7 Unique Food Swaps That Make Weight Fall Off Fast

If you've been eating what everyone calls healthy food like oatmeal, whole grain bread, low-fat yogurt, fruit smoothies religiously, and the scale still will not move for you, I want you to hear this so clearly. You are not doing anything wrong. You've been told that whole grain bread, low-fat yogurt, granola bars, Fiber One bars, and fruit smoothies are the cornerstones of a healthy diet, and then you eat them faithfully. You do what you're told to do, and somehow your body just holds on to the weight anyway. This is not a willpower problem. I want you to think of it more like a signal problem. Many of the foods marketed to you as healthy were never designed to actually support your metabolism. They were actually designed to be, number 1, as cheap as possible to manufacture, number 2, shelf-stable, and number 3, easy to eat too much of, right? Those highly addictive, hyperpalatable foods. When you swap them for foods your body actually recognizes, something really, really remarkable happens, and it happens really quickly. Hunger calms down, cravings quiet, and the weight you have been fighting starts to let go on its own. I'm Dr. Ashley Lucas, PhD nutritionist, a registered dietitian, and the founder of PhD Weight Loss, where to date we have helped more than 13,000 pounds collectively drop over 480,000 pounds nationwide. My goal with this channel is to give you the science that you need to actually work with your body instead of against it. Today, I wanna walk you through 7 food swaps that have consistently helped my clients drop weight faster, not because they are eating less, and I think that's really important, but because they are finally eating in a way that their body, their biology can actually respond to. Now, none of these foods are really trendy. None of them ask for you to give up satisfying meals. Every single one that I'm gonna talk about is a swap that I personally recommend and that we use inside of our program every single day. Before we actually get into the swaps, I wanna share with you the principle that ties them all together. When you eat food that spikes your blood sugar, your pancreas is signaled to release insulin to bring it back down, right? We don't like to have high blood sugar. We've gotta get it down. The body can actually only tolerate 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar in the bloodstream at any given time. When it goes above that, insulin is going to be released from the pancreas. Insulin is the hormone that tells your body to store fat. It is an anabolic hormone, and by anabolic, I mean that it is a building hormone. It wants to help your body store fat, get bigger. The higher and more often insulin spikes, the more your body stays locked into that storage mode rather than the burning mode that we want when we're going through weight loss. Most of the foods marketed to us as healthy are actually high glycemic, low satisfaction foods. That means that they're also going to spike insulin. They leave you hungry an hour later after eating, and they quietly sabotage everything you are trying to do. Each of these swaps below does the exact opposite. They're gonna help to keep your blood sugar stable, which in turn keeps insulin steady. They keep you full for longer, which is really important, and they signal to your body that food is plentiful so that your body feels safe enough to release the stored fat. So let's get in. Number 1, you're going to swap low-fat yogurt for full-fat, maybe low-fat. I'm okay with low-fat. I'm not okay with fat-free plain yogurt. People always ask me, Dr. Ashley Lucas, is vanilla a flavor? Yes, it is. So when I mean plain, I don't even mean vanilla. I mean plain. Now, this is one of the most common mistakes I see, and it is not your fault. We were sold a story for decades that made us fat. The science never supported that, and the consequence consequences are everywhere. When manufacturers strip fat out of the yogurt, the product becomes more thin, it's bland. So what do you think they add? What do you guys think they add? They add sugar, sometimes 20 grams or more in a single small container to make it palatable, to make it tasty. You end up actually eating a dessert with a health halo. And you guys, it doesn't matter where the milk comes from. We think, oh my gosh, this is cashew milk, it's almond milk, it's pea. I don't care where the milk comes from. I also don't think that like milk comes from a cashew. That's another topic. It doesn't matter, right? So full-fat plain Greek yogurt does the opposite of all of these other yogurts. The fat actually keeps you satisfied. That's why I don't want you eating nonfat yogurt. The protein that you get in the Greek yogurt supports your muscle, and there is no added sugar to spike your insulin. Now you