How can I make my diet healthier?!
don't eat fast food
I don't drink soda but I do drink a lot of diet coke - is that bad?
What else can I do to make my diet healthier?
Answers: I'm trying to cut out meat
don't eat fast food
I don't drink soda but I do drink a lot of diet coke - is that bad?
What else can I do to make my diet healthier?
It's great you don't eat fast food!
If you do plan on changing your diet, you might want to let your doctor know just because they are familiar with your medical background and might give you tips ("Don't eat grapefruit, it'll mess with the medication you're taking"; "Remember, you're allergic to this or that", etc.)
Some great small steps you can take include:
1. Switch all the white rice, enriched bleached white pasta, white bread, etc over to whole-grain bread, brown rice and 100% whole wheat or grain pasta. This greatly increases the protein, fiber and nutrient content that's inherent in the grains. The big difference is that white pasta and bread grains have had much of the nutritious parts of its grain mechanically separated, and then the flour gets enriched - just eat the real, whole grain product instead since getting it from the natural food source is more effective and nutritious than eating the enriched, stripped product.
2. Cut out diet Coke somewhere along the way - switch to water. Diet Coke doesn't really nourish your body in any way and is loaded with chemicals, coloring agents and flavoring agents. It's basically chemical water, which I personally frown upon. I know that it seems like it might aide weight loss or help you stay full, but in reality research shows that diet beverages can actually cause weight gain and stimulate the appetite - they make your mind think you're eating something sweet, but there's nothing substantial in your stomach, and it makes you crave more. Plus it has a lot of caffeine, which is still a drug (albeit not a very harmful one) - it also acts like a diuretic, so you're not hydrating your body properly.
3. Introduce more plant sources of protein - tofu, beans and legumes, whole grains, tempeh, seitan (look up recipes for how to make seitan at home, it's super easy - all you need is flour!). This will help slash fat (especially unhealthy animal fats like saturated fat and cholesterol) out of your diet and increase fiber (animal protein has no fiber).
4. Focus on fiber - fresh fruit and vegetables should become a staple at every meal and snack. Find a way to work in an apple or orange into breakfast, a side salad for lunch (and go easy on dressing, the point is to eat leafy greens and veggies, not slurp down a few tablespoons of fat, LOL), maybe a baked sweet potato for dinner. Dip celery into onion dip for a snack; try apples and peanut butter.
Maggie's answer is brilliant. What more can I say? lol
Eat more fruit and vegetables. That is a very important dietary change you could make. Try swapping diet coke for a smoothie! That way, you are getting essential vitamins and minerals! :-)