Lesson 22 of 30 · Step 4
What to eat instead
The foods you used to reach for, and better choices that satisfy the same craving without working against you.
The foods you used to reach for, and better choices that satisfy the same craving without working against you.
This is the home for every "eat this instead of that" on the site. Each food has its own page with the best alternatives, the ones to enjoy in moderation, and my go-to picks. Want to know why a swap works? Every page links to the blog post that explains it.
All of the best choices here fit the Weigh to Stay approach: real food, with refined carbs and added sugar kept low.
You'll find a lot of these swaps at MOM's Organic Market, a store I love shopping at. Not every swap is organic, and none of them are meant to be the staple of your diet. Your meals should still be built on real, whole food. But as replacements for really bad habits, they're fantastic.
Start the day full and steady instead of hungry by mid-morning.
"Heart healthy" on the box, refined grain and sugar in the bowl.
See the alternatives →Refined flour topped with syrup: a big spike first thing.
Coming soonOne bagel can carry as many carbs as several slices of bread.
Coming soonA good base food with dessert-level added sugar.
Coming soonFlavored creamers add sugar to every single cup.
Coming soonThe everyday foods most meals are built on.
Most "wheat" bread isn't whole grain, and two slices add up fast.
See the alternatives →Keep the sauce and the comfort. Change the noodle.
See the alternatives →A refined grain, the same way white bread is.
See the alternatives →Refined flour, and the big ones carry a lot of carbs.
See the alternatives →The slice is mostly refined flour.
Coming soonStarchy, fast-digesting, and often fried.
Coming soonFor when you want the crunch and the salt.
Fried, fast-digesting, and engineered so you can't stop at one.
See the alternatives →Mostly refined flour and oil: a savory cookie in disguise.
See the alternatives →Marketed as the "lighter" snack, but it's refined flour and salt.
Coming soonAlmost pure starch and flavoring, built to melt away so you keep eating.
Coming soonThe bottomless basket problem, before the meal even arrives.
Coming soonFor the after-dinner craving and the afternoon slump.
In coffee, tea, and baking, it adds up spoonful by spoonful.
See the alternatives →The coffee-shop habit that quietly adds up.
See the alternatives →Sugar and fat in the exact ratio that switches off your fullness signals.
See the alternatives →Easy to eat in multiples before your body registers the first one.
Coming soonFast sugar with nothing to slow it down.
Coming soonThere's a real difference between a candy bar and good dark chocolate.
Coming soonFried, sugared, and often sitting right there in the break room.
Coming soonThe calories and sweeteners you don't chew.
Regular and diet, and what to drink instead.
See the alternatives →Sugar water with food dye, marketed to people who work out.
See the alternatives →Sugar or sweeteners, plus caffeine, plus a reliable crash.
Coming soonSome carry more sugar than a can of soda.
See the alternatives →The fruit without the fiber that made fruit a good choice.
Coming soonA regional staple with a serious sugar load.
Coming soonWhere hidden sugar loves to hide.
Often a quarter sugar or more by weight.
Coming soonMany bottled dressings rely on sugar and refined oils.
Coming soonLots of jarred sauces add sugar you'd never expect.
Coming soonMostly corn syrup with flavoring.
Coming soonWhich fats to cook with, and which to limit.
Heavily refined oils, and what I cook with instead.
Coming soonProcessed spreads versus real butter and olive oil.
Coming soonFoods marketed to people who are trying to eat well.
Often closer to a candy bar than the packaging suggests.
Coming soonSome are excellent. Some are candy with a protein label.
Coming soonMostly sugar, shaped like fruit.
Coming soonA health halo around a large dose of fast sugar.
Coming soonNew alternatives are added regularly. Some pages include links to products I personally use; if you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
List the five foods you reach for most that work against you. Open the swap page for each one, choose a replacement, and buy at least one of them this week.
No fad plans, no before-and-afters. Just what actually keeps weight off, explained plainly.