can top that yogurt with a small handful of berries, maybe some chopped nuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon. You could put some chia seeds in it, some Zen chamomile seeds for added fiber. Now, this swap alone, when you make it consistently, can transform your afternoon hunger and your cravings. Get ready for number 2: swapping breakfast cereal or oatmeal, even steel-cut oats, you guys, for eggs with veggies. I know oatmeal has like this sacred reputation, and people get very upset when I say let go of your oatmeal, especially If you top your oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, that's what I often hear, it's not going to serve you if that's all you're eating. Oats, even steel cut, are essentially more of a fast-digesting carb that spikes blood sugar early in the day and sets you up for a hunger crash by mid-morning. Cereal is worse. I cannot stand cereal. I don't think any of us should be eating cereal. Now, most of what is marketed as healthy breakfast cereal is actually a dessert. Did you know that Kellogg's back in the 1950s actually created the "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" slogan to sell his breakfast cereals. And I know this one is tough too. If you are eating Raisin Bran with nonfat skim milk and a banana in the morning, or you— if you are eating steel-cut oats with a flavored yogurt on it and a glass of orange juice, it is not serving you. Instead, swap it for 2 or 3 eggs scrambled with whatever veggies you enjoy. You could do spinach, peppers, mushrooms, onions if you like them. Add a side of avocado avocado, maybe some cheese, goat cheese, cheddar cheese, whatever, maybe some sour cream. Now, each egg gives you around 6 grams of high-quality protein. It's the kind of protein that actually triggers your body's natural fullness hormones and keeps your blood sugar flat for hours. This is the breakfast that my clients consistently report changes everything about the— how they feel for lunch. And to note also that 2 eggs is not enough protein for most people. So you might do 2 eggs with some chicken or steak and the veggies and the healthy fat that I mentioned above. Now, if you are listening to all of this and thinking, I want someone to just tell me exactly what to eat for my body, for my history, for my goals, that is the work we do every single day at PhD Weight Loss. And I created this because that's what I would want. I want to take all of the guesswork out. I'm a very busy person, and I would just love if there's something that I can't figure out on my own for someone to collapse time for me and help me so that I can actually get through the process and move on. Now, what we do at PhD is we build a customized plan around your unique metabolism. We build it around your health history, the way that your body actually responds to food. So if something like this, if you're like me and you just want help and to move on, get there and move on and learn more and learn something different after you achieve your goal, then you should definitely head over to myphdweightloss.com or if you are watching this on YouTube, just click the link in the description and we will guide you on the next steps. Number 3, you're gonna swap sandwich bread for lettuce wraps or even an open-faced approach to sandwiches. Modern bread is one of the most hyperpalatable foods on the planet. The wheat that we eat today is bred for shelf life and elasticity, not nutrition. Most of the loaves that you get in the grocery store in the US are loaded with added sugars, with dough conditioners and oils that inflame the gut. The wheat that it's made out of probably has a lot of Roundup in it. Whatever it is, it just causes inflammation in the body. A lot of people— and you've probably heard this before— can go over to Europe and enjoy the grains and the bread and actually drop weight. It's not the situation here, it's just different. Two slices of bread can spike your blood sugar more than a candy bar. You don't have to give up your sandwich. You could wrap your turkey, your chicken, your tuna in like a butter lettuce leaf or a romaine lettuce leaf. That's what I do. You could use a single slice of grain, maybe a sprouted grain bread would be a better option if you really need the texture, or you can just skip the bread entirely and turn the same fillings into more of a salad bowl. And this is generally my favorite way of going about it. For me, for some reason Grains cause so much inflammation. I will eat a piece of bread and I will get heartburn. So if you have heartburn, I really, really encourage you to drop out the grains, drop out the bread for a little bit, and just see how good you can actually feel. And if you try this and you notice a difference, I would love for you to drop your feedback and your experience in the comments