Continued from Food Substitutions to Lose Weight.

Do food substitutions work? Yes, food substitutions work, especially if you have certain food cravings. How can food substitutions help you deal with your cravings? It is pretty simple – the following food substitutions have been designed with one idea in mind – take a typical food craving and substitute the “trigger” food item with something similar, but not as loaded with calories, simple carbohydrates or fat.

Food substitutions can be especially useful for those who are trying to maintain weight loss or need to lose weight fast. Food substitutions below have been put together by nutritionist Keri Glassman.

If you are a “cheese girl” and like to have a huge pizza every night, which is usually loaded with refined carbohydrates (around 41 grams per slice of a 16-inch pizza) and an endless mountain of cheese, which is high in fat (approximately 10 grams per slice) – it is time to start thinking about multigrain muffins.

The smart food substitution “Multigrain English muffins are only 100 calories each and are rich in fiber,” says Keri. “Top with homemade marinara sauce and an ounce of part-skim mozzarella cheese for a pizza-like snack that’s high on calcium – not fat.”

If you love french fries or anything fried and filled with saturated and trans fats – a medium order of fries has approximately 22.8 grams of fat, plus they are loaded with sodium (approximately 260 milligrams), which causes water retention – maybe you should turn your attention to a sweet potato.

The smart food substitution “Slice a sweet potato, lightly spray with olive oil and bake,” says Keri. “Olive oil provides good, mono-unsaturated fat, while the sweet potato is rich in fiber. Add a dash of sea salt to flavor. Since it is more intense than regular salt, you won’t need as much.” [via]