Swapsies

Anyone out there got some good food tips?

Here's the place to share it this weekend.

We all have points when losing weight, where we get peckish. Where we want just a little nibble on something. Living with 3 kids is hard. My cupboards are stacked with crisps, biscuits, chocolate and I have to almost fight a daily battle of resistance. However, I have found some satisfying food swaps that combat the cravings.

1) Crisps - Eating 2 bread sticks give me the salty savoury sense I get from crisps. They take about the same time to eat and whilst neither crisps nor breadsticks are particularly filling, it doesn't feel such a waste of calories.

The average bag of crisps = 100-160 cals.
2 breadsticks = 40 cals.

2) Something sweet - Instead of reaching for the chocolate I treat myself to a couple of dessert spoons of my favourite cereal. I am eating a banana for breakfast every day at the moment since I realised how high in sugar and carbs my cereal was. I buy a supermarkets oat cluster, honey, nut and raisin granola style cereal and a small bowl without milk equates to 240cals. Now, I am a girl who likes a big bowl of cereal and I don't want the majority of my sugar for the day to come from an early morning meal so realistically, without milk I would be looking at 400-500cals for my cereal. I get a fast and satisfactory sweet snack for around 50cals. Half that of a small chocolate bar or chocolate digestive.

Bowl of oat cereal = 250cal (small.)
Small chocolate bar/Chocolate biscuit = 100cals
2 dessert spoons as sweet snack = 50cals.

These sound small savings but if you find you snack on either or both of these a couple of times a day, it soon adds up.

I have tried more fruit but I don't like many fruits. Those I do work out to be expensive and with a family budget we cannot afford too many luxuries so I look for cheaper easily attainable replacements instead.

I rarely drink alcohol. If I do I go for diet mixers rather than full fat mixer with a spirit saving around 50cals per glass. Over the course of a night that adds up.

These little alterations have got me down 14lbs in 6 weeks.

I have been far from angelic with the diet, I eat out, I drink alcohol, sometimes both in the same night so all good will goes out the window but I am not giving up on enjoying life to be a few lbs smaller.

I aim to lose another 14lbs by the time my wedding anniversary comes round.

I have 7.5 weeks for that so I am hoping to be a size smaller and back to feeling as happy and confident as I was on my wedding day last year.

So they are my little tips and aspirations for the next few weeks, what are yours?