The only thing we need to really know when wondering how to loose weight is our bodies and what our bodies really need…not want. Since the dawn of creation the universe has provided the essentials that the human body needs and only since the birth of our new found “foods” has obesity come to the rise. When we look at the data of the early 1900s, before popular sports drinks, chips that last 2-3 months before going stale, and Tang became household necessitates, we see that early 20^th century Americans faced little to no obesity at all compared to the near 40% that our current generation is aching to surpass. Why is that you ask? Because early American peoples were not stuffing their faces with Doritos but rather sweet treats such as apples and bananas. It is very simple when looked at in laments terms as to why we are obese, we have diabetes, and we litter the ER with digestive problems…we ingest little to no fiber, natural sugars, or heart healthy Omega-3s that would foster a body prepared to face the hardships of pollution and overpopulation that is present around us.

Now it may seem impossible to eliminate all junk foods from your diet and substitute them with healthier solutions such as bananas, green peppers, and raw tuna and salmon but in reality it is extremely simple. The amount of calories present in an entire green pepper is less than 100, 100 calories compared to the 420 in an average bad of Sun Chips, or 280 in an Oatmeal Cream Pie.  If we were to substitute at least one fatty treat with a healthy and filling one we could easily see the pounds melt away. Lets take the Sun Chip example to another level…say a person eats one bag of the 420 healthier alternatives each day and he decides to substitute those with a green pepper. By cutting 320 calories he doesn’t need he cuts one pound each two weeks. Was that not simple? Let’s take it to a new level…salad. Say that you eat a normal SADD dinner each night of over 900 calories (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a soda pop) and you substitute this for a healthy salad of kale, carrots, cucumbers, green and red peppers, and cabbage. By doing this we more than quadruple the amount of fiber needed to digest the large meal but also cut the calories down to about 300. With this -600 loss we are actually talking about an additional -1lb weight loss every 6 days! Here are some more healthy substitutions that will not cut the amount of food but increase the quality:

• Candy bars for apples, bananas, and oranges. An average candy bar has about 280 calories whereas an average sized apple, banana, and orange together only constitute 380 calories. 100 additional calories for 3 regular sized fruits that will actually keep you regular.
• Hamburgers for tuna and wheat crackers. Substituting a nearly 500 calorie hamburger for  a 120 calorie can of tuna with about a tbsp of low-cal mayonnaise with 80 calories and 7 wheat crackers with about 200 calories cuts the calories by 100 and increases the quantity by 2x. 100 calories means a -1lb weight loss in a little over a month.
• Regular milk for Soy Milk. If you were to cut out your regular glass of 2% for a glass of soy you cut nearly 120 calories and increase the fiber by about 8g. 180 calorie loss means an additional -1lb in 20 days.

Suggestions like these run all over the internet and hold extreme merit when thinking of loosening the belt in the midst of bikini season. Just substituting a few things each day can really add up. Think of starting each morning with a pantheon of fruit and soy milk on low-cal cereal and it is easy to already feel slimmer. Once a few substitutions are in place it is easy to continue the trend and before you know it our old habits of grabbing brownies can be replaced by strawberries and peaches in a light yogurt dressing. The only way to change is to start but lets start smarter so the work is not harder.