Healthy Food Substitutions

A fit lifestyle involves two main components: regular exercise and sensible eating. Fad diets are a waste of time and energy, and they are often counterproductive in the long run. A wiser approach would be to make wiser choices about the quantity and variety of your food portions.

It is not necessary to completely eliminate any one category of food. It is more sustainable to make wise substitutions of both individual foods and whole categories of food.
For example rather than making meat or bread or cheese the major component of your meal and relying on the vegetables and salad as supplemental side dishes, why not reverse the equation? Start with a substantial salad, but be careful not to overdo it with the croutons and dressing. Follow up the salad with a soup, preferably one that is not too creamy. If you eat slowly and have two lighter but filling courses before the main course, then you will find that you can be satisfied with a smaller serving of the entrée.

With individual foods, look for opportunities to substitute vegetables for chips or bread. For example, hummus is a lighter dip that most creamy dips, and it is even lighter when you dip carrots and celery into the hummus rather than chips or bread. Salad dressing is another major trap for people who are trying to lose weight. Avoid creamy dressings, and opt for an oil and vinegar based Italian-style dressing instead. Better yet, you can make your own salad dressing at home without an excessive amount of effort.

Are you ready for a real and lasting change? Perhaps it is time to contact a weight loss clinic to see if you are a candidate for bariatric surgery.
On the Space Coast, Dr. Diego Velarde at the Advanced Surgical and Weight Loss Institute in Merritt Island has over ten years of clinical practice and specializes in bariatric surgery. Dr. Velarde performs minimally invasive robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot which allows an increased range of motion and more precise movements.