My name is Faith Sloop (@trainingforamazing), and I am 23 years old. I live in Cleveland, Ohio, and I am a content creator. Competing on The Amazing Race became my goal and motivation. It pushed me to start incorporating more nutritious foods into my diet and running every week. I’ve lost 190 pounds.

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Before my current weight-loss journey, I counted calories, restricted, and watched my weight for as long as I can remember. Growing up low-income and busy (I wanted to be in every club), cheap fast food was most of what was accessible and convenient.

All my life I had been in the diet cycle—restricting and binging—over and over. By the time I was 16, I had gained and lost the same 10 pounds what felt like a million times. After a certain point, I stopped weighing myself.

I remember during my freshman year of college, I

Losing a little weight doesn’t have to mean completely transforming how and what you eat. By simply making some healthy food swaps, you can make surprisingly drastic changes.

While there are plenty of great ways to improve your diet and lose weight, such as trying one of the best protein powder for weight lossmaking little adjustments to what you eat during the day can make a big impact, too.

We spoke with a few dietary experts to bring you a guide to the best healthy food swaps that you can start making in your diet today.

1. Swap soda with seltzer water with lemon

We all know that sodas like Coke and Sprite are filled with sugar and empty calories — but they are undeniably delicious. Instead of reaching for a can of soda, which contains around 139 calories, Ashley Bannister, Noom Coach and registered dietitian, recommends making yourself

Although it’s obvious that a diet of hot dogs and ice cream won’t lead to a healthy physical life, new research illuminates how ultra-processed foods can also cause a significant decrease in brain function.

Research presented Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in San Diego outlined how foods such as instant noodles, sugary drinks and frozen meals all play a factor in a faster rate of cognitive decline.

“It’s no secret that physical and mental-cognitive health are intimately involved with each other, so it’s no surprise that this latest research suggests brain impairment, too,” said Rafael Perez-Escamilla, a professor of public health at Yale University.

“Just 100 calories of processed foods can affect your physical health. So, that’s two cookies.”

Research has linked ultra-processed food consumption to health problems like obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers. “And now, we are starting to realize they affect

So you want to start eating a healthier diet, but you’re not sure where to start. The good news is that you’re not alone. Nutrition and healthy eating are mysteries to most of us, with hundreds of misconceptions, myths, and even lies making it hard to know what’s right and what isn’t.

Some of the biggest myths are designed to set us back in our nutrition journey, making us dependent on unhealthy diet plans, self-help and recipe books, or particular brands of food. And once you’ve bought into a healthy eating myth, it can be hard to stop and get back on track.

But you can give yourself the best start possible by making yourself aware of the worst myths about healthy eating. Improving your nutrition shouldn’t be a mystery — so here are six of the most common myths about healthy eating.

Myth: You have to give up all