In my book, What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You, I write about making better carbohydrate choices and which breads and pastas are best. (One tip: Whole wheat isn’t much better than white bread as it acts the same way in your body. Look for whole grains and sprouted grains instead.) It’s important to try to limit refined white sugar and flour in your diet, but as I share in those chapters, there are less unhealthy, and in fact even some very healthy options for you to enjoy. These options are easy, traditional (and delicious) variations that you can find in any store and they offer a great way to enjoy your guilty pleasure — in a much less guilty form.
But if you are used to a certain brand or product, sometimes you have to transition away from it slowly. When I suggested Ezekial sprouted grain bread, someone wrote and told me that they thought it was disgusting and tasted like cardboard! I personally think it’s delicious and my kids like it as well. They were never white wonder bread eaters though! And it did take a little time for them to get used to the texture and density of sprouted grains after eating whole wheat bread. But now, it is the only bread in our house.
So if you have something you love that you know isn’t good for you and you’d like to swap it for a better choice, rather than give it up completely and try to learn to like something that is just feeling too different for you, you may want to try taking baby steps toward making the change. For example, if you’re hooked on potatoes, you can start adding in sweet potatoes and reducing the amount of white potatoes you use in a dish. If you are looking to cut back on coffee, start mixing in decaf and each week increase the percentage of decaf you use. It won’t be long until you are at 100% decaf and you’ll realize that you no longer need that caffeine boost at all. Then if coffee is your guilty pleasure, you can savor a delicious cup instead of a pot.
Or use a little less sugar each week until you are able to wean yourself away and soon you will find that the amount you used to use doesn’t even taste good to you anymore: it’s just too sweet. You don’t need to go cold turkey: in fact, you’re more likely to stick with it (and not substitute something else equally bad in its place) if you take small steps and make incremental changes than if you go cold turkey.
To your wellness and health: your true wealth!
Inger Pols
Author: Inger Pols is the Editor of the New England Health Advisory and Author/Creator, Finally Make It Happen, the proven process to get what you want. Get a free special report on The Truth About Sugar: It’s Not All Equal at www.IngerPols.com
Photo Source: Microsoft Clip Art
Whenever I talk to people about changing their diets, invariably there are a few foods that they can’t – or won’t — live without. They are not the same for everyone: for some it’s bread or pasta, others it’s an occasional favorite dessert, others it’s coffee or cheese or a glass of wine. And I always tell people that when you deny yourself something that you truly love you will end up eating more in the long run, trying to get that same satisfaction from other things. So enjoy your guilty pleasure (in small doses) and truly savor every bite or sip.
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