These four foods help keep my weight under control without the sacrifice.
EDITORIAL DISCLAIMER: Any advice or recommendation given in my writing is what works for ME and may not be the best regimen for you based on your psychological or physiological makeup and stability. Please consult a doctor when making decisions about your health.
For many, losing weight can seem almost impossible.
It’s not that they don’t want to…there’s no doubt in their mind that this is what they want.
It’s just that they can’t seem to stay consistent to their diet long enough to see the results they want.
Every time they start seeing any type of results, they begin to feel like they are sacrificing too much, feel a bit depressed, and think they have to “treat” themselves to feel better.
If this is you, I think I may have something to help.
I’ve experienced these same feelings before and, from a series of experimentation and just trying different things, have been able to identify four diet food “hacks” that you can eat and enjoy without feeling like you’re sacrificing your happiness to reach your fitness goals.
These four foods will make you feel like you can have your cake and eat it too.
Orville Redenbacher 98% Fat Free Popcorn
There are few things that I enjoy more than a good bag of popcorn with a movie.
Unfortunately, the usual movie popcorn can be rather bad for you, as the loads of butter and sodium are not helpful to many individual’s diets.
Therefore, I have always been a fan of the store brand to keep the extra sodium and butter at bay, and no brand is better at producing a tasty, low calorie version than Orville Redenbacher.
When my wife and I sit down to watch a movie on any given night, I’ll either enjoy a small 100-calorie bag or sometimes even indulge in an entire large 240-calorie bag and not feel any guilt for either of them.
The taste is almost as good as the full-flavored movie theater version, and my diet is not harmed as a result of eating it.
Dannon Vanilla Greek Yogurt
This has always been something that I have enjoyed over the past three years, but it has really taken a front seat in my diet rotation as an aid to help me remove sugar from my diet recently.
I developed a tremendous sweet tooth from giving up alcohol three years ago.
This caused me to turn to sweets, specifically Halo ice cream, to make up for the loss of that artificial dopamine spike my brain wanted.
As I traveled further on my alcohol-conscious journey, however, and no longer required the substitute, I then needed something to replace the tastiness of Halo without all the extra calories and excess sugar.
Enter Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt to the rescue.
My personal favorite is their Vanilla Light Greek flavor because it is lower in sugar than some of their fruit-laden versions, and I’m able to add blueberries to give it an extra nutrient boost.
It’s been an amazing substitute that has helped me break my sweet tooth much faster than I expected.
Siracha Hot Sauce
Sometimes healthy things are not very flavorful because of the lack of sauces and sodium on them.
For that reason, I have become a big fan of Siracha Hot Chili Sauce on about everything.
My wife introduced me to this, as she used it to season our chicken each week.
(Side note: There is a current worldwide shortage, so you better get as much as you can if try it and become a fan too).
I was the biggest Texas Pete fan ever for a while, but when I ran out one week unexpectedly, I decided to give Siracha a shot and have not looked back since.
The added flavor of Siracha definitely can make any bland meal have a bold taste that will make you forget it’s even healthy.
Similar to Granny with her Frank’s Red Hot, I put that Siracha sh*t on everything!
Sparkling Ice Drinks
While all the aforementioned foods are great additions to my diet and allow me to keep it consistent throughout the week, this last item is a staple that I truly don’t think I could substitute with anything else.
The amount of Sparkling Ice my wife and I buy in a week is “ridonkulous”, as we pretty much have an entire section of our refrigerator dedicated to it (70% of it is probably mine).
For me, Sparkling Ice is a great combination of taste (Kiwi Strawberry and Strawberry Lemonade are probably the two best) and low calories (only 5 calories per bottle) that allows me to keep any hunger pains at bay while also consuming something that delights my taste buds.
When I was first getting used to reducing my caloric intake to a level of homeostasis at 1200 calories per day, I would have hunger pains because my body was still adapting.
Whenever this would happen, I would just drink a 5-calorie Sparking Ice. The hunger would then subside, and I wouldn’t feel guilty that I had cheated on my new diet lifestyle in any way.
Fast forward three years, and I now have no issue staying between 1000–1200 calories per day because of this. Sparkling Ice keeps me satisfied and satiated without the need to eat anything that doesn’t help me maintain my weight and fitness lifestyle.
And while I can’t promise you you will like any other of the flavors outside of the two I suggested, I surmise that once you find one you like, you’ll probably dedicate a section of your refrigerator to it as well.