Hi Guys, I Need Your Help....

Hey, I've been eating foods lately that i know for a fact that shouldn't be in my diet, however i don't want to feel like i have to give up what i love to eat in order to become healthier. I would like to know what some of you guys suggest when it comes to substituting a couple of my favorite foods:

-Bread.................
-Soda(coke).......
-Rice....................
-Pasta..................
-Cookies:)...........
-Tacos..................
-Cheese...............

Replies

  • for Tacos I use a whole wheat taco shell - there is one with only 100 calories.
    Then just load up on the lettuce, and salsa parts
  • For bread and pasta, select whole wheat. For soda, try making your own lemonade, drink ice tea with fruits or water with cucumber, limes and oranges or else you can start with a diet soda. Eat brown rice instead of white rice. For cookies, eat those nabisco 100 calorie cookies. And for tacos, I make soft tacos with corn tortillas, lean ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce and fat free cheese. 2% or fat free cheese.

    Hope this helps. This is what I do, with the exception of cookies. I could go without those.

    Good luck!
  • hamminit
    hamminit Posts: 184 Member
    you can have any and/or all of it - just in moderation- pick certain days to have one of them or some of them - you don't want to make yourself feel deprived and fall off the wagon altogether :)
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    If I'm reading your ticker right and you have 100 lbs to lose, you should be able to fit all those things in a reasonable calorie allocation. How many calories is your goal?
  • amrw85
    amrw85 Posts: 7 Member
    Hey hun.. i feel you on the not want to give up everything tasty. I would have a mutiny on my hands if I tried to force the husby to give up enchiladas!! Plus I figured we are never going to be the kind of people who can survive on celery and water for the rest of my life. So what I decided to do was try to eat super healthy for breakfast and lunch. It's easier for us to stick to fruits and veggies during the day. Then when it came to dinner I make sure half the plate is covered in veggies of some sort. We still eat burgers or pizza or whatnot but not nearly as much because we have all these veggies too. This way you are not taking away the things you like but adding in more. It sounds simple but it really helps me want to stay motivated and gives me a different way to think of things.
    I also make little tweaks when I can.. I use turkey or chicken a lot instead of ground beef. All of our bread/pasta/rice is whole grain- which fills you up faster. I'm a huge cookie addict but I found if I only take one at a time and walk away from the bag - i end up eating only 2 or 3 instead of 6 or 7.
    Hope it helps!
  • koshkasmum
    koshkasmum Posts: 276 Member
    Well,

    Bread, - eat bread (whole grain in reasonable quantities like 1-2 slices per meal depending on the size of slice)

    Coke, - Coke zero (again reasonable quantities - I keep mine to 1-2 per day)

    Rice. - Eat rice. Brown rice. Just remember a half a cup is a serving.

    Pasta - Eat pasta. Whole grain pasta is good and again, watch portions sizes. Also most of the trouble with pasta is in the sauce. Try tomato or veggie based sauces without cream and with just a little sprinkle of cheese.

    Cookies. - you can mess around and try to find lower calorie cookies but you'd probably get the same sweet hit from some fresh fruit and they have fiber and vitamins and all sorts of good stuff besides the sugar. Even lower calorie cookies are still pretty high calorie... save them for the occasional treat in moderate quantities.

    Tacos - someone already gave you a good approach to these.

    Cheese.- eat cheese. There are reduced calorie cheeses out there but most of them are awful. If you can find one you like, more power to you. The real key with cheese is portion control. One ounce is a serving (about the size of your thumb). For me a small amount of a really good cheese is way more satisfying than a larger amount of a less flavorful reduced calorie product.

    Who says these items should not be in your diet? It is possible to lose weight, stay healthy and eat most of the things you like at the same time. Dieting by eating special "diet" foods is really not necessary.

    Good luck and good health to you.
  • kiddoc88
    kiddoc88 Posts: 244 Member


    -Bread.................sara lee
    -Soda(coke).......zevia
    -Rice....................quinoa, cous cous, whole wheat
    -Pasta..................
    -Cookies:)...........
    -Tacos..................get uber lean ground beef, mini corn tortillas and make your wn
    -Cheese............... just limit the amount
  • breeezy1030
    breeezy1030 Posts: 42 Member
    Okay! Tacos are one of my faves too, and so easy to make and keep healthy. I get the fresh corn tortillas (sometimes still warm!) and I warm them in a pan with no oil. This really brings out the real flavor of the corn. I use ground turkey, ground chicken, or chicken breast, and you really only need to use a little meat per taco (especially with the smaller shells). I do as others have said and load up on lettuce and other veggies, and I use real sour cream because I feel like I can afford it as long as I account for it. Of course you can do other things like use light sour cream or light cheese (mexican style enchilada cheese is great and you only need a little because of the full flavor). The bottom line is, using something other than ground beef and not frying the shells make a great difference, and you are in control of how much you eat because you are making the tacos as big or as small as you like.
    Dont deprive yourself! Just talking about these tacos is making me hungry! I know what Im eating for dinner tomorrow!!
  • stepanie009
    stepanie009 Posts: 10 Member
    sorry for the late response, calorie goal is 1670....
  • stepanie009
    stepanie009 Posts: 10 Member
    If I'm reading your ticker right and you have 100 lbs to lose, you should be able to fit all those things in a reasonable calorie allocation. How many calories is your goal?


    its 1670
  • Byrdsong1920
    Byrdsong1920 Posts: 336 Member
    Hey,

    I agree...moderation best... This is a lifestyle change and you want healthy habits and not to deprive yourself. Here are my suggestions:)

    -Bread................. Try Ezekiel breads. Thy also make tortilla shells...great for a foreman grill and stuff with lean meats and veggies, also they make buns, bread etc. it's no gluten and made with sprouted grains and amino acids! http://www.foodforlife.com/about_us/ezekiel-49

    -Soda(coke)....... Try using a water enchancer like Mio vs. carbonated drinks...will bloat you and empty cals and salt. If cutting back try coke zero and keep water up to 64+ oz per day. Cut back slowly to avoid detox headaches

    -Rice.................... Try brown rice and even jasmine rice is yummy. I cook mine in a low sodium organic chicken or veggie broth and herbs for flavor ...Soo good!

    -Pasta.................. Checkout spaghetti squash...it's 40 cals per cup and low carb... Looks like pasta but its a squash! Coolest thing ever ! Cool recipes and pics here, cooks fast and good alternative to pasta : https://www.google.com/search?q=spaghetti+squash&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

    -Cookies:)........... Love Whole Foods oatmeal CHOC chip cookies, but sooo unhealthy with tons of carbs, sugars , fat etc. found cool alternative...check it out ; http://thehealthyfoodie.com/?s=Oatmeal+protein+cookies&submit=Go! great cookie recipes! This is made with wheat flour, unsweet apple sauce and egg whites and few other goodies

    -Tacos.................. Use Ezekiel shells! Yum!
    -Cheese............... Use low fat ,or checkout these Vegan suggestions. I also use plain Greek yogurt for Alfredo type sauces now. Great option. http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/options-vegan-cheese.htm

    Good luck! Have fun cooking and checkout www.pinterest.com for great food ideas!

    Shannon, Atlanta Ga