar |
Depending on what you are using it for, you could try:
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Bagel or baguette |
Multigrain English muffins |
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Butter, mayonnaise or sour cream |
Depending on its use: cottage cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese, ricotta, low fat yoghurt, avocado, wholegrain mustard, hummus, almond butter |
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Shop bought dips |
Often these are high in fats, so try making your own dips at home. Check out the MyVision app for healthy dip recipes or ask your trainer. |
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Chocolate bar |
Try have a small piece of dark chocolate, a chocolate protein bar or homemade chocolate protein balls to help hit that chocolate craving! Check out the MyVision app for protein ball recipes. |
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White bread |
Grainy, wholemeal bread |
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Plain packaged minced meat |
5 star lean mince meat |
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Chicken drumsticks/chicken wings |
Chicken breast/chicken tenders |
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Crumbed fish/chicken |
Lightly floured fish/chicken Or Herbed fish/chicken |
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Deep frying |
Pan-fry/grill/bake/barbeque |
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
