What are some healthy changes that you've made in how you eat?

While you're losing weight or trying to become more healthy, one of the best things that happens is that you drop bad habits along the way and pick up better ones. A few of mine are:

• I never drink regular soda.
• If I have a choice, I always choose whole wheat over white bread.
• I always ask for salad dressings to be on the side, you'd be surprised at how many calories are in them and how much they drown your salads with them.
• I have discovered that I love fruits, especially the ones in season.
• I use low calorie cooking spray to cook eggs instead of oil.
• I never eat foods I don't like... what a waste of my calories! I try to use them wisely.
• I have nuts more often than I did before. I almost always add them to cereals or salads.
• 1% milk is perfect for me, not too heavy and not too bland.

Also, I almost always use "reduced" versions of things- never completely fat-free, though... yuck! I believe in having the foods or flavors you love but tweaking it a bit to be healthier. And in my opinion, these things taste the same whether they are the regular or reduced version:

• Light mayo
• Light thousand island
• Reduced fat cream cheese
• Low-sodium salt
• Reduced sugar ketchup
• Reduced sugar BBQ sauce
• Natural peanut butter
• Reduced fat ice cream (Dreyer's Slow Churned Cookie Dough is my favorite)
• Certain baked chips (Cheetos, Sour cream and Cheddar Cheese Ruffles)
• Diet Soda
• And a lot more!

Don't get me wrong, some foods are meant to be enjoyed in their original condition, but I use those foods sparingly because a little usually goes a long way.

And yours are?

Mo.

hotnhealthymo:  Interesting lists!  I agree with most of those.  I absolutely agree with your point about NOT EATING FOODS WE DON'T LIKE.

You will probably disagree with some of my nonfat choices.

The important additions I made to my diet:

• I eat a lot of apples--several a week and other fruit from time to time such as berries and melons
• I eat a lot of shredded cabbage with lowfat dressing--I love 30 calorie Dorothy Lynch
• I eat a lot of baby carrots
• I eat a few times a month Barilla+ whole grain pasta--I love it
• I eat red potatoes a few times a month
• I eat a lot of small red beans, that I soak from dry (a tremendously healthy food)
• I eat ground flax seed added to my salads and egg whites and beans
• I eat a lot of egg whites
• I use almost exclusively extra virgin olive oil in anything I cook that needs oil.
• I use a lot of granulated garlic and garlic in general and black pepper
• I use only whole wheat flour for baking, mainly homemade pizza crusts
• I eat a lot of diced tomatoes, usually the low-sodium kind
• I eat a lot of nonfat cheese (45 calories per 1/4th cup--many people don't like it, but I do)
• I eat in small doses per day, walnuts or almonds several times a week
• I switched from drinking strong, high-calorie stouts and porters weekly to 2-3 times a month drinking rot-gut light beer or cheap but tasty red wine
• I eat a lot of onions and colored bell peppers
• I eat sardines, salmon, scallops, oysters, etc., but not as much as I should

Here are some things that many people have questioned about the foods I eat:

• I love nosugar gelatin (20 calories a box), but it has aspartame
• I drink too much diet soda which also has aspartame
• I love love love Nonfat Cool Whip (15 calories per 2 tablespoons) but it does contain sugar
• I don't eat egg yolks and I throw them away; some people question the wisdom of this
• I occasionally use real bacon bits (low calorie but high sodium) in several things I cook
• I occasionally use grated parmesan cheese (low calorie) with several things.

Two really great changes I've made in my eating are;

1) I no longer eat in my room

2) I have only one snack after dinner and must wail thirty minutes before going back for 2nds of 3rds!

It may not seem like much but these small changes have made me feel more confident and in control of my eating. Before, I would restrict like crazy all day and then take a bunch of junk food into my room after dinner and eat at least a thrid of my daily calories! I also started yoga for one hour everyday on most days and it's really relaxing (plus it keeps me from overeating in the evenings :))

My changes...

• I no longer have "seconds" for any meal.  In fact, for most restaurant meals, I end up taking food home
• The only things I drink regularly are water, milk, and an occasional beer.  Got rid of coke, coffee, etc all cold turkey
• Got rid of most refined sugar, with the exception of my daily dark chocolate. :)
• Make sure I get "more" servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
• Always take whole wheat and brown rice, when it's an option.  "If it's white, it's not right..."
• 5 or 6 small meals per day, rather than 2 or 3.
• Pay attention to the "recommended serving size" on the packages of food I eat.  I used to laugh at those, wondering who the fools were that ate that little.  Turns out it's me! :)
• Watch my sodium intake.  By weighing daily, I could see that my high sodium days would cause a few days of weight gain.  So I've cut down on my sodium, and now I find many restaurant and pre-packaged dinners to be too salty.
• When eating out, find the restaurant website on-line, and see if you can pick out a healthy dish that sounds good.  It's much harder to do from just the menu (compared to having the nutritional guide, if available).
• Trying to balance my carbs/protein/fats in a 50/30/20 ratio.  Can usually do this without deliberate attempts, now, and it's not a critical thing for me if I don't get it perfect.
• Drink my 8 glasses of water per day.
• Keep healthy snacks in my laptop bag, so if I get the munchies in the afternoon, I've got an alternative to going to the vending machine.  Nuts, protein bars, etc keep well, and are filling.
• Right now, I weigh/measure pretty much all my food.  Don't know if I'll continue with that when I'm maintaining...
• Don't eat frozen dinners.  Leftovers from the previous night's healthy dinner are much preferred. 
• Use "Mrs. Dash" No Salt spices for BBQ, rather than BBQ spice or the salty versions.  Lemon/Garlic for chicken, salmon, or pork, and they've got an equivalent to the Montreal Steak Spice for beef and chicken too.

Clint