How many times have you told yourself that you’re going to eat better?  That’s it! You’re not going to eat any carbs, fats or treats.  In fact, this time… for real… You going to just eat kale and drink water.

And how successful have you been at doing that?

My guess is it wasn’t successful and you were miserable while doing it.  I make that assumption because it never worked for me.  The fact is, when you make sweeping proclamations denying yourself whole food groups, you increase your weight loss failure exponentially.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure right from the beginning, try taking baby steps. That’s my not-so-secret secret to success.  I’m living proof that small changes can add up to a whole new lifestyle and the health benefits that come with it.

Starting can be as simple as looking at your favorite foods and choosing a slightly healthier sub.  I’m not suggesting that you give up everything you like to eat. I’m saying that 80% of the time, make the healthier choice and that other 20% won’t kill you or your progress.

Let’s start with these simple suggestions to improve your diet by eating THIS and not THAT:

Carbohydrates

I’m starting with the big guns because who doesn’t love carbs?  The issues here is that many carbs will spike your blood sugar, increase your appetite, provide little nutrition and derail your good efforts to eat better.

Instead of this…	Have this…
White pasta Pancakes White rice White Bagels White Bread Muffins Flour (or Fried) Tortillas	Zoodles (or veggie noodles) Overnight or Cooked Oats Brown or Wild Rice, Beans, Lentils, Legumes Whole Grain Breads Sour Dough Bread Fruit Corn or Whole Wheat Tortillas

Proteins

Protein is the magic fairy dust for losing weight. It fills you up, sustains energy levels, helps build and maintain muscle and will keep you on track.  Some proteins however, are too high in fat or when processed tend to be packed with carbs and sodium.  Make sure you’re eating enough protein and that you’re choosing the leanest options available.

Instead of this…	Have this…
Full Fat Cheese Store-bought Sausages, Hotdogs Regular Ground Beef Lunch/Deli Meats Bacon	Low Fat Cheese Skinless Chicken, Turkey or other Poultry Lean Grass-fed Ground Beef or Ground Bison Fish and Shellfish Lean Cuts of Red Meat

Fruit

Fruit is nature’s candy and it really does live up to that title.  It’s pros and cons.  It’s sweet, delicious, succulent and packed full of nutrients, natural sugars and calories.  Enjoy fruit in moderation, and try to choose lower sugar fruits eight times out of ten.  (Notice that 80% rule again?)

Instead of this	Have this…
Bananas Mangos Cherries Dried Fruit Juiced Fruit Grapes Pineapple	Strawberries Grapefruit Citrus Fruits Blackberries Blueberries Watermelon Guavas

Vegetables

If protein is the dietary fairy dust, then vegetables are the superheroes of better nutrition.  Almost every vegetable is worth eating for one reason or another, but not all vegetables are created equal.  The Veggies on my NOT THAT list tend to be heavy on pesticides, so your first option would be to simply purchase them organic. But that can get expensive.  So instead, I’m offering some other options that don’t need to be organic because they tend to be much, much lower in pesticides.

Instead of this	Have this…
Non-Organic Kale Non-Organic Collard Non-Organic Mustard Greens Non-Organic Spinach Non-Organic Peppers Non-Organic Celery Non-Organic Tomatoes	Avocados Frozen Sweet Peas Egg Plant Asparagus Broccoli Cauliflower Mushrooms

Fats

Fats are your friend.  Many of us trained ourselves to fear fat because it’s high caloric content, but really, it is essential to a healthy diet.  When you see the words “fat free” on a package, dairy aside, it really does generally mean one of two things: there’s a whole slew of non-food-food-like-products in that product to make it taste and feel like fat is still there (because we like the way fat tastes and feels on our tongue), or it has much higher sugar and sodium to compensate for the missing ingredient.

Fat doesn’t make us fat (excess sugar, or fats combined with starchy carbs do – but I digress).  Choose small portions, because fats are high calorie, of healthy fats because they add nutrition to your diet, improve flavour which means you’ll enjoy your foods more, and they keep your hair and skin supple.  Just a general rule to keep in mind, the best fats are those that are liquid at room temperature (like olive oil) and didn’t take much processing to extract from it’s original product (like vegetable oil).

Instead of this	Have this…
Palm Oil Margarine Lard Mayonnaise* Vegetable Oil / Shortening Heavy Cream Full Fat Cheese Processed Meats	Olive Oil Butter (Grass-Fed is Higher Nutrient) Spray Oils Avocado Coconut Oil Coconut Milk Low Fat Cheese Nuts and Seeds

*Store-bought mayonnaise is full of unhealthy fats and sugar.  Instead of replacing your store-bought mayonnaise with avocado (which is actually really lovely in a sandwich), you could just make your own mayo using a good olive oil.  It’s not hard. Try my recipe here.

Treats

Life without dessert is not a life I want to live.  That’s why my dietary philosophy includes the concept of planned indulgences.  This is a concept I truly believe best incorporates treats into your diet.  We can one-up it even by choosing treats that contribute to better eating rather than sabotaging it.  Here are some examples:

Instead of this	Have this…
Cookies Cream Pies Ice Cream Milk Chocolate Frosted Cakes Cheesecake	Frozen Grapes Chia Seed Pudding Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries Dark Chocolate and a Glass of Red Wine Baked Apples or Bananas Meringue Clouds

The reality is, if you want to improve your diet and eat better, you’re going to have to make some changes.  The good news is, if you weren’t ready to do that, you wouldn’t be reading this – and not all those changes have to be painful.

Start simple.  Make it easy on yourself.  Don’t jump in on all this and try to change everything all at once.  Choose just one or two items to try swapping out. Get comfortable with swapping out this for that at least 8 out of 8 times. Then move on to trying something else.

Easy peasy.  You got this!