My Second Weight Loss Step- Switch to Good Foods

My second weight loss step was to switch out my bad foods for good ones. This one I still work on, but I am eating so much healthier. It wasn't hard and I love trying new recipes. I didn't go through my pantry and throw everything out. I know some nutritionists and diet "experts" recommend this but I don't. Instead I switched one bad food for a good one slowly. It was much easier to make small changes rather than those sweeping drastic ones. I really feel that is why so many people end up on a perpetual diet their whole life. I'm a southerner and cajun so I LOVE food! I love fried catfish, cornbread, desserts, gumbos, and more. I know how hard it is change those eating habits for life.

My first food I changed was bread. I was eating honey wheat bread, which was better than white bread, but I still needed to find a healthier bread. I had tried different types of multi-grain breads before finding my dark German wheat bread. It's very tasty with a good fiber content but low carbohydrates. I'm not a low carb diet, but I still try to eat moderate amounts. I stopped using vegetable oil and switched to olive oil. We also stopped frying foods, and we now saute, grill, or broil. The hardest switch for me was eating brown rice instead of white. I really resisted this change and didn't make it until about four months ago. I actually love how it tastes with beans. We don't eat much rice anymore. I have since discovered wild rice that I really enjoy eating. I'm still hunting for quinoa but my local store doesn't sell it. I need to go to Whole Foods soon and stock up on some items I can't get at my store.

One change I really indulge on weekly is my Fage Greek Total Yogurt. Yes I eat the full fat version, but I only eat 1/4 of a cup at a time with fresh fruit like berries. It's so delicious and creamy that it's more of a treat. I actually look forward to that snack in the middle of the day. I did switch to dark chocolate by finding a good quality chocolate that had three ingredients. The best part was I can pronounce them all, and it has 70% cocoa content. I break the bar into 12 small pieces and have one of them daily at the end of the day as a nice treat. I haven't had any chocolate or real sugar in over 30 days. I just don't crave it anymore. Losing weight doesn't have to be hard and can be quite enjoyable. Take it slowly and try new foods.