Weight loss is the most common doctor-recommended health change because more people are more overweight than ever before. Yet sadly, many wait till they're morbidly obese to start dieting. The reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" profiles obesity and weight loss after bariatric surgery. Here's a grocery shopping list with diet food swaps that are so good you'll keep eating them after you hit goal weight. Recipes are based on TLC's weight loss principles from "My 600-lb Life."
Breads, grains, starch, and carbs
Bread and carbs are directly linked to obesity and are mostly off the "My 600-lb Life" Dr.
Younan Nowzaradan's gastric bypass diet. But most people are going to eat it anyway. So make foods swaps with whole grain or oat bran 35-calorie per slice bread like Aunt Millie's. You’ll never miss the extra calories. Eat 100-calorie Bagel Thins or English muffins, edamame or extra fiber pasta, Flatout or Joseph's whole grain flax flatbread in moderation. Eat Cheerios, Special K protein, Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and oatmeal. Trade in fat, sugar and high fructose corn syrup for protein and omega-rich MUFAs and PUFAS (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids).
Healthier condiments
Cut down on condiments overall. Switch to 35-calorie-per-serving mayonnaise and margarine spread with zero trans fats.
Make your own blending Greek yogurt with real butter. Trade oil for non-stick cooking spray, spray butter and flaxseed or applesauce in baking. Blend avocado, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper for to-die-for mayo substitute. Try Bolthouse or Opa Greek yogurt/feta cheese and Maple Grove Farms Sugarfree Raspberry Vinaigrette salad dressing.
Blend feta, yogurt, a little olive oil and herbs to make dressing even Dr. Now of "My 600-lb Life" would approve of. Make your own sugarfree catsup and low sodium mustard to treat Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure too.
Dairy for weight loss
It's no wonder so many "My 600-lb Life" reality TV show celebrities struggle with cravings.
Sugar and dairy are very addictive and high in calories. So substitute regular or nonfat plain Greek yogurt--with double to triple the protein--for cheese and milk. Swap milk for light unsweetened vanilla almond, cashew or flax milk for drinking and to cook with. Switch to skim or one percent milk. Swap avocado for cheese but mind the high calories. Trade in creamy dressings for hummus and low sugar salsa.
80% veggies and fruit
Think of your plate like a pie chart and fill 4/5 of it with vegetables and fruit. Weight Watchers has declared them free food mostly, but the "My 600-lb Life" diet still avoids them until farther into weight loss. Best fruits are apples, acai, blueberries, dates, figs, grapefruit, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
Better veggies are green leafy kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, collard greens, romaine lettuce, spring mix, sprouts, pumpkin, carrots, summer squash, zucchini and purple cabbage. Kale has a cult following now and rightly so — it has twice as much vitamin A and C as spinach.
Protein food swaps for weight loss
Try PB2 (natural peanut powder with 85 percent fewer calories than peanut butter), almonds, fresh or frozen fish: salmon, cod, whiting, Pollock, marlin, and tuna, frozen shrimp, scallops, surimi. The "My 600-lb Life" reality television doctor pushes lean chicken and turkey but warns off high sodium cold cuts, franks or even turkey bacon. Eat nuts, seeds (chia, sunflower, and pumpkin), mushrooms, avocado, and falafel but avoid gassy beans.
Snack better
Swap chips for low-fat Cheez-Its and Calbee Snapea Crisps. Make your own veggie crisps. Trade sugar for Ideal or Monkfruit sweetener, Medjool dates, fruit and dark chocolate (70 percent cacao or higher), After surgery patients can start eating Skinny Cow ice cream bars, Weight Watchers desserts, low-fat pudding. Have in moderation dry red wine unless you've gastric bypass. "My 600-lb Life" staff says nix soda for water.