below. So remember, the bread is just a vehicle. All of the protein and the fillings and the delicious food is actually what's inside of the sandwich. Number 4: Regular pasta, you're gonna swap for zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice. Now, this one can sound intimidating until you have tried it. Pasta is another high glycemic food that lands fast in your bloodstream. A standard serving of pasta spikes insulin almost as much as table sugar. The pasta is not doing anything for you nutritionally, and it is really a delivery system for the delicious sauce. Now, I know if you have a history and family members who are Italian, you're gonna fight me on this, and I totally understand. If you are really looking to drop weight and reduce inflammation, I highly encourage you just to give this a try. It doesn't mean that you can never eat pasta. It's going to be better if you make the pasta from home, I'm going to say that. But even so, I'd just love you to give it a chance. You could swap the pasta for spiralized zucchini, which is my favorite, You could also make the swap with spaghetti squash or sautéed cauliflower rice. You're going to top it with the same Bolognese sauce, the same pesto, which is delicious, the same Alfredo that you love. Chicken, steak, salmon— the flavor is in the sauce and the protein and the cheese. You're not going to miss what you removed, and your body is going to respond very differently. Now, I will give you a tip if you're new into cooking spiralized zucchini. I don't love getting the frozen type, especially at the beginning. Again, if this is new to you, because it's going to be more soggy, I would get the spiralized zucchini that you can get pre-spiralized at the grocery store. I also have a little spiralizer that I use, and I do it myself, although when I'm strapped for time, I'll definitely get the spiralized zucchini purchased in the fresh vegetable section of the grocery store. And then I put some avocado oil on the pan heat it up to be real hot, and then more like fry the noodles. You're not going to want to steam them, you're not going to want to boil them, because it makes them soggy. And I think it's all about texture here for this one. Number 5: You're gonna sub fruit juice or even store-bought smoothies for whole fruit with protein. Now, this is going to sound very dramatic, but I'm stressing this and sharing this with you to make a point. Fruit juice is like melted sugar. An 8-ounce glass of orange juice contains roughly the same amount of sugar as a can of soda. There's no fiber, no fat, no protein to slow it down, and it hits your bloodstream like a tidal wave. I'm going to go ahead and say yes. Orange juice, for example, is going to have some vitamin C in it. It's going to be different than just table sugar for sure, but metabolically the body can't tell the difference. And if you are struggling with inflammation and weight gain, I highly encourage you to be open to letting juice go. The same goes for most smoothies. From chains. Even the ones marketed as healthy often contain more sugar than 3 donuts. Or you could drink smoothie from Tropical Smoothie or Jamba Juice— can spike your blood sugar so hard that your body spends the rest of the day chasing the crash, just like if you ate some donuts. Instead, your better bet is going to be to eat the whole fruit and pair it with a protein. So like a handful of berries on top of full-fat yogurt like we talked about earlier, a small apple with a hard-boiled egg topped with salt, making sure that you're eating the yolk, and a slice of cheese, right? The difference is that you got the fiber in the whole fruit that slows the sugar release, and the protein blunts the insulin response. You get the nutrients without the metabolic damage. I hope that, that makes sense. Number 6, you're gonna swap granola bars, Fiber One bars, Quaker Chewy bars for hard-boiled eggs, beef jerky, or cheese. Granola bars are candy bars in disguise. Look at the ingredient list on almost any bar marketed as healthy, and you will find rice syrup— doesn't matter if it's organic, by the way, or all-natural— cane sugar, honey, agave nectar, some combo of all four. And then most of them have seed oils, processed grains. They're convenient, which is why we reach for them, and they're hyperpalatable, kind of addictive, but they leave you hungrier than you started. When you need a portable snack, reach for hard-boiled eggs, maybe a quality beef jerky without a ton of sugar, maybe a small handful of nuts if you feel like nuts aren't a trigger food for you. You could put some sliced chicken, some sliced steaks in a Ziploc baggie and bring that with you. You know, these are real foods that travel just as well. They satisfy so much more because they don't send your blood sugar on a roller coaster. Now, if you struggle