Im new to this "make better choices thing" help ?

Personally, I really don't like diet soda or "light" foods. For myself, I'll eat less of the regular version or choose a dressing that is naturally light. With salad you actually want some fat in your dressing because some of the nutrients are fat soluble.

Light dressings are usually high in sodium. But plain lettuce tastes crappy. Some people use lemon juice. I use the fat-free Italian Kraft one.

Water is best. If you want to drink the diet pop, have at it. Not lecturing. But water is best. It's cheaper, too.

I think when you make healthy choices, it's best to add them in little by little. Instead of focusing on what you "can't" have, focus on what you're doing FOR yourself. "Look at me, having veggies!" "I'm so awesome, having yummy fruit!" "This lean, white meat is good for me!" That kind of thing. And add it bit by bit, being proud.

The more healthy foods you eat, the better you feel. People who switch off processed food and eat healthy food are NOT lying when they tell you how much better they feel.

Good luck!!

If the salad is the main part of your meal, I'd stick with a regular fat dressing. A tablespoon should do fine. The fat helps your body take in more nutrients from the veggies.

I certainly am no expert, but I do know that the ingredients in the "light" version of things are never good. Better to eat a small amount of "real" food than eat "fake" food. Even better - eat LOTS of "healthy" food like vegetables. Make sure you have enough protein and fat to fill you up, but eat vegetables like they're going out of style.
Fake sugar and fake sweeteners are pretty yucky stuff.

I totally agree with this!!!
Even my dietitian advised against staying away from "artificial" things. They're chemically made up to be 'like' the real thing... Just allow yourself to have the real deal but pace yourself and watch your portion sizes!

Today, Myfitnesspal actually posted a pretty good article on artificial sweeteners...All of which are in the diet sodas and things like that! it's worth a read!

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/09/real-issues-with-artificial-sweeteners/?utm_source=mfp&utm_medium=GooglePlus

ALWAYS get the dressing on the side. Dip each bite into the dressing and go easy!! The flavors of the salad/veggies should be what you are tasting. The dressing is just a subtle "flavor enhancer." Not the other way around.
Typically when you see a "light" or "fat free" version of a food/dressing, it could have replaced one thing for another. "Light dressing" may have fewer calories, but when you look at the nutrition label, it may be higher in sodium, or something else, you get the point. Condiments in general are unhealthy, so it's best to always take the "less is better" approach and try not to make your dish taste like the condiment itself.

When it comes to food I prefer regular versions. They tast better. But when I'm wanting or craving a soda I'll buy diet.
There's so much crap in everything we eat (unless you are all organic/natural/hormone free/no preservatives) a little diet here and there isn't going to hurt.

When it comes to dressing I've always over poured but when I look at the serving size and realize how much it has I just settle with that much. You don't actually need to drench your salad in dressing if its too nasty without drenching it, then try changing it up and adding less of the nasty stuff until you're use to it. With diet soda I can't say anything about that since I cut that out years ago and went cold turkey. There's no soda in my house and I only drink water but you can try to just drink 100% juice instead of the fizzy stuff. I know that diet soda or artificial sugar in general is full of chemicals, which aren't exactly healthy for you in the long run. I hope this helped and good luck on your healthy lifestyle!

what do you think of light dressing..any downfalls beside taste. or diet soda? Im trying to take small steps so I do not fail this time! adding more salad at lunch and using light becasue I eat alot of calories in dresssing thank you!

It really depends on what you are looking for. Some people have issues with some of the "light" dressings, but it's also worth considering why a dressing is lighter. For example, if you eat something like ranch or blue cheese (I used to love blue cheese), it might have lots more calories naturally than some others. If you make dressing at home it can be almost calorie-free without that being due to the addition of anything questionable. For example, I like making dressing from red white vinegar and mustard with some seasoning like garlic or the like. I also like just balsalmic vinegar sometimes, and you can make a really low calorie vinaigrette if you just use less oil and more vinegar, which I always think tastes better anyway.

I don't like to waste calories on dressing (and I'm not worried about getting fat from my dressing as I usually like some nuts or cheese or protein or at least olives on the salad), so I will always choose a decent low calorie dressing over a higher calorie one, personally, but I'm also not particularly worried about sodium or the like since I don't eat a lot of packaged stuff. When buying a salad at a restaurant if I can't find a low calorie dressing I will go without or not use much at all. I also know that even though I prefer making my own dressings sometimes I'm more likely to have salad if I have a dressing at home I like, so I've found a lower calorie one I enjoy to have on hand.

As far as diet soda goes, people have different ideas. I don't think there's any need to cut it out and it might make it unnecessarily harder to get started losing weight, but some feel otherwise. IME, it doesn't hurt weight loss, but you might want to try alternating with water if you tend to drink more than you like and would like more water.

I'm one of those "eat real food, but eat less of it" people, but that's just me. I typically don't use bottled dressing in my salads anymore, but when I do, it's the full-fat version (I just dip my fork in it when I take a bite of the salad). Usually my salads include a little cheese and/or meat and/or avocado, and that gives it enough flavor so I don't feel I need a dressing.

As for diet soda, I don't drink them much anymore. It used to be 1 or 2 a day, and now it's maybe 1 a month, if that. Chilled water is my go-to drink now. I saw friends tring to drop the diet soda habit and experiencing withdrawl symptoms and that was enough to make me want to slow down the consumption. I don't miss it at all now.

Also, I would recommend Michael Pollan's books to you.