Simple Food Swaps Ideas to Eliminate Unnecessary Calories and Be A “Food Fashionista”

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Did you know that a series of simple food swaps throughout your day can eliminate many unneeded calories, leading to weight loss over time? Healthy eating doesn’t mean deprivation and it doesn’t mean giving up on taste, but rather making better choices about the foods you already enjoy. Whether you’ve undergone bariatric surgery, are trying to lose weight before surgery or are just seeking a healthier version of yourself, try these 10 swaps to look and feel better. 

    1) Choose AVOCADO over butter or mayonnaise. Whether as a spread on toast or condiment on a sandwich, a tablespoon of avocado saves you almost 80 calories over butter, and you’ll benefit from more fiber, vitamins and minerals.

2) Choose NUTS over croutons. For a healthier salad, replace carb-laden croutons with walnuts, which are high in polyunsaturated fat, a good fat that can lower LDL (or “bad” cholesterol) while boosting HDL (“good” cholesterol).

3) Choose ROMAINE LETTUCE over hamburger buns. You’ll still get the feel of picking up your burger to eat it, but you’ll save about 140 calories. Lettuce is a great substitute for tortillas on a burrito, fajita or taco as well. Lettuce Wraps are quite the trend so you will be keeping up those “foodie” fashionistas!

4) Choose RED WINE over cocktails. Red wine has about a tenth of the carbs of a margarita, and, when consumed in moderation, you’ll benefit from antioxidants believed to lower LDL and boost HDL.


5) Choose SPAGHETTI SQUASH over traditional spaghetti noodles. Even whole wheat spaghetti contains nearly 40 grams of carbohydrates in a cup, much more than the body typically burns between dinner and bedtime.

6) Choose HOMEMADE DRESSING over store bought. Drenching a salad in high-fat dressings defeats the purpose of those healthy veggies. Instead, drizzle salads with balsamic vinegar or lemon juice to keep the flavor while ditching the calories.


7) Choose GROUND TURKEY over ground beef. Ground turkey contains half the saturated fat of even 85 percent lean ground beef. While poultry is a better option than red meat, eating more FISH is one of the best strategies for reducing cholesterol through diet.

8) Choose QUINOA over rice or pasta. One cup of quinoa has 15 percent fewer carbs, 25 percent more fiber and 60 percent more protein than brown rice.


9) Choose POPCORN over tortilla chips. Though tortilla chips are a better alternative than potato chips, air-popped popcorn has 80 percent less saturated fat than tortilla chips and more than twice the fiber.

10) Choose FAT-FREE GREEK YOGURT over sour cream. Whether used as a garnish or in a sauce, use Greek yogurt to cut out excess fat without losing taste or texture. 

If you have unsuccessfully tried diet and exercise to lose weight and are obese or morbidly obese, you may want to consider bariatric surgery with BayChoice Bariatric Center in Houston, Texas, to improve your overall health. The U.S. National Institutes of Health recommends bariatric surgery for individuals with a body mass index of at least 40 and for those with a BMI of 30 who also have serious medical conditions. Bariatric surgery decreases the size of the stomach, reducing the amount of food an individual can eat, and can lead to significant long-term weight loss, as well as recovery from diabetes, improvement in cardiovascular risk factors and a reduction in mortality. 

For more information about how BayChoice Bariatric Center can help you in the fight against obesity, please contact Dr. Kenneth Hollis today at 281-482-5300.