with blood sugar swings afternoon cravings, maybe that 3 PM crash that sends you reaching for something sweet, maybe caffeinated. I want you to know about a supplement that I formulated specifically to help this situation. It is amazing. It is called GlucoCut Plus. It supports your body's natural ability to regulate blood sugar. It helps trigger your own GLP-1 production, and it helps with the cravings that derail so many people. You can find it at DrAshleyLucas.com. You'll want to use my code for a discount on your first order. It's ASHLEY10, so make sure you use that. And it has really been one of the most positively reviewed and received products in my line. I think that you're going to understand why when you give it a try. Number 7: sugar. Sugar, specifically in coffee. You are going to swap for heavy cream with monk fruit or allulose. I like those sweeteners the best. Now, if you want to do a deep dive on zero-calorie sweeteners, you want to learn more, want to learn about the science, if you're listening to this on a podcast platform, come on over to YouTube. And you YouTube viewers, I'm going to include the link in the description for you so you can join me and do a deep dive on these. Now, coffee. Coffee is one of the most underrated daily decisions for your metabolism. I really believe that. If you are adding flavored creamer, Coffee-Mate— I just went and spoke to a bunch of women who were looking to drop weight, and they're like, oh, I just love my Coffee-Mate. It's not gonna serve you. Maybe 2 to 5 sugars, maybe one of the popular sweeteners that still raise insulin. You are starting your day with a metabolic dip before you have even had breakfast. So instead, you can still drink your coffee. I know coffee is one of those items that is so personal. People will even say, "Hey, I'm not going to get started with PhD Weight Loss if you take away my coffee." I will never take away your coffee, by the way. However, I will help to educate you on what your current coffee drinking is doing to your body and provide you with really delicious swaps. So try organic heavy cream or half and half, maybe a little bit of allulose or monk fruit if you like sweetness, maybe some liquid stevia vanilla flavored. Now personally, heavy cream is one of my favorite foods. It is pure fat, there's no sugar, it keeps you in fat burning state instead of pushing you into storage mode. Allulose and monk fruit are the only two sweeteners I really like. I, I'm also pretty good with vanilla flavored stevia drops. I just do not like the bitterness, so I don't use very much. Now I really like allulose and monk fruit because they don't have the bitterness and and they don't raise blood sugar or insulin. Instead of like, um, maltitol, for example, it does. I don't love erythritol in the gut anyway. Again, check out that other video if you want to do a deep dive. Now, this single morning swap done daily can shift your entire day. If you also want some specific handholding on what to order when you get your coffee— let's say you go to a local coffee store, you go to Starbucks, whatever it might be— if you want to investigate that guide, you think it would be helpful, head on into the description and I will include that for you. All right, now here's what I want you to take away from this: you have not been failing. You have just been following advice that was never designed for your biology in the first place. Your body so is not broken. It's just been responding, and responding very intelligently, to the signals it has been receiving. You're going to change the signals, and then the body changes too. You don't have to overhaul everything overnight either. I want this to feel manageable, and I want you to be able to adjust maybe one or two things, but do it consistently. Pick one swap from this list. I encourage you to pick the one that feels the most doable, and I want you to start there. Once that feels natural and consistent—because we know that consistency wins—layer in the next. Your metabolism will totally catch up faster than you expect, and the work that you're putting in now will start to show. If this resonated with you, check out my other video on why everyone used to be thin in the 1950s. We talk about diet secrets of the past. It's a super cool look into how we stayed thin in the past and what has happened since. The link will be right above this over here or in the description. And if you have not already subscribed to this channel and you're here on YouTube, please do so we can keep this work going together. Also drop a comment below and let me know which swap you are going to start with first. I read them and I want to cheer you on. Remember, you got to step up to make the change. Lead with your heart, train your mind, and listen to what your body already knows. I'll see you next time.