It isn’t just junk food that’s high in calories, as some seemingly healthy items can be surprisingly energy-dense.
Now one fitness influencer, who has 35,000 followers on Instagram, has shared his very easy calorie swaps exclusively with Food&Drink so you can slash your daily intake without going hungry if you’re looking to shed a few pounds.
London-based Rob Eades, 24, who calls himself the Lean Student Chef, reveals you can cut up to 1,300 calories from your diet a day very easily by substituting certain snacks or ingredients for others.
From swapping granola for porridge in the morning, which saves 285 calories, to choosing a bagel thin instead of a whole bagel, these are the swaps you can make to drastically cut down the number of calories you consume that mean you won’t have to go without your favourite snacks or meals.
Rob Eades, aka the Lean Student Chef, has shared his easy calorie swaps with Food&Drink to help those looking to shed a few pounds slash their intake without going hungry
By switching from white rice to quinoa, cooks can save 74 calories
Rob, who is studying at a drama school in London, reveals that it’s not just junk food that can be surprisingly high in calories.
He says you can easily cut out a significant amount of calories by switching from some energy dense foods such as rice, spaghetti and avocado to low-calorie options such as quinoa, squash spaghetti and cucumber.
By making all the swaps, health eaters can slash up to 1,298 calories from their diets.
Avocado is full of healthy fats, but if you’re looking to lower your fat intake, try switching to cucumber instead which has 182 fewer calories
You can still enjoy bagels on a diet if you switch to bagel thins, which will save you 98 calories
Granola is often packed with sugar and fat so try switching to porridge which contains 285 fewer calories and will still keep you full until lunch
White bread doesn’t have much nutritional value and is calorie dense so try switching to brown bread thins which have 92 fewer calories
Caesar dressing is delicious but the creamy sauce is full of sugar and fat, even if you pick a low fat option. Swap it for French dressing instead to save 82 calories
Cereal bars often market themselves as healthy options but they often contain plenty of sugar. Swap it for a healthy apple instead and save yourself 217 calories
Cheesy mash is delicious but if you want to slash calories from your diet, swap the potato base for cauliflower instead to save 106 calories and give yourself an extra boost of nutrition
If you’re looking for low carb options, swap spaghetti for ‘pasta’ made out of butternut squash which can save you 116 calories
Neither a bag of crisps or a bag of popcorn provides much nutritional value but the popcorn contains 42 calories fewer than the crisps