Junk food is one of the biggest culprits of weight gain. Although it might seem like cutting out your favorite junk food will make losing weight a miserable task, there is good news. You can replace your favorite junk food with healthier options that are tasty, easy to make and will keep you from feeling deprived when your cravings just won’t ease up. If you want to enjoy the foods you like while losing at least 10 lbs., start having the following foods for their less healthy equivalent and watch that scale move in the right direction, we will flip this to healthy junk food

Instead of Potato or Tortilla Chips…

  One easy way to eliminate some of the calories and fat in potato and tortilla chips is to purchase the baked variety. You can also bake your own chips at home by using sliced potatoes or whole wheat flour tortillas. Better yet, consider switching up the snacks you usually use chips for altogether.

  For example, instead of chips and salsa, you can make little wraps by filling romaine lettuce leaves with avocado and salsa. Or instead of snacking on potato chips, make some fresh air popped popcorn instead. You can eat twice as much popcorn as chips and still eliminate at least half the calories and virtually all of the fat.

Instead of Ice Cream and Candy…

  Most candy and ice cream harbors a lot of sugar that spikes your blood glucose levels quickly after being consumed, but then turns around and plummets after just a short period of time. These foods usually provide a high number of calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium which are all counterproductive when trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight.

Instead of purchasing ice cream, make your own Frozen dessert and milkshakes at home. Frozen berries mixed with almond milk and American-aloe nectar or honey makes a perfect frozen dessert. Milkshakes made from fruit, almond or soy milk, ice, cocoa powder and natural sweetener should be able to tackle any sweet tooth no matter how fierce it is. Eliminating the fatty products like milk and sugar from these foods is what really makes the difference. Making your own treats at home is easy and usually less expensive than purchasing them.

Instead of Fast Food…

  Make your own version of fast food at home to save money and tons of unnecessary calories and fat. Fast food is linked to an alarming rate of heart disease and obesity, and it usually defeats any attempts at weight loss. A few alternatives can be made at home and frozen for easy preparation for meals in a pinch.

  A great way to manage fast food cravings is to dedicate a night of the week for your favorite foods at dinner time. For example, Mondays can be dedicated to pizza night, while Tuesdays are reserved for Mexican foods, and Wednesdays are saved for fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

  Making your own pizza at home, using plenty of fresh vegetables, can save hundreds of calories and many grams of fat while providing a tasty meal that the entire family will love. Homemade tacos, turkey burgers and baked, breaded chicken are all easy to prepare and incorporate into regular meal plans.