Most people are creatures of habit. When we go to the grocery store, we usually buy the same foods each week. There is comfort in the familiar. That is why trying to eat healthy is so scary sometimes because we do not know how to make small changes without overhauling our entire eating habits.

It takes a month for a conscious effort to become a habit. You need to pay attention in order to eat healthier instead of reaching for the same unhealthy food all the time. Make a conscious habit of minimizing the amount of unhealthy food that you eat. Know that when you want fries, you are consciously making that decision instead of eating it because it came with your burger.

Here are some healthier substitutions that you might want to try.

Bake, grill or broil your meals instead of frying.
Use non-stick sprays instead of oil when cooking.

When baking, try substituting applesauce instead of oil.

Choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread.
They also make whole wheat bagels and English muffins. Be sure that you are getting whole grains by reading the label. Otherwise you might get colored white bread.

Hold the mayo in your sandwiches and burgers.
Double up on the veggies.

When eating salads or pasta, try to have the sauce and dressing on the side.
They saturate salads and pastas at restaurants and we have come to expect that to be the norm. It is not. Other people recommend dipping your fork into the dressing before spearing your salad, but that just seems to be too much effort for me. I usually just pouring on a tiny amount of dressing and add some more as needed.

Switch to non-cream based dress and pasta sauce.
Think vinaigrette dressing and marinara sauce. Even if it is just occasionally, pat yourself on the back for choosing the healthier option this time.

Consider using a spray (spritzers) salad dressing.
I really like the raspberry bliss vinaigrette dressing by Wishbone (1 calorie per spray).

Try to eat the fruit instead of drinking the juice when possible.
The fruit is more filling (due to the higher fiber content) and more nutritious (less processing) than juices.

Start adding fresh fruit whenever possible.
Add sliced bananas to your cereal or berries to your yogurt. If you must have ice cream, add some fruit. Throw it in your salad. Sneak it in whenever possible. If a piece of fruit looks too daunting, then cut it up and spread it out.

Don’t drink your calories.
Limit smoothies and Venti frappuccino from Starbucks. Smoothies are meant to be a meal substitution, but how many of you actually replace your lunch with a smoothie? I sure don’t. At 400-1000 calories, smoothies and frappuccino should be limited to once or twice a month at most, not every day. Besides, wouldn’t you rather eat than drink your meal?

Drink more water.
Try alternating soda with a glass of water. Then slowly try to replace your soda with water until you are down to one can of soda a day. Eventually you will wean yourself out of your soda addiction. Or try to associate soda with occasional food. I must have a soda with pizza, but since I only have pizza twice a month, then I only have 2 cans of soda a month.

Don’t drink whole fat milk.
Milk comes in whole (4% fat), 2%, 1%, and skim (0%). Start by switching to 2% milk for a month, then move to 1% milk for a month. Gradually wean yourself away from whole fat milk. I do not like skim milk. The consistency of skim milk does not look right in my cereal. But I have no problem with substituting 1% milk for the whole milk that I am used to from my childhood.

These are small choices to make, but it will have a big impact on your progress to a healthier you. As you adopt a healthier lifestyle, you will find that your food preferences will gradually change. When you get used to drinking diet soda, regular soda will taste too sweet. When you get used to drinking water, diet soda will taste too sweet. Your food preferences will change over time, but it is a gradual and slow process. It took years for you to establish the food habits that you have now, so do not expect to change them within a month, a year, or even two years. Slow and steady wins the race.